THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 12
NATIONAL HEADLINES:
AMERICANS COMMEMORATE 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
Solemn memorials took place across the country yesterday to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Crowds gathered at the site of the fallen Twin Towers in New York City at 8:46 am ET for a moment of silence marking when the first plane hit the building. President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also marked this moment on the lawn of the White House. The president later observed a moment of silence at the time at which Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. “Let us have the strength to face down the threats that endure, different though they may be from 12 years ago, so that as long as there are those who will strike our citizens, we will stand vigilant and defend our nation,” the President said. On Tuesday, workers in Shanksville, Penn., broke ground on the Flight 93 National Memorial, beginning construction on the visitor center that will tell the story of Flight 93. The attacks on September 11, 2001 killed nearly 3,000 people.
PUTIN WRITES NY TIMES OP-ED/UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET
Russian President Vladimir Putin took out an op-ed in today’s New York Times to warn against U.S. military intervention in Syria. In the article title “A Plea for Caution From Russia,” which was posted yesterday to theTimes website, Putin said that a strike from the U.S. could unleash a new wave of terrorism, increase violence and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. He also said it’s alarming how military intervention in foreign countries has become the norm for the U.S. He said millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model for democracy, but as a country who relies on brute force. Putin even when so far as to suggest that the Syrian rebels, not Bashar Assad’s regime, may have been responsible for the poison gas attack on a Damascus suburb.
Meanwhile yesterday, the UN Security Council was set to meet in New York to discuss the situation in Syria. Envoys from the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China will be attending the talks.
2 DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS OUSTED IN COLORADO RECALL ELECTION
Two Democratic state lawmakers who supported stricter gun laws in Colorado have been kicked out of office in a recall election. The election was promoted by both grassroots pro-gun activists and the National Rifle Association. Senate President John Morse lost by 343 votes Tuesday in the Republican stronghold ofColorado Springs and Sen. Angela Giron lost by a bigger margin in the Democratic-leaning Pueblo. The NRA said the election sent a clear message to lawmakers that they should protect gun rights and be accountable to their constituents. But the recall was largely symbolic. Democrats will still maintain control of the state legislature and the laws are expected to remain in place.
OHIO DRUNK DRIVING SUSPECT ENTERS SURPRISE NOT GUILTY PLEA
The Ohio man who confessed on YouTube to killing a man in a drunk driving accident entered a surprise not guilty plea yesterday afternoon. Matthew Cordle, 22, released the online video on September 3 detailing the events of June 22nd, when he allegedly drove the wrong way on the interstate and crashed into 61-year-old veteran Vincent Canzini. Cordle’s lawyer said the not guilty plea was a formality to ensure that a random judge would be assigned to the case. Cordle was initially supposed to be arraigned Tuesday, but Judge Julie Lynch postponed the hearing, saying she was blindsided by the plea. "Everything was going to be guilty," Lynch said. "I'm somewhat incensed by somebody who isn't forthright with the court." Yesterday, Lynch set Cordle’s bail at $150,000. Cordle is charged with one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
VATICAN’S SEC. OF STATE SAYS PRIEST CELIBACY OPEN TO DISCUSSION
The Vatican’s new secretary of state said that celibacy among priests is open to discussion. In a response to a question during an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper, Archbishop Pietro Parolin stated that celibacy is not church dogma and therefore can be discussed. But he added that clerical celibacy is deeply rooted in Catholic tradition. "The efforts that the church made to keep ecclesiastical celibacy, to impose ecclesiastical celibacy, have to be taken into consideration," Parolin said. "One cannot say simply that this belongs in the past." Still, his approach towards the topic was a different one for the Church. Many of Pope Francis’predecessors had declared the subject off-limits.
