Flying from Nashville to Las Vegas for the live telecast of the "43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18 will be a no-brainer for Brad Paisley, a hardened roadrunner who spends more than 200 days a year on a customized, 45-foot Prevost bus with every amenity.   BRAD PAISLEY - Country music singer Brad Paisley is a hardened roadrunner who spends more than 200 days a year ... [full story]

"Speed Racer" should turbo-boost the visibility of its talented star, Emile Hirsch. A stylistically bold adaptation of the classic '60s cartoon, the loud, fast and computer-enhanced film stars Hirsch as the white-knuckled speed demon who has high-octane fuel in his family bloodline. In fact, his given name actually is Speed Racer. The Wachowski brothers channeled their action and effects expertise from "The Matrix" movies into this whiplash-paced, kid-friendly film, which co-stars Christina Ricci, John Goodman ... [full story]

John Cho reprises his role as the straight-laced stoner Harold in the raunchy and satirical sequel "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay."   JOHN CHO - John Cho and Kal Penn are in trouble again in 'Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.' CNS Photo courtesy of Jamie Trueblood.  The dopey original 2004 pothead comedy "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" was not a huge blockbuster, but has remained popular on DVD. In the more ... [full story]

The clown prince of martial arts, Jackie Chan was a huge action star in Asia before he took a flying leap into American theaters. It was not long before he realized his dream of translating that huge popularity overseas into Hollywood bankability, when "Rush Hour" became a box-office hit.   JACKIE CHAN - Jackie Chan stars as Lu Yan in the action film 'The Forbidden Kingdom.' CNS Photo courtesy of Chan Kam Chuen.  Now, the kung-fu master ... [full story]

Surely you've seen the television ads, the ones with attractive and carefree people gamboling through fields of flowers thanks to Miracle Drug X, or kayaking up a river thanks to Miracle Cure Y. Life would be better if only your doctor would prescribe X and Y, wouldn't it? Maybe not. Weighing the risks and benefits of a particular drug is a serious challenge, even for the best-trained and best-informed physicians. For the rest of us, ... [full story]

Welfare as we knew it ended years ago across the nation. But not for farmers. Congress has passed wasteful legislation that will set farm policy on the wrong course for five more years. The $290 billion farm bill, which passed the House on Wednesday and sailed through the Senate on Thursday, comes as farm income hits an all-time high. Yet this bill does almost nothing to curb subsidies. Indeed, as Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., pointed ... [full story]

Campaigning in Michigan has a way of softening the views of presidential candidates toward the auto industry. That's certainly true of Sen. Barack Obama, who proposed billions in spending programs that could help the industry. To the extent that his proposals assist the automakers in paying for the costs of the federal government's fuel efficiency mandates, they make sense and will be useful. But targeting specific technologies for investment remains problematic. The Illinois Democrat, now ... [full story]

High in the running for Worst Bill Passed by the House of Representatives in 2008 is Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank's measure. In the event the Senate approves this terrible legislation, President Bush wisely vows a veto. The bad bare bones of Frank's proposal begin with committing taxpayers to pay a potential $300 billion to lenders who voluntarily refinance mortgages for 2 million homeowners threatened by foreclosure. Participating lenders could refinance no more than 85 percent ... [full story]

The U.S. House last week passed a mortgage rescue package that could save half a million American families from losing their homes to foreclosure and do so at little risk to taxpayers. The plan, though larded up with tax breaks that the Senate should trim, generally is a sensible approach to the subprime mortgage mess. President George W. Bush is threatening a veto but hinting at compromise. With a little tinkering, the Senate could get ... [full story]

In 1980, presidential candidate Ronald Reagan promised that if elected, he would abolish the then-fledgling U.S. Department of Education. He was. He didn't. But at this time of year - the high season for applying for many of the financial aid programs the department administers - a lot of students and parents can understand Mr. Reagan's sentiments. We're talking governmental malpractice on a breathtaking scale. The financial aid system is supposed to help make college ... [full story]