New York City

Six former investigators want the U.S. government to reopen its probe of the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800. The plane went down shortly after takeoff from New York City, killing all 230 people on board. The investigators are petitioning the National Transportation Safety Board. They say radar and forensic evidence point to an external explosion destroying the jet -- not a short circuit in the fuel tank as the official investigation concluded. The NTSB is considering the request to reopen the case, but says its investigation lasted four years and was one of the most thorough probes ever. TWA Flight 800 blew up over Long Island, New York on July 17, 1996 just after taking off from John F. Kennedy airport for Paris. A number of witnesses say they saw a streak of light seconds before the explosion, leading some experts to speculate that a missile or a rocket hit the plane.

David Byrne & St Vincent will be making an appearance next Sunday, 6.30 at the Palace Theater in Greensburg. The duo are both well known for their solo albums and musical acumen. The artist released a collaboration this past year entitled Love This Giant which was met with solid reviews. It's a dramatic collection of uptempo pop songs glued together by brass elements and bit avant garde. We are happy to be giving away a pair of tickets to the show. As usual just email us your name to pghmusicreport@gmail.com to be entered.From their press:Though Byrne and Clark each have an unmistakable sound and persona that have made them such compelling performers on their own, their voices manage to blend naturally, effortlessly, here. Sometimes they trade verses; at others they sing in unison. Like friends who can finish each other’s sentences, when one takes the spotlight alone, it’s often with words that the other provided. The brass lends the songs an appealing theatrical sheen while programmed percussion provides a contemporary feel. The inventive arrangements have clearly sparked some remarkable vocal performances—check out Byrne on the syncopated I Should Watch TV or Clark on the grand Optimist. Though there’s no overarching theme to Love This Giant, surreal images of nature dominate the lyrics, most of which were worked on in tandem by Byrne and Clark. The threat of natural disaster promises an emotional epiphany; urban apocalypse gives way to a garden party.Happenstance brought these artists together, but the work they’ve made together feels more like fate. David Byrne’s own boundary-erasing approach to pop music had arguably laid a broad foundation for a new generation of independent-minded artists in Brooklyn and beyond, including Clark, who’d been constructing bedroom recordings for several years before publicly assuming the moniker of St. Vincent. Byrne, a peripatetic concert-goer who can often be glimpsed arriving at New York City venues on his bicycle, reckons he first caught St. Vincent in 2008 at Bowery Ballroom, not long after she’d released her debut Marry Me, and he continued to follow her career since then. Clark thought of him as “a ghost figure,” who would discreetly come to her shows: “I wouldn’t really see him, but I’d hear he was there. And I’d get really excited.”Show begins at 8p with doors at 7p. Tickets can be found here.

I recently visited New York City. If there is one city I love as much as San Francisco, it's the Big Apple. And no, my infatuation is not just for its restaurants, amazing bakeries, and welcoming gay scene. I love New York for the culture, its effervescence, and the city's progressive stance on today's issues. But I do have one major qualm with the state of New York: its antiquated laws on surrogacy. Exhibit A of an extreme nanny-state "nannyism."I have clients in San Francisco who are creating their family by way of a gestational surrogate. (Many of my clients are gay men; it's San Francisco.) Thankfully, California's laws regarding surrogacy are strong and positive. California statutes and case law give intended parents, whether or not they are biologically related to the child their surrogate is carrying, the ability to be declared the legal parents prior to the child's birth. This allows both intended parents' names to be listed on the birth certificate even if they are gay men (or women). Gestational surrogacy is legal, and gestational surrogacy contracts are enforceable. Yay, California!More...

James Gandolfini has died at the age of 51 while vacationing in Italy—according to Variety, he suffered from a heart attack. [ more › ]

