12 May, 2010

Kristin Chenoweth Slams Newsweek Over ‘Homophobic’ Article, Writer Responds

Kristin Chenoweth is La Defense by Gays and actors pronouncing it cons the article was printed in homophobic Ramin Setoodeh Newsweek (he argues that homosexual comedians should not play it right bank).

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"To finally, as someone who has been proudly plea for the equality of the rights and support of GLBT causes as I can remember a long time, how much it means to the young players to see their friends Men and Their Sexuality Proud like Sean Hayes, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Cynthia Nixon and in their work without having to pass their sexuality Keep one. Need to see a secret No Bigot, people who reported factually Incorrect Article deviating Heterosexual standards that it can not be open about who they are and still realize their dreams' em. Shall we only source is a good man Setoodeh Gay said himself and I hope that the author of this article, it would at least understand. I encourage Newsweek to embrace that promote the Assumption of stories of love, unity and singing and dancing for all! "

Anne Hathaway has it all – a glittering movie career, a winning personality and a face that's just very slightly too big for her skull.

Anne Hathaway has everything - brilliant film career, a winning personality and a face that is just slightly too big for his skull. But there is one thing that Anne Hathaway has no more, and is a millionaire Italian boyfriend who was arrested for having perhaps telling lies about the PALS to be with the pope to fool others QuickList millionaires giving cash trucks. It has not even one of these. What an idiot. Anyway, it seems that Anne Hathaway bailed from her relationship with Raffaello Follieri just before he was arrested and imprisoned by the FBI on a bail of $ 21 million. A narrow escape? Not according to some friends of Follieri, who are now claiming that Anne Hathaway was the person who ratted on the FBI in the first place. Exciting, no? Imagine how it would be interesting if a) we knew what and who Raffaello Follieri b) we have given a lot of Anne Hathaway. Just another headache for Anne Hathaway! The actress has a history dating back about evil. His time former boyfriend Raffaello Follieri million prison is to extract investors nearly four Follieri told investors he was deep in the Vatican so that he can provide the Church property for $ 4 million
Ken Hart, President, H & H Builders turn the company from the construction site where the mural hangs Shulman, known for his. Alternatively, he will be pressing charges of the mural, painted by street artist Mr. Brainwash, better known as Thierry Guetta. Contributing a better translation

05 May, 2010

Sea Turtles Washing Up Dead Near Oil Spill Site : Discovery News

 A loggerhead sea turtle enters the water at Clearwater Beach, Florida after she was released back into the Gulf of Mexico following her rehabilitation at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Endangered sea turtles are washing up on the Gulf Coast and scientists are worried there may be more, due to the Gulf oil spil

At least 25 sea turtles have washed up dead on Mississippi beaches over the past few days, according to multiple media reports. So far, there is no evidence that the oil spill killed the turtles, but tests are ongoing.

If it turns out that the sea turtles were affected by the spill, the oil could have harmed the reptiles in several different ways that may not be so easy to detect. A Duke University-led study, for example, found that contaminants may lead to changes in a sea turtle's immune system. Contaminants may also cause possible liver damage and lead to alterations in protein and carbohydrate regulation.

Other reptile experts report that hydrocarbons released by oil can trigger pneumonia, if these chemicals enter the lungs. Red blood cells could also be damaged.

But any number of other threats to sea turtles could have led to the deaths. I'm very interested to learn what the actual cause is and if more sea turtles have died. We're only seeing the bodies that wash up onshore.

Here is the latest AP video report. Please note that other dead sea turtles have since been documented.

Carole King & James Taylor - VIP Stage Seat Packages Live at the Troubadour

In November of 1970 James Taylor and Carole
King first performed together at the Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California.  Taylor had just released his debut album for the Beatles’ newly formed Apple Records and King was finding her way as a first time solo performer even though by then she was a famous songwriter with a string of hits for other artists.  When they returned to the club for a two-week co-headlining run in 1971 their lives were somewhat different. That summer Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” was topping the charts and King’s landmark Tapestry was on its way to making her a music superstar. Thirty-six years later, in November 2007, James Taylor, Carole King and members of their renowned original band “The Section” (featuring guitarist Danny Kortchmar, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russell Kunkel) returned to the Troubadour for a three-night, six-show run to celebrate the venue’s 50th anniversary.

The public sale for VIP Stage Seat Packages for Carole King and James Taylor's highly anticipated Troubadour Reunion Tour starts today (April 7)!Supporting the May 4th release of their Live at the Troubadour CD/DVD, King and Taylor are offering fans a chance to see the show 'intimate and in the round' in VIP Stage Seat Packages throughout 37 North American tour dates.VIP Packages include one stage seat (arranged in tables for two), special access to the sound check session, a pre-performance private reception with complimentary wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres, a Special Event Tour Laminate, and a commemorative Troubadour Reunion tour book. The groundbreaking set design is expected to raise over $1 million with proceeds going to over 90 national and local charities.

