LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Amy Winehouse's family have put her north London home up for sale following her death last July, a spokesman for the family said on Thursday.
'The Winehouses have decided to put the house on the market, with great regret,' the spokesman said in an email to Reuters.
'Amy loved that house but none of the family felt it appropriate that they should live in it and it was not practical to keep it empty while paying the costs of its upkeep.'
Winehouse's fans have flocked to the property in Camden, north London and transformed a nearby square into a shrine following the 'Back To Black' star's death.
Winehouse was 27 years old when her body was discovered at the house after a long battle with drink and drugs.
Newspaper reports said the three-bedroomed property had gone on the market for 2.7 million pounds ($4.2 million).
(Reporting by Paul Casciato; Editing by Steve Addison)
This news article is brought to you by FISHING - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
South Africa's Mandela on TV, first time since illness
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela, making his first appearance on television since a hospital stay in February, was shown on Wednesday receiving a flame marking the centenary of his ruling ANC party.
The 93-year-old, anti-apartheid hero, sitting upright in a chair and surrounded by family at his rural home in the town of Qunu, spoke briefly during the ceremony, saying 'I used to be the leader of the ANC' and that he was 'happy' to see the flame.
Mandela, who was admitted to hospital in February for a keyhole abdominal examination, is now frail and has made few public appearances over the past few years. The last time he was on television was in October last year when he was filmed at his Johannesburg home filling out a census form.
The man awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end white-minority apartheid rule moved back this week to Qunu in the southeast of the country, where he was born and raised.
Although he stepped down at the end of his first term in office in 1999, South Africa's first black president still occupies a central position in the psyche of a country ruled by the 10 percent white minority until all-race elections in 1994.
He spent time in hospital a little over a year ago for treatment of a respiratory ailment.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Reuters Television; editing by Tim Pearce)
This news article is brought to you by MISERABLE OR HAPPY DIVORCE - where latest news are our top priority.
The 93-year-old, anti-apartheid hero, sitting upright in a chair and surrounded by family at his rural home in the town of Qunu, spoke briefly during the ceremony, saying 'I used to be the leader of the ANC' and that he was 'happy' to see the flame.
Mandela, who was admitted to hospital in February for a keyhole abdominal examination, is now frail and has made few public appearances over the past few years. The last time he was on television was in October last year when he was filmed at his Johannesburg home filling out a census form.
The man awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end white-minority apartheid rule moved back this week to Qunu in the southeast of the country, where he was born and raised.
Although he stepped down at the end of his first term in office in 1999, South Africa's first black president still occupies a central position in the psyche of a country ruled by the 10 percent white minority until all-race elections in 1994.
He spent time in hospital a little over a year ago for treatment of a respiratory ailment.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Reuters Television; editing by Tim Pearce)
This news article is brought to you by MISERABLE OR HAPPY DIVORCE - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
White House: Biden preparing for daughter's wedding
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden is in Delaware this week to get ready for his daughter Ashley's wedding, with the reception to take place at his home, the White House said on Tuesday.
'As any father would, he takes this matter very seriously and looks forward to it with great happiness for his daughter and his future son-in-law,' White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a briefing dominated by tensions in Syria.
'And I have no details on the dress,' he said.
Ashley, a 30 year-old social worker, is the vice president's only daughter with his wife Jill.
He had three children with his first wife Neilia, who was killed in a car crash along with their infant daughter Naomi shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972. Their two sons, Beau and Hunter, were also in the car but survived.
Beau is now Attorney General of Delaware and second son Hunter is also a lawyer.
(Reporting By Laura MacInnis; Editing by Philip Barbara and Sandra Maler)
This article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE.
'As any father would, he takes this matter very seriously and looks forward to it with great happiness for his daughter and his future son-in-law,' White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a briefing dominated by tensions in Syria.
'And I have no details on the dress,' he said.
Ashley, a 30 year-old social worker, is the vice president's only daughter with his wife Jill.
He had three children with his first wife Neilia, who was killed in a car crash along with their infant daughter Naomi shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972. Their two sons, Beau and Hunter, were also in the car but survived.
Beau is now Attorney General of Delaware and second son Hunter is also a lawyer.
(Reporting By Laura MacInnis; Editing by Philip Barbara and Sandra Maler)
This article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Justin Bieber accused of battering man taking photos
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies are investigating a complaint that Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber roughed up a man who was taking pictures of the performer at a suburban shopping center, police said on Monday.
Deputies were called on Sunday to an outdoor shopping area in Calabasas, about 23 miles northwest of Hollywood, by a man who reported having just had an altercation with Bieber, the sheriff's department said in a press statement.
According to the statement, the man said he was taking pictures of Bieber, who was with his girlfriend, actress Selena Gomez, when the singer 'physically battered' him.
Bieber's publicist with Island/Def Jam Music Group could not immediately be reached for comment.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, Lillian Peck, declined to give further details about the nature of the alleged confrontation or any injuries suffered by the man.
But Peck said the man, who was not identified by police, complained of pain, and after requesting medical attention was treated on the scene by paramedics, then taken to a local hospital, where he was examined and later released.
Bieber, 18, who has professed a determination to maintain a squeaky-clean image, had left the shopping center with Gomez, 19, before officers arrived, according to the man with the camera.
Peck said sheriff's deputies are investigating the case as a misdemeanor battery complaint and were looking for any possible eyewitnesses, but she did not know whether they had contacted Bieber about the incident.
The Hollywood news website TMZ.com reported that the man behind the complaint was a professional celebrity photographer.
Citing accounts of witnesses at the scene, TMZ said the paparazzo was blocking Bieber's car as the entertainer was trying to leave and that a scuffle ensued after Bieber got out of his car, asked the man to leave and the man refused.
TMZ also reported that after the altercation, a lawyer approached the photographer and suggested he could collect a lot of money by calling for an ambulance and filing a police report.
The cherubic-faced singer, discovered in 2008 through homemade music videos he posted on YouTube, released his first album at age 15 and rocketed to international fame on his way to logging 41 million fans on Facebook and 20 million on Twitter.
Bieber's latest hit single, 'Boyfriend,' debuted at No. 2 last month on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that the recent high school graduate paid $6.5 million for his first house, a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-meter) luxury home set in a gated community of Calabasas. Amenities are reported to include a movie theater with stadium-style seating, a library, wet bar, wine cellar, guest house and swimming pool.
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Paul Simao)
This news article is brought to you by CONFLICT IN RELATIONSHIPS - where latest news are our top priority.
Deputies were called on Sunday to an outdoor shopping area in Calabasas, about 23 miles northwest of Hollywood, by a man who reported having just had an altercation with Bieber, the sheriff's department said in a press statement.
According to the statement, the man said he was taking pictures of Bieber, who was with his girlfriend, actress Selena Gomez, when the singer 'physically battered' him.
Bieber's publicist with Island/Def Jam Music Group could not immediately be reached for comment.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, Lillian Peck, declined to give further details about the nature of the alleged confrontation or any injuries suffered by the man.
But Peck said the man, who was not identified by police, complained of pain, and after requesting medical attention was treated on the scene by paramedics, then taken to a local hospital, where he was examined and later released.
Bieber, 18, who has professed a determination to maintain a squeaky-clean image, had left the shopping center with Gomez, 19, before officers arrived, according to the man with the camera.
Peck said sheriff's deputies are investigating the case as a misdemeanor battery complaint and were looking for any possible eyewitnesses, but she did not know whether they had contacted Bieber about the incident.
The Hollywood news website TMZ.com reported that the man behind the complaint was a professional celebrity photographer.
Citing accounts of witnesses at the scene, TMZ said the paparazzo was blocking Bieber's car as the entertainer was trying to leave and that a scuffle ensued after Bieber got out of his car, asked the man to leave and the man refused.
TMZ also reported that after the altercation, a lawyer approached the photographer and suggested he could collect a lot of money by calling for an ambulance and filing a police report.
The cherubic-faced singer, discovered in 2008 through homemade music videos he posted on YouTube, released his first album at age 15 and rocketed to international fame on his way to logging 41 million fans on Facebook and 20 million on Twitter.
Bieber's latest hit single, 'Boyfriend,' debuted at No. 2 last month on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that the recent high school graduate paid $6.5 million for his first house, a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-meter) luxury home set in a gated community of Calabasas. Amenities are reported to include a movie theater with stadium-style seating, a library, wet bar, wine cellar, guest house and swimming pool.
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Paul Simao)
This news article is brought to you by CONFLICT IN RELATIONSHIPS - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Son of China's Bo Xilai graduates from Harvard
BOSTON (Reuters) - The son of fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai graduated from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on Thursday, capping a tumultuous academic year that also placed him in the center of his homeland's biggest leadership crisis in two decades.
Bo Guagua, whose perceived lavish lifestyle overseas has created a firestorm on the Internet back in China, wore a black cap and gown with crimson hood when he accepted his diploma at a commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He flashed a broad smile and joined several hundred other students who came from all corners of the globe to study at the Ivy League school.
Bo Guagua received a master's degree in public policy. After stepping off the graduation stage, he waved to friends in the audience.
Approached by Reuters after the ceremony, Bo Guagua declined to talk about his plans.
'I just want to enjoy the day and spend time with my classmates,' he said in a British-tinged accent.
He then hugged friends and chatted with faculty.
His mother, Gu Kailai, has been detained on suspicion of murdering a British businessman, while his father, Bo Xilai, has been stripped of his Communist Party Politburo seat and placed under investigation for disciplinary violations.
Last month, Bo Guagua issued a statement expressing concern for his parents and denied reports about his lifestyle, saying he had never driven a Ferrari, for example.
The scandal surrounding his family unfolded in early February after Wang Lijun, the police chief of Chongqing in southwest China, entered the U.S. Consulate in nearby Chengdu. According to British officials, he made allegations while in the consulate about the suspicious death of Briton Neil Heywood, a close associate of Gu.
Bo Xilai was the party boss of Chongqing at the time, with ambitions to ascend to China's top leadership later this year.
Even before his parents' troubles, Bo Guagua, 24, had become the subject of gossip in China for his elite schooling and perceived extravagance. Media reported a fondness for luxury cars and raised questions about how the family could afford to send him to some of the world's top schools and universities, including Harrow, Oxford and Harvard, on his father's limited state salary.