SHOWBIZ NEWS:
ANOTHER WOMAN SAYS SHE HAD FLING WITH LAMAR ODOM
A third woman has come forward claiming to have had a decade-long affair with Khloe Kardashian’s husband Lamar Odom. Twenty-nine-year-old graduate student Sandy Schultztells Star magazine she met Lamar in 2003 at a nightclub in West Hollywood, way before he even knew Khloe. They “dated solidly” for two years, “and then on and off for seven years after that.” “I was very much in love with him,” Schultz says. “My nickname for him was ‘Lam Lam,’ and to hear Khloe calling him that now is like a dagger through my heart.” In 2006, after Lamar didn’t propose, she moved out of the country and got engaged to another man, but then returned the next year and once again picked things up with the NBA star. By 2009 she broke things off with her fiancé to be with Lamar, but that didn’t last either. That August, Schultz and her sister accompanied Lamar to a party thrown by L.A. Laker Ron Artest, which is where Lamar met Khloe. One month later they were married. But two years after that, Schultz claims she reunited with Lamar in San Francisco when he was in town for a game and they spent two nights together in his hotel room. But when the weekend was over, Lamar left her $800 and they never spoke again.
LAMAR CAUGHT BUYING DRUG PARAPHERNALIA
Lamar Odom insisted to TMZ that he does not have a drug problem, but not many people believe him. In fact, paparazzi caught Lamar buying Chore Boy copper scrubbing pads from a San Fernando Valley pharmacy, which the site claims is commonly used for making homemade crack pipes. Forbes magazine once wrote an article about their use as a filter in crack pipes, and the Urban Dictionary even defines Chore Boy as a “scouring pad used also by people smoking crack to retain some of the cocaine vapors.”
KHLOE’S CRYPTIC TWEETS
Meanwhile, Khloe Kardashian seems to be cryptically pouring out her feelings on social media. On Tuesday she re-posted a quote from her friend Lauren London’s Instagram account, which read, “Sometimes you just gotta be your own hero and save your own little heart. Because sometimes, the people you can’t imagine living without, can actually live without you.” That was followed Wednesday by yet another cryptic tweet, “I see pain in your pride.”
TIGER’S GIRLFRIEND CAUGHT CHEATING?
Tiger Woods may be getting a taste of his own medicine. The National Enquirer claims the serial cheater’s girlfriend, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, recently cheated on him. Sources say Lindsey was spotted making out with an older man backstage at the Justin Timberlake/Jay-Z concert in Miami last month. “They were really going at it,” claims a witness. “They were both holding drinks, and Lindsey’s free hand was around his neck, drawing him closer, while his hand was gripping her rear end.” The tab never identifies the man Vonn was allegedly with, maybe because he doesn’t exist. A rep for the skier tells Gossip Cop, “There is not an ounce of truth in this clearly made-up story.”
ZOE SALDANA SECRETLY WEDS
Earlier this month, the press speculated that Zoe Saldana may have secretly wed boyfriendMarco Perego after they were spotted wearing what appeared to be wedding bands, and now Us Weekly insists the rumors are true. An insider tells the mag the couple, who were first linked together in mid-May, tied the knot in London in June. "It was super small but very romantic and beautiful," claims the source, who said only a few close friends and relatives attended the nuptials. The insider adds that while Zoe and Marco have only been dating a few months, they’ve “known each other for a long time.” Added another insider, “They have great chemistry.”
CHEN ADMITS HAVING PLASTIC SURGERY ON HER EYES
It was Julie Chen’s turn Tuesday to admit her big secret on The Talk and she revealed that she had plastic surgery on her eyes look less Asian. Chen said that when she was 25-year-old working as a local news reporter in Dayton, Ohio, her news director told her she’d never make it behind the anchor desk, “because you’re Chinese.” He then added, “on top of that, because of your Asian eyes, I’ve noticed that when you’re on camera, you look disinterested and bored.” Said Julie, “It felt like a dagger in my heart, because all of my life I wanted to be a network anchor." After a big-time agent told her the same thing, and gave her a list of plastic surgeons that could make her eyes “look better,” Julie considered going under the knife. She said both her mother and father at first were unhappy but eventually accepted her decision. Said Julie, “they told me that they'd support me, and they'd pay for it, and that they'd be there for me." And sadly, the surgery did help. "And after I had it done, the ball did roll for me," she confessed. "And I wondered, did I give into the man?"
