THURSDAY, JANUARY 23
NATIONAL HEADLINES:
WINTER STORM DUMPS OVER A FOOT OF SNOW ON NORTHEAST
Northeasterners were digging themselves out yesterday after a winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on the region. The storm, which stretched from Kentucky to New England, grounded over a thousand flights and closed schools in Boston, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, upstate New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. New York City public schools remained open. Philadelphia got socked with as much as 14 inches, and New York City saw almost as much. Boston only got about 4 inches, but other parts of Massachusetts saw 18 inches. The snow was followed by bitter cold temperatures. According to Flightaware.com, about 1,400 flights were canceled yesterday into and out of some of the nation's busiest airports, down from 3,000 flights the day before.
RUSSIAN SECURITY KILLS SENIOR MILITANT LEADER
Russian officials said yesterday that a senior militant leader was killed during a gun battle with Russian security forces as part of their crackdown on terrorists before the Sochi Winter Olympics. The leader of the so-called “Babayurtovskiy” gang was identified as Eldar Magatov. He was suspected of bombings, attacks on law enforcement officials and extorting money from businessmen. Officers managed to negotiate the release of two women and two children who were in hiding with Magatov before he engaged them in the fatal firefight. Meanwhile, officers continued their search for three Muslim women called “black widows,” who they believe are planning to target the final stages of the Olympic torch relay with suicide bomb attacks.
SYRIA PEACE TALKS OFF TO ROUGH START
Syria peace talks were off to a rough start in Switzerland yesterday. The negotiations were aimed at mapping out a transitional government and ultimately a democratic election for the civil war-torn country. But diplomats clashed over President Bashar Assad’s future. The U.S. and Syrian opposition made it clear that Assad has lost his legitimacy and should have no place in the transitional government. “There is no way – no way possible in the imagination – that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. But the Syrian response was firm. "There will be no transfer of power and President Bashar Assad is staying," Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubitold reporters after the day’s meeting was done.
8-YEAR-OLD BOY DIES SAVING RELATIVES FROM FIRE
An 8-year-old boy was being hailed a hero yesterday, after he died trying to save his family from a fire Monday. Tyler Doohan managed to save six of his relatives – four adults and children ages 4 and 6 – by alerting them to the blaze in a mobile home in Penfield, New York. "He saved six people. They all would have died if he hadn't woken up," said Chris Ebmeyer, chief of the volunteer fire company in Penfield. Doohan died trying to rescue his disabled grandfather. His grandfather Lewis Beach, who owned the trailer, and his uncle,Steven Smith, also died in the blaze. Firefighters said the fire appeared to have been electrical.
PENTAGON RELAXES RULES ABOUT RELIGIOUS DRESS CODE IN MILITARY
The Pentagon yesterday eased its rules about religious apparel and facial hair that troops are allowed to maintain while in uniform. The new policy will allow service members to wear different kinds of religious garb and hairstyles so long as they don't have an "adverse effect on military readiness, mission accomplishment, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline." In addition to clothes and hairstyles, military members will also be able to sport religious tattoos and body piercings in some cases. The changes came about after a Sikh American complained that fellow Sikhs should be able to wear a turban or maintain a beard while in uniform
SHOWBIZ NEWS:
KIM’S PRICEY ALTERATIONS
There’s no doubt Kim Kardashian has a lot of junk in her trunk, which makes it hard for her to find the perfect pair of jeans. According to Grazia magazine, Kim is always in need of a tailor to make sure her jeans fit, so she and Kanye West shell out almost $5,000 a day in order to have one on call at all times. “It means Kim can buy jeans, have them altered and be photographed in them within a matter of hours,” claims a source. “Kim has a size 4 waist and size 10 bottom, so she often has to buy a size up and have jeans taken in at the waist for a snug fit. She's only 5ft 2in, so they're often taken up a few inches, too.”
BRUCE JENNER HAS ADAM’S APPLE SURGERY
Bruce Jenner is doing nothing to stop rumors he wants a sex change. According to the National Enquirer, the former athlete went through with surgery to shave his Adam’s Apple over the weekend, a procedure that is common for men undergoing sexual reassignment surgery. The tabhas pictures they say show Bruce with bandages poking out of his top, which is zipped al the way up to the neck. Bruce has denied he wants to become a woman, and claimed he wanted the surgery because he has always been unhappy with the look of his Adam’s Apple.
TARANTINO SCRAPS FILM AFTER SCRIPT LEAK
Quentin Tarantino has canceled plans for his next film The Hateful Eight after the script leaked in Hollywood. Deadline reports the director had given the script to a very small group of friends, including actors Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern, as well as Django Unchainedproducer Reginald Hudlin, but it somehow got out. "I'm very, very depressed," he told the website. "I finished a script, a first draft, and I didn't mean to shoot it until next winter, a year from now. I gave it to six people, and apparently it's gotten out today." Tarantino says he doesn’t know who is responsible for the leak, but he feels betrayed. He has shelved the project and will now begin working on a new script.
PIERS MORGAN CONFIRMS THERON/PENN ROMANCE
Piers Morgan has confirmed the rumors that Charlize Theron and Sean Penn are dating. In a blog post for The Daily Mail’s Event magazine, the journalist talks about attending Penn’s January 11th Help for Haiti Home gala, where the two stars gushed about each other. "I walked over to Sean's table, where he was sitting with new girlfriend Charlize Theron," Morgan wrote. "'I'm so glad you two have got together,' I said, 'Sean's a great guy,’” to which she replied, "'I know.” He later had a similar encounter with Penn. "At 2 a.m., Sean came over, and bear-hugged me," wrote Morgan. "'Congrats on a great night,' I said. 'And congrats on Charlize too.' He laughed. 'She's a keeper, that's for sure . . . well, I'll do my best to keep her anyway!'"
TEEN MOM 2’S LEAH REVEALS DAUGHTER’S CONDITION
Teen Mom 2’s Leah Messer is opening up about her 4-year-old daughter Aliannah’s condition. The child has had developmental issues since the day she was born, and now Leah tells In Touchthat Ali has been diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of muscular dystrophy and will likely end up in a wheelchair. Leah says the disorder will affect her daughter’s respiratory system and will get worse as she gets older. “The bigger she gets and the more weight she gains, the harder it’ll be for her muscles to carry the weight,” she explains. To make things easier for Ali, Leah and her second husband Jeremy Calvert plan to move the family, which includes Ali’s twin Aleeah and Leah and Jeremy’s 11-month-old daughter Addalyn, to a home that has wheelchair access.
BROOKE DESPERATE FOR CHARLIE’S MONEY
It’s pretty apparent that other than drugs, there’s only one thing important to Charlie Sheen’s exBrooke Mueller – money. According to Radaronline, Brooke recently allowed Charlie to see his twin sons because she’s hoping he’ll reinstate her $55,000-a-month child support allowance. Brooke allowed twins Bob and Max to visit Charlie last week, despite her reservations about Charlie’s latest porn star girlfriend Brett Rossi. “She is desperate to have her full child support payment,” said an insider. “Brooke is a smart woman and knows if she is in Charlie’s good graces, he is more likely to give her the money.” And no matter how much she doesn’t like Brett, the insider says Brooke “knows if she fights it, her chances of getting the $55K go out the window.”
PATTINSON’S LIFE-CHANGING GROOMING HABITS
Robert Pattinson is one of those guys who always looks dirty, but in a new interview he’s revealed that his grooming techniques have actually gotten better over the years. The Twilight star recently became the face of Dior Homme Eau for Men and he thinks working with the brand may have helped him change his habits. “I was a brush-your-teeth-and-have-a-shower kind of guy,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “I can't tell if it's because of my association with Dior or because I'm older, but I've started moisturizing.” He then joked, “It's been a quite profound change in my life.”
PORSHA FAILS TO PAY CONDO FEES
Porsha Stewart is having a hard time paying her bills. According to Radaronline, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star was sued by her condo association for failure to pay her homeowner’s dues. Porsha did not respond to the initial suit, which was filed in 2012, so the association went back to court in November of last year because she still hadn’t paid. And earlier this week, a judge finally sided with the association, ruling that the outstanding balance, $17,859.67, will be taken directly from Porsha’s bank account.
HILL PAID VERY LITTLE FOR WOLF OF WALL STREET
Jonah Hill may have earned an Oscar nomination for The Wolf of Wall Street, but he didn’t earn a lot of money. The actor, who hosts Saturday Night Live this weekend, revealed that he got paid only $60,000 for the film, but didn’t care because he was desperate to work with director Martin Scorsese. “They gave me the lowest amount of money possible, that was their offer,” he explained. “I said, ‘I will sign the paper tonight. Fax me the papers tonight. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind.’ I said I want to sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can't change their mind.” He added, “It's not about money for me. None of this s*** is about money.”