Bo Guagua became the focus of online gossip when photos appeared of him bare-chested and smeared with lipstick at a college party and participating in campus pranks in Britain.
In recent weeks, though, Bo Guagua has kept a lower profile. Classmates and acquaintances told Reuters he has skipped some pre-graduation parties on the advice of his family.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu and Vicki Allen)
This news article is brought to you by BABY-BOOMERS - where latest news are our top priority.
Bo Guagua, whose perceived lavish lifestyle overseas has created a firestorm on the Internet back in China, wore a black cap and gown with crimson hood when he accepted his diploma at a commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He flashed a broad smile and joined several hundred other students who came from all corners of the globe to study at the Ivy League school.
Bo Guagua received a master's degree in public policy. After stepping off the graduation stage, he waved to friends in the audience.
Approached by Reuters after the ceremony, Bo Guagua declined to talk about his plans.
'I just want to enjoy the day and spend time with my classmates,' he said in a British-tinged accent.
He then hugged friends and chatted with faculty.
His mother, Gu Kailai, has been detained on suspicion of murdering a British businessman, while his father, Bo Xilai, has been stripped of his Communist Party Politburo seat and placed under investigation for disciplinary violations.
Last month, Bo Guagua issued a statement expressing concern for his parents and denied reports about his lifestyle, saying he had never driven a Ferrari, for example.
The scandal surrounding his family unfolded in early February after Wang Lijun, the police chief of Chongqing in southwest China, entered the U.S. Consulate in nearby Chengdu. According to British officials, he made allegations while in the consulate about the suspicious death of Briton Neil Heywood, a close associate of Gu.
Bo Xilai was the party boss of Chongqing at the time, with ambitions to ascend to China's top leadership later this year.
Even before his parents' troubles, Bo Guagua, 24, had become the subject of gossip in China for his elite schooling and perceived extravagance. Media reported a fondness for luxury cars and raised questions about how the family could afford to send him to some of the world's top schools and universities, including Harrow, Oxford and Harvard, on his father's limited state salary.
Bo Guagua became the focus of online gossip when photos appeared of him bare-chested and smeared with lipstick at a college party and participating in campus pranks in Britain.
In recent weeks, though, Bo Guagua has kept a lower profile. Classmates and acquaintances told Reuters he has skipped some pre-graduation parties on the advice of his family.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu and Vicki Allen)
This news article is brought to you by BABY-BOOMERS - where latest news are our top priority.
Elton John cancels Vegas dates due to infection
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Elton John was treated in hospital in Los Angeles for a serious respiratory infection that forced him to cancel performances this weekend of his 'The Million Dollar Piano' show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
In a statement posted on his website on Thursday, the British entertainer, whose hits include 'Rocket Man,' 'Your Song' and 'Bennie and The Jets,' apologized for the decision and told fans he hoped to be performing soon.
The singer said he developed a serious respiratory illness while performing on Sunday. After the condition worsened he was hospitalized and had tests at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he remained throughout the day on Wednesday. He was given antibiotics and told not to perform for a week.
'It feels strange not to be able to perform these 'Million Dollar Piano' concerts at The Colosseum. I love performing this show and will be thrilled when we return to The Colosseum in October to complete the eleven concerts soon to be scheduled,' he said.
Fans with tickets for the canceled shows can exchange them or get a refund.
John opened his Las Vegas act last September and began a second series of performances in February. A child piano prodigy, John, 65, rose from a part-time pub player to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time.
He completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with 'The Red Piano', which ran for 241 shows.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Doina Chiacu)
This article is brought to you by MATCH.
In a statement posted on his website on Thursday, the British entertainer, whose hits include 'Rocket Man,' 'Your Song' and 'Bennie and The Jets,' apologized for the decision and told fans he hoped to be performing soon.
The singer said he developed a serious respiratory illness while performing on Sunday. After the condition worsened he was hospitalized and had tests at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he remained throughout the day on Wednesday. He was given antibiotics and told not to perform for a week.
'It feels strange not to be able to perform these 'Million Dollar Piano' concerts at The Colosseum. I love performing this show and will be thrilled when we return to The Colosseum in October to complete the eleven concerts soon to be scheduled,' he said.
Fans with tickets for the canceled shows can exchange them or get a refund.
John opened his Las Vegas act last September and began a second series of performances in February. A child piano prodigy, John, 65, rose from a part-time pub player to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time.
He completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with 'The Red Piano', which ran for 241 shows.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Doina Chiacu)
This article is brought to you by MATCH.
Elton John cancels Vegas dates due to respiratory infection
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Elton John has been hospitalized with a serious respiratory infection and on Thursday canceled three nights of performances this weekend of his 'The Million Dollar Piano' show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
In a statement released on his website, the British entertainer, whose hits include 'Rocket Man,' 'Your Song' and 'Bennie and The Jets,' apologized for the decision and told fans he hoped to be performing soon.
'It feels strange not to be able to perform these 'Million Dollar Piano' concerts at The Colosseum. I love performing this show and will be thrilled when we return to The Colosseum in October to complete the eleven concerts soon to be scheduled,' he said.
The singer said he developed a serious respiratory illness while performing on Sunday. After the condition worsened he was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Following tests, he was given antibiotics and told not to perform for a week.
John opened his Las Vegas act last September and began a second series of performances in February. A child piano prodigy, John, 65, rose from a part-time pub player to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time.
He completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with 'The Red Piano', which ran for 241 shows.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Doina Chiacu)
This news article is brought to you by BABY-BOOMERS - where latest news are our top priority.
In a statement released on his website, the British entertainer, whose hits include 'Rocket Man,' 'Your Song' and 'Bennie and The Jets,' apologized for the decision and told fans he hoped to be performing soon.
'It feels strange not to be able to perform these 'Million Dollar Piano' concerts at The Colosseum. I love performing this show and will be thrilled when we return to The Colosseum in October to complete the eleven concerts soon to be scheduled,' he said.
The singer said he developed a serious respiratory illness while performing on Sunday. After the condition worsened he was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Following tests, he was given antibiotics and told not to perform for a week.
John opened his Las Vegas act last September and began a second series of performances in February. A child piano prodigy, John, 65, rose from a part-time pub player to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time.
He completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with 'The Red Piano', which ran for 241 shows.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Doina Chiacu)
This news article is brought to you by BABY-BOOMERS - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Nancy Reagan recovering from rib fractures: spokeswoman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former first lady Nancy Reagan is recovering from fractured ribs she suffered in a fall at her Los Angeles home, her spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
The injury forced Reagan, 90, to miss a speech by U.S. Representative Paul Ryan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
'Weeks ago Mrs. Reagan took a fall at her home and fractured a number of ribs,' Drake said.
She said Reagan was 'adding a few appointments back to her schedule' but has been advised by her doctor not to attend large events too far from home yet.
'She personally invited Congressman Paul Ryan to speak at the Reagan Library and really wanted to be there, but sent her apologies to him early yesterday,' Drake said.
Reagan, who became first lady in 1981 when Ronald Reagan was elected president, was hospitalized in 2008 with fractures to her pelvis and lower spine suffered in a fall.
Her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the 1990s and she devoted much of her time to caring for him until his death in 2004.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Greg McCune and Xavier Briand)
This news article is brought to you by EXTREME - where latest news are our top priority.
The injury forced Reagan, 90, to miss a speech by U.S. Representative Paul Ryan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
'Weeks ago Mrs. Reagan took a fall at her home and fractured a number of ribs,' Drake said.
She said Reagan was 'adding a few appointments back to her schedule' but has been advised by her doctor not to attend large events too far from home yet.
'She personally invited Congressman Paul Ryan to speak at the Reagan Library and really wanted to be there, but sent her apologies to him early yesterday,' Drake said.
Reagan, who became first lady in 1981 when Ronald Reagan was elected president, was hospitalized in 2008 with fractures to her pelvis and lower spine suffered in a fall.
Her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the 1990s and she devoted much of her time to caring for him until his death in 2004.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Greg McCune and Xavier Briand)
This news article is brought to you by EXTREME - where latest news are our top priority.
Strauss-Kahn accuser adds new claim to lawsuit
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for the hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault added another claim to her civil lawsuit against him Tuesday, taking advantage of a little-used New York City law that applies to 'gender-motivated violence.'
In the amended lawsuit, Nafissatou Diallo claims the former International Monetary Fund chief targeted her out of misogyny under a local law known as the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
The 'defendant committed a 'crime of violence' against Plaintiff because she is a woman and, at least in part, because he has an animus towards women,' according to the revised complaint, which was filed in the Bronx section of New York, where Diallo lives.
The new claim could make it easier to introduce evidence of Strauss-Kahn's sexual past, which can sometimes be ruled inadmissible and irrelevant if it does not reflect directly on the defendant's intent.
'Given that one of the elements of proving this claim is showing the intent of the assault was based on gender, it will be much easier for us to introduce other non-consensual sexual acts that show Strauss-Kahn committed them against women because of their gender,' said Douglas Wigdor, one of Diallo's lawyers.
Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn did not respond to a request for comment.
Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn of attacking her in his hotel suite in May 2011 and forcing her to perform oral sex. His resulting arrest and resignation from the IMF put an end to any plans he might have had to run for president of France.
A criminal case against Strauss-Kahn was eventually dropped by prosecutors, who said Diallo had lied to them about her past and offered differing accounts of her actions following the encounter with Strauss-Kahn.
Last week, Strauss-Kahn filed a countersuit against Diallo, asserting that the incident was consensual and claiming she had defamed him.
That, legal experts have said, could open the door to additional evidence of Strauss-Kahn's sexual history, including allegations of past indiscretions, since one defense to the defamation claim would be to show that his reputation had already been damaged by other charges.
Coupled with the new gender-motivated claim, Wigdor said, he is confident that he will be free to explore Strauss-Kahn's past.
The New York law in question took effect in 2000 but does not appear to have been invoked often. It grants victims of gender-motivated crime enhanced civil claims, including the right to sue for attorneys' fees as well as compensatory and punitive damages in an effort to make it easier for impoverished victims to file lawsuits.
