LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – A Hurricane Arlene aka Huracán Arlene alert remains in effect for Eastern Mexico. While still at tropical storm, Arlene could develop into a hurricane by the time it reaches some sections of eastern Mexico, warns the National Weather Service today.

The NHC tells news that Tropical Storm Arlene could become Hurricane Arlee when it reaches the region from Barra de Nautla Northward to La Cruz. “Hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area” warns the alert. Tropical storm conditions, however, are warned from Palma Sola north to La Pesca, warns the NHC this afternoon.

Once near land, Arlene’s rainfall threat is serious. Four to eight inches of rain are expected across sections of Mexico, warned the NHC, namely in the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, eastern San Luis Potosi, and eastern Nuevo Leon. In fact, worse conditions, as much as fifteen inches of rain, could drop in mountainous regions. “These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides” warns the news statement today.

Tide levels and coastal flooding is possible (for more, click HERE). Water levels could rise up to four feet higher than normal levels warns today’s news statement. Moreover “the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.”

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LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Chic C’est La Vie, the music video from Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, wasn’t shot in New York, but in New Jersey? Chic C’est La Vie is the latest “singing” effort by the “Countess” LuAnn. And while she is joined by fellow Real Housewives of New York stars, she takes to Teresa Giudice’s backyard for the music video.

In Chic C’est La Vie, LuAnn delivers an enjoyable song, even though there is no singing. Ever since her divorce from Count Alex, LuAnn hasn’t been a Countess. But for her new song, the self proclaimed “The Countess” isn’t singing either.

Throughout the duration of the song, LuAnn simply speaks her lines. While she is no Madonna cerca “Vogue”, the song is entertaining and catchy. The production value, however, becomes lackluster when later in the song the instrumentation drowns out her (spoken) words.

Jacques Azoulay Picture
Jacques Azoulay

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Making backup appearances are the “brunettes” of New York, Jill Zarin and Kelly Bensimon. It remains unclear what happened the notable fourth “brunette” from this season of Housewives. Also notably absent in the music video is any pinot grigio.

In March 2009, news confirmed that the LuAnn and her Count decided to separate. She had learned that her husband was reportedly romancing an Ethiopian woman in Geneva at the time (Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar). LuAnn is now dating Jacques Azoulay. In the last year, LuAnn has also appeared on Law and Order SUV.

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CORAL GABLES (LALATE) – The Krystal Holloway George Anthony alleged mistress drama will soon be before the jury. Krystal Holloway aka River Cruz (photos below) claims she was George Anthony’s mistress, that they had an affair after Caylee Anthony’s disappearance. While the Krystal Holloway testimony might seem salacious because of the allegations of George cheating on Cindy Anthony while looking for his granddaughter, the testimony is far more relevant for other issues. Did George Anthony know how Caylee Anthony died, and did George Anthony get physically abusive with his daughter? Jurors will find out today; Holloway is in the court house and will testify shortly.

Krystal Holloway has (in the words of Nancy Grace) a “street name” of River Cruz. So too does her sister Cecilia Holloway who goes by the alias of Skye Benhaida. The two women have been linked to allegations of inconsistent testimony and selling stories to tabloids. Prosecutors tell news that they are anxious to cross examine Krystal Holloway. Moreover, George Anthony’s attorney tells news that he couldn’t finish a background check on Krystal Holloway because, in his words, allegedly too many aliases came up.

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Who exactly is Krystal Holloway? George Anthony this week told the jury that she was a person who volunteered to find Caylee Anthony. Krystal Holloway came into George Anthony’s life after Caylee’s disappearance. She gave a statement to investigators. But she gave a statement to news later that was substantially different.

Krystal Holloway told George Anthony she had a tumor, so claimed Anthony to the jury yesterday. But did she? George Anthony said that, because she was helping him, he felt obligated to comfort her. But rather than comfort Krystal Holloway at his command search centers, Anthony went over to her house, multiple times, alone.

He says he did go there, but there was no affair. She said they had an affair, that he visited her during the day when he was telling others he was at work. Jose Baez in opening statements said that Casey Anthony had a fake job and so did George Anthony. Baez is relying on Krystal Holloway’s testimony. She claims that George Anthony lied to his family, told them that he was at work during the day, but instead romancing her. She claims she was giving him huge sums of money to fake that he was getting work checks.

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But how is that relevant? That testimony suggests that George Anthony can’t be believed, that he harbors secrets. As Nancy Grace said last night, no women on that jury would have thought it would be appropriate for a married man to go, by himself, over to a single woman’s home, routinely, to “comfort her”.

But then, again, what does that have to do with Caylee? It doesn’t. Baez is expected to set up Holloway’s bigger allegations. She claims that Anthony allegedly told her two shocking statements.

First, Holloway will testify that George Anthony once told her that he shouted at Casey after Caylee’s death “I know you killed her! What did you do with her?!” She claims he confessed to choking Casey during the argument and that Cindy Anthony had to break up the alleged fight. George Anthony has denied that conversation.

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Second, Holloway will testify that she asked him what happened to Caylee. She claims he responded “it was an accident that snowballed out of control.” George Anthony has also denied that conversation.

