ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones

Highly decorated Air Force veteran Wayne O. Smith was born in 1943 in Richmond, Kentucky. He entered the U.S. Air Force Academy on June 26, 1961, and graduated with a commission as a 2d Lt. on June 9, 1965. Lt. Smith next attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Moody AFB, Georgia, where he was awarded his pilot wings in September 1966. He served with the 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 33rd...

Erin Brockovich is an environmental activist, consumer advocate, renowned crusader, and champion fighter whose courageous case against Pacific Gas and Electric was dramatized in an Oscar-winning film that earned Julia Roberts an Oscar in 2001. Julia's Brockovich may be frozen in time in the late 20th century, but Erin's Brockovich is fixated on the issues of today. She is older and wiser, yet wick...

Since the 1980's, Brian Edwards — multi-award-winning celebrity talent executive, producer, writer and occasional performer — has worked with many of the biggest names in the history of show business. A brief sampling includes: Donna Summer, Joan Rivers, Cindy Crawford, Susan Sarandon, Melissa Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, Farrah Fawcett, Shirley Jones, Naomi Judd and Vanessa Williams. In 2013, with th...

The proud mother of Vanessa Williams and Christopher Williams, Helen Tinch Williams retired after thirty-seven years in the Ossining, New York public schools as a vocal music educator and an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College School of Education in Purchase New York. Mrs. Williams is a graduate of Suny Fredonia with a B.S. in Music Education, a Master's Degree from Manhattanville College....

On the cusp of her big break as Paula Pokrifki—the Debra Winger role—in the National Tour of "An Officer and a Gentleman, The Musical," 24-year-old New York theater actress Mia Massaro received a devastating diagnosis. But the show must go on—and it did. Mia Massaro is a New York City based actor but grew up in Vineland, New Jersey (basically the South) with her parents Andrea and Dominic Massaro...

Rich Specht and his wife, Samantha, are the co-founders of the ReesSpecht Life Foundation. The foundation formed in the wake of the drowning death of their only son, Richard Edwin-Ehmer (Rees) Specht, at 22 months old. The acts of kindness that his family received after Rees' passing inspired them to "pay it forward" with the worldwide distribution of over 750,000 ReesSpecht Life "pay it forward"...

Jennifer Love is a wealth philosopher, money therapist, and the founding CEO of The Living Wealthy Institute. She is a sought-after advisor to world leaders and an international speaker, author, and educator, weaving the aspects of our humanity into her garden conversation about the nature of wealth. Award-winning, 5x career entrepreneur with 20+ years under her comfy Keds, Jennifer Love is a thou...

Dubbed a "warrior princess" by author Michael Lewis in his best-selling book "The Blind Side," Leigh Anne is the inspirational matriarch of the Tuohy family. She graduated from Ole Miss and while there met her husband, Sean Tuohy. Both were ambitious college students: Leigh Anne was a cheerleader and an active member of her sorority, Kappa Delta and Sean became a record-breaking SEC basketball cha...

"Amazing Race" Season 33 contestant Ryan Ferguson spent nearly 10 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a 2001 murder in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri. Ryan was a 17-year-old high-school student at the time of the murder he was wrongfully accused of murder and was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. On November 1, 2001, Kent Heitholt, sports editor for the Columbia (Missouri) Da...

A house-filling favorite in Las Vegas since she opened as one of the hottest tickets in town in June 2000, Rita Rudner is known for her epigrammatic one-liners. Over the course of a multi-year run she sold almost two million tickets, grossed over a hundred million dollars and become the longest-running solo female comedy show in the history of Las Vegas. She was named Las Vegas's Comedian of The Y...

Entertainer, talk show host, and reporter Ben Aaron spent 10 years at "New York Live," where his segments as a feature reporter garnered four Emmy Awards. Ben has also worked for EXTRA, "Entertainment Tonight," and "The Today Show," and recently teamed up with his wife, Ginger Zee, chief meteorologist for "Good Morning America," on an Emmy-nominated home renovation show on the DIY Network called "...

B.A. Crisp is the author of "Red Bird," an Amazon #1 bestseller, and a second Amazon bestseller, "X Point." Her book genres include science fiction, fantasy, and adventure. Crisp has acted as a strategic-intelligence consultant for private contractors and government on national security—providing research, advice, and analysis on security matters. The CEO of Empowerment Enterprises, Inc. a Washing...

