News Bullets

• As the celebrity ambassador for McDonald's All American Achievers program, CSI: New York's Hill Harper (Dr Sheldon Hawkes) helped to grade essays submitted by seventh and eighth graders to choose two winners. Harper gave copies of his books, Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister, to all of the seventh and eighth graders at both winning schools. "I was amazed at the essays I read; these students are bright and focused about their future," Harper said in a press release. "As we head into a new era of change, this program definitely showcased the next generation of great leaders." (Source)

• The wives of presidents and prime ministers from 15 African countries met with United States health experts, charity groups and celebrities in Los Angeles on April 20. The goal of the two-day meeting was to improve the health and education of women and girls in parts of Africa that are heavily affected by AIDS. Megalyn Echikunwoke (CSI: Miami's Dr Tara Price), whose father is Nigerian, told Reuters, "As an African woman, this is really exciting and unprecedented. For me this is really about finding out how we can support the first ladies."

• Harper will deliver the keynote speech at the Thirty Fourth Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon hosted by the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation on May 2 in Bel Air, California. (Source: Los Angeles Wave)

• As CSI Files previously reported, the first season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation will be released on Blue-ray Disc May 12. Monsters and Critics is giving away four copies of the new Blue-ray release.

• CSI: NY's Gary Sinise (Mac Taylor) and his Lt Dan Band will perform at "Rockin for the Troops" 2009 on July 18 in Wheaton, Illinois. "This has become one of the special times of the year for me to come back play some music, try to give some people a good time, and support this great organization that's doing so much for our troops and sending so much over there," Sinise said.

• CSI topped the list on a Harris Poll that asked adults to choose their "two or three favorite television shows of all time." (Source: Adweek)

• CSI's leading man Laurence Fishburne (Dr Ray Langston) will star in the heist thriller Armored, which comes out later this year. The trailer can be viewed here.

• Harper will star in the upcoming film Red Robin. Here is the movie's synopsis, courtesy of the official website:

  World renowned Psychiatrist, Dr. Nathaniel Shellner, is succumbing to Lou Gehrig's disease as he reunites all of his children for a final farewell at Christmas. Things take a dark turn when one of his 5 adopted children, Tommy, 35, asks his father to confess to having performed mind control experiments on him and his siblings throughout their childhood. Tommy declares his family has never taken his claims seriously, labeling his delusions as by-products of his post-traumatic stress disorder. Tommy hunts for any "evidence" he can turn up to prove the credibility of his story. As the night unravels, hysteria sets in and seizes the family as they are forced to confront the loss of their father and the shadows of their pasts. The Red Robin is both a psychological thriller and an intense drama involving a family in a desperate crisis.

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