Strauss-Kahn currently faces an investigation for his possible connection to a prostitution that French prosecutors say sent call girls to sex parties that Strauss-Kahn attended in Washington, Paris and the northern French city of Lille. Authorities also have opened an inquiry into allegations that Strauss-Kahn participated in the group rape of a prostitute.
Strauss-Kahn's French lawyer has denied any wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of going after Strauss-Kahn for his 'libertine' lifestyle.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Bill Trott)
This news article is brought to you by HAPPINESS - where latest news are our top priority.
In the amended lawsuit, Nafissatou Diallo claims the former International Monetary Fund chief targeted her out of misogyny under a local law known as the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
The 'defendant committed a 'crime of violence' against Plaintiff because she is a woman and, at least in part, because he has an animus towards women,' according to the revised complaint, which was filed in the Bronx section of New York, where Diallo lives.
The new claim could make it easier to introduce evidence of Strauss-Kahn's sexual past, which can sometimes be ruled inadmissible and irrelevant if it does not reflect directly on the defendant's intent.
'Given that one of the elements of proving this claim is showing the intent of the assault was based on gender, it will be much easier for us to introduce other non-consensual sexual acts that show Strauss-Kahn committed them against women because of their gender,' said Douglas Wigdor, one of Diallo's lawyers.
Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn did not respond to a request for comment.
Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn of attacking her in his hotel suite in May 2011 and forcing her to perform oral sex. His resulting arrest and resignation from the IMF put an end to any plans he might have had to run for president of France.
A criminal case against Strauss-Kahn was eventually dropped by prosecutors, who said Diallo had lied to them about her past and offered differing accounts of her actions following the encounter with Strauss-Kahn.
Last week, Strauss-Kahn filed a countersuit against Diallo, asserting that the incident was consensual and claiming she had defamed him.
That, legal experts have said, could open the door to additional evidence of Strauss-Kahn's sexual history, including allegations of past indiscretions, since one defense to the defamation claim would be to show that his reputation had already been damaged by other charges.
Coupled with the new gender-motivated claim, Wigdor said, he is confident that he will be free to explore Strauss-Kahn's past.
The New York law in question took effect in 2000 but does not appear to have been invoked often. It grants victims of gender-motivated crime enhanced civil claims, including the right to sue for attorneys' fees as well as compensatory and punitive damages in an effort to make it easier for impoverished victims to file lawsuits.
Strauss-Kahn currently faces an investigation for his possible connection to a prostitution that French prosecutors say sent call girls to sex parties that Strauss-Kahn attended in Washington, Paris and the northern French city of Lille. Authorities also have opened an inquiry into allegations that Strauss-Kahn participated in the group rape of a prostitute.
Strauss-Kahn's French lawyer has denied any wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of going after Strauss-Kahn for his 'libertine' lifestyle.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Bill Trott)
This news article is brought to you by HAPPINESS - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Foundation objects to auction of purported vial of Reagan's blood
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ronald Reagan's foundation expressed outrage on Monday at a British company's auction of what it says is a vial of the late U.S. president's blood taken at the hospital where he was treated after a 1981 assassination attempt.
PFC Auctions, a company based in Guernsey in the United Kingdom, announced on Sunday that it would sell the vial of blood in an online auction set to end on Thursday.
The vial was taken at George Washington University Hospital on March 30, 1981, after Reagan was wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., PFC Auctions said on its website. It is said to have come from a person whose late mother had worked at a medical lab.
'If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase,' John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, said in a statement.
The website for PFC Auctions said the latest online bid for the vial stood at 6,270 British pounds ($9,910). A PFC Auctions representative could not be reached for comment.
The website for PFC Auctions showed a picture of the blood-filled vial with a label stuck to it showing the president's name.
Reagan suffered a punctured lung and internal bleeding when he was shot by Hinckley outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Hinckley was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. He is allowed to visit his family away from the psychiatric hospital where he is being treated.
Heubusch said his foundation had spoken to the hospital where Reagan was treated and was assured an investigation was under way into 'how something like this could possibly happen.' A spokesman for the hospital declined to comment.
Also posted on the PFC site was an image of a form from Bio-Science Laboratories that lists George Washington Hospital as the source of the vial, along with a statement from an unnamed person offering the vial for sale.
The seller wrote that the vial came from his or her late mother, who took it from her workplace at Maryland-based Bio-Science Laboratories, where blood work and testing were done for George Washington Hospital.
The seller said he or she had contacted the California-based Ronald Reagan Library and Museum, which is run by the late president's foundation, months ago and had been told that Reagan's family would like to have the vial given to them.
'I told him that I didn't think that was something that I was going to consider ... and that I was a real fan of Reaganomics and felt that President Reagan himself would rather see me sell it rather than donating it,' the statement said.
A spokeswoman for the foundation declined to comment on the seller's claim to have spoken to the library.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
PFC Auctions, a company based in Guernsey in the United Kingdom, announced on Sunday that it would sell the vial of blood in an online auction set to end on Thursday.
The vial was taken at George Washington University Hospital on March 30, 1981, after Reagan was wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., PFC Auctions said on its website. It is said to have come from a person whose late mother had worked at a medical lab.
'If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase,' John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, said in a statement.
The website for PFC Auctions said the latest online bid for the vial stood at 6,270 British pounds ($9,910). A PFC Auctions representative could not be reached for comment.
The website for PFC Auctions showed a picture of the blood-filled vial with a label stuck to it showing the president's name.
Reagan suffered a punctured lung and internal bleeding when he was shot by Hinckley outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Hinckley was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. He is allowed to visit his family away from the psychiatric hospital where he is being treated.
Heubusch said his foundation had spoken to the hospital where Reagan was treated and was assured an investigation was under way into 'how something like this could possibly happen.' A spokesman for the hospital declined to comment.
Also posted on the PFC site was an image of a form from Bio-Science Laboratories that lists George Washington Hospital as the source of the vial, along with a statement from an unnamed person offering the vial for sale.
The seller wrote that the vial came from his or her late mother, who took it from her workplace at Maryland-based Bio-Science Laboratories, where blood work and testing were done for George Washington Hospital.
The seller said he or she had contacted the California-based Ronald Reagan Library and Museum, which is run by the late president's foundation, months ago and had been told that Reagan's family would like to have the vial given to them.
'I told him that I didn't think that was something that I was going to consider ... and that I was a real fan of Reaganomics and felt that President Reagan himself would rather see me sell it rather than donating it,' the statement said.
A spokeswoman for the foundation declined to comment on the seller's claim to have spoken to the library.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Michelle Obama shows South Side of Chicago to first ladies
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Michelle Obama showed off her neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago to some NATO visitors on Sunday, taking five other first ladies to a youth center for lunch and for a musical performance by the children.
The women toured the Gary Komer Youth Center, which features a gymnasium, dance studio and a theater. The center provides tutoring, college preparation, training in culinary arts and horticulture for young people in the community, 90 percent of whom come from low-income households.
Obama, whose childhood home was about 1 mile from the center, led a tour that included Albanian first lady Liri Berisha, Croatian first lady Sanja Music Milanovic and Norwegian first lady Ingrid Schulerud.
'I brought them here because I am so proud of where I grew up, and I wanted to show everyone some of the wonderful things that are happening here on the South Side,' Obama said before the South Shore Drill Team performed a routine to Frank Sinatra's 'My Kind of Town.'
Obama and Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, clapped and danced to the gospel singing of the Soul Children of Chicago and also sampled a strawberry basil vinaigrette salad dressing made at the center.
Valerie Trierweiler, the domestic partner of French President Francois Hollande, and Turkish first lady Hayrunnisa Gul spoke with children on a rooftop garden about the heirloom tomatoes and cimmarron lettuce they were growing.
The center provides state-of-the-art facilities for children growing up in the neighborhood.
'I grew up just like you,' Obama said to a group of black children. 'Same background. My family didn't have a lot of money growing up. Neither of my parents had the opportunity to go to college, and most of the folks in my neighborhood didn't get a chance to go, either.'
Before she married Barack Obama, Michelle Robinson was such an excellent student that she was given a chance to attend the first 'magnet' school for gifted teenagers in Chicago. She later graduated from Princeton with a sociology degree and from Harvard Law School.
The center visited by the first ladies was established in 2006 by the late Gary Comer, who helped found the clothing company Lands' End.
Comer's son, Guy, said on Sunday that 94 percent of the children helped there go on to graduate high school and gain acceptance to a four-year college or university.
The Obamas' home in Chicago is located roughly 3 miles north of the center.
(Reporting by Michael Hirtzer; Editing by Greg McCune and Eric Beech)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING SITE.
The women toured the Gary Komer Youth Center, which features a gymnasium, dance studio and a theater. The center provides tutoring, college preparation, training in culinary arts and horticulture for young people in the community, 90 percent of whom come from low-income households.
Obama, whose childhood home was about 1 mile from the center, led a tour that included Albanian first lady Liri Berisha, Croatian first lady Sanja Music Milanovic and Norwegian first lady Ingrid Schulerud.
'I brought them here because I am so proud of where I grew up, and I wanted to show everyone some of the wonderful things that are happening here on the South Side,' Obama said before the South Shore Drill Team performed a routine to Frank Sinatra's 'My Kind of Town.'
Obama and Anne-Mette Rasmussen, wife of NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, clapped and danced to the gospel singing of the Soul Children of Chicago and also sampled a strawberry basil vinaigrette salad dressing made at the center.
Valerie Trierweiler, the domestic partner of French President Francois Hollande, and Turkish first lady Hayrunnisa Gul spoke with children on a rooftop garden about the heirloom tomatoes and cimmarron lettuce they were growing.
The center provides state-of-the-art facilities for children growing up in the neighborhood.
'I grew up just like you,' Obama said to a group of black children. 'Same background. My family didn't have a lot of money growing up. Neither of my parents had the opportunity to go to college, and most of the folks in my neighborhood didn't get a chance to go, either.'
Before she married Barack Obama, Michelle Robinson was such an excellent student that she was given a chance to attend the first 'magnet' school for gifted teenagers in Chicago. She later graduated from Princeton with a sociology degree and from Harvard Law School.
The center visited by the first ladies was established in 2006 by the late Gary Comer, who helped found the clothing company Lands' End.
Comer's son, Guy, said on Sunday that 94 percent of the children helped there go on to graduate high school and gain acceptance to a four-year college or university.
The Obamas' home in Chicago is located roughly 3 miles north of the center.
(Reporting by Michael Hirtzer; Editing by Greg McCune and Eric Beech)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING SITE.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Singer Robin Gibb, Bee Gees co-founder, dies at 62
LONDON (Reuters) - Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who with brothers Barry and Maurice helped define the disco era with their falsetto harmonies and funky beats on smash hits such as 'Stayin' Alive' and 'Jive Talkin',' has died after a long fight with cancer. He was 62.
The singer had colon and liver cancer and, despite brief improvements in his health in recent months, passed away on Sunday evening.
'The family of Robin Gibb ... announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery,' a statement posted on his official website said.
'The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.'
Hundreds of tributes poured on to the Twitter micro-blogging site, including from record labels and fellow musicians, and at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, the show was stopped for a moment of silence as a large black-and-white picture of Gibb was displayed against the stage's backdrop.
Neil Portnow, chief executive of Grammy organization the Recording Academy said the six-time winner of the industry's highest award, 'had an indelible impact on music.'
'His distinctive vibrato voice was part of the trio's signature harmony,' Portnow said in a statement. Fans 'will continue to sing and dance to his music that will be 'Stayin' Alive' for many generations to come.'
Gibb spent much of a career spanning six decades pursuing solo projects. But it was his part in one of pop's most successful brother acts, the Bee Gees, that earned him fame and fortune.
Born in 1949 on the Isle of Man, located between England and Ireland, Robin and his family moved to Manchester where the brothers performed in local cinemas.
They went to live in Australia where the Bee Gees as a group was officially born, and in 1963 released the first single 'The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey.'
Believing their future lay in Europe, the Gibb brothers travelled to England to pursue a career in music and had their first British number one with 'Massachusetts' in 1967.
TRAIN CRASH
The same year, Robin and wife-to-be Molly survived the Hither Green rail crash in south London that claimed around 50 lives. He later recalled that they probably would have been killed had they not been sitting in a first class carriage.
Rather than build on the early successes, the Bee Gees almost threw away the promising career they had worked so hard to achieve.
After recording the double-LP set 'Odessa,' the siblings fell out over which track should be the single and Robin walked out. Two years later the Gibbs were back together, and the 1970s was to belong to them.
Early in the decade they released the ballads 'Lonely Days' and 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,' which topped the U.S. charts in 1971.
They struggled to maintain the momentum and critics felt the brothers had become stale until, in 1975, the Bee Gees changed course with an emphasis on dance-friendly tunes featuring high harmonies on their 13th album 'Main Course.'
It produced the catchy chart-topper 'Jive Talkin',' which then led to an invitation to contribute to the soundtrack for the upcoming movie 'Saturday Night Fever.'
The Bee Gees' contributions would prove the pinnacle of their fame - 'Stayin' Alive,' 'How Deep Is Your Love,' 'Night Fever' and 'More Than a Woman' are all among their most recognizable songs, featuring the band's distinctive high vocals and harmonies, disco beats and slower romantic ballads.
The combination of the movie, starring John Travolta as the white-suited dance floor king Tony Manero, and the Bee Gees' accompanying hits, helped launch the disco phenomenon the world over.
LONG BATTLE WITH ILLNESS
The Bee Gees achieved superstardom with album sales estimated today at up to 200 million, putting them in the same league as the likes of the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.
Explaining their success, Bruce Elder of the All Music Guide wrote: 'The group ... managed to meld every influence they'd ever embraced, from the Mills Brothers and the Beatles and early-'70s soul, into something of their own that was virtually irresistible.'
The magic did not last, however, and with the disco era waning Robin and his brothers faded quickly into obscurity, concentrating in the 1980s on producing and writing for other acts including Diana Ross.
A 1987 comeback album 'E.S.P.' was moderately successful and included the hit 'You Win Again,' although in the 1980s Robin was actively pursuing his solo career.
In 1988 Andy Gibb, the youngest brother who was also a pop star and teen idol, died aged just 30.
Maurice passed away in January 2003, aged 53, of complications resulting from a twisted intestine, a condition that plagued Robin towards the end of his life.
According to online reports, in 2010, Robin had surgery for a blocked intestine and suffered further stomach pains last year forcing him to cancel a series of shows in Brazil.
During surgery a tumor was discovered and he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon and, subsequently, the liver.
His gaunt, frail appearance led to media speculation that he was seriously ill, but in February he spoke of a 'spectacular' recovery and later that month performed on stage for the last time in a charity concert in London.
But he fell ill again and was unable to attend the world premiere of 'The Titanic Requiem,' his first classical work written with son Robin-John.
Robin-John told Reuters at the event that his father had contributed much of the requiem to the famous shipping disaster while in hospital.
According to the Sun tabloid, Robin's second wife Dwina, sons Spencer and Robin-John and daughter Melissa were at his bedside at the London Clinic when he passed away.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White and Piya Sinha-Roy and Bob Tourtellotte, editing by Paul Casciato and Eric Walsh)
This article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIP ADVICE.
The singer had colon and liver cancer and, despite brief improvements in his health in recent months, passed away on Sunday evening.
'The family of Robin Gibb ... announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery,' a statement posted on his official website said.
'The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.'
Hundreds of tributes poured on to the Twitter micro-blogging site, including from record labels and fellow musicians, and at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, the show was stopped for a moment of silence as a large black-and-white picture of Gibb was displayed against the stage's backdrop.
Neil Portnow, chief executive of Grammy organization the Recording Academy said the six-time winner of the industry's highest award, 'had an indelible impact on music.'
'His distinctive vibrato voice was part of the trio's signature harmony,' Portnow said in a statement. Fans 'will continue to sing and dance to his music that will be 'Stayin' Alive' for many generations to come.'
Gibb spent much of a career spanning six decades pursuing solo projects. But it was his part in one of pop's most successful brother acts, the Bee Gees, that earned him fame and fortune.
Born in 1949 on the Isle of Man, located between England and Ireland, Robin and his family moved to Manchester where the brothers performed in local cinemas.
They went to live in Australia where the Bee Gees as a group was officially born, and in 1963 released the first single 'The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey.'
Believing their future lay in Europe, the Gibb brothers travelled to England to pursue a career in music and had their first British number one with 'Massachusetts' in 1967.
TRAIN CRASH
The same year, Robin and wife-to-be Molly survived the Hither Green rail crash in south London that claimed around 50 lives. He later recalled that they probably would have been killed had they not been sitting in a first class carriage.
Rather than build on the early successes, the Bee Gees almost threw away the promising career they had worked so hard to achieve.
After recording the double-LP set 'Odessa,' the siblings fell out over which track should be the single and Robin walked out. Two years later the Gibbs were back together, and the 1970s was to belong to them.
Early in the decade they released the ballads 'Lonely Days' and 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,' which topped the U.S. charts in 1971.
They struggled to maintain the momentum and critics felt the brothers had become stale until, in 1975, the Bee Gees changed course with an emphasis on dance-friendly tunes featuring high harmonies on their 13th album 'Main Course.'
It produced the catchy chart-topper 'Jive Talkin',' which then led to an invitation to contribute to the soundtrack for the upcoming movie 'Saturday Night Fever.'
The Bee Gees' contributions would prove the pinnacle of their fame - 'Stayin' Alive,' 'How Deep Is Your Love,' 'Night Fever' and 'More Than a Woman' are all among their most recognizable songs, featuring the band's distinctive high vocals and harmonies, disco beats and slower romantic ballads.
The combination of the movie, starring John Travolta as the white-suited dance floor king Tony Manero, and the Bee Gees' accompanying hits, helped launch the disco phenomenon the world over.
LONG BATTLE WITH ILLNESS
The Bee Gees achieved superstardom with album sales estimated today at up to 200 million, putting them in the same league as the likes of the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.
Explaining their success, Bruce Elder of the All Music Guide wrote: 'The group ... managed to meld every influence they'd ever embraced, from the Mills Brothers and the Beatles and early-'70s soul, into something of their own that was virtually irresistible.'
The magic did not last, however, and with the disco era waning Robin and his brothers faded quickly into obscurity, concentrating in the 1980s on producing and writing for other acts including Diana Ross.
A 1987 comeback album 'E.S.P.' was moderately successful and included the hit 'You Win Again,' although in the 1980s Robin was actively pursuing his solo career.
In 1988 Andy Gibb, the youngest brother who was also a pop star and teen idol, died aged just 30.
Maurice passed away in January 2003, aged 53, of complications resulting from a twisted intestine, a condition that plagued Robin towards the end of his life.
According to online reports, in 2010, Robin had surgery for a blocked intestine and suffered further stomach pains last year forcing him to cancel a series of shows in Brazil.
During surgery a tumor was discovered and he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon and, subsequently, the liver.
His gaunt, frail appearance led to media speculation that he was seriously ill, but in February he spoke of a 'spectacular' recovery and later that month performed on stage for the last time in a charity concert in London.
But he fell ill again and was unable to attend the world premiere of 'The Titanic Requiem,' his first classical work written with son Robin-John.
Robin-John told Reuters at the event that his father had contributed much of the requiem to the famous shipping disaster while in hospital.
According to the Sun tabloid, Robin's second wife Dwina, sons Spencer and Robin-John and daughter Melissa were at his bedside at the London Clinic when he passed away.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White and Piya Sinha-Roy and Bob Tourtellotte, editing by Paul Casciato and Eric Walsh)
This article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIP ADVICE.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Venezuelan-born academic named president of MIT
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday named Rafael Reif, an electrical engineer born in Venezuela who has been the university's provost since 2005, as its 17th president.
Reif, 61, replaces Susan Hockfield, the first female president of MIT, who announced in mid-February that she was stepping down after almost eight years leading one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
Reif will take up his post at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university on July 2, the first MIT president not to be a native English speaker.
In his role as provost, the senior academic official at the university, Reif helped create and implement a strategy that allowed MIT to weather the global financial crisis, despite a large decline in its endowment, and drove the growth of the university overseas, from Abu Dhabi to Russia.
He also led the development of MITx, the university's initiative in online learning, and pushed an effort to increase diversity among the university's faculty.
He takes over at a time when many college graduates face crippling student debt and an uncertain job market, and when MIT is preparing to launch a major fundraising campaign and expand its online learning programs.
Reif is the youngest of four sons of émigrés who fled Eastern Europe for Latin America in the late 1930s, living first in Ecuador and Colombia before settling in Venezuela. Reif's father worked as a photographer.
'I grew up in a home wealthy in integrity and principles and values, but poor in everything material,' Reif said at a news conference to announce the appointment.
Reif earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from Venezuela's Universidad de Carabobo in 1973. He gained a master's and PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University in California and joined MIT in 1980.
He was an early champion of the university's work in micro- and nanotechnology. He holds 15 patents, has won several teaching awards and has supervised 38 doctoral theses.
(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by David Storey and Lisa Shumaker)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Reif, 61, replaces Susan Hockfield, the first female president of MIT, who announced in mid-February that she was stepping down after almost eight years leading one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
Reif will take up his post at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university on July 2, the first MIT president not to be a native English speaker.
In his role as provost, the senior academic official at the university, Reif helped create and implement a strategy that allowed MIT to weather the global financial crisis, despite a large decline in its endowment, and drove the growth of the university overseas, from Abu Dhabi to Russia.
He also led the development of MITx, the university's initiative in online learning, and pushed an effort to increase diversity among the university's faculty.
He takes over at a time when many college graduates face crippling student debt and an uncertain job market, and when MIT is preparing to launch a major fundraising campaign and expand its online learning programs.
Reif is the youngest of four sons of émigrés who fled Eastern Europe for Latin America in the late 1930s, living first in Ecuador and Colombia before settling in Venezuela. Reif's father worked as a photographer.
'I grew up in a home wealthy in integrity and principles and values, but poor in everything material,' Reif said at a news conference to announce the appointment.
Reif earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from Venezuela's Universidad de Carabobo in 1973. He gained a master's and PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University in California and joined MIT in 1980.
He was an early champion of the university's work in micro- and nanotechnology. He holds 15 patents, has won several teaching awards and has supervised 38 doctoral theses.
(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by David Storey and Lisa Shumaker)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Britney is back - and so are the brickbats
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Britney Spears hasn't even taken her seat as the new judge of 'The X Factor,' but the pop icon is already getting a lesson in the media glare of live, talent show television.
Spears had barely wrapped up an appearance in New York confirming she is joining the singing contest before the celebrity knives were out, raising the question of how well the singer, who went through a public meltdown in 2007, can handle all the newfound attention.
Her dress, nails, shoes, legs and figure have all come in for scrutiny - most of it negative - in a taste of what may come when the show returns to TV in September for two nights a week over four months.
The New York Daily News ran photos of the 'Toxic' singer's 'bloody picked fingernails'. It also showed a close-up of her thighs, commenting that she 'appeared in a short white mini dress that showed off her famous pop star legs - and what looks to be a bit of cellulite.'
Spears, famed for raunchy dance routines and music videos in her heyday, is now 30-years-old and a mother of two. Outside her sell-out global concert tours, she has been largely shielded from the media since a career and personal breakdown in 2007 that resulted in her affairs being handed over to her father.
Mary Fischer at The Stir on website cafemom.com, said the singer was 'a hot mess' in the cream dress she wore for her New York appearance on Monday before Fox TV network executives and advertisers.
'She might as well have just thrown on a nightgown or racy piece of lingerie. She would've achieved the same effect (showing off the fact that she's shed a bit of weight and gotten her groove back), but she wouldn't have looked like she was trying so hard,' Fischer said.
She suggested Spears should take a tip from Prince William's wife and style icon Kate Middleton who 'is the definition of being sexy without revealing too much skin.'
DAZZLING RING, LUMPY LEGS
Celebrity magazine Us Weekly was more excited by Britney's three carat diamond engagement ring, estimated to be worth about $90,000, that boyfriend Jason Trawick slid on her finger in December.
But some readers weren't dazzled by the ring and focused on Spears' fashion. Kathleen Tandy commented on the magazine's website that although Britney looked good in the second, purple dress she wore for photos on Monday 'she looked like straight-up trailer trash' in the cream outfit.
Britain's Sun newspaper said 'Britney looked better than she has in years,' when she stepped out in New York. But elsewhere in the tabloid, reporters said her cream mini-dress 'hugged her lumpy legs. A pair of tight ankle-strapped heels cut off her pins even more.'
Elsewhere, Spears' legs were seen as either toned, bruised, dimpled or fat in hundreds of fevered online debates, where the former pop princess was compared (mostly unfavorably) to the demurely-dressed Demi Lovato, 19, who is also joining 'The X Factor.'
But the 'Baby...One More Time' singer also had plenty of defenders.
'I don't care for Britney, but seriously what is with all the fat comments? I'd love to see what some of you guys look like or your spouses...' wrote HuffingtonPost.com user Goldie Treasure..
'The only thing that looks kind of weird is her knee, but whatever on that. Christina (Aguilera) and Britney are not little 17 yr old pop princesses anymore they are women in their 30's with kids, cut them some slack.'
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant)
This article is brought to you by MATCH.
Spears had barely wrapped up an appearance in New York confirming she is joining the singing contest before the celebrity knives were out, raising the question of how well the singer, who went through a public meltdown in 2007, can handle all the newfound attention.
Her dress, nails, shoes, legs and figure have all come in for scrutiny - most of it negative - in a taste of what may come when the show returns to TV in September for two nights a week over four months.
The New York Daily News ran photos of the 'Toxic' singer's 'bloody picked fingernails'. It also showed a close-up of her thighs, commenting that she 'appeared in a short white mini dress that showed off her famous pop star legs - and what looks to be a bit of cellulite.'
Spears, famed for raunchy dance routines and music videos in her heyday, is now 30-years-old and a mother of two. Outside her sell-out global concert tours, she has been largely shielded from the media since a career and personal breakdown in 2007 that resulted in her affairs being handed over to her father.
Mary Fischer at The Stir on website cafemom.com, said the singer was 'a hot mess' in the cream dress she wore for her New York appearance on Monday before Fox TV network executives and advertisers.
'She might as well have just thrown on a nightgown or racy piece of lingerie. She would've achieved the same effect (showing off the fact that she's shed a bit of weight and gotten her groove back), but she wouldn't have looked like she was trying so hard,' Fischer said.
She suggested Spears should take a tip from Prince William's wife and style icon Kate Middleton who 'is the definition of being sexy without revealing too much skin.'
DAZZLING RING, LUMPY LEGS
Celebrity magazine Us Weekly was more excited by Britney's three carat diamond engagement ring, estimated to be worth about $90,000, that boyfriend Jason Trawick slid on her finger in December.
But some readers weren't dazzled by the ring and focused on Spears' fashion. Kathleen Tandy commented on the magazine's website that although Britney looked good in the second, purple dress she wore for photos on Monday 'she looked like straight-up trailer trash' in the cream outfit.
Britain's Sun newspaper said 'Britney looked better than she has in years,' when she stepped out in New York. But elsewhere in the tabloid, reporters said her cream mini-dress 'hugged her lumpy legs. A pair of tight ankle-strapped heels cut off her pins even more.'
Elsewhere, Spears' legs were seen as either toned, bruised, dimpled or fat in hundreds of fevered online debates, where the former pop princess was compared (mostly unfavorably) to the demurely-dressed Demi Lovato, 19, who is also joining 'The X Factor.'
But the 'Baby...One More Time' singer also had plenty of defenders.
'I don't care for Britney, but seriously what is with all the fat comments? I'd love to see what some of you guys look like or your spouses...' wrote HuffingtonPost.com user Goldie Treasure..
'The only thing that looks kind of weird is her knee, but whatever on that. Christina (Aguilera) and Britney are not little 17 yr old pop princesses anymore they are women in their 30's with kids, cut them some slack.'
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant)
This article is brought to you by MATCH.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Lawyer says John Travolta vindicated by dropped sex lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One of the two male masseurs who accused actor John Travolta of sexual assault dropped his $2 million lawsuit on Tuesday, but the lawyer for the second man said he was going ahead with that case and was confident of success.
The unidentified man, referred to as John Doe No. 1, who claimed that the Hollywood star groped him during a massage session in Beverly Hills in January, filed a notice dismissing his lawsuit with federal court in Los Angeles.
Travolta's lawyer Marty Singer, who has termed the claims 'absurd and ridiculous,' said on Tuesday the actor was vindicated by the dismissal of the first complaint.
'My client is completely vindicated by Doe #1 dropping his claims and dismissing his lawsuit. We fully expect that my client will similarly be vindicated with respect to Doe #2, as well as with respect to any other person who makes meritless claims against John Travolta,' Singer said in a statement.
The first masseur was reported last week to have said he got the wrong date of the alleged incident after photos and restaurant receipts surfaced putting the 'Saturday Night Fever' actor in New York on the same day.
'The case has been dismissed, but that doesn't mean it can't be refiled,' the plaintiff's attorney, Okorie Okorocha, told Reuters.
Okorocha said he still will be going ahead with the lawsuit against Travolta, representing a second unidentified man, John Doe No. 2, who claimed that Travolta rubbed his leg, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at an Atlanta hotel on January 28.
Asked whether he was concerned about the credibility of John Doe No. 2's suit in light of the first masseur's dismissal, Okorocha said 'Not at all. I'm not worried about anything with John Doe 2.'
Celebrity news website Radar Online said on Tuesday that it had obtained emails it claimed were written by the Atlanta masseur to his employers that made no reference to the alleged incident involving Travolta.
Radar Online said the emails were written the day after the alleged encounter and that the masseur was asking to be demoted.
A third man, cruise ship worker Fabian Zanzi, claimed last week on a Chilean TV show that Travolta offered him $12,000 to have sex while on a cruise in 2009, but he has not filed a lawsuit against the actor.
