Mysteries of 'Twilight Barbie,' 'Nubs the Dog,' 'Leo Frank' Solved

By Sam Brand Posted Nov 2nd 2009 11:35AM

Wondering why 'LeToya Luckett,' 'Twilight Barbie,' and 'Kendra Jade Rossi,' are surging in Google Trends? We can shed some light on the mystery. Google Trends provides the hottest keywords of the hour. Though the results change frequently, at any given time the list offers a snapshot of what's hot in the world of entertainment news. Here's what's steamin' today...

LeToya Luckett – Think you can name the founding members of Destiny's Child? Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett. Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin didn't come into the fold until 2000, when Beyonce's daddy subbed them into the "Say My Name" video shoot without LaTavia or LeToya. And now they're on their own, LeToya having become a successful solo artist with a couple No. 1 albums on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts. Luckett is hitting headlines today as her camp swamps the net with a guerilla marketing campaign to ready us for the music video for "Regret" featuring Ludacris.

Mattie Stepanek – Mattie Stepanek accomplished more in his 13 years of life than most accomplish in 80 years. The young scholar and peace advocate saw 6 of his books of poetry and one book of essays reach the New York Times bestsellers list. He became the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Goodwill Ambassador in 2002, and a year later popular country singer Billy Gilman released an album based on Stepanek's poetry that shot to the top of the charts. Stepanek died of complications stemming from a rare form of muscular dystrophy in 2004, and tomorrow 'Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs' will be released. Written by his mother Jeni and with a forward by Maya Angelou, the book chronicles the short life but long list of accomplishments undertaken by "the most extraordinary person" former President Jimmy Carter has ever known.

Leo Frank – A recent CNN article claims the Leo Frank case touched upon every hot-button issue of the early 20^th century: "North vs. South, black vs. white, Jew vs. Christian, industrial vs. agrarian." Perhaps that's why the controversial case just won't get buried by history. Tonight PBS will air 'The People v. Leo Frank,' a new documentary examining the 1915 mob lynching of Frank after a girl was found dead in his pencil factory.

Twilight Barbie – Simply put, 'Twilight' and Mattel is a match made in heaven. Little girls love Robert Pattinson. Little girls love Barbies. This could be the most financially successful collaboration since James Taco and Michael Bell established their first retaurant in 1914. OK, that didn't happen. In any case, order your 'Twilight' Barbie now before they sell out.

Kendra Jade Rossi – 'Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew' premiered on VH1 last night. What a great concept: Throw beautiful people with seedy pasts and even seedier urges into a room and make them tell all about their prolific sexual exploits. For some reason you're Googling former porn star Kendra Jade Rossi more than any of the other participants. Maybe you want to read up on the alleged orgy that went down between her and her step-mom and Jerry Springer some years ago. Can't say we blame you.

Nubs The Dog – Celebrity pooch alert! Nubs, an Iraqi street dog rescued by American soldiers, appeared on the 'Today Show' this morning with the soldier who brought him home. But the story is better than that. Marine Major Brian Dennis got close with Nubs while patrolling in Anbar province. But Dennis was reassigned, and he left Nubs thinking he'd never see the mutt again. But Nubs showed up 70 miles away at Dennis' new location. Dennis couldn't release the dog back into the war zone after that, and he launched an internet campaign to send Nubs back to the States. You can read the whole story in 'Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle.'