Good morning... It has been so sad watching and reading the coverage of the death of Kanye West's mother, Donda West. She was just 58 and it appears may have died from complications after cosmetic surgery. All the footage aired since her death has shown a mother devoted to her son and vice-versa. This was not just some stage mom. Donda West was a PHD who worked in higher education for more than three decades and with her son, co-founded the Kanye West Foundation with the mission of helping to combat the severe dropout problem in high schools across the country. The Grammy-winning hip-hop artist issued a statement of thanks on Monday: "Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother, Dr. Donda West.". Instead of sending flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dr. West's name to the Kanye West Foundation/Loop Dreams Teacher Training Institute. Those donations can be made by visiting the Foundation's Web site, www.KanyeWestFoundation.org or by mail at Kanye West Foundation, 8560 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.

****************************

It's going to be quite the star-studded picket line this afternoon in front of Universal Studios. The Writers Guild emailed me a list of TV stars slated to appear in support of the strike. They include: William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," Doug Savant, Nicollette Sheridan, Dana Delany and Tuc Watkins of "Desperate Housewives," Ray Romano, George Lopez, Katherine Heigl, T.R. Knight, KaDee Stickland, Amy Brenneman and Justin Chambers.
In addition, there will be Vanessa Marcil of "Las Vegas," Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kate Walsh, Minnie Driver and Brad Garrett.
Others include Bill Paxton and Jeanne Tripplehorn of "Big Love," Danny Pino of "Cold Case," Kim Delaney and Brian McNamara of "Army Wives," Poppy Montgomery,and Enrique Murciano of "Without a Trace," Ben Stiller and Lisa Kudrow are also expected.