BY FRANK MAIN, ANNIE SWEENEY and RUMMANA HUSSAIN Staff Reporters

Omhari Sengstacke (inset) was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and criminal trespassing to state land after police found a handgun in a vehicle he parked near Barack Obama’s South Side home. (Courtesy/AP)

The man who was caught with a gun near Barack Obama’s South Side home told police officers he wanted to speak with the presidential hopeful about getting a job, prosecutors said in court today.

Omhari Sengstacke, the 31-year-old grandson of late Chicago Defender publisher John Sengstacke, was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail during the hearing.

The convicted felon twice approached officers conducting security detail near the senator’s Kenwood neighborhood home at 5 a.m. Tuesday, telling them he needed to speak with Obama about getting a job, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti said.

Sengstacke was asked to leave the premises. He went back to his BMW, and then approached the officers a third time, saying he needed to go to Obama’s campaign office, said Antonietti, adding that the block has concrete barriers.

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Back in the day, Barack was in a Boogie Wonderland!

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Source: illSeed

By PAUL VITELLO

In a week when a great financial crisis came to a head and the presidential campaign reached a kind of warp-speed intensity, the man who seemed most likely to be there when you turned on a television was not the president or the treasury secretary or the candidates. It was Bill Clinton.

As usual, he had a lot to say. What was unusual was the stir he made for things he did not say.

Mr. Clinton made appearances on morning news shows and late-night talk shows, many or all of them scheduled to coincide with the three-day annual meeting in New York of the Clinton Global Initiative.

His passion about the philanthropic conference was clear.

But perhaps because of the contrast with that passion, Mr. Clinton’s answers to questions about the presidential race between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain seemed to some Obama supporters like the damning faint praise of a Democratic holdout.

The question arose Thursday, when both candidates appeared at Mr. Clinton’s conference — Mr. McCain in person, Mr. Obama via satellite. Was this a metaphor for Mr. Clinton’s relationship with each one, or just a scheduling conflict?

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Los Angeles – Johnny Depp will star in a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The actor – who won fans worldwide with his performance as the drunk, bearded pirate in the Disney film franchise – will reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow, Walt Disney Studios chairperson Dick Cook confirmed on Wednesday.

However, Johnny is unlikely to be joined by his former co-star Keira Knightley – who played Elizabeth Swann in the first three films.

Pirating days over

“I think it was wonderful and an amazing opportunity and those films were just extraordinary and I was extremely lucky to be a part of them,” Keira said when recently asked if she would ever consider doing another Pirates of the Caribbean film.

“But no. I think my pirating days may be over.”

Speaking at a Disney press conference at Los Angeles’ Kodak Theatre, Cook also revealed Johnny will star as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s big screen adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and in an adaptation of US TV show The Lone Rang

Source: News24.Com

By Dante Chinni

El Mirage, Ariz. – With the presidential election only six weeks away, this community, which is divided into Latino and Anglo neighborhoods, looks to be split on their choices overall. That may be a troubling sign for Sen. John McCain.

The issue of illegal immigration is a key focus in communities with large Hispanic populations like El Mirage (a community type we call “Immigration Nation”). It’s on a lot of minds here – especially when it comes to things like the border fence and raids on companies – but it does not appear to be driving a lot of votes.

“The two are really pretty much the same on immigration,” says Rachel Gomez, an owner of the Rio Mirage restaurants in the area. “And who knows what they’ll do when they get in, anyway.”

One might think that would open the door for Senator McCain to reach into places like El Mirage, which historically have voted for Democratic candidates. After all, El Mirage is in McCain’s home state of Arizona. But the GOP in general is still not trusted by many Latino voters following the immigration battles of 2006.

On top of that, Hispanic and Latino voters, like the electorate in general, may simply be looking for a different direction for the country.

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