VIP Packages include one stage seat (arranged in tables for two), special access to the sound check session, a pre-performance private reception with complimentary wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres, a Special Event Tour Laminate, and a commemorative Troubadour Reunion tour book. The groundbreaking set design is expected to raise over $1 million with proceeds going to over 90 national and local charities.

04 May, 2010

Greek bailout leaves markets unconvinced

Angry Greek unionists took to the streets Tuesday to protest harsh austerity measures imposed under an international bailout to save Greece from looming bankruptcy, while financial markets were far from assured that the euro110 billion ($144 billion) in promised loans could douse Europe's smoldering sovereign debt crisis.

The cutbacks were announced on Sunday, as a precondition for the loans from the International Monetary Fund and the other 15 EU countries using the euro. The aid, spread over three years, is Greece's only hope of paying off euro8.5 billion ($11 billion) in debt that matures May 19 — or defaulting.

Yet market reaction to the bailout deal was "lukewarm at best," as although Greek and peripheral bond yield spreads narrowed the euro slipped against the dollar, said analyst Mitul Kotecha at Credit Agricole CIB Research.

"Concerns about parliamentary approvals, implementation-execution risk, prospects for relatively weaker growth in Europe, as well as contagion to Spain and Portugal, has tempered any enthusiasm towards the package," Kotecha said.
About 4,000 striking teachers and students marched in Athens to protest the cuts, carrying black flags, while some scuffled with police. Earlier, about 100 Communist Party supporters broke through the gates of the Acropolis, the city's chief ancient monument, and hung banners in Greek and English reading "Peoples of Europe Rise Up," to the bemusement of tourists allowed in despite the disruption.

"Despite the large size of the loan package there are growing worries that it will be insufficient to cover Greece's funding requirements over the next three years. All of this implies that the euro will remain vulnerable for some time yet."

A Greek default would be a serious blow to the shared euro currency and inflict losses on banks holding Greek bonds in France and Germany. The bailout is intended to reassure markets Greece will not default and thus prevent the debt crisis from spreading to other financially shaky countries such as Spain and Portugal.

Euro zone governments loaded up on debt and ran large deficits during the recession and financial crisis of the past two years. Fears that their economies will not grow fast enough to enable them to pay those debts have led markets to fear they will default.

As a result, bond investors are demand higher and higher rates of interest to lend to what are increasingly viewed as risky borrowers.

On Tuesday, the interest rate gap, or spread, between Portuguese and benchmark German 10-year bonds rose 22 basis points, or 0.22 percentage point, which means Lisbon would have to pay 5.2 percent in interest to borrow on the markets. In comparison, Greece would currently have to pay a prohibitive 9.5 percent — so much that the country was effectively shut off from the bond market.

Portuguese stocks were down 2.2 percent, while the Madrid bourse was shedding 2.66 percent. Athens stocks tumbled 6.5 percent.

EU spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said the funds will be available on time, despite the complexities involved in 15 countries having to approve the deal.

"I can assure you we will be ready to meet the commitments on Greece," he said. "(My) clear impression is that we will no doubt have the critical mass of funds by mid May."

On Tuesday, France's lower house of parliament adopted a budget amendment allowing the government to release French funds for Greece's bailout. The text must still go before the Senate, its final step in parliament.

France has committed to providing up to euro16.8 billion in its share of the three-year plan, under which Greece will receive money quarterly as its progress in meeting its austerity targets is reviewed.

Germany's Cabinet has approved legislation to give Greece euro22.4 billion ($29.6 billion), and on Tuesday Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said local banks are willing to help with financing — although it was not clear how much they might contribute.

"With the joint euro-zone-IMF fiscal lifeline increasingly likely to be in place in a matter of days, the possibility of a near-term Greek funding crisis has been greatly reduced," Ben May, economist at Capital Economics Ltd, said. "But with government debt set to soar to astronomical levels this may just mark the end of one act in the tragedy."

The new Greek measures will cut deeper into pay for the country's estimated 750,000 civil servants, reduce all pensions and further hike consumer taxes. State employees, including school teachers and hospital workers, began a 48-hour strike Tuesday, which led to several domestic flights by Greece's Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines being canceled.

Larger protests are expected Wednesday, when a general strike will halt air, sea and rail transport while effectively shutting down the country's bloated public sector.

As chanting protesters stomped past Parliament, Greece's center-left government submitted draft legislation to lawmakers to save euro30 billion ($40 billion) — the country's current budget deficit — through 2012. The bill is expected to be voted on by Thursday, and should pass easily as the governing Socialists hold a strong majority in the unicameral house.

A few hundred pensioners held their own demonstration, marching through central Athens to protest pension cuts and consumer tax hikes, chanting "Stealing our pensions is not the answer."

"We won't let them steal our livelihoods, they are cheating us," said Dimos Koumbouris, head of a pensioners' union. "Tomorrow everything will close, factories, shops, everything — they will hear our voice very clearly."

