WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26
NATIONAL HEADLINES:
OBAMA PROPOSES TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN/FIRST LADY ANNOUNCES NEW JUNK FOOD RULES
President Obama asked the Pentagon yesterday for a plan to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan completely by the end of this year. His request comes amid a dispute over a security pact with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. If Karzai agrees to sign the security deal, Obama said he is open to the possibility of troops remaining in the country after 2014. The president discussed both options with Karzai in a phone call. In the call, Obama reportedly affirmed U.S. support for a "fair, credible, timely and Afghan-led" election process and vowed not to support any particular candidate. But he also told Karzai that the U.S. is making its own plans for troop withdrawal since Karzai appears unlikely to sign a security pact.
First Lady Michelle Obama had some announcements of her own yesterday. In a speech at the White House, she laid out new rules against advertising junk food and sugary drinks in schools. Under the new law, ads for unhealthy foods would be prohibited on school campuses during the school day – this includes ads on scoreboards during school sporting events.
BITCOIN EXCHANGE GOES DOWN, EXPECTED TO FILE FOR CHAPTER 11
The largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, abruptly went offline Monday and is expected to file for bankruptcy. Bitcoin investors were left to worry about the fate of their money. Prices of Bitcoin dropped sharply following aNew York Times report indicating that Mt. Gox lost 744,000 Bitcoins, or about 6 percent of the digital currency that’s in circulation worldwide. Apparently the theft had gone unnoticed for years. Concerns about the theft and viability of the currency have caused prices to fall below $500 for the first time since November, when prices topped $1,200. Bitcoin was created in 2009 as a peer-to-peer payment system.
UGANDAN TABLOID PUBLISHES NAMES OF ALLEGED GAY INDIVIDUALS/AZ GOV. MULLING ANTI-GAY LAW
An English-language tabloid in Uganda has published a list of the country’s alleged top 200 gay individuals, and human rights experts worry these people could be at risk. The article in Red Pepper, appearing under the headline “Exposed!”, comes just a day after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a sweeping anti-gay bill into law. "Publishing information about these people certainly puts them at risk in their local communities," said Maria Burnett, Senior Africa Researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Whether or not we're going to see violence, it's a possible by-product of this bill and the rhetoric politicians have been churning out." The list included some well-known activists who have criticized the country’s anti-gay laws, but it also included lesser known people who have never publicly stated they were gay.
Meanwhile, in America, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was deciding whether or not to veto a controversial anti-gay bill in her state. The law would allow business owners, as long as they assert their religious beliefs, to deny service to gay and lesbian customers. If she approves it, the state could face lawsuits and boycotts, potentially causing problems for Arizona's tourism industry as well as next year's Super Bowl.
ASIANA AIRLINES FINED FOR NOT ASSISTING RELATIVES OF CRASH VICTIMS
Asiana Airlines has been fined $500,000 for failing to assist family members of passengers of the flight that crashed last year at San Francisco airport. It was the first time the U.S. Department of Transportation had ever issued such a penalty. No airline had previously broken U.S. laws that require swift and generous assistance to the relatives of crash victims. Three people died and dozens were injured last July when Asiana Flight 214 clipped a seawall while landing. Federal investigators found that it took five days for Asiana to reach the families of all 291 passengers. The airline also lacked translators and personnel trained in crash response.
CALI COUPLE FINDS $10 MILLION IN RARE GOLD COINS
A Northern California couple got quite the surprise when out walking their dog! They stumbled upon $10 million in rare gold coins buried under an old tree. The coins were recently authenticated. Nearly all 1,427 of them, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, near-perfect condition. The husband and wife, who have chosen to remain anonymous, say they plan to hold onto a few of the coins as keepsakes, but will put the rest up for sale through Amazon. They'll use the money to pay off bills and quietly donate to local charities.
ROCK NEWS:
GREEN DAY PREPS 18-SONG DEMOLICIOUS FOR RECORD STORE DAY
Fans of Green Day and vinyl are counting down the days until this year’s Record Store Day on April 19 when they’ll have an opportunity to get their hands on a very special release. The band has announced it will offer up an 18-song demo collection cleverly titled Demolicious in conjunction with the annual vinyl album junkies’ unofficial holiday that includes demos recorded during sessions for the band ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tre! trilogy, plus the previously unreleased track “State of Shock” and an acoustic version of “Stay the Night” off ¡Uno!
COLDPLAY PREMIERES AMBIENT NEW SONG “MIDNIGHT”
With no warning other than a tweet promising “something new” would happen at midnight in the time zone local ti Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, Coldplay released a haunting new video for a song titled “Midnight.” The moody five-minute-plus number features nearly indecipherable lyrics sung by frontman Chris Martin over synthesized keyboards that build but never really crescendo. The band has yet to announce plans to release a new album.
AS I LAY DYING SINGER PLEADS GUILTY IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE CASE
Former As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire charges, admitting on Tuesday to attempting to hire a man to kill his wife. Lambesis faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison and a $10,000 fine for his roles in trying to hire an undercover San Diego policeman last May to kill his estranged wife of eight years, Meggan. Lambesis reportedly gave the undercover cop $1000 in cash and instructions on how to commit the crime.