Travolta, 58, has been married to actress Kelly Preston since 1991. He found international claim with the movies 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease' in the 1970s, before going on to grittier roles in 'Pulp Fiction.'
The latest allegations against the actor are unlikely to affect his career according to celebrity image experts, who say Travolta has overcome speculation about his sex life in the past without any negative impact on his popularity.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Jill Serjeant and Todd Eastham)
The unidentified man, referred to as John Doe No. 1, who claimed that the Hollywood star groped him during a massage session in Beverly Hills in January, filed a notice dismissing his lawsuit with federal court in Los Angeles.
Travolta's lawyer Marty Singer, who has termed the claims 'absurd and ridiculous,' said on Tuesday the actor was vindicated by the dismissal of the first complaint.
'My client is completely vindicated by Doe #1 dropping his claims and dismissing his lawsuit. We fully expect that my client will similarly be vindicated with respect to Doe #2, as well as with respect to any other person who makes meritless claims against John Travolta,' Singer said in a statement.
The first masseur was reported last week to have said he got the wrong date of the alleged incident after photos and restaurant receipts surfaced putting the 'Saturday Night Fever' actor in New York on the same day.
'The case has been dismissed, but that doesn't mean it can't be refiled,' the plaintiff's attorney, Okorie Okorocha, told Reuters.
Okorocha said he still will be going ahead with the lawsuit against Travolta, representing a second unidentified man, John Doe No. 2, who claimed that Travolta rubbed his leg, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at an Atlanta hotel on January 28.
Asked whether he was concerned about the credibility of John Doe No. 2's suit in light of the first masseur's dismissal, Okorocha said 'Not at all. I'm not worried about anything with John Doe 2.'
Celebrity news website Radar Online said on Tuesday that it had obtained emails it claimed were written by the Atlanta masseur to his employers that made no reference to the alleged incident involving Travolta.
Radar Online said the emails were written the day after the alleged encounter and that the masseur was asking to be demoted.
A third man, cruise ship worker Fabian Zanzi, claimed last week on a Chilean TV show that Travolta offered him $12,000 to have sex while on a cruise in 2009, but he has not filed a lawsuit against the actor.
Travolta, 58, has been married to actress Kelly Preston since 1991. He found international claim with the movies 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease' in the 1970s, before going on to grittier roles in 'Pulp Fiction.'
The latest allegations against the actor are unlikely to affect his career according to celebrity image experts, who say Travolta has overcome speculation about his sex life in the past without any negative impact on his popularity.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Jill Serjeant and Todd Eastham)
Masseur drops sex assault claim against John Travolta
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One of the two male masseurs who accused John Travolta of sexual assault has dropped his lawsuit, court papers showed on Tuesday.
The unidentified man, referred to as John Doe No. 1, who claimed that the Hollywood star groped him during a massage session in Beverly Hills in January, filed a notice of dismissal with federal court in Los Angeles.
The man was reported last week to have said he got the wrong date of the alleged incident after photos and restaurant receipts surfaced putting the 'Grease' actor in New York on the same day.
A second man is still pursuing his claims of sexual misconduct against Travolta in an Atlanta hotel, his attorney said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Anthony Boadle)
The unidentified man, referred to as John Doe No. 1, who claimed that the Hollywood star groped him during a massage session in Beverly Hills in January, filed a notice of dismissal with federal court in Los Angeles.
The man was reported last week to have said he got the wrong date of the alleged incident after photos and restaurant receipts surfaced putting the 'Grease' actor in New York on the same day.
A second man is still pursuing his claims of sexual misconduct against Travolta in an Atlanta hotel, his attorney said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Anthony Boadle)
Friday, May 11, 2012
Second masseur accuses John Travolta of sexual battery
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A second unidentified masseur has joined a $2 million lawsuit against John Travolta claiming the actor sexually assaulted the men in two separate incidents during private massages, according to amended court documents filed on Tuesday.
The second unnamed man, a resident of Georgia referred to as John Doe No. 2 in court papers obtained by Reuters, claimed that Travolta rubbed his legs, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at the actor's room inside an Atlanta hotel on January 28.
The allegations echo those of John Doe No. 1, a resident of Texas, who filed the initial complaint late last week and accused Travolta of sexually assaulting him during a private massage at the Beverly Hills Hotel on January 16.
'This second 'anonymous' claim is just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one,' said attorney Martin Singer, who represents the Hollywood actor.
'Our client will be fully vindicated in court on both of these absurd and fictional claims.'
Travolta's spokesman has called the lawsuit 'complete fiction and fabrication.'
The plaintiff's attorney, Pasadena, California-based Okorie Okorocha, told Reuters that since the initial complaint was filed last week, he has had many more potential victims come forward with similar complaints.
'I will file for every single victim. Mr. Travolta has been able to evade justice, and he's going to challenge it with me. but I'm not afraid ... I'll stand up to him,' said Okorocha.
He said that the men did not go to the police because they did not think the police would believe them.
Travolta, 58, rose to fame in the 1970s on the television sitcom 'Welcome Back Kotter,' then became a movie star with hits such as 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease,' and later, 'Pulp Fiction.' He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has been married to wife Kelly Preston since 1991.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
The second unnamed man, a resident of Georgia referred to as John Doe No. 2 in court papers obtained by Reuters, claimed that Travolta rubbed his legs, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at the actor's room inside an Atlanta hotel on January 28.
The allegations echo those of John Doe No. 1, a resident of Texas, who filed the initial complaint late last week and accused Travolta of sexually assaulting him during a private massage at the Beverly Hills Hotel on January 16.
'This second 'anonymous' claim is just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one,' said attorney Martin Singer, who represents the Hollywood actor.
'Our client will be fully vindicated in court on both of these absurd and fictional claims.'
Travolta's spokesman has called the lawsuit 'complete fiction and fabrication.'
The plaintiff's attorney, Pasadena, California-based Okorie Okorocha, told Reuters that since the initial complaint was filed last week, he has had many more potential victims come forward with similar complaints.
'I will file for every single victim. Mr. Travolta has been able to evade justice, and he's going to challenge it with me. but I'm not afraid ... I'll stand up to him,' said Okorocha.
He said that the men did not go to the police because they did not think the police would believe them.
Travolta, 58, rose to fame in the 1970s on the television sitcom 'Welcome Back Kotter,' then became a movie star with hits such as 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease,' and later, 'Pulp Fiction.' He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has been married to wife Kelly Preston since 1991.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Obama-Clooney fundraiser rakes in celebrity dollars
LOS ANGELES (The Wrap.com) - If President Obama has ever acted cool in courting celebrities, on Thursday he'll be dropping that act and heading for the mother lode.
In what's shaping up to be one of the biggest one-off fundraisers in the history of the presidency, Obama will pitch to a houseful of boosters from Hollywood's inner circles at a sold-out event in Studio City.
And it's not just any house - it's George Clooney's 7,354-square-foot crib.
With the exception of a couple supporters - namely, the winner of the Obama campaign's 'Obama, Clooney and You' sweepstakes and a plus-one - guests reportedly paid as much as $40,000 each to secure a seat. That tallies up to nearly $6 million from partygoers, plus another estimated $4 million to $6 million from the contest, which gave would-be donors the chance to feast with the stars for a $3 (or more) pledge made via the president's campaign site.
Although some celebs have dialed down their enthusiasm for Obama since the last election cycle, he still has friends in Hollywood - many of whom will be attending the dinner.
And the fundraising game has also changed significantly since Obama's 2008 campaign, as the Supreme Court's controversial 2010 Citizens United ruling made way for Super-PACs and supersized donations to stuff candidates' war chests with unprecedented amounts.
In what's shaping up to be one of the biggest one-off fundraisers in the history of the presidency, Obama will pitch to a houseful of boosters from Hollywood's inner circles at a sold-out event in Studio City.
And it's not just any house - it's George Clooney's 7,354-square-foot crib.
With the exception of a couple supporters - namely, the winner of the Obama campaign's 'Obama, Clooney and You' sweepstakes and a plus-one - guests reportedly paid as much as $40,000 each to secure a seat. That tallies up to nearly $6 million from partygoers, plus another estimated $4 million to $6 million from the contest, which gave would-be donors the chance to feast with the stars for a $3 (or more) pledge made via the president's campaign site.
Although some celebs have dialed down their enthusiasm for Obama since the last election cycle, he still has friends in Hollywood - many of whom will be attending the dinner.
And the fundraising game has also changed significantly since Obama's 2008 campaign, as the Supreme Court's controversial 2010 Citizens United ruling made way for Super-PACs and supersized donations to stuff candidates' war chests with unprecedented amounts.
Celebrity hair stylist Vidal Sassoon dead at 84
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Vidal Sassoon, hair stylist and fashion world icon who created a natural look in the 1960s and built a multi-million dollar business on his name, has died of apparent natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84.
The British stylist's scissors spelled the end of the 1950s-era beehive and the bouffant - untouchable hairstyles that owed their existence to lacquer and hair pins - and brought him international fame and fortune.
Sassoon was dubbed a pioneer by many for coming up with so-called wash and wear looks - liberating many women from weekly salon trips to have their hair done.
But as much as he was a genius in the salon, Sassoon was a whiz in business. He began marketing his name, styles and cutting techniques in a worldwide line of beauty salons, hair-cutting schools and later, related lines of hair products.
Still, Sassoon never felt the profession that he put at the forefront of modern fashion received the respect it was owed.
'Hairdressing in general hasn't been given the kudos it deserves,' Sassoon told Reuters in 2010. 'It's not recognized by enough people as a worthy craft.'
'If you get hold of a head of hair on somebody you've never seen before, cut beautiful shapes, cut beautiful architectural angles and she walks out looking so different - I think that's masterful,' he said.
Born in London on January 17, 1928, the son of a poor Turkish-Jewish carpet salesman, Sassoon spent eight of his early years in an orphanage after his father abandoned his family. He quit school at 14, and his stepfather agreed to finance his apprenticeship as a hairdresser.
'It was my mother's idea,' he once said of his entry into hairstyling. 'Her feeling was that I didn't have the intelligence to pick a trade myself.'