03 May, 2010

Toni Braxton Is “Back to Basics” Catsuit Disaster + Speaks on Her Breakup & Pending Divorce

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas when you're talking about pleasure seeking bachelors and party girls, but  not so when it comes to R&B songstress Toni Braxton. The Atlanta-based singer, who spent two years performing her show "Revealed" at the Sunset Strip's Flamingo Hotel & Casino, is back in Atlanta with a new album in stores Tuesday...and she's telling everything.
Today on accessAtlanta

  Despite some harsh reviews from critics and fans who said Braxton's voice sounded weak, the show ran from May 2006 until it was canceled in April 2008,  just after Braxton began experiencing heart trouble. But she'll get back to that in a minute.

"Vegas was a huge learning experience for me," the singer said last week in a phone conversation. "I got more comfortable with my audience and being a performer. You never knew what was going to happen. My improv was incredible."


Braxton's stint in Vegas came with several epiphanies. One was the moment she learned that her youngest son, Diesel, now 7, was autistic. "I remember being relieved and anxious and angry at the same time," said Braxton who had suspected for many years that her son was developing differently. A lack of eye contact and not answering when she called him were her clues, but doctors thought the problem was his hearing.

Back on stage, Braxton had a breakdown one night and told the audience all about her son.

"I used the stage as my couch that day," she said. A representative from Autism Speaks reached out to her and Braxton said she was happy to return the good deed later by becoming a spokesperson for the organization. "For me, it was paying it forward. I figured telling my story would help," Braxton said.  Later, folks in the industry rallied around her and began talking about their autistic children as well, she said.

But any joy from the new-found camaraderie and understanding of her son's condition was soon overshadowed by Braxton's own health scare. In April, she began having chest pains and was hospitalized. It happened again in June. Braxton wasn't sure what was going on. "I couldn't walk through my bedroom or to the front door," she said. "For a while it was very scary."

Braxton was ultimately diagnosed with coronary microvascular angina.

Her recovery, both physical and emotional, began with a turn on "Dancing With the Stars" as Braxton followed the recent crop of urban songbirds from the '90s appearing on reality TV.

"It was a great avenue to get over my fear of performing," she said. "It helped me find my pulse." Audiences saw Braxton for five rounds before she was eliminated. What they didn't see were the doctors backstage checking her vital signs before and after each performance. "If I'm going to be honest, I probably did it too soon. It was hard on my body, but great emotionally," she said.

The experience gave her the courage to begin recording her sixth studio album, her first album in five years, aptly named "Pulse." For the project, Braxton recruited well-known producers and songwriters including David Foster and Simon Franglen.

In a sense, she said, "Pulse" signals a return to what she does best, using the full range of her voice including the lower octaves that characterized hits such as "You're Making Me High" and "Unbreak My Heart."

"I just went back to what makes me feel comfortable. I just wanted to go back to basics," she said.

One thing Braxton can't return to are the days when she was a bit more green about the inner workings of the industry. "Now I am thinking about things like the bottom line. You just want to create, but I know if I don't sell, I'm not going to be able to make another album," she said.

She's also learning to let go of the things that hold her back – which, in the midst of a separation from husband Keri Lewis, is something she has to keep practicing. "You have to let it go or it will beat you up," Braxton said. "It is taxing on you and suppresses you from getting future things."

Officials brace for more flooding, deaths Nashville flooding:

About 1,500 guests of a downtown hotel complex spent the night in a high school to escape the flooding Cumberland River, which was expected to crest Monday following weekend thunderstorms that killed at least 19 people in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.


The Cumberland River had already reached record levels since an early 1960s flood control project was put in place. With so much water inundating the Cumberland's tributaries, however, it was difficult to gauge whether the river would stop at 50 feet or exceed the forecast, increasing the water's spread in the city.

Authorities weren't taking any chances. They evacuated the downtown area and north Nashville where a leaky levee threatened residents and businesses. Flooding could hit the downtown tourism industry, a commuter train depot and the nearby LP Field, where the Tennessee Titans play.

Floodwater spilled onto a couple of downtown streets near the riverfront and restaurants and bars in the tourist district were closed.

Officials in Tennessee were preparing for more deaths and for the Cumberland River, which winds through the Music City, to crest more than 11 feet Monday afternoon, putting portions of downtown in danger of the kind of damage experienced by thousands of residents whose homes were swamped by flash floods.

At the Opryland Hotel, Monday morning brought sunshine and a view of flooded parking lots around the hotel and adjacent venues. Water surrounded the Grand Ole Opry House and the Opry Mills shopping mall.

Mayor Karl dean called on Nashville residents Monday to use water only for cooking and drinking because one of the city's two water treatment plants was flooded.

Forecasters were on the money when they warned residents there would be severe weather across the Mid-South, but few could have predicted the devastation the relentless line of storms brought.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen called it an "unprecedented rain event," but that failed to capture the magnitude. More than 13 inches of rain fell in Nashville over two days, nearly doubling the previous record of 6.68 inches that fell in the wake of Hurricane Fredrick in 1979.

"That is an astonishing amount of rain in a 24- or 36-hour period," Bredesen said Sunday.

At least 11 were dead in Tennessee, six in Mississippi and two in Kentucky.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency officials say there was likely an additional victim, but a body had not been recovered. Three people in Mississippi were killed when high winds believed to be tornados hit their homes and three others were killed in what authorities said were weather-related traffic accidents.

Kentucky Emergency Management officials said two deaths in Barren and Madison counties in central Kentucky were weather-related.

The weekend deaths came on the heels of a tornado in Arkansas that killed a woman and injured about two dozen people Friday. And just a week ago, 10 people were killed by a tornado from a separate storm in western Mississippi.

Bredesen said officials hoped for the best, but knew there might be more deaths reported Monday as authorities got their first real look at the damage after a weekend filled with frantic rescues.

"This is going to go on for a while," Bredesen said. "It's going to take a while for the water to recede and us to get down into this. It's going to take several days for this to get back to anything near normal."

Much of the damage from flooding was done in outlying areas of Nashville and across the middle and western parts of Tennessee. Rescues turned dramatic with homeowners plucked off roofs and pregnant women airlifted off a waterlogged interstate.

The rain ended Monday but there will likely be weeks of cleanup for residents and public works employees alike. Though there was no official estimate, it was clear thousands of homes had been damaged or destroyed by flooding and tornados. Thousands of residents were displaced with some going to more than 20 shelters opened around Tennessee.

Emily Petro, with the Red Cross in Nashville, said the agency was sheltering about 2,000 people across Tennessee — about 1,200 of them in Nashville.

Hospitals, schools and state buildings also were flooded. Most schools in middle Tennessee would be closed Monday and most universities in the Nashville area postponed final exams, though many state workers were expected to return to their jobs, if possible.

The state's roads were in bad shape. The three major interstates in the Nashville area were closed over the weekend and Interstate 40, which runs east to west through the state, would likely remain closed since standing water is still stranding drivers.

Bredesen said more than 150 roads were closed in middle Tennessee alone with washouts and bridge damage destruction fairly common.

The Cumberland could add millions of dollars to the damage total.

Officials in Tennessee said Sunday the flooding is as bad as they've seen since 1975 when water memorably inundated the old Opryland amusement park east of downtown Nashville. Even the state's own emergency operations center wasn't immune. It took up to a foot of water below a false floor, forcing officials to relocate to an auxiliary command center.

"I've never seen it this high," said emergency official Donnie Smith, who's lived in Nashville 45 years. "I'm sure that it's rained this hard at one time, but never for this much of an extended period."

Girlfriend Expecting Fifth Child Lance Armstrong and

Lance Armstrong is building his own army. The bicycling champion and his girlfriend, Anna Hanson, have announced they are expecting a a new baby. It will be Armstrong's fifth child and his second with Hanson.

Armstrong, 38, confirmed the happy news (which he had alluded to in some strange tweets) to his local Austin, Texas, newspaper. The kid's sex has yet to be determined, so the parents say he or she will be known as either Jack or Olivia. The child will meanwhile be called Cinco Armstrong, his poppa said.

Armstrong took to Twitter Thursday evening to break the news to fans, announcing the kid already has a Twitter page.

"Getting ?'s today about someone I'm following, a certain @Cincoarmstrong. What to say? Yet another blessing in our lives," he wrote. "I cannot wait!"

"I got 2 arms, 2 legs, a nickname, and i'm 2 inches long," Cinco says in his/her first post. "I'm now the size of a lemon, 3.5 inches long, and weigh 1.5 ounces. And oh yeah, I'm on Twitter."

Armstrong now has five kids, adding Cinco to his gang of Luke, 10, twin girls Isabelle and Grace, 8, and Max, who was born last June.

02 May, 2010

Video: Lil Wayne, Drake, Eminem & Travis Barker Perform At The Grammys

Rap supergroup may perform Drake's 'Forever' remix this Sunday.
Eminem, Drake, Lil Wayne and Travis Barker will team up for a special performance at Sunday night's Grammy Awards. The addition of the rap crew that represents nearly the entire lineup for the remix of Drake's "Forever" — only awards-show fire starter Kanye West is missing — was announced via the Grammys' Twitter early Thursday morning. (A spokesperson for the Grammys could not be reached at press time to confirm the addition.)

They join a major roster of performers that is already packed with all five Album of the Year nominees — Beyoncé, the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift — as well as Bon Jovi, Green Day, Lady Antebellum, Maxwell, Pink and the Zac Brown Band. The show will also boast a 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson featuring Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher.

The Grammys Twitter also announced that Simon Baker, Ryan Seacrest, Chris O'Donnell, Robert Downey Jr. and Kaley Cuoco will be presenters at the 52nd annual awards show. Previously announced presenters include Kristen Bell, Justin Bieber, Jeff Bridges, Miley Cyrus, Josh Duhamel, the Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones, Ke$ha, LL Cool J, Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana and Ringo Starr.

For the show, Mary J. Blige will team up with famed tenor Andrea Bocelli to perform Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as part of a fundraiser for Haiti earthquake relief.

The special fundraising segment of Sunday night's program will be released as an iTunes/Target.com download following the telecast, and all proceeds from its sale will go to the American Red Cross for earthquake recovery efforts in the devastated Caribbean island nation. Blige provided one of the emotional highlights of Friday night's "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon with a spirited cover of the traditional folk song "Hard Times Come Again No More."

Which performance are you most looking forward to at the Grammys? Let us know below!

Stick with MTV News all week for our coverage of the 2010 Grammy Awards. We'll have reports on your favorite nominees, party photos, behind-the-scenes video and much more leading up to and during the big show Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

Conan: I Wouldn't Have Done What Leno Did To Me 60 Minutes' to air Conan O'Brien interview Sunday

In His First Post-'Tonight Show' Interview, He Tells Steve Kroft He Wasn't Even Sure NBC Really Wanted Him to Stay
Conan O'Brien will be on TV this weekend with his first post-"Tonight Show" interview.
O'Brien talks with Steve Kroft on "60 Minutes," CBS said Tuesday. O'Brien's exit deal with NBC barred him from television appearances until May 1; the "60 Minutes" piece will air the day after.

The interview was conducted last week in Los Angeles, according to a person with knowledge of it. The person, who lacked authority to discuss the matter publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.

O'Brien, who left "Tonight" in January over a time-slot dispute with NBC, has agreed to host a late-night show on TBS later this year. He's now on a national comedy tour.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Tiger Struggles, Misses Cut at Quail Hollow Championship on April 30

Tiger recorded the second worst points-total of his career by finishing the second round with a 7-over-par score of 79 on April 30. As result, he missed the 36-hole cut by eight strokes.

“Every day I do media, I get asked it, so it doesn't go away,” Woods told reporters. “Even when I'm at home paparazzi still follow us, helicopters still hover around. Does it test you? Yes, of course it does. Is that any excuse? No, because I'm out there and I have the same opportunity as everybody else here in this field to shoot a good number. And I didn't do it.”

“I didn't play well,” Woods told reporters after the second round. “More importantly my short game wasn't very good.”
Tiger Woods was unable to overcome his early struggles at the Quail Hollow Championship on April 30, and missed the cut to compete the event’s final two rounds.


After shooting a 2-over-par 74 first round on April 29, Woods performed even worse in the second round, failing to qualify for weekend play at a tournament for only the sixth time in his career.

Woods’ struggles may have to do with additional drama he has endured off the golf course. The Quail Hollow Championship is only the second event he has competed in since his adultery scandal leaked to the media.  Just before he could take the course on Thursday’s opening round, the National Enquirer reported that he confessed to more than 120 affairs during his five-year marriage, including an affair with one of his neighbors.

But Tiger didn’t use his private life issues as an excuse for his poor performance.

Woods will next compete in the Players Championship, scheduled to begin on May 6.

01 May, 2010

Prince Charles' NBC Plans Special On Environmentalism

Poor Charles. Clueless twit. Ward of the state. Hipocrit. The bejeweled royal family devours the planet with fleets of jets and autos and sprawling palaces with pools that need to be heated year round, etc., Compliments of the public, of course.

Britain's Prince Charles will be featured on NBC later this year in a film about his environmental work.

The network said Tuesday it will show "Harmony," a movie about the prince and his view that people have lost the understanding of how to live in harmony with the natural world. It features business and environmental leaders working for a better balance.

Paul Telegdy, head of alternative programming at NBC, said Prince Charles was mocked as the "tree-hugging prince" when he first started talking about many of these issues. Telegdy knows — he's a Brit who worked for the BBC.

"I always thought of him as one of the leading environmental activists on the planet," he said.

The film also includes clips from an interview Prince Charles did about the environment in 1988 with future Nobel Prize winner Al Gore.

The special will air in November, part of NBC Universal's fourth annual week of programming promoting green lifestyles.

NBC Universal executive Lauren Zalaznick said a week of programs promoting healthy lifestyles will launch June 21. They include a healthy food version of "Top Chef" on Bravo, a "Be Well, Be Happy" series on NBC News programs and details about health problems faced by Hispanics that will air on the Telemundo network.

Gabriel Aubry Sad About His Split From Halle Berry

 Halle Berry's longterm boyfriend Gabriel Aubry has confirmed he's split from the actress - describing the break-up as "sad".
Although Gabriel Aubry and Halle Berry have split up, the model says he has nothing but love and respect for the actress, with whom he has a 2-year-old daughter.