EMILY BLUNT & JOHN KRASINSKI EXPECTING
Five-Year Engagement star Emily Blunt and The Office’s John Krasinski are going to be parents. Blunt’s rep has confirmed she is pregnant with the couple’s first child. The pair has been married since 2010.
TAYLOR LINKED TO AUSSIE ACTOR
Taylor Swift may have set her sights on a new man. Witnesses say the country star was getting pretty close to Australian actor Brenton Thwaites at the Toronto Film Festival Monday night. Swift attended a Weinstein Company party for the film One Chance, for which she wrote a song. She and Thwaites, who stars in the upcoming Angelina Jolie movie Maleficent, spent much of the night together and were among the last guests to leave the bash. “It looked like they were on a date all night,” said a spy. “It was like everyone else melted away.”
CRAIG’S BEDROOM BAN
Daniel Craig doesn’t usually talk about his marriage to actress Rachel Weisz, but he recently opened up a bit to The Telegraph. In fact, the James Bond star revealed that he and his wife, who married in 2011, have an agreement when it comes to technology. "There's nothing technological allowed in the bedroom," he said. "If the iPad goes to bed, I mean, unless you're watching porn on the Internet, it's a killer. We have a ban on it." As for their relationship, Craig would only say, "I'm far happier than I've been for many years," adding, "I think finding the right person and being with the right person is probably the answer to most things." But one thing that particularly bothers Craig, is when he and Weisz are described as one of the hottest celebrity couples. He explained, "I think there are far hotter couples out there than Rachel and I — not putting Rachel down in any way, shape or form.”
LAUER CALLS THE PRESS LAZY
Matt Lauer was not happy about how the press handled the firestorm surrounding the departure ofAnn Curry from Today. “The way the media treated what happened with Ann Curry was a disappointing learning experience,” he told Esquire. “I was disappointed by the laziness of the media, the willingness to read a rumor, repeat that rumor, and treat it as a fact.” The press pretty much blamed Lauer for Curry’s firing, but he admits there wasn’t much he could do to change their opinion. “What were my options?” he said. “Does anyone want to see a person who’s making the money that the newspapers say I’m making complaining, ‘Woe is me, my life is terrible, and people are being unfair’? No one would’ve had any patience for that. I wouldn’t have any patience for that. So you just shut up and go about doing your job.”
GIA’S MOM SAYS HER MENSTRUAL CYCLE PLAYED A PART IN HER DEATH
The mother of Bachelor contestant Gia Allemand told Dr. Phil Tuesday that her daughter’s menstrual cycle may have played a part in Gia taking her own life. Donna Micheletti held back tears as she talked about the phone conversation she had with Gia just before she committed suicide. "She just said, 'I'm so tired of being hurt,'" said Micheletti. "’I can't do this anymore.'" She went on to explain, “At that point, that day, with how she felt with her menstrual cycle, she could not see clearly.” When Dr. Phil asked whether her cycle had such “powerful hold” on Gia, Micheletti replied, "Yes, like night and day. All of a sudden something would click in there, and she would say, 'This isn't right. He (boyfriend Ryan Anderson) doesn't love me' . . . Because of her insecurities inside herself." Micheletti also blamed Gia’s estranged father Eugene, who fought with Gia on Mother’s Day. She said her daughter felt abandoned by her father, adding “I think it just ate her up.”
HOLLY MADISON WEDS
Holly Madison has gotten hitched. The Girls Next Door alum married baby daddy Pasquale Rotella at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA Tuesday. The couple said their “I Dos” in New Orleans Square, by the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, with their six-month-old daughterRainbow serving as guest of honor.
