WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22
NATIONAL HEADLINES:
WINTER STORM BLASTS THE NORTHEAST
As much as a foot of snow and a blast of freezing cold arctic air descended on the Northeast yesterday, shutting down schools and canceling thousands of flights. Washington, D.C. is set to see about a half-foot of snow and wind gusts of 30 mph, prompting the federal government to close its offices. Boston could see around 8 inches and wind gusts up to 40 mph, plus a winter storm warning was in effect for New York Cityand the surrounding areas. Some school districts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky sent students home early yesterday or canceled classes ahead of time. According to Flightaware.com, over 3,100 flights were canceled and 4,850 were delayed yesterday, affecting airports from Washington to Boston.
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY 2 MORE “BLACK WIDOWS”
Russian security officials have identified two more “black widow” terror suspects. They are trying to locateJhannet Tsakhaeva, 34, from the unstable Russian region of Dagestan, and Oksana Aslanova, 26, fromTurkmenistan. Authorities believe these women are planning to target the final stages of the Olympic torch relay with suicide bomb attacks. Wanted posters for the women say they may wear clothes that do not adhere to Islamic tradition, so that they can blend in more easily. A third wanted “black widow” – 26-year-old Zaira Alieva – was killed Saturday by Russian security forces. Police are also still on the hunt for suspected terrorist Ruzana Ibragimova, also known as Salima.
NJ GOV. CHRISTIE SWORN IN FOR 2ND TERM AMID CONTROVERSY
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was sworn in for a second term yesterday amid scandals that have been threatening to ruin his political reputation. Christie took the oath of office in Trenton, during an indoor ceremony. During his 19-minute inauguration address, Christie refused to comment on the scandals and instead focused on New Jersey’s recovery from an economic recession and from Superstorm Sandy. He also spent part of his speech promoting bipartisanship in Washington. But some may have found his message of harmony a bit hard to swallow, being that he has been accused of abusing his power by using the George Washington Bridge and Sandy relief funds as tools for political retribution.
REMAINS IDENTIFIED AS MISSING AUTISTIC TEEN AVONTE OQUENDO
Remains recovered on the banks of the East River in Queens last week have been positively identified as missing autistic 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo. A spokesperson for the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause and manner of death are still pending. Avonte, who suffered severe autism and could not communicate verbally, was last seen when he ran from his Long Island City school on Oct. 4. His disappearance sparked a massive, citywide search.
SHOOTING AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY LEAVES 1 DEAD, 1 IN CUSTODY
One person is dead and a suspect is in custody following a shooting at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana yesterday. Campus police said the shooting occurred at the electrical engineering building. The victim was identified as 21-year-old teaching assistant Andrew F. Boldt. The suspect, 23-year-old student Cody Mark Cousins, was being held in the Tippecanoe County Jail without bond on a single count of murder. Cousins seemed to single out his victim, but his motive was not yet known. The shooting triggered a “shelter in place” text message alert for the rest of the campus. The order was lifted shortly after 1:15 p.m. and police said there was no ongoing threat to the campus.
SHOWBIZ NEWS:
PERRY PRAYED FOR BIG BOOBS
Katy Perry reveals in the new issue of GQ that when she was young she prayed to have a big chest. “I lay on my back one night and looked down at my feet, and I prayed to God. I said, ‘God, will you please let me have boobs so big that I can’t see my feet when I’m lying down?’” says Perry, who adds that at age 11, “God answered my prayers. I had no clue they would fall into my armpits eventually.” And Perry insists there is nothing fake about her body at all. “I’ve never had any plastic surgery,” she says. “Not a nose, not a chin, not a cheek, not a t*t. So my messages of self-empowerment are truly coming from an au naturel product.”
EFRON IS HAPPIER THAN HE’S EVER BEEN
Zac Efron opened up a little about how he’s doing since spending time in rehab last year. “I’m in the best place I’ve ever been. I’ve never been this happy before,” he told Savannah Guthrie onToday, adding, “Things are good, so thank you for asking.”
ALISON SWEENEY LEAVING DAYS OF OUR LIVES
The Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday that she’s decided to leave Days of Our Lives after 21 years. “I'm celebrating my 21st year and I decided that it’s going to be my last year with the show,” she said. Alison has played the role of Samantha Brady since she was 16. She says she’s been so busy juggling her two shows that she’s in desperate need of a break. Said Alison, “I’ve never had more than a two-week vacation in that whole time.” As for what she plans to do with her free time, Alison says she’s “really just excited to be with my kids and be with my husband, and, I don’t know, have fun.”
GOMEZ’S REP SAYS EXPLICIT JUSTIN TEXTS ARE FAKE
A rep for singer/actress Selena Gomez is denying a Radaronline report that claimed Justin Bieber sent Selena explicit text messages and nude photos. The site claimed that after the pair had a fight, in which Selena called her on-again/off-again beau a “drug addict,” Justin texted her, “'F**K YOU!!!!! I need to grow up? HA ok! Enjoy life with OUT ME B***H (sic).” He also allegedly sent her a picture of his penis, and called her a “talentless p***y.” But a rep for Selena says the story and the texts are “not real.”
BIEBER’S PAD NOT FILLED WITH DRUGS
Police in Los Angeles have denied a TMZ report claiming Justin Bieber’s house was filled with drugs and drug paraphernalia when they raided it last week. The site claimed cops found “2 large cookie jars” of weed, as well as empty codeine bottles in the home, but couldn’t arrest Justin because their warrant was just for surveillance video pertaining to the egging of the pop star’s neighbor. But Los Angeles County Sheriff detective David Thompson, who said he personally walked through every room of Bieber’s house, told the New York Daily News, “I didn’t see any of it. The house was orderly. It didn’t look like a drug pad.”
JUSTIN BLOWS $75K AT STRIP CLUB
Justin Bieber sure loves to throw his money away. According to TMZ, the 19-year-old spent $75,000 at a strip club in Miami Beach Monday night. Justin was first spotted at the Mansion Nightclub and then went to the King of Diamonds strip club for Lil Scrappy’s birthday. A rep for KOD told the site Justin got $75,000 in one dollar bills while he was there and used them all up.
MORE SHERLOCK ON THE WAY
The third season of Sherlock premiered on PBS over the weekend, attracting 4 million viewers, up 25% from season two. And all those Sherlock fans will be happy to hear there are no immediate plans to end the series, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. “It will continue until Benedict becomes too famous,” executive producer Steven Moffat told TV critics over the weekend, while Cumberbatch said of a fifth season, “I’ve commissioned it.” As for how he’s dealing with playing a character such as Sherlock, Cumberbatch said, “I’m fine with it. I’m going to keep going with it…I love it. I find it very invigorating.”
JOAN JOKES ABOUT KIM’S BABY/GETS HECKLED BY KELLY
No one is off limits when it comes to Joan Rivers. During a standup performance in California last week the Fashion Police host took aim at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s daughter North. “The baby is ugly,” said Joan. “I’ve never seen a six-month-old so desperately in need of waxing.” Meanwhile, Radaronline reports Joan’s Fashion Police co-star Kelly Osbourne was in the audience for that show and spent the night heckling the comedienne. In fact, it was so bad that many in the audience thought Kelly, who has been to rehab several times, may have had too much to drink. “Kelly was yelling things out to Joan during the show when no one else was and she was throwing her hands up in the air,” said a source. “She was doing it obnoxiously. Everyone around her thought she was drunk.” Rivers herself denied she had any issues with Kelly at the show. She tweeted yesterday, “I love social media but sometimes it’s inaccurate… @radar_online! I adore @KellyOsbourne and she was cute and funny at my show at The Saban.”