“While I will not comment on all of the wild inaccuracies being speculated about in the media, I am sad to say that Halle and I have decided together to separate at this time," Aubry, a model, confirmed Friday in a statement to Access Hollywood released through his agency, Wilhelmina Models.

The twice-married Monster's Ball star has been dating the French-Canadian model since 2005, and she gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Nahla, now two, in 2008.

Reports circulated on Friday suggesting the pair has gone their separate ways - and now Aubry has spoken out, revealing the couple has decided to finish its relationship.

In a statement released to Access Hollywood, Aubry says, "While I will not comment on all of the wild inaccuracies being speculated about in the media, I am sad to say that Halle and I have decided together to separate at this time.

"She is, and will forever be, one of the most special and beautiful people that I have ever known, and I am certain that we will continue to have only love and respect for one another."

TMZ.com reported the couple worked out a "very short-term custody arrangement" for their daughter three weeks ago, and Aubry is adamant Nahla is their top priority, adding: "Her happiness and well-being are the most important thing for both of us. Please respect our privacy during this very difficult time."
   

Berry was previously married to former baseball player David Justice, but the three-year union ended in 1993. She divorced her second husband, musician Eric Benet, in 2005.

May Day in Turkey Workers commemorate deadly, demand job security, better pay accross Asia

Those who want better wages can realize this by first bettering themselves. This does require more effort then simple protesting though, hence the worldwide commie organized protests.
Tens of thousands of protestors rallied across Asia Saturday in May Day rallies calling for higher wages and better working conditions.

Most of the protests passed off without incident but in the Chinese territory of Macau riot police used water cannon and pepper spray in clashes with protestors who fought back with stones and bottles.

Hundreds of people were involved in the clashes, which erupted after protestors tried to force their way through police barricades to march along a main road where the gambling hub's major tourist attractions are located, radio and television reports said.

Eight people were injured in the scuffles, including protestors and police, Hong Kong's ATV television said.

Television pictures showed protestors hurling metal barricades, rocks and water bottles at rows of police with riot shields.

Police then used water cannon and pepper spray to disperse the protestors.

Hong Kong's RTHK radio reported that nearly 1,000 people turned out for the May Day march to demand job protection and tough action against illegal workers.

They also demanded action against corruption and financial assistance to help offset inflation.

In neighbouring Hong Kong several thousand workers marched peacefully through the streets to demand a minimum wage of 33 dollars (4.20 US) per hour and better job protection.

Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions secretary general Lee Cheuk-yan said 33 dollars an hour was the least workers could accept, as it gave a wage little more than a couple would receive on social security assistance.

"So you can think it is only barely enough to feed two members of a family," he told RTHK.

Meanwhile, thousands of people took to the streets of the Indonesian capital Jakarta under a heavy police presence to demand better social security for workers.

"The social security system in Indonesia is still weak," Indonesian Workers Association head Saepul Tavip told AFP.

"The system here only covers about 25 percent of the workers. The social security has to cover all workers and even small people," he said.

Protestors in front of the State Palace sang the national anthem and some marched while carrying a banner that read "Realise social justice for all Indonesians".

Police used water cannon when scuffles broke out with demonstrators near the palace.

"Some of them threw water bottles to our water cannon vehicle. So we had to shoot them with water to stop their action. But now it's largely peaceful," Jakarta police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.

In the South Korean capital Seoul, about 20,000 unionists from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) rallied near the National Assembly to demand better working conditions and denounce redundancies.

Other regional offices of the militant KCTU held similar rallies in other cities across the country to highlight their demands.

In the Philippines, about 500 labour union members marched on the streets of Manila but, with elections looming, they paraded posters endorsing candidates for the May 10 polls.

Lindsay Lohan to clean mum’s closet for Mother’s Day TV special

Lindsay Lohan is going to shoot a TV special for Mother's Day in which she will rearrange her manager-mother's closet along with her kid sister.
Lindsay Lohan,23, was on three year's probation and was ordered to complete an alcohol rehabilitation program after she was found guilty of cocaine use and driving under the influence of the drug in August 2007.

Dina Lohan confirmed to TMZ that both Lindsay and Ali returned to their Long Island, New York home to film the special, reports The New York Post.hen quizzed about her elder daughter's troubles, Dina told the entertainment site: "We're on it."

'Iron Man 2' Character Over Robert Downey Jr. Says His Own Father Looms

 The Correct Way to go about apologizing WITHOUT looking weak or desperate. This unrevealed method will turn the tables and make him feel guilty about the breakup... even if the breakup was completely ALL your fault.

Now we have the much-anticipated sequel whose world premiere was rerouted from London to LA following the volcano eruption in Iceland.

"One of the biggest surprises of 2008 was Iron Man, an honest-to-goodness crowd-pleaser that boasted not just a great story and stirring special effects but which cemented the comeback of Robert Downey Jr. Casting the former hellraiser as the latest superhero was a masterstroke; his devil-may-care attitude and that wicked glint in his eye proving a refreshingly alternative to the clean-cut rivals such as Tobey ‘Spider-man’ Maguire and Brandon ‘Superman’ Routh.