JWOWW’S HAVING A GIRL
Jenni “JWoww” Farley has revealed that she and fiancé Roger Matthews are having a baby girl. “I pictured a boy this whole time, so when I saw 'girl' on the paperwork, I was like, 'No way!' But deep down I think I knew," she told Us Weekly. "[Snooki's son] Lorenzo is gonna have a BFF, and I couldn't be happier!" While Jenni says she “can't wait for everything from her first steps to her first dance class," there is one thing she’s not looking forward to. “I was a teenage girl once, and, boy, do I know how sneaky we can be!" she jokes. "Karma is gonna kick me in the butt with her!"
FIFTH CHILD ON THE WAY FOR DONALD TRUMP, JR.
Donald Trump, Jr. is going to be a father for the fifth time. The oldest son of Donald Trump and ex-wife Ivana announced on Twitter earlier this week that his wife Vanessa is pregnant yet again. “Well [Vanessa], Kai, D3, T-man, Spencer & I have some exciting news… We are expecting baby #5 this summer. Can’t wait #evenlesssleep,” he wrote. The couple, who married in 2006, is already parents to Kai Madison, 6, Donald John III, 5, Tristan Milos, 2, and 15-month-old Spencer Frederick.
COOPER BRINGING ELEPHANT MAN TO BROADWAY
Bradley Cooper will be returning to Broadway, starring in a revival of The Elephant Man about Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th century London. Cooper originally starred in the play at the Williamstown Theater Festival in 2012. There’s currently no word on when the drama will debut. Cooper last appeared on Broadway in 2006 when he starred alongside Julia Robertsand Paul Rudd in Three Days of Rain.
NAME OF SUPERNATURAL STAR’S SON REVEALED
Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki and wife Genevieve Cortese have named their second sonShepherd. The couple welcomed the child on December 22nd, 2013. Cortese tweeted a picture of the newborn earlier this week with the caption, "@jarpad and Shepherd watching some late night #supernatural." The couple’s first child, Thomas Colton, is almost 2.
TV TIDBITS
● CBS yesterday revealed the new cast of Survivor, which is dubbed “Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty.” This year’s competitors will be broken up into three tribes of six each. The players include a former NBA all-star, a pro poker player, a former Miss Kentucky Teen USA and a nuclear engineer. The 28th edition of Survivor, filmed in the Philippines, will premiere Wednesday, February 26th.
● Bill Cosby is returning to NBC. The comedian, who had a hugely successful series with the network in the 80s, will star in a new half-hour family comedy. The series will star Cosby as the patriarch of a multi-generational family.
● NBC has cancelled plans to reboot Murder She Wrote, starring Octavia Spencer. One person who is probably happy about the news is the show’s original star Angela Lansbury. After the network announced plans for the reboot in October, she was quoted as saying, “I think it’s a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote, because Murder, She Wrote will always be about a Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person.”
● Rashida Jones, whose final episode of Parks and Recreation airs January 30th, has found her next project. The actress will star in the TBS comedy pilot Tribeca, written and executive produced by Steve Carell and his wife Nancy. The series, a satirical look at police procedurals, explores an eccentric but brilliant group of people who investigate crime as part of the LAPD’s elite RHCU – Really Heinous Crimes Unit. Jones will play Angie Tribeca, a 10-year-veteran of the unit.
●Hostages star Tate Donovan has joined the cast of the 24 limited-run series, 24: Live Another Day. He’ll play Mark Boudreau, a political advisor who is married to Jack’s (Kiefer Sutherland) former flame Audrey Raines (Kim Raver). 24: Live Another Day is set to premiere May 5th.
● Law & Order’s Jesse L. Martin has joined The CW’s upcoming series The Flash. He’ll play Detective West, described as “an honest blue collar cop who is a surrogate father to Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin).”
MISCELLANEOUS MOVIE NEWS
● Sacha Baron Cohen is in talks to join Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska in Alice in Wonderland 2, which will hit theaters Memorial Day weekend, 2016. This will be the second time Depp and Cohen have worked together. They previously starred together in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
● Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe will star in the film Brooklyn Bridge, which is inspired by real events. Radcliffe will play a brilliant, but unexpected engineer, overseeing the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge when his father passes away.
