Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has reported to media that his grandmother passed away Monday.

Madelyn Payne Dunham, 84, was incredibly inspirational to Barack and helped raise him as a young boy. He credits her with making him who he is today.

Dunham had been ill for quite some time and had recently broken a hip.

Obama described his grandmother as a woman who “taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland…accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you’d like to be treated.”

When he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Denver he also made sure to credit his loving grandmother saying,

“She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me,” he said.

[KIRO]

In tragic news, Def Jam Executive Vice President Shakir Stewart killed himself Saturday in Atlanta. He was only 34 years old.

His body was discovered in a bathroom in his home around 4 p.m. with a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Stewart’s fiancée, Michelle Rivers and Shakir’s family released this joint statement:

“We would like to thank Shakir’s friends for the tremendous outpouring of love and support we have received during this difficult time. It has helped us to cope with our overwhelming grief and sadness. It is difficult to express or explain in words what led to the tragic occurrence on Saturday. Over the past several weeks, Shakir’s behavior was inconsistent with the man we all know and love. As much as we all tried to help him, Shakir was in deep pain and largely suffering in silence. Please remember Shakir for who he was … a wonderful father, partner, son and friend.”

Def Jam also released a statement:

“L.A. Reid and all of us at Island Def Jam Music Group are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Shakir Stewart,” the statement reads. “Shakir was an amazing man, in every sense of the word. A truly incredible friend and father who was an inspiration to not only our artists and employees, but to his family and the many people who had the privilege of counting him as a friend. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time.”

[MTV]

Ok, maybe I am being a little harsh here, but doesn’t William Balfour, the main suspect in the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew, seem like the type of guy that you would NOT want to bring home to your family - let alone let your child be around?

And it’s not like William is the black sheep of his family or anything. His father is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for murder and his brother served time for drug dealing. William, himself, has served 7 years for attempted murder and carjacking. This past June he was arrested for drugs, but his parole was not revoked. He is also a known member of the Gangster Disciple Street Gang.

I told you guys the other day that Julia’s MySpace had a questionnaire that she filled out and the question, “Of all your friends, who is most likely to end up in jail?” she answered with “William.”

What a great influence on your child, eh? It’s not like she didn’t know. She probably hooked with with the loser after he was released from prison.

Now, let me make it clear that while I am not blaming the murders on Julia Balfour, I can’t help but feel as though she could have avoided this situation had she have been smarter about the sort of people she chose to surround herself, and more specifically her family, with.

The sad story of Jennifer Hudson’s family being murdered just keeps getting grimmer.

A white SUV was discovered by police on Chicago’s West Side, the Suburban is among the vehicles police have been searching for since the killings last Friday.

A young boy’s body was found inside. Police have not yet positively identified the body, but it is thought to be Julian King, Jennifer Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew.

Police have issued the following statement:

“At approximately 7:06 A.M. a 1994 White Chevrolet Suburban bearing Illinois license plate X584859 and identified in the Amber Alert was located at 1313 S. Kolin. A body was discovered inside the Suburban, in the rear seat of the vehicle. Identification of the body will be made by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office following their examination. The vehicle is being processed for evidence and the investigation remains on-going.”

Hudson put up $100,000 for the safe return of her nephew this weekend.

I glanced over Julian’s mother’s MySpace page this weekend and it is obvious that she and the suspect, William Balfour, were very, very close. She had photos of him, names him as her first best friend - only behind her mother, and in a questionnaire, says of all her friends, William is the one to ‘Most Likely Go to Jail’.

So sad.

[People]

Devastating news out of Chicago; Jennifer Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donnerson, and brother, Jason, were found murdered earlier today.

Their bodies were discovered around 2:45pm at the home of Donnerson by a cousin who lives nearby.

They had both been shot to death and were not alive when help arrived.

UPDATE:

A 7-year-old boy is missing as well, and an Amber Alert has been issued in this case. Police think they know who the suspect is and are asking for the public’s help in finding the man in question.

From ChicagoBreakingNews.com:

A Chicago police spokeswoman also said a 7-year-old boy was reported missing. Police identified him as Julian King (right), but they would not say whether he is a relative of the actress. He is 5-foot tall, weighs 135 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. An Amber Alert has been issued for the missing boy.

The police said that they are searching for a William Balfour as a suspect in the double homicide. They said he is considered to be armed and dangerous, and may be driving a white 1994 Chevrolet Suburban with Illinois license plate No. X584859 or a teal/green Chrysler Concord four-door with a left front headlight hanging out that is scratched all along its left side. The Chrysler is displaying temporary tags of 332K823.