Packed into a cinema in the distinctly unstarry Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush, there were no celebs and no red carpet but, thanks to GMT, at least we got to see the film first.

What none of realised was that another disaster was about to unfold in front of our eyes, for Iron Man 2 is a travesty – a mind-numbingly dull, chaotic and often unwatchable muddle. It might even be the ultimate masterclass in how not to make a movie.

Given the strength of part one, the sequel is not just a terrific failure but a terrific disappointment.

Things kick off in a squalid Moscow flat as the heavily-tattooed Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) sets to work with a hammer and welding torch on a mysterious metalwork project following the death of his father.

Meanwhile back in the States, our first glimpse of Iron Man comes as he leaps from a plane to land at the Stark Industries Expo, his metal suit peeling away to reveal Tony Stark (Downey Jr) who tells the whooping crowd how his metal creation has brought about world peace. With the ability to fly at supersonic speeds and fire lightning from the palms of his hands, it seems the world’s aggressors have laid down their arms.

But problems loom. The US Senate is pressing Stark to give up the secrets of this startling technology to the military, egged on by slimy businessman Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). There’s also the small matter of our hero’s health, with the energy pack fitted in his chest driving up his blood-toxicity levels.

That’s only the first 20 minutes or so but I’m going to stop for a second and ask if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, namely that Iron Man 2 is making the same mistake that was levelled at Spider-man 3 of throwing too much into the mix. Do we really need Stark vs. the US Government, a rival tycoon and the mysterious Vanko? Aside from muddling proceedings, that’s three bad guys we’re expected to hate.

Anyways, it turns out Vanko has been knocking together his own energy pack and launches an attack on his bitter rival as he’s taking part in a Formula 1 event in Monte Carlo. Why is Stark taking part in a car race? Dunno. Why is Vanko so angry with Stark? No idea.

With the raging Russian contained and sent to jail, he receives an unlikely offer from Hammer to team up and build an army of their own iron men. Meanwhile (yes, there’s more) Stark’s old pal Lt Col Rhodes (Don Cheadle) may be about to betray him.

Confused yet? Me too – but wait, there’s still more as, for reasons none too apparent, Stark hands control of his business to his long-suffering sidekick Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and then starts to fancy one of his employees (Scarlett Johansson).

And that’s not all. It seems Iron Man has attracted the attention of the mysterious Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) who drops by to... well, talk a bit then bugger off.

How do all these elements come together? More often than not, they don’t. This is a patchwork quilt without the stitching, a muddle of too many ideas and too many characters that connect loosely at best.

If that wasn’t bad enough, our iron-clad hero is off screen for 90 per cent of the time. As Potts tells Stark at one point: “People expect you to be Iron man -- and he’s disappeared.” No kidding.

In fact Iron Man appears just four times and only two of these are battle scenes.

They’re not badly done but what’s meant to be the big, show-stopping face-off at the end is overshadowed by a perplexing, out-of-nowhere romantic pay-off.

I don’t know what went on behind the scenes while the film was being made but rumours of reshoots and recuts have been swirling around the internet. Was this the film director Jon Favreau wanted to make? I doubt it. After Elf, the underrated Zathura and the first instalment, he’s proved himself a capable pair of hands. Perhaps the blame lies higher up the studio food chain.

Whoever’s at fault, if Favreau still wishes to make the series a trilogy, this is a franchise in serious need of rewiring."

Lindsay Lohan’s Pals Want To Force Her Into Rehab,She Might Be Headed To Jail Instead

Countering a report that Lindsay Lohan is destined for jail for not meeting the terms of her probation, the troubled actress' lawyer says she is in "substantial compliance" with a judge's orders.

"Though there have been occasional weeks when Lindsay has missed her alcohol treatment class, she has always managed to make up the class the following week by attending two classes," lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley tells TVGuide.com. "For this reason, we contend that Ms. Lohan is in substantial compliance with the conditions of her probation."

Lohan was arrested and cited for a DUI after driving her Mercedes into a curb in May 2007. Two months later, she was arrested for another DUI and pleaded guilty to two counts of being under the influence of cocaine. She pleaded no contest to DUI and reckless driving charges, and spent 84 minutes in jail and was sentenced to community service and a drug-treatment program.

Lohan has been busying herself with a recent photo shoot in which she is seen wearing lingerie, covered in blood, and holding a gun in front of her face. The 23-year-old told E! News the photos are "art."

Linda Ronstadt against Arizona law joins group filing suit

Anger mounted Thursday over an Arizona measure cracking down on illegal immigration as a police officer sued to challenge it, governors in Texas and Colorado weighed in to oppose such a law in their own states, and activists in Chicago chanted for a boycott outside an Arizona Diamondbacks game.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said the federal government may challenge the law, which requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally.