July 9-10, 2013 San Francisco, CA Tickets On Sale Now The main thing MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis wants you to know about his company’s merger with Stratasys is that, no, MakerBot is not selling out. “We’re a growing company. We’re out there to make 3D printing easier and more accesible to more people, and this will help us do that,” Pettis told me earlier today. While it’s barely four years old, MakerBot has quickly established itself as the most hippest, most interesting 3D printing company around. This, as you might expect, automatically made it an attractive target for the 25-year-old 3D printing giant Stratasys, which, like any industry incumbent, could always use some new, innovative blood in its veins. To put it simply: Stratasys, which is focused on the industrial end of 3D printing, had a consumer market-shaped hole in its product line. And MakerBot was the perfect fit for it. The move is a smart one for MakerBot as well. As any hardware startup founder can tell you, scaling your company’s manufacturing operations is hard work – particularly if you’re manufacturing something as intricate as a 3D printer. By working alongside Stratasys, MakerBot finally has a viable way to decrease the days-long lead time for its 3D printers, which, in turn, means getting its printers in the hands of more people. Stratasys’s acquisition may finally give MakerBot a chance to decrease the lead time on the manufacturing of its printers. The other thing to keep in mind is that MakerBot will do most of this without Stratasys breathing down its neck. During my interview, both Pettis and Stratasys CEO David Reis stressed that, while MakerBot is now a part of Stratasys, the company is still going to do its own thing. “We admire and like the way MakerBot operates. It’s a fast-growing, energetic company with a different go-to-market strategy and we’d like to keep it that way,” Reis said. Still, as Reis pointed out, there’s going to be a lot of room for so-called “synergies”, where both companies can combine their respective strengths to accomplish some larger goal.  As Reis points out, one of these goals is finally providing Stratasys’s customers with a true end-to-end 3D printing product offering. “We want people to buy from one company all they need,” Reis said, noting that Stratasys can now sell consumer printers, professional printers, and everything between. In all,  the move seems like a big win for all parties — including New York City and Brooklyn, where MakerBot was founded and continues to operate (and where it  recently opened up a new factory). “We are so proud to be growing in Brooklyn. We live here and manufacture here that’s not going to change,” Pettis said.   Filed under: Business .boilerplate-before .event-boilerplate-mobilebeat { width:278px; margin:0px 0px 10px 20px; padding:10px; float:right; border:1px solid #e4e4e4; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; color:#000; } .boilerplate-before .event-boilerplate-mobilebeat .logo-date-wrap { width:100%; display:block; float:left; margin-bottom:8px; } .boilerplate-before .event-boilerplate-mobilebeat img { float:left; } .boilerplate-before .event-boilerplate-mobilebeat .date-location { float:right; font-size:12px; line-height:14px; text-align:center; padding-left:7px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:3px; border-left:1px solid #e6e6e6; color:#585a5b; } .boilerplate-before .event-boilerplate-mobilebeat .cta { display:block; clear:both; width:100%; border-radius:5px; border:1px solid #1864b1; color:#fff; text-shadow: 0px -1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); text-align:center; text-decoration:none; font-weight:600; font-size:18px; line-height:17px; padding:4px 0px 6px 0px; background: #1f80e4; background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,  #1f80e4 0%, #1862ae 100%); background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,#1f80e4), color-stop(1

Flo Rida Flo Rida performs at Kicked off party for Licensing Expo 2013 at Mandalay Bay, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo By: RD/ GDP Photos/ Retna Digital

R&B singer Estelle hit the New York City streets for a night out of partying Tuesday, June 18th. The London native stopped at Clinique’s Dramatically Different Party rocking a black v-neck maxi dress where she was joined by model Selita Ebanks. But the fun didn’t stop there for the “Break My Heart” singer as she also attended the Second Annual Millennial Ball for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation. Check out more of Estelle’s look in the gallery. ( PHOTOS: GETTY)

Afrojack Afrojack kicked off the Electric Daisy Carnival Week in Las Vegas by visiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas, James Clubhouse for the youth member's DJ class. Photo By: RD/ Kabik/ Retna Digital

**** THE HAMPTON'S GOSSIP **** Naomi Watts The star of the new movie Diana, Naomi Watts was spotted dining with two friends at the Hampton's hotspot, Sotto Sopra, in Amagansett, sister restaurant to Bobby Van's. The Oscar nominated actress enjoyed the restaurant’s Rigatoni Tuscana. The Amagansett hotspot has gained a celebrity following with actors Cameron Diaz and John Slattery and designers Michael Kors and David Yurman. About Sotto Sopra: Sotto Sopra is the Hamptons newest charming Northern Italian eatery, fusing a modern Tuscan atmosphere with traditional Italian cuisine. Under the culinary influence of Chef Josh Savi, the menu at Sotto Sopra features a wide selection of classic dishes which showcase the restaurants always fresh ingredients. Guests can enjoy exceptional dining with the restaurants flavorful brunch on the weekends, and dinner menu which features a variety of impeccably flavored dishes from the menu’s Antipasto, Insalate, Le Pizza, Pranzo, Pesce, Carne, Classico Bisteccheria, Piatti Laterali per Due, and Primi Piatti selections. While dining, guests can indulge in Sotto Sopra’s original cocktail menu and extensive wine list. Sotto Sopra is open seven days a week for dinner and Saturday & Sunday for brunch, and is located at, 231 Main Street in Amagansett, NY. Call for reservations at (631) 267-3695. File Photo By: RD/Collin/Retna