Legal analysts are perplexed by the two statements because they seem contradictory. In one statement, George knows how Caylee died, and in the other he does not. George Anthony this week confirmed sending texts to Krystal Holloway. But, he explains that he sent texts to dozens of people who helped search for Caylee.

When Krystal Holloway is finished testifying, the jury might believe that George romanced her. But unless a surprise occurs, the jury will still not know how the body got from the  Anthony house to the dump site.

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CORAL GABLES (LALATE) – Dr Sally Karioth was called by the Casey Anthony defense today as its grief expert. Dr Sally Karioth has handled issues of grief, she told the jury. But as to grief, trauma, and death related issues, Karioth told the jury that she has worked thirty six thousand hours over her career while authoring books on the subject. But has the defense made an error in calling Karioth as one of its final witness?

After numerous days of explosive witnesses for the defense, Casey Anthony’s legal team today switched from George Anthony and Roy Kronk to a slow, often narrating, expert. Dr Sally Karioth, as a grief expert, is going to explain how for 31 days, Casey Anthony didn’t report Caylee Anthony’s disappearance.

Again, the defense is going back at Dr. Jan Garavaglia’s testimony. When asked how Dr G had determined Caylee had died of a homicide, Dr G replied with “three main items”. First, Dr. G said no child dies accidentally with duct tape on their face. The defense’s expert successfully argued that Caylee’s duct tape was added after she was dead.

Second, Dr. G told the jury that the location that Caylee was found suggested murder. Dr. G said that Caylee was “tossed in a field to rots in bags”. But the defense was unsuccessful in proving that Roy Kronk or George Anthony added the garbage bags.

Finally, Dr. G said that, when a child is not reported immediately, that suggests something is wrong. She said a parent has a duty, and a natural reaction, to report their own loved one missing.

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Dr Sally Karioth is expected to dispute Dr. G’s testimony. Dr. G says that she was trained as to “behaviors”. Dr Sally Karioth is going to assert that she is far more qualified to testify as to how people deal with grief.

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If Dr Sally Karioth establishes that Casey’s actions were not unusual in failing to report Caylee’s disappearance, then what? The defense will argue you don’t have two of the three prongs that Dr G used to determine the death was a homicide.

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CORAL GABLES (LALATE) – The Roy Kronk testimony continued Wednesday with Kronk being impeached by his own son. But did today’s Roy Kronk testimony even help the Casey Anthony defense case? By all accounts it did not. Whether you believe or disbelieve Roy Kronk and George Anthony, there are still questions as to how did Caylee Anthony disappear and suddenly get discovered by Kronk.

Roy Kronk was recalled to the stand today to be questioned about Caylee Anthony’s skull remains (photos below). The defense is attempting to prove that someone other than Casey put the duct tape on Caylee, and that Caylee didn’t died from suffocation via the duct tape. An expert has previously testified for the defense that Caylee’s duct tape was applied after she was dead.

But did Roy Kronk add the duct tape? Jose Baez has repeatedly told the jury to “follow the duct tape path.” But Baez’s path is still unclear.

Cindy and George Anthony’s testimony has established that only they had possession of the duct tape. They didn’t say that Roy Kronk had access to the duct tape. Defense witnesses claim that the duct tape was added after the remains were discarded. When was the tape added, who added the tape, and where did they add the tape? The defense argument makes little sense.

Today the defense is attempting to argue Roy Kronk has given false testimony. Even if he has, even if Kronk put duct tape on the remains of Caylee, how does that even help the defense?

“I told them [the lawyers in the deposition that] I manipulated the skull with my meter stick” Kronk told Baez moments ago. “You did not tell them that you put your meter stick in the eye socket?” Baez asked him. Baez is asserting that Kronk has changed his testimony since his deposition. Kronk now claims that he poked Caylee Anthony’s skull with his meter reading stick.

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Baez said that statement was not in Kronk’s deposition. Baez told the jury that Kronk, instead, gave a depo that the “skull dropped out of the bag, did it not?… You were asked, if there was anything else you wanted to tell them about?” Kronk was earlier impeached by his own son’s testimony.

But how is this helpful to the defense? Legal analysts told news today that Kronk’s impeachment doesn’t get Casey Anthony off the hook. Yes, his testimony is internally inconsistent. But we still don’t understand how we have the body getting from the house to the dump site. What is Baez attempting to do?

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Baez’s argument is clear. He is asserting that Caylee died accidentally, that Caylee was discarded, that she was found by Kronk and that he put the duct tape on Caylee’s skull after he found her. If the jury believes that Kronk put the duct tape, not Caylee, there is a big void for the State. The State’s argument, provided by Dr. G’s testimony, is the Caylee’s death was a murder. Without tape, the jury may only conclude manslaughter, not murder.

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How so? Dr. G said she concluded murder from three elements – the duct tape’s presence, Casey’s failure to report Caylee’s disappearance, and the two garbage bags.  As of today, there are reportedly only three persons left on the Casey Anthony defense witness list. Will Casey Anthony take the stand? That question still remains unanswered.

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