In 1948, after the partition of Palestine, Sassoon spent a year working on a kibbutz and fighting with the Israeli army. He credited that year with giving him the direction and discipline needed to jump into a full-time career in hair cutting.
BOND STREET AND BOB CUTS
In 1950 he won his first hairdressing competition, and four years later at age 26, opened his first shop in fashionable Bond Street in London's West End.
He had decided that if he could not change hairdressing within a decade he would become an architect, and he drew inspiration from great buildings around the world. But soon, his salon was bursting with women looking for his signature styles that were geometric yet surprisingly natural and easy to shape.
His wispy-short early style was a vast contrast to the teased, brutally coiffed styles of the 1950s, and by 1963, he had created a short, angular cut on a horizontal plane that was the recreation of the classic 'bob cut.'
At the time, Sassoon was creating his 'wash and wear hair' when styling models for fashion designer Mary Quant. Women began fashioning themselves after Quant's 'Carnaby Street' style - not only with their hair, but also with white lipstick, severe eye makeup and thigh-high skirts.
His association with Quant put Sassoon at the forefront of pop culture and fashion. His styles also began attracting a male audience when The Beatles adopted Sassoon-inspired cuts with bangs and long locks down to their shoulders.
He gained even greater fame with his hair style for Mia Farrow in 1967 film, 'Rosemary's Baby,' and the term 'a Sassoon' became part of the fashion lexicon in Europe and America.
'I just consider being one of the luckiest people in the sense that creativity came to me and it flowed,' Sassoon told Reuters in the 2010 interview.
AUTHOR AND BUSINESSMAN
He diversified his hair-styling interests by writing. In 1967 - at age of 39 - he published an autobiography, 'Sorry I Kept You Waiting Madam', and in 1976, with his second wife Beverly, he wrote 'A Year of Health and Beauty.'
The book was a best-seller, but the marriage soon ended in a much-publicized divorce. His first marriage, to his receptionist Elaine Wood in 1956, had also ended in divorce in 1963.
Overall, Sassoon would marry four times throughout his life and have four children. His eldest daughter Catya died of an accidental overdose in 2002 at age 33.
After building a business with salons and styling products, Sassoon sold the rights to his name to Richardson-Vicks, a U.S. health and beauty supply company, in 1983. At that time his hair products alone were netting Vidal Sassoon Inc about $113 million dollars a year.
Procter & Gamble acquired Richardson-Vicks in 1985, and continued making products using the Sassoon name.
The famed stylist sued Procter & Gamble in 2003, accusing the company of breach of contract and fraud on the grounds that it neglected his brand. The two sides reached a confidential settlement in 2004.
The stylist maintained his British roots despite living in the United States. He was a die-hard fan of the Chelsea soccer team, and in 2009 he was honored by the Queen Elizabeth II when he was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Apart from hairdressing interests, he set up the Vidal Sassoon Foundation to help the needy in educational pursuits both in Israel and abroad.
Sassoon is survived by three children and his wife, Rhonda.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte and Alex Dobuzinskis; Michelle Nichols and Judith Schoolman; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)
This article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE.
The British stylist's scissors spelled the end of the 1950s-era beehive and the bouffant - untouchable hairstyles that owed their existence to lacquer and hair pins - and brought him international fame and fortune.
Sassoon was dubbed a pioneer by many for coming up with so-called wash and wear looks - liberating many women from weekly salon trips to have their hair done.
But as much as he was a genius in the salon, Sassoon was a whiz in business. He began marketing his name, styles and cutting techniques in a worldwide line of beauty salons, hair-cutting schools and later, related lines of hair products.
Still, Sassoon never felt the profession that he put at the forefront of modern fashion received the respect it was owed.
'Hairdressing in general hasn't been given the kudos it deserves,' Sassoon told Reuters in 2010. 'It's not recognized by enough people as a worthy craft.'
'If you get hold of a head of hair on somebody you've never seen before, cut beautiful shapes, cut beautiful architectural angles and she walks out looking so different - I think that's masterful,' he said.
Born in London on January 17, 1928, the son of a poor Turkish-Jewish carpet salesman, Sassoon spent eight of his early years in an orphanage after his father abandoned his family. He quit school at 14, and his stepfather agreed to finance his apprenticeship as a hairdresser.
'It was my mother's idea,' he once said of his entry into hairstyling. 'Her feeling was that I didn't have the intelligence to pick a trade myself.'
In 1948, after the partition of Palestine, Sassoon spent a year working on a kibbutz and fighting with the Israeli army. He credited that year with giving him the direction and discipline needed to jump into a full-time career in hair cutting.
BOND STREET AND BOB CUTS
In 1950 he won his first hairdressing competition, and four years later at age 26, opened his first shop in fashionable Bond Street in London's West End.
He had decided that if he could not change hairdressing within a decade he would become an architect, and he drew inspiration from great buildings around the world. But soon, his salon was bursting with women looking for his signature styles that were geometric yet surprisingly natural and easy to shape.
His wispy-short early style was a vast contrast to the teased, brutally coiffed styles of the 1950s, and by 1963, he had created a short, angular cut on a horizontal plane that was the recreation of the classic 'bob cut.'
At the time, Sassoon was creating his 'wash and wear hair' when styling models for fashion designer Mary Quant. Women began fashioning themselves after Quant's 'Carnaby Street' style - not only with their hair, but also with white lipstick, severe eye makeup and thigh-high skirts.
His association with Quant put Sassoon at the forefront of pop culture and fashion. His styles also began attracting a male audience when The Beatles adopted Sassoon-inspired cuts with bangs and long locks down to their shoulders.
He gained even greater fame with his hair style for Mia Farrow in 1967 film, 'Rosemary's Baby,' and the term 'a Sassoon' became part of the fashion lexicon in Europe and America.
'I just consider being one of the luckiest people in the sense that creativity came to me and it flowed,' Sassoon told Reuters in the 2010 interview.
AUTHOR AND BUSINESSMAN
He diversified his hair-styling interests by writing. In 1967 - at age of 39 - he published an autobiography, 'Sorry I Kept You Waiting Madam', and in 1976, with his second wife Beverly, he wrote 'A Year of Health and Beauty.'
The book was a best-seller, but the marriage soon ended in a much-publicized divorce. His first marriage, to his receptionist Elaine Wood in 1956, had also ended in divorce in 1963.
Overall, Sassoon would marry four times throughout his life and have four children. His eldest daughter Catya died of an accidental overdose in 2002 at age 33.
After building a business with salons and styling products, Sassoon sold the rights to his name to Richardson-Vicks, a U.S. health and beauty supply company, in 1983. At that time his hair products alone were netting Vidal Sassoon Inc about $113 million dollars a year.
Procter & Gamble acquired Richardson-Vicks in 1985, and continued making products using the Sassoon name.
The famed stylist sued Procter & Gamble in 2003, accusing the company of breach of contract and fraud on the grounds that it neglected his brand. The two sides reached a confidential settlement in 2004.
The stylist maintained his British roots despite living in the United States. He was a die-hard fan of the Chelsea soccer team, and in 2009 he was honored by the Queen Elizabeth II when he was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Apart from hairdressing interests, he set up the Vidal Sassoon Foundation to help the needy in educational pursuits both in Israel and abroad.
Sassoon is survived by three children and his wife, Rhonda.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte and Alex Dobuzinskis; Michelle Nichols and Judith Schoolman; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)
This article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Dustin Hoffman joins roll-call of celebrity heroes
(Reuters) - A London lawyer has credited actor Dustin Hoffman for saving his life when he suffered a heart attack while jogging in the city's Hyde Park, becoming the latest celebrity in recent weeks to help rescue a person in crisis.
Sam Dempster, 27, told Britain's Sun newspaper on Tuesday that Hoffman came to his aid when he collapsed in the park 10 days ago, and called emergency services.
'I have no memory of what happened. The paramedics told me I had been saved by Dustin Hoffman. It's unbelievable,' Dempster was quoted as saying.
Paramedics told the newspaper that the 'Rain Man' star, 74, called emergency services and tended to Dempster as he waited for them to arrive. Hoffman, who has a home nearby, left only after they had re-started Dempster's heart.
Hoffman's Los Angeles-based representative confirmed the account.
Hoffman is the latest celebrity turned Good Samaritan in recent weeks.
'Black Swan' actress Mila Kunis cared for a man who collapsed and had a seizure while working at her Los Angeles home last weekend, celebrity website TMZ.com reported on Tuesday.
'Grey's Anatomy' star Patrick Dempsey helped to pry a teenager from a car wreck in Malibu last month, and actor Ryan Gosling grabbed a British woman to stop her from being hit by a car in Manhattan in April.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Sam Dempster, 27, told Britain's Sun newspaper on Tuesday that Hoffman came to his aid when he collapsed in the park 10 days ago, and called emergency services.
'I have no memory of what happened. The paramedics told me I had been saved by Dustin Hoffman. It's unbelievable,' Dempster was quoted as saying.
Paramedics told the newspaper that the 'Rain Man' star, 74, called emergency services and tended to Dempster as he waited for them to arrive. Hoffman, who has a home nearby, left only after they had re-started Dempster's heart.
Hoffman's Los Angeles-based representative confirmed the account.
Hoffman is the latest celebrity turned Good Samaritan in recent weeks.
'Black Swan' actress Mila Kunis cared for a man who collapsed and had a seizure while working at her Los Angeles home last weekend, celebrity website TMZ.com reported on Tuesday.
'Grey's Anatomy' star Patrick Dempsey helped to pry a teenager from a car wreck in Malibu last month, and actor Ryan Gosling grabbed a British woman to stop her from being hit by a car in Manhattan in April.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Pop artist who created LOVE sued for renouncing artwork
(Reuters) - An 83-year-old artist known for his block letter 'LOVE' design that became a symbol of the anti-war movement in the 1960s is being sued by a Monaco-based art dealer for renouncing the authenticity of sculptures once valued as high as $1 million.
Beginning in 2008, art buyer Joao Tovar paid $481,625 for 10 sculptures of the word PREM, a Sanskrit term meaning 'love,' from a one-time business partner of renowned pop artist Robert Indiana, Tovar said in the lawsuit filed in superior court in Rockland, Maine.
Tovar says he bought the sculptures from longtime Indiana associate John Gilbert because he believed Indiana had officially licensed their production.
Indiana, who lives on an island off the Maine coast, renounced the sculptures in a 2009 letter to New York dealer Simon Salama-Caro, saying they had been conceived by Gilbert in India and made without his permission. The move led auction house Christie's to remove them from an upcoming sale.
Best known for his 1964 block letter creation featuring an L-O arranged on top of a V-E, Indiana's works are part of the permanent collection of major museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and the Whitney Museum of Modern Art. The LOVE design, on which the PREM sculptures were based, was featured on an 8-cent U.S. postage stamp issued on Valentine's Day in 1973.
Indiana's denial of his approval 'rendered the sculptures worth little more than the materials from which they were made,' says the suit, which was filed April 30. Further complicating the matter, Tovar's suit says some of the works he bought have been sold multiple times, most recently for a total of $1.1 million.
Indiana, reached by telephone this week, told Reuters he 'absolutely' denied the allegations in the suit but declined further comment.
Tovar says that he relied upon a 2008 certificate of authenticity provided by Gilbert that includes Indiana's signature and the words 'To Tovar' at the bottom of the page near Gilbert's signature. Court filings show that Indiana acknowledged that the signature on the document was his but that it was meant as a souvenir for Tovar, rather than acknowledgement that the work was his.
On April 24, Gilbert and Indiana settled a dispute in federal court in New York over the PREM works after a judge found that Gilbert had attempted to 'force an artist - here, defendant Robert Indiana - to acknowledge creation of a work that the artist did not create and does not like; and then plaintiff could and would use such acknowledgement in selling such works to the public as authentic creations by the artist.'
The judge in that case also found that Indiana had made an agreement with Gilbert in 2007 under which Indiana would use Sanskrit characters to design a PREM sculpture that Gilbert could produce and sell. That agreement did not cover the design of a PREM sculpture using the Latin alphabet - like the work purchased by Tovar - because Indiana felt such a design 'looked like a refrigerator,' according to court documents.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Vicki Allen)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING.
Beginning in 2008, art buyer Joao Tovar paid $481,625 for 10 sculptures of the word PREM, a Sanskrit term meaning 'love,' from a one-time business partner of renowned pop artist Robert Indiana, Tovar said in the lawsuit filed in superior court in Rockland, Maine.
Tovar says he bought the sculptures from longtime Indiana associate John Gilbert because he believed Indiana had officially licensed their production.
Indiana, who lives on an island off the Maine coast, renounced the sculptures in a 2009 letter to New York dealer Simon Salama-Caro, saying they had been conceived by Gilbert in India and made without his permission. The move led auction house Christie's to remove them from an upcoming sale.
Best known for his 1964 block letter creation featuring an L-O arranged on top of a V-E, Indiana's works are part of the permanent collection of major museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and the Whitney Museum of Modern Art. The LOVE design, on which the PREM sculptures were based, was featured on an 8-cent U.S. postage stamp issued on Valentine's Day in 1973.
Indiana's denial of his approval 'rendered the sculptures worth little more than the materials from which they were made,' says the suit, which was filed April 30. Further complicating the matter, Tovar's suit says some of the works he bought have been sold multiple times, most recently for a total of $1.1 million.
Indiana, reached by telephone this week, told Reuters he 'absolutely' denied the allegations in the suit but declined further comment.
Tovar says that he relied upon a 2008 certificate of authenticity provided by Gilbert that includes Indiana's signature and the words 'To Tovar' at the bottom of the page near Gilbert's signature. Court filings show that Indiana acknowledged that the signature on the document was his but that it was meant as a souvenir for Tovar, rather than acknowledgement that the work was his.
On April 24, Gilbert and Indiana settled a dispute in federal court in New York over the PREM works after a judge found that Gilbert had attempted to 'force an artist - here, defendant Robert Indiana - to acknowledge creation of a work that the artist did not create and does not like; and then plaintiff could and would use such acknowledgement in selling such works to the public as authentic creations by the artist.'
The judge in that case also found that Indiana had made an agreement with Gilbert in 2007 under which Indiana would use Sanskrit characters to design a PREM sculpture that Gilbert could produce and sell. That agreement did not cover the design of a PREM sculpture using the Latin alphabet - like the work purchased by Tovar - because Indiana felt such a design 'looked like a refrigerator,' according to court documents.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Vicki Allen)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Supermodel, billionaire settle child-support dispute
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista and French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault reached a child-support settlement on Monday following two days of tense, often personal court testimony last week in Manhattan.
Lawyers for both parties declined to disclose the settlement. A lawyer for Evangelista called media reports that she sought $46,000 a month as a misunderstanding, but acknowledged she was seeking a 'substantial' sum to raise their 5-year-old son.
Both parties agreed to return to court on Tuesday to finalize the agreement.
'Everybody's glad, for the sake of the child, that it's done,' David Aronson, attorney for Pinault, told reporters outside of court.
The model and Pinault walked out of the courtroom together, whispering. The scene was a stark contrast to last week's trial, when Evangelista barely acknowledged Pinault and shot him icy glances during opening arguments.
Evangelista, 46, and Pinault, 49, had been embroiled in a contentious child-support trial over their son Augustin, conceived during a brief liaison in late 2005.
Pinault testified to ending the relationship after learning Evangelista was pregnant in early 2006. He denied a charge he had asked her to terminate the pregnancy.
Augustin was born in October 2006. Within a year, Pinault would father a child by actress Salma Hayek, named Valentina. Hayek and Pinault married in 2009 in Paris, on Valentine's Day.
Pinault is chief executive of PPR, a multinational firm that owns luxury brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. He is worth about $3 billion, according to Aronson.
Last week, Evangelista's attorney, William Beslow, grilled Pinault over his finances, the amount he spends on his other children and about the gifts he'd given Augustin. Beslow had argued Augustin was entitled to financial support on par with Valentina.
Pinault acknowledged he had put his $12 million Los Angeles home in a trust for Valentina to 'reassure' Hayek that she and their child would be taken care of should anything happen to Pinault or to their relationship. Pinault fathered two children by a previous wife before meeting Evangelista.
Last week's courtroom drama included a series of contentious exchanges, including Pinault's acknowledgements that he 'didn't even know (Evangelista) very well' when she became pregnant. Evangelista also gave a detailed account of her rise from a 50-cent-a-basket cherry picker in her Canadian hometown near Niagara Falls to one of the most photographed faces in the world.
(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Philip Barbara)
This article is brought to you by DATE.
Lawyers for both parties declined to disclose the settlement. A lawyer for Evangelista called media reports that she sought $46,000 a month as a misunderstanding, but acknowledged she was seeking a 'substantial' sum to raise their 5-year-old son.
Both parties agreed to return to court on Tuesday to finalize the agreement.
'Everybody's glad, for the sake of the child, that it's done,' David Aronson, attorney for Pinault, told reporters outside of court.
The model and Pinault walked out of the courtroom together, whispering. The scene was a stark contrast to last week's trial, when Evangelista barely acknowledged Pinault and shot him icy glances during opening arguments.
Evangelista, 46, and Pinault, 49, had been embroiled in a contentious child-support trial over their son Augustin, conceived during a brief liaison in late 2005.
Pinault testified to ending the relationship after learning Evangelista was pregnant in early 2006. He denied a charge he had asked her to terminate the pregnancy.
Augustin was born in October 2006. Within a year, Pinault would father a child by actress Salma Hayek, named Valentina. Hayek and Pinault married in 2009 in Paris, on Valentine's Day.
Pinault is chief executive of PPR, a multinational firm that owns luxury brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. He is worth about $3 billion, according to Aronson.
Last week, Evangelista's attorney, William Beslow, grilled Pinault over his finances, the amount he spends on his other children and about the gifts he'd given Augustin. Beslow had argued Augustin was entitled to financial support on par with Valentina.
Pinault acknowledged he had put his $12 million Los Angeles home in a trust for Valentina to 'reassure' Hayek that she and their child would be taken care of should anything happen to Pinault or to their relationship. Pinault fathered two children by a previous wife before meeting Evangelista.
Last week's courtroom drama included a series of contentious exchanges, including Pinault's acknowledgements that he 'didn't even know (Evangelista) very well' when she became pregnant. Evangelista also gave a detailed account of her rise from a 50-cent-a-basket cherry picker in her Canadian hometown near Niagara Falls to one of the most photographed faces in the world.
(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Philip Barbara)
This article is brought to you by DATE.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Demi Moore (finally) changes her Twitter name
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Demi Moore is finally ready to move on from her failed marriage to Ashton Kutcher. At least in the Twitterverse.
The 'G.I. Jane' actress ended months of speculation Thursday, finally answering the question: 'When is she going to change her Twitter handle?'
Moore had been going by @MrsKutcher, a handle that grew more awkward with each passing day since November, when she announced plans to divorce 'Two and a Half Men' star Kutcher.
Moore now goes by @JustDemi. According to her account, the actress chose the new moniker because it's 'playful.'
'So hard finding a name that was fun somewhat playful and available,' Moore wrote. 'So for now it will be @justdemi It could grow on me!'
In December, Moore dismissed notions that she needed to change her Twitter name ASAP in order to distance herself from her ex.
'Changing my twitter name isn't a top priority right now,' she tweeted. 'Sorry it bothers so many of u. Should I not tweet until I do? Does it really matter?'
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING SITES.
The 'G.I. Jane' actress ended months of speculation Thursday, finally answering the question: 'When is she going to change her Twitter handle?'
Moore had been going by @MrsKutcher, a handle that grew more awkward with each passing day since November, when she announced plans to divorce 'Two and a Half Men' star Kutcher.
Moore now goes by @JustDemi. According to her account, the actress chose the new moniker because it's 'playful.'
'So hard finding a name that was fun somewhat playful and available,' Moore wrote. 'So for now it will be @justdemi It could grow on me!'
In December, Moore dismissed notions that she needed to change her Twitter name ASAP in order to distance herself from her ex.
'Changing my twitter name isn't a top priority right now,' she tweeted. 'Sorry it bothers so many of u. Should I not tweet until I do? Does it really matter?'
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING SITES.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)