GORDON-LEVITT CALLS SCARLETT THE ‘TOTAL PACKAGE’
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has only good things to say about Scarlett Johansson, who co-stars in his directorial debut Don Jon. “Look, Scarlett is a gorgeous, gorgeous woman, but if you just compare purely physical features, plenty of girls are just as gorgeous,” he told Men's Health. “But she creates this extra something. It's in her walk, her eye contact. The total package is just off the charts.” Don Jon opens September 27th.
VOICE FINALIST IN INTENSIVE CARE
The Voice season two finalist Jamar Rogers is in intensive care at an L.A. hospital, according to TMZ. Rogers, 31, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2006, is suffering from a lung infection, and is listed in critical condition. Rogers was mentored by Cee Lo during season two.
DERN/HARPER DIVORCE FINAL
Laura Dern is officially single again. The Enlightened star’s divorce from singer Ben Harper has been finalized. Harper filed for divorce back in 2010 after five years of marriage, but the couple attempted a reconciliation in 2012. That didn’t work and months later Dern was the one filing for divorce, asking for primary physical custody of their two kids. A judge has now signed off on their divorce, although details of the settlement were not released.
EASTWOOD’S WIFE FILES FOR LEGAL SEPARATION
Clint Eastwood’s estranged wife Dina filed for legal separation Monday. She is asking for spousal support and physical custody of their 16-year-old daughter Morgan. The couple announced their separation in late August, but has reportedly been living apart since June 2012. Sources say the pair, who married in 1996, grew apart when Dina started filming her E! show Mrs. Eastwood & Company.
LUCY HALE AND BEAU BREAKUP
Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale is back on the market. The 24-year-old has split from her boyfriend of three months, 22-year-old Revolution star Graham Rogers.
BREWSTER WELCOMES SON
Jordana Brewster is a mom. The Dallas star and husband Andrew Form welcomed son Julian Brewster-Form via surrogate earlier this week. It is the first child for the couple, who’s been married for six years.
TV TIDBITS
● AMC is moving forward with a prequel to Breaking Bad, centered around Bob Odenkirk’s lawyer character Saul Goodman. Better Call Saul is being described a “one-hour prequel that will focus on the evolution of the popular Saul Goodman character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer."
● AMC has cancelled The Killing again. The network initially axed the show after the second season, but eventually decided to bring it back. The ratings for the drama’s third season didn’t improve much, so they opted not to renew it for a fourth.
● Source Code’s Michelle Monaghan has joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s HBO drama pilot Open. The series is described as a multi-character exploration of the evolving landscape of relationships. Monaghan will play Grace, a successful and recently-engaged gynecologist. Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, Anna Torv and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star.
● Fox has renewed So You Think You Can Dance for an 11th season, which will air next summer.
MISCELLANEOUS MOVIE NEWS
● Universal Pictures announced that the fourth Jurassic Park movie, titled Jurassic World, will hit theaters June 12th, 2015.
● Disney has pushed back the release of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The flick,Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, was originally due out in the summer of 2015, but will now likely be released in summer, 2016. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who’s coming off the box office bomb The Lone Ranger, blamed the delay on script issues.
● Looks like The Mortal Instruments wasn’t the next Twilight. After the first film in the series, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, tanked at the box office, Constantin Films has shut down production on what was expected to be the sequel, The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes. Although the studio said the movie was only delayed in order to "analyze the results to date and reposition the franchise in order to maximize results for future installments,” insiders believe it is unlikely the movie will ever be made.
ROCK NEWS:
NINE INCH NAILS MAKES A MARK ON BILLBOARD 200 CHART
The first new studio album since 2008 from Nine Inch Nails made quite an impression on theBillboard 200 album sales chart, as Hesitation Marks debuted at No. 3 thanks to a first-week sales tally of 107,000 copies. The immediate success of the band’s first release on Columbia Records gives the group its 14th charting album and sixth top 10 set.