KISS KONFIRMS KASINO KONCERT ONE WEEK AHEAD OF HALL INDUCTION
The current members of Kiss will step away from all the controversy surrounding their decision not to perform with any lineup at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10 by staging an acoustic concert at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, CA on April 3. Cameras will capture the action at the gig dubbed “An Acoustic Evening and Stories with Kiss” for the upcoming reality show focused on the new indoor football team L.A. Kiss, which is partially owned by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
LOVE LAUNCHES OFFICIAL DIGITAL CHANNEL, SERIES
The always interesting Courtney Love has partnered with Endemol Beyond, a new global venture creating a premium network of international and local channels across digital platforms, to debut her own online channel. YouTube.com/CourtneyLove kicks off with the premiere of #CourtneyOn, an unscripted series spotlighting Love’s daily life. An additional series #ImWithCourtney, a user-generated Google Hangout, also premieres and airs every Thursday.
LOVE SUED BY PSYCHIATRIST OVER UNPAID BILLS
No stranger to litigation, Courtney Love is facing a fresh $50,000 lawsuit filed by a New York psychiatrist that alleges “breach of contract.” Dr. Edward Ratush claims the Hole frontwoman owes him $48,250 in back payment since 2010. According to his website, Dr. Ratush “specializes in helping people who suffer from Mood Disorders such as depression and mania, Anxiety Disorders such as panic attacks…Arousal Disorders such as insomnia…and Adult ADHD.”
FALLON’S FAUX FAB FOUR MEET SOCIAL MEDIA
The incredible Jimmy Fallon began his second week as host of The Tonight Show on Monday by playing John Lennon fronting a fake version of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Fallon’s version of the mock-topped Fab Four finished their set on the show by asking their fans to check them out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine and other social media platforms. No truth to the rumor that the pretend Beatles later reworked one of their classic cuts to say “I Want to Hold YourHandle.”
YOUNG TO PEN BOOK BASED ON LIFELONG LOVE OF AUTOMOBILES
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young has announced plans to release a new book based on his second love: cars. In a statement, his publisher said of the as-yet untitled text (due this fall): “Young returns with more unforgettable stories about his six decades in the music business as told through the prism of one of his life’s passions: cars. He will also discuss his dedication to clean energy and his recent awareness of the environmental impact the emissions of his past cars had on the environment.”
SHOWBIZ NEWS:
THICKE WANTED TO SAVE MARRIAGE
Robin Thicke desperately tried to convince wife Paula Patton to give their marriage another try, according to TMZ. The couple announced their separation Monday, but the site claims after Paula told Robin on Friday that she wanted a divorce, the “Blurred Lines” singer canceled his Atlanta concert to fly to Canada (where Paula was filming a movie) to try to change her mind. Robin and Paula reportedly had a long talk where they admitted they had not been getting along and Robin realized his wife was determined to end their almost 9-year union. Then on Saturday, Robin canceled another concert in Orlando in order to be with their son Julian. He was photographed taking the child to Disneyland.
BETHENNY RELIEVED TALK SHOW’S CANCELED
Bethenny Frankel says she’s a bit “relieved” her daytime talk show has been canceled. In an open letter published Monday, Frankel explained that she wasn’t really allowed to be herself on the program, because she was forced to tone down her personality. "I tend to be quite inappropriate which may not be suitable for daytime television or for the suits that run network television nationwide,” she said. “Unlike my time on Bravo, I felt a bit diluted, filtered and somewhat constricted. I am a free spirit. My late father (a horse trainer) used to say 'She is a mustang. You need to let her run.'” Frankel concluded, “So to answer how I feel, I am relieved … I have been striving and climbing and white-knuckling for so long that I need a rest from the grind. I'm a little over myself and wouldn't blame anyone else for being over me as well."
KARDASHIAN COMPARED TO MONROE
Kim Kardashian has a big fan. Givenchy creative director, and Kanye West friend, Riccardo Tiscitells London’s Sunday Times that the 33-year-old reality star is like a modern day Marilyn Monroe. “I met her as the girlfriend of a good friend," Tisci said. "I just wanted a moment with her to understand — and I fell in love. She's the Monroe of our age. People think she's like a doll, but actually she's tough and clever."
KIMYE PLANNING SMALL WEDDING
Kim Kardashian won’t be having another spectacle of a wedding. During a radio interview yesterday, Kim said her wedding to Kanye West is going to be a small affair. “We're having a super, super small, intimate wedding," she said. "As we go along, we're realizing we want it to be smaller and more intimate than people are imagining and thinking." As for motherhood, Kim says she’s having the best time raising daughter Nori. “She's the sweetest, she's the calmest," she said. "All she does is laugh. She'll laugh at anything. I'll put my toe right near her, and she'll crack up. She's the sweetest, happiest baby I've ever seen." And one day Kim plans to give little Nori a sibling…or maybe even siblings. "I don't think I can do more than three tops. That would be my absolute top top tops," she said. I even contemplate, 'Should North be an only child?' But then I contemplate all the…fun experiences I had, so I might have to tough it out."
THE ENQUIRER SETTLES CASE OVER FAKE HOFFMAN STORY
The National Enquirer is making amends over the fake story they printed in which they claimed actorPhilip Seymour Hoffman and his friend, playwright David Bar Katz, