Adam Sandler, star of such hits as "The Waterboy," "Happy Gilmore," and "The Wedding Singer," was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday as hundreds of fans and members of the press looked on.

In the shadows of the W Hotel and steps from the Hollywood & Vine Metro stop, Sandler was presented with this star by longtime friend and "Waterboy" co-star Henry Winkler.

Sandler's films, mostly comedies, have grossed more than $3 billion since the actor graduated from "Saturday Night Live," a program where he was introduced to the public alongside other breakthrough stars like Chris Rock and David Spade.

Sandler's star celebration comes ahead of his newest film, "Just Go With It", which comes out a week from Friday, where he stars opposite Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman. Quite a step up from the days of "SNL," where he was relegated to singing silly songs during Weekend Update.

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— Tony Pierce
twitter.com/busblog

Photo: Adam Sandler waves to fans during a star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday. Sandler was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Credit: EPA/Mike Nelson.

Barbara Bush, the older of the twin daughters of former President George W. Bush, has just appeared in a video encouraging the State of New York to legalize same-sex marriage.

"I'm Barbara Bush, and I'm a New Yorker for marriage equality," she says in the short video released Tuesday. "New York is about fairness and equality, and everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love. Join us."

The organization that she is referring to is The Human Rights Campaign, a group that describes itself as "America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality."

Other famous New Yorkers who also participated with videos of their own in support of same-sex marriage include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Whoopi Goldberg and Kevin Bacon.

In the past other Republican women have taken stances in opposition to their famous male relatives. John McCain's wife, Cindy, and their daughter, Meghan, most recently took part in public service announcements for the "No H8" campaign that rallied against California's Proposition 8 that banned same-sex marriage.

In May, former First Lady Laura Bush went on "Larry King Live" and explained that she, unlike her husband, believes in same-sex marriages and abortion rights.

"I understand totally what George thinks and what other people think about marriage being between a man and a woman," she said. "I guess that would be an area that we disagree."

According to Fox News, there are two recent polls that say the majority of New Yorkers support same-sex marriage.

— Tony Pierce
twitter.com/busblog

Photo: A screenshot of Barbara Bush supporting same sex marriage. Credit: YouTube.

In his State of the State speech Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown referred to current events in the Middle East to bring home a point about balancing the budget in the West. Was it too much of a stretch?

"When democratic ideals and calls for the right to vote are stirring the imagination of young people in Egypt and Tunisia and other parts of the world, we in California can’t say now is the time to block a vote of the people," Brown said about his power struggle with GOP legislators who are promising to block a vote to extend tax hikes aimed at balancing the budget; California is currently reeling from a $25.4-billion deficit.

"If you are a Republican who has taken a stand against taxes, I understand where you are coming from. But this time things are different," Brown said in the first State of the State speech he has delivered since beating Meg Whitman for governor of the Golden State. "In fact, the people are telling us -- in their own way -- they sense something is profoundly wrong."

After the jump, the entire text of Brown's State of the State speech delivered to a joint session of the California Legislature.

The weather in Chicago is so bad and will be getting only worse as a blizzard capable of dumping 18 inches of snow approaches, predicts WGN meteorolgist Tom Skilling.

"A major winter storm greets Groundhog Day. Accumulating snow along with blowing and drifting with north winds 30 to 40 mph," Skilling warns for Chicago on Tuesday. "Snow ends as temps fall. Wind chills 10 to 20 below even as winds diminish overnight."

Meanwhile, the National Weather service is warning those in Chicagoland "do not travel" on Tuesday.

The warning is in effect from 3 p.m. Tuesday until 3 p.m. Wednesday. "Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely," the weather service said. "This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel."

The weather service is calling the winter blizzard "dangerous, multifaceted and potentially life-threatening," with Mother Nature capable of dumping snow at a rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour.

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— Tony Pierce

Photo: Jimmy Rubio-Dones restocks snow shovels at Stauber's Hardware in Chicago on Monday. Credit: Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune.

An Egyptian protester was photographed Friday using an interesting technique to display her hope for peace through the turmoil taking place in Cairo.

While many are throwing rocks and flaming projectiles at government troops, she is kissing riot policemen who were sent to quell the madding crowds.

The unidentified woman appears to be taking a page from the playbook of the "Flower Power" Vietnam War protester who put daisies into the barrels of American soldiers' weapons.

President Obama gave a short speech from the White House on Friday about the turmoil in Egypt urging  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to live up to his promise of reform, saying  "this moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise."