ARCADE FIRE’S BUTLER REFLECTS ON RECORDING REFLEKTOR
Fans of Arcade Fire are anxiously awaiting the October 29 release of the Canadian band’s new double album, Reflektor, and when they finally get a chance to hear it, frontman Win Butler hopes they’ll appreciate that what they get is exactly what the band wanted to give. He told BBC Radio, “[It] made more sense to stretch it out to two records. I never wanted to be in a band that could never play whatever music we wanted to.” The Arcade Fire will be the musical guest on the September 28 season premiere of Saturday Night Live.
THE CLASH BASSIST BASKS IN SUCCESS OF LATEST BOX SET
The new Clash box set, Sound System, arrived in stores on Tuesday, and former bassist Paul Simonon says he’s very proud of the fact that the compilation was personally overseen by the surviving members of the band. He told Billboard, “The band have actually been involved in this creation. It hasn’t been put together by a record company or somebody that was paid to design it. It was put together by the band itself. That doesn’t happen often.” Asked what he thought late frontman Joe Strummer would think about the package, Simonon said “I think he’d be very proud of it.”
PAGE BLOCKED LED ZEPPELIN REUNION FOR 12-12-12 BENEFIT CONCERT
If Hollywood heavyweight film producer Harvey Weinstein’s account of trying to get Led Zeppelinto reunite for the Hurricane Sandy 112-12-12 benefit concert is accurate, then guitarist Jimmy Page was the one responsible for not making it happen. Weinstein, on hand for a screening of the 12-12-12 documentary ay the Toronto International Film Festival, told reporters, “We got an OK from [Robert] Plant if Page will do it…Jimmy Page doesn’t want to do it.” He said Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama both tried to twist Page’s arm, but to no avail. Weinstein added, “Bill talked to the group and Jimmy told him no. Jimmy Page struck out Obama and Clinton…that will live on in infamy.
BOWIE, ARCTIC MONKEYS BAG UK AWARDS NOMINATIONS
Reclusive rocker David Bowie returned to the spotlight in March with the release of his studio album, The Next Day, which is garnering a boatload of nominations for various UK awards. On Wednesday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s latest studio effort was nominated for the 2013 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for Best British and Irish Album of the Year. The legend will will compete with the Arctic Monkeys AM and 10 other finalists for a $30,000 prize, which will be handed out in London on October 30.
VIOLENT FEMMES TO PERFORM DEBUT ALBUM TONIGHT AND SATURDAY
It took Milwaukee’s Violent Femmes close to six years to bury enough hatchets to regroup in time to play Coachella in April, and less than a month after the gig to lose original drummer Victor DeLorenzo, who bailed in June. Nevertheless, the band will get together once more (with Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione replacing DeLorenzo) tonight at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield and Saturday at Riot Fest in Chicago, where at both venues they will perform their self-titled 1983 album in its entirety.
LONGTIME BEATLES SECRETARY SUBJECT OF NEW DOCUMENTARY
The new documentary, Good Ol’ Freda, puts the spotlight squarely on Freda King, hired by Brian Epstein to be the Beatles secretary, a position she held for all 11 years the band spent together. The film, which opens tomorrow in New York and nationwide over the next several years, devotes all its attention to the first few years of Beatlemania. Following years of keeping her stories to herself, King finally decided to break her silence, though she says she kept certain things private. King said, “I tried to get over that they were just four ordinary guys from Liverpool with their feet on the ground, that they stayed normal through all this madness. They’re entitled to part of their lives that people really shouldn’t invade.”
QUEEN MAY RELEASE ALBUM OF UNEARTHED MERCURY MATERIAL
In a recent interview, Queen guitarist Brian May hinted an album’s worth of previously unreleased tracks featuring Freddie Mercury vocals could be on the way. He said, “We thought we’d exhausted everything that was around and could be worked on. But since then a number of things have come to light from various sources… Just a couple of weeks ago, we thought, “Maybe we shouldn’t be just working on odd bits and pieces? Maybe we should be heading towards an album? It just might be.”