STAR WARS SCRIPT FINISHED
J.J. Abrams was at the TV Critics Association press tour Sunday to promote his NBC seriesBelieve (which premieres March 10th), but that didn’t stop him from answering a few questions about the upcoming Star Wars movie. Abrams revealed that the script for Star Wars: Episode VII(7) is finished. “We’re working really hard and we’ve got our script and we’re in deep prep,” he said. “Full steam ahead.” He also confirmed rumors that he met with Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemonsabout a possible role. “He is one of the actors that we’ve talked to,” said Abrams.
RUSSELL UNSURE OF HIS FAST & FURIOUS FUTURE
Kurt Russell has a role in the next Fast & Furious film and says he’s not sure what is happening with the film following the death of star Paul Walker. “They're having to rewrite, they're having to do whatever they're having to do to deal with the situation. Listen, it's catastrophic. It's the worst thing that could happen to a movie, but it's not as bad as what happened to Paul," Russell said in an interview at the Sundance Film Festival. ''So everything is in perspective. He was a terrific guy. And life is full of curveballs."
MISCELLANEOUS MOVIE NEWS
● The Wolf of Wall Street’s Margot Robbie is in talks to play Jane in Tarzan, an upcoming movie that has True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard in the title role. The film, directed by Harry Potter’sDavid Yates, takes place after the ape-man's return to Western civilization.
TV TIDBITS
● Suits star Patrick J. Adams and Harry Potter’s Jason Isaacs will join Zoe Saldana in NBC’s miniseries remake of Rosemary’s Baby. Adams will play Saldana’s secretly satanic hubby Guy, while Isaacs will play the neighbor who helps drug Rosemary in order to have her impregnated by Satan.
● HBO announced they are moving upcoming episodes of Girls and Looking to avoid competition from the Super Bowl. Instead of both shows airing on Sunday, February 2nd, the two programs will now air Saturday, February 1st.
ROCK NEWS:
GROHL TO JOIN SUPERGROUP FOR GRAMMYS FINALE
The 56th annual Grammy Awards will take place this Sunday in Los Angeles, and it was announced on Tuesday that a supergroup will close out the ceremony. The All-star lineup of stellar musicians making up the once-in-a-lifetime band will include Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl,Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age and Fleetwood Mac guitarist extraordinaire Lindsey Buckingham. So far, there is no news on what tune(s) the group will perform.
IMAGINE DRAGONS CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE WINNING A GRAMMY AWARD
Going into this Sunday’s Grammy Awards, nominees Imagine Dragons have no illusions of walking away winners, according to singer Dan Reynolds. He told Rolling Stone, “Let me just say that we are definitely not going into this thinking we’re going to win a Grammy. If I were a voter, I’d be like, ‘Robin Thicke was at the VMAs with his pin-striped suit, and Lorde is cute – and who are Imagine Dragons? I have no idea what those dudes even look like!’ When that’s the take, you know you’re not going to win that award.” He added, “If I were to win, I don’t know what I would do. I’d be too embarrassed to walk up and accept.”
CAGE THE ELEPHANT TO STAMPEDE ACROSS AMERICA, STARTING APRIL 12
Kentucky’s Cage the Elephant has announced a full slate of U.S. tour dates that will get underway on April 12 with the first of their two back-to-back weekend performances at Coachella. The trek, touting the band’s current album, Melophobia, includes stops in Tucson, San Antonio, Houston, Boston, New York, Richmond, VA, Chicago, Denver and Salt Lake City before it ends in Oakland, CA on May 20. The itinerary includes a mixture of headlining shows and co-headlining dates with Foals.
AGAINST ME! FACES TRANSGENDER DYSPHORIA, DEFECTIONS
The members of Against Me! had many things going against them prior to the release of their latest album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, which came out on Tuesday. Among the obstacles was the possible backlash following singer Laura Jane Grace coming out as a transgender female in 2012, and the sudden departure of bassist Andrew Seward and drummer Jay Weinberg. Grace (formerly known as Tom Gabel) told Rolling Stone that deciding to live openly as a woman put a lot of strain on the band, adding, “But there were a lot of other circumstances that made it more stressful.” One thing that did not change was Grace’s longtime friendship with guitaristJames Bowman, which she describes as “f***ing rock-solid.”