Shaahin Cheyene is an award-winning entrepreneur, writer and filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles, California. He is the CEO and Chairman of Accelerated Intelligence. Through Accelerated Intelligence, an Amazon Marketing & Advertising Agency, he manages the selling of his products and helps other Brand Owners to scale their online sales not just in Amazon but other marketplaces like ebay, Shop...

Ginger Zee is the chief meteorologist at ABC News, reporting on the nation's weather for "Good Morning America" and across ABC News broadcasts and digital platforms. Additionally, Zee is the managing editor of the climate unit at ABC News. Since joining ABC News, Zee has covered almost every major weather event and dozens of historic storms. She broadcasted from the devastated Jersey Shore during...

Kitt Shapiro is the only child of legendary entertainer Eartha Kitt. She managed her mother's performances and recording career for many years, and now manages her estate. She is the founder and owner of Simply Eartha, a line of jewelry, clothing, and home furnishings that honor the beauty and wisdom of her late mother. She is also an inspirational speaker who does frequent speaking engagements fo...

Nicknamed "the doctor of audience-ology," Kevin Goetz has been at the center of what Hollywood calls the movie research industry for more than thirty years. His firm, Screen Engine/ASI, conducts research for a majority of all movies that are widely released in America and around the world. With decades of experience, Goetz has worked alongside all of the major film studio chiefs, network and strea...

Suzanne Somers is one of America's most popular and beloved personalities, known to millions as Chrissy Snow, from the hit show, "Three's Company." In a multifaceted career that has spanned more than three decades, she has achieved extraordinary success as an actress, singer, comedienne, New York Times bestselling author, Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year, entrepreneur, and lecturer. She is the vo...

Mark Victor Hansen is best known as the co-author for the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series and brand, setting world records in book sales, with over 500 million books sold. Mark also worked his way into a worldwide spotlight as a sought-after keynote speaker, and entrepreneurial marketing maven, creating a stream of successful people who have created massive success for themselves through M...

Called "America's Number ONE Gossip Columnist" by The National Enquirer. Rob "Naughty But Nice" Shuter breaks celebrity news every day on his website NaughtyGossip.com where he delivers all the dish about the stars we love in his naughty but nice signature style. He also may make you rethink your definition of "gossip." You can also catch him co-hosting and breaking celebrity news on Good Day New...

Television star Rosie Mercado is capturing hearts and imaginations across the globe with her compelling story, electric persona and breathtaking beauty. She was an expert Life Coach on talk show called "Face the Truth." Produced by Dr. Phil and Jay McGraw's Stage 29 Productions, on the show Rosie dealt with conflict and provided people with a usable takeaway dished out with her no-nonsense style....

Cindy Williams is most recognized for her role as Shirley Feeney in the TV comedy series LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY. Born in Van Nuys, California, Cindy first became interested in acting during high school. After graduation she attended L. A. City College where she majored in Theatre Arts. After leaving college, she landed her first television roles on ROOM 222, NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR and LOVE, AMERICAN...

Chip Conley has ignited an urgent conversation about ageism in the workplace, calling on us to treat age as we would any other type of diversity. In the process, Conley has liberated the term "elder" from the stigma of "elderly," and inspires us to embrace wisdom as a path to growing whole, not old. The iconic boutique hotelier who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up int...

Judge Michael Corriero (Ret.) serves as one of three judges on CBS Media Ventures' Emmy-nominated syndicated court program HOT BENCH, created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. The show returned for its eighth season on September 13, 2021. During the 2020-21 season, HOT BENCH was once again the #2 court program in daytime television in household ratings and all major demographics. It has been # 2 across-the...

A renowned fitness expert, author, and columnist for more than 40 years, Denise Austin, is a champion for women who aspire to be healthy, active, and vital at every stage of life. Denise's trademark zest for life, positive outlook, and purposeful attitude have endeared her to millions of fans across the country and helped make her a leader in the fitness industry. Throughout her career, Denise has...

Solomon RC Ali is the source of a wealth of information — especially if you care about money, success and the human spirit. He is a rainmaker when it comes to scaling profitable companies and bringing them public through the acquisition of funding and management consulting. There are currently only thirteen African American-owned publicly traded companies in the United States. Mr. Ali is the only...