Critics claim the law is unconstitutional and fear it will lead to racial profiling, while Brewer and other backers say the state law is necessary amid the federal government's failure to secure the border.

While divisive debate over the law swirled nationwide, Arizona lawmakers approved several changes, including one that would strengthen restrictions in the law on using race or ethnicity as the basis for police questioning. The law's sponsor, Republican Sen. Russell Pearce, characterized those possible changes as clarifications "just to take away the silly arguments and the games."

In filing his suit against the law, Escobar, an overnight patrol officer in a heavily Latino area of Tucson, argued that there's no way for officers to confirm a person's immigration status without impeding investigations, and that the new law violates constitutional rights.

Tucson police spokesman Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said Escobar acted on his own in suing, and not on the department's behalf.

The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders also sued Thursday and sought an injunction preventing authorities from enforcing the law. The group argue that federal law pre-empts state regulation of national borders, and Arizona's law violates due process rights by letting police detain suspected illegal immigrants before they're convicted.

"Mexican-Americans are not going to take this lying down," singer Linda Ronstadt, a Tucson native, said at a state Capitol news conference on another lawsuit planned by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the National Immigration Law Center.

In Mexico City, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced he would try to join lawsuits seeking to overturn the law, with a statement from his office calling the measure "a planned Apartheid against Mexicans."

Ebrard did not explain what legal standing the Mexican capital would have before U.S. courts, but said the issue could be taken to international human rights forums.

Meanwhile, officials in El Salvador, which has about 2.8 million citizens living in the United States, urged Salvadorans to avoid traveling to Arizona, according to the Foreign Ministry. In Nicaragua, officials called on the Organization of American States and the United Nations "to take the necessary measures to safeguard the rights of the Hispanic population."

At least three Arizona cities — Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson — are considering legal action to block the law. In Flagstaff, police investigated a threatening e-mail sent to members of the City Council over their opposition to the law. The author said council members should be "arrested, tried in court, found guilty of treason and hanged from the nearest tree!"

About 40 immigrant rights activists gathered Thursday outside Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs opened a four-game series against the Diamondbacks. A small plane toting a banner criticizing the law circled the stadium.

Activist George Lieu said a letter was sent to Cubs management asking the team to stop holding spring training in Arizona.

A Cubs spokesman declined to comment. Arizona manager A.J. Hinch says the team is there to play baseball.

The Mexico-based World Boxing Council said it will not schedule any bouts featuring Mexican fighters in Arizona, to protest what it called the state's "shameful, inhuman and discriminatory" immigration law.

At the University of Arizona in Tucson, a campus-wide e-mail from school President Robert Shelton said families of several out-of-state honor students have notified the university that they will enroll their children elsewhere.

The law sparked others to weigh in, from politicians to entertainers:

_ Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat who is leaving office next year, said he would veto a new law like the one in Arizona, weighing in after GOP candidates to replace him said they would support such a law. "That is not within the spirit of our law," Ritter said.

_ In Texas, Republican Gov. Rick Perry said such a law would be wrong for his state to adopt, citing a Texas tradition of rejecting harsh anti-immigrant policies. "I fully recognize and support a state's right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas," Perry said.

_ In California, the state Assembly passed a resolution urging the federal government to fix the immigration system. The resolution, which was in the works before Arizona's law was passed, advanced on a party-line vote, with majority Democrats supporting it.

_ Colombian singer Shakira visited Phoenix to meet the city's police chief and mayor amid her concern, her spokesman said, "about the impact of this law on hardworking Latino families." At the Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony in Puerto Rico, singer Ricky Martin denounced the law, too, saying it "makes no sense."

_ In Mexico, the governor of the border state of Chihuahua announced Thursday he will not attend the annual Border Governor's Conference, scheduled for early September in Phoenix. Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza said his administration has already urged Chihuahua residents to avoid traveling to Arizona.

Supporters of the new law also were vocal outside the state.
The lawsuit from 15-year Tucson police veteran Martin Escobar was one of two filed Thursday, less than a week after Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill that makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.


A group of conservative state lawmakers in Oklahoma said they plan to introduce a bill similar to Arizona's. In Texas, Rep. Debbie Riddle, a Republican, said she will introduce a measure similar to the Arizona law in the January legislative session. And Republicans running for governor in Colorado and Minnesota expressed support for the crackdown.

Kid Rock to Host CMT Music Awards 2010

"The rumors are true – I'm hosting the CMT Awards live from Nashville on June 9th," the singer announced on his Web site Thursday. "All I can promise is I will be awesome."
Someone alert the authorities: Kid Rock's been given the keys to the CMT Music Awards.

The Detroit-based rocker may seem to be an unusual choice for the fan-voted country music award show, but Kid Rock has made Nashville a second home. He's close pals with several country artists including Hank Williams Jr. and his daughter Holly Williams, and in 2005, he married Pamela Anderson at a Nashville honky tonk; it was one of a trio of celebrations before their short-lived marriage ended.