EVANESCENCE’S LEE FILLED WITH GLEE, EXPECTING FIRST BABY
If one of Evanescence singer Amy Lee’s New Year’s resolutions was to get pregnant, she can officially check that off the list. The 32-year old frontwoman confirmed she and husband Josh Hartzler are expecting their first child via Twitter, writing: “OK I can’t keep it a secret anymore – I’ve been working on a very special new project for 2014 – A BABY! Josh and I are expecting! I’m so happy!” There is no truth to the rumor Lee’s unborn child is already singing “Bring Me to Life.”
NEXT SLASH ALBUM “MORE SERIOUS AND MORE FUN AT THE SAME TIME”
In a long post on his official website, Slash bassist Todd Kerns expressed his passion for the songs to be found on the follow-up to 2012’s Apocalyptic Love, which debuted at No 4 on theBillboard 200 album sales chart. Kerns wrote: “Not only do I feel that the material surpassesApocalyptic Love, I think we are 10 times the band we were when that album was recorded. The material on this album is more serious and more fun at the same time, which is a tough balance indeed. The songs are sleazier, tougher and more dangerous. We are all very excited to unleash the monster upon you as soon as we can.”
FALL OUT BOYS’ WENTZ WINCES AT DECISION TO PIERCE PRIVATE PART
Some decisions made in our youth come back to haunt us years later. Just ask Fall Out Boybassist Pete Wentz who once thought it was a good idea to have his penis pierced, but now thinks it was dumb idea. During a recent appearance on TV’s Watch What Happens Live!, the subject of Wentz’s pierced member, well, came up, and the musician explained his thinking back then to hostAndy Cohen by saying, “I was young and dumb and full of ….wisdom!” For the record, today, Pete’s pecker is pierce-free.
PUSSY RIOT MEMBERS TO APPEAR AT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONCERT
Two members of the Russian female punk rock act Pussy Riot are set to appear at human rights organization Amnesty International’s Bringing Human Rights Home concert in Brooklyn, NY on February 5. According to a press release, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina will speak to the audience about prisoners of conscience – people jailed for their beliefs, race, gender or sexual orientation. The two were released from prison in December after serving 21 months for speaking out against Russian president Vladimir Putin.
PAUL, RINGO A GO TO SHARE STAGE ON BEATLES TRIBUTE TV SPECIAL
The two surviving members of the Beatles will play together on an upcoming television special marking the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s arrival in America, Ringo Starr confirmed. He toldAccess Hollywood, “To celebrate the 50 years since we landed in New York…they are putting on a big show on Monday and we will be doing it there.” The “big show,” The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles, will be taped this Monday in Los Angeles, and will air on CBS on February 9 at 8p. Starr and McCartney are also scheduled to perform at the Grammy Awards this Sunday, albeit separately, when the Beatles will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
RINGO REMINISCES ON BEATLES ON ED SULLIVAN MOMENT
Millions of lives, including those of countless future musicians, were changed on February 9, 1964 when the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. After receiving the Lifetime of Peace and Love Award from director David Lynch’s Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education ad World Peace, Ringo Starr told Rolling Stone, “It was Ed Sullivan, and it was a big show, and we didn’t know while we were playing that 70 million people were watching, but it was being in America that was so exciting. All the music we loved was in America; it came from America to England. I could feel the buzz…it was so exciting.”
JOURNEY ICON NAME CHECKS MUSE, IMAGINE DRAGONS
Former Journey frontman Steve Perry journeyed out for a rare public appearance in Los Angeles at Guitar Center’s Drum-Off on January 18, where he served up “some background vocals and cowbell” during longtime friend drummer Steve Ferrone’s set. Asked by reporters what he’s been up to, the press-shy Perry replied, “I’ve just been writing music and seeing what I can find… It’s such a new cool…world of music when your mixing electric music and rock like Muse and Imagine Dragons. I think it’s such a cool new kind of direction.”