● Bruce Willis will star in the sci-fi film Vice, set on a resort in the future where rich people live out their darkest fantasies.
● Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, Jordan Peele and Thomas Middleditch will lend their voices to the big screen adaptation of the best-selling children’s books Captain Underpants. There have been ten Captain Underpants books since 1997, which have sold over 70 million copies.
ROCK NEWS:
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY TO HEADLINE REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS TOUR
The timing could not be better for Black Label Society to crisscross the country headlining this year’s edition of the Revolver Golden Gods Tour. Why? Because BLS’s new album, Catacombs of the Black Vatican, arrives on April 8, and the tour kicks off April 16 and runs through June 7. The exact itinerary, includes dates, cities and venues, plus the list of additional acts will be announced soon.
SHINEDOWN’S SMITH, MYERS READY RELEASE OF ACOUSTIC EP
Fans of Shinedown will get to hear a different side of two of its members, Brent Smith and Zach Myers, when the pair release (ACOUSTIC SESSIONS), a six-song EP of acoustic covers, available January 28 on iTunes and all digital retailers. The set will be released under the monikerSmith + Myers and will feature their stripped down versions of The Clash’s “London Calling,” Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” the Black Crowes’ “She Talks to Angels,” Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Blue On Black” and Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train.”
MY MORNING JACKET JUMPS ON LIVE DOWNLOAD SERIES BANDWAGON
The first installment of My Morning Jacket’s newly launched live concert download series is available now at LiveDownloads.com. The inaugural offering is a 23-song gig that took place on December 2, 2011 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA. The complete show on MP3 will cost you $9.99, and individual song performances are available for 99 cents each. Other acts offering online concert downloads include Metallica, Phish, the Dave Matthews Bandand most recently, Bruce Springsteen.
NOEL GALLAGHER GIVES BITING PLAY-BY-PLAY IN DVD COMMENTARY
The always cheerful and charming (not!) Noel Gallagher rips his old band Oasis and many of their songs and videos in a hilarious DVD commentary supercut that has surfaced on YouTube. Throughout the 10-minute (NOTE CONTENT) video, culled from commentary originally provided for the Oasis 2010 box set, Time Flies, Gallagher crucifies his brother, Liam, former bandmates and various video directors, one of which he addresses by saying, “It seems like this guy was making it up as he was f***ing going along.” His anger turns to the director of the “Don’t Look Back in Anger” clip, when he mocking says, “Do you want me to f***ing stare at you like a f***ing serial killer?”
COURTNEY CRIES IN COURT, SEEMINGLY OVER CURT’S STAINED LEGACY
The always unpredictable Courtney Love shed tears on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, where she is defending herself in the first-ever trial for libelous tweets. According to Spinmagazine, the Hole frontwoman began sobbing during the testimony of a man who thought he had purchased a guitar once owned by Curt Cobain, however he later discovered it was a fake. Love’s tears supposedly fell because of the pain she felt at how her late husband’s legacy has been tarnished in recent years. Love is on trial for sending a tweet to her then-lawyer Rhonda Holmes in which Love alleged Holmes had been “bought off” when the attorney refused to represent her in a lawsuit against the managers of Cobain’s estate.
YOUNG TOUTS UPCOMING “LOW-TECH” ALBUM
A no-frills guy at heart, Neil Young has announced his next studio album, A Letter from Home, will be minimalist, to say the least. Always a man of few words, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer toldRolling Stone, “It’s one of the lowest-tech experiences I’ve ever had.” What is known is that fellow low-tech devotee Jack White’s Third Man Records posted the following: “Third Man Records unearths NEIL YOUNG’s A LETTER HOME: an unheard collection of rediscovered songs from the past recorded on ancient electro-mechanical technology captures and unleashes the essence of something that could have been gone forever.” It is not known whether White produced the album.
YOUNG HONORED AT PRE-GRAMMY BASH
A good number of Grammy week events are taking place all around Los Angeles as precursors to the main event, the 56th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. Earlier this week, Neil Young was honored at a gathering celebrating his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career, and famous friends on hand included Ringo Starr, Ann Wilson of Heart, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dave Matthews, who performed some of Young’s many hits. Known for his brevity, the publicity-shy Young thanked everyone for attending by saying, “You’re honoring me, you’re honoring yourself. It’s not me. It’s you.” The Grammys air on CBS Sunday at 8p.