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-- Tony Pierce
twitter.com/busblog

Photos: An Egyptian anti-government activist kisses a riot police officer following clashes in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011 Credit: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

This video shows some powerful images and footage from the protests in Egypt today and over the last few days.

-- Lori Kozlowski
http://twitter.com/lorikozlowski

After protesters ignored a curfew and set fire to the building that houses Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, President Mubarak responded by holding an address to the Egyptian people.  

In his speech, Mubarak described himself as siding with the Egyptian people, and said "there is a fine line between freedom and chaos." He went on to say he will dismiss the current Egyptian government and begin reappointing a new one. 

While Internet access has been largely cut off in Egypt, the speech also got a reaction from many watching around the world. Here's how the Web reacted. 

Have your own thoughts on the speech? Post them below. 

-- Armand Emamdjomeh 

Photo: In this image made from video broadcast on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appears on television saying he has asked his Cabinet to resign, in his first appearance on television since protests erupted demanding his ouster. Credit: Egypt TV/Associated Press

IRS refund in your future? The Internal Revenue Service this week launched IRS2Go, a mobile application that allows taxpayers the ability to get tax information as they file their taxes, as well as track the progress of their refund.

Available to those who have smartphones such as the iPhone or Android devices, the free apps are available through Apple's App Store or Android's Marketplace.

"This new smartphone app reflects our commitment to modernizing the agency and engaging taxpayers where they want when they want it," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement on Monday. "As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, we will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful information."

Americans are growing more accustomed to filing their taxes online. About 70% of the 142 million individual tax returns were filed electronically last year, the IRS said.

"This phone app is a first step for us," Shulman said. "We will look for additional ways to expand and refine our use of smartphones and other new technologies to help meet the needs of taxpayers."

The IRS boasts a wide variety of ways for taxpayers to file their taxes, gain useful information and better understand how to get a refund through social media such as Twitter and YouTube.

-- Tony Pierce
twitter.com/busblog

Photo: Only 30% of Americans now file their taxes via the old fashioned way. Most file it electronically. Client's tax return papers being put into an envelope to be mailed to IRS at United Methodist Church, March 4, 2009. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Violence continued Friday in Cairo as tens of thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak hurled rocks and projectiles at police in the streets of the capital city.

The government has fought back by imposing curfews and blacking out cellular and Internet access to its people. Many protesters have ignored the 6 p.m.-to-dawn curfew inspiring Mubarak to send in army tanks and trucks to enforce the curfew on the rowdy crowds.

RELATED: Photos from Egyptian protests

Times staffers Jeffrey Fleishman and Borzou Daragahi reported that "opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was doused by a water cannon before escaping the swinging batons of riot police and taking cover in a Cairo mosque."

The unrest didn't sit well with Wall Street, where stocks experienced their biggest one-day plunge in two months as investors shifted to oil, where prices steadily climbed.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert advising U.S. travelers to avoid any nonessential travel to Egypt and that those in Egypt should "exercise caution and to defer movement until the situation stabilizes." The alert expires at the end of February.

"In the event of demonstrations, U.S. citizens in Egypt should remain in their residences or hotels until the situation stabilizes. Security forces may block off the area around the U.S. Embassy during demonstrations, and U.S. citizens should not attempt to come to the U.S. Embassy or the Tahrir Square area at such times," the State Department advised.

Meanwhile social media are buzzing with any morsel of news that can come out of Egypt, some of which can be seen after the jump

Several reports surfaced on Thursday afternoon that access to the Internet has been cut off in many parts of Egypt. Social networking sites -- mainly Facebook -- had continued to serve as meeting and planning places for residents of the country, but then access to the Web disappeared entirely, even the country's government site, www.egypt.gov.eg.

Without being dramatic, it makes one wonder if access to the Internet at this point in history is actually a human right. Just as water, food and other items necessary to everyday life are considered freedoms that every person is entitled to, is access to information and the ability to communicate part of that list?

The technology channel over at The Atlantic has a translated (Arabic to English) pamphlet that had been serving as an instructional guide to Friday's planned protest.

-- Lori Kozlowski
twitter.com/lorikozlowski

Photo: Egyptian protesters clash with riot police in Suez, Egypt, on Thursday, Jan. 27. Egyptian activists protested for a third day, as social networking sites called for a mass rally in Cairo after Friday prayers, keeping up the momentum of the country's largest anti-government protests in years. Reports that the Internet has been shut down throughout the country surfaced Thursday afternoon. Credit: Associated Press