Hopefully they will find the child alive and well. How tragic this whole story is.

Update 2:

Here is a photo of the suspect. And the boy who is missing has been identified as Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew.

From TMZ:

Police are looking for looking for William Balfour (bottom left), who they claim could be with the missing 7-year-old. According to records, Balfour listed Hudson’s mother’s address as a place of residence within the last year. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, Balfour is currently on parole after serving jail time for attempted murder.

It’s also been reported that Jennifer was not in Chicago at the time, but Los Angeles, as she was to begin shooting a music video on Monday.

UPDATE 3:

It has been confirmed that the two victims were indeed Jennifer’s mother, Darnell Donnerson, 57, and Hudson’s brother, Jason Hudson, 29. At least one of the victims has defensive wounds.

TMZ is reporting that the mother of 7-year-old Julian is also missing. However, ChicagoBreakingNews.com has not reported this. The only thing they have mentioned about the mother is that she reported her son missing sometime today. From TMZ:

Jennifer’s sister, Julia, mother of the missing 7-year-old, is reportedly also missing. She is a bus driver in Chicago and did work her shift today, however, she has not been seen since.

A WBBM reporter is saying that neighbors have said a family member in the Hudson household apparently tried to steal a car a few weeks ago, an argument ensued, and he vowed revenge. A photo on Julia’s MySpace page (bottom) posted prior to today’s events alludes to some kind of dispute with William over a car.

UPDATE 4 (Saturday):

The car in question was owned by Hudson’s family and was recently stolen by the suspect and sold without their consent. When confronted, an argument ensued, with the suspect vowing to kill the entire family. Julia told police she did not report it because she did not take the threat seriously.

Still, no word on Julia being missing, so TMZ must have been wrong about that one. However, 7-year-old Julian is still missing.

__________________________

Keep Jennifer in your thoughts today, and pray for Julian.

This poor girl has been through the highest highs and the lowest lows that any of us can even imagine. I hope she has a good support system to help her through this awful time.

Mr. Blackwell, world renowned for his annual worst-dressed list, has died at the age of 86.

He died Sunday of complications from an intestinal infection.

Richard Blackwell started critiquing celebrity fashion faux pas back in 1960. He was also a fashion designer who specialized in dresses.

Some of his past criticisms:

Madonna: “The Bare-Bottomed Bore of Babylon.”

Barbra Streisand: “She looks like a masculine Bride of Frankenstein.”

Christina Aguilera: “A dazzling singer who puts good taste through the wardrobe wringer.”

Meryl Streep: “She looks like a gypsy abandoned by a caravan.”

Sharon Stone: “An over-the-hill Cruella DeVille.”

Lindsay Lohan: “From adorable to deplorable.”

Patti Davis: “Packs all the glamour of an old, worn-out sneaker.”

Ann Margret: “A Hells Angel escapee who invaded the Ziegfeld Follies on a rainy night.”

Camilla Parker-Bowles: “The Duchess of Dowdy.”

Bjork: “She dances in the dark — and dresses there, too.”

Spears: “Her bra-topped collection of Madonna rejects are pure fashion overkill.”

[AP]

Gidget Gein, former bassist of Marilyn Manson, was found dead in his home last Thursday from an apparent heroin overdose.

Gein, whose real name is Bradley Stewart, was fired from the band back in 1993 after recovering from another overdose. He was soon replaced by Twiggy Ramirez, who has also battled from substance abuse and has since been fired and rehired by the band.

Gein’s death has been ruled accidental.  He was 39 years old.

Like other MM band members, Gein got his name from a famous woman and a serial killer. (Gidget was derived after the Sally Field character, and Gein is after the notorious Ed Gein.)

He had recently completed rehab and just started a band called, People.

Manson himself once wrote about his friend in his 1998 autobiography, “The Long Hard Road Out of Hell.” He spoke about how it pained him to lose his very good friend to drugs.

“My entire message and everything I’d begun striving to be as a person ran in direct opposition to Brad. I wanted to be strong and independent, to think for myself and help other people think for themselves.”

Gein was also a renowned artist whose work was often displayed at local parties.

Olivia Newton Bundy, another former bandmate of Manson’s, wrote about his friend’s death on the LA Weekly website, “That totally sucks. But lessions [sic] should be learned from this. He lost a great gig due to drugs and now he’s lost his life. R.I.P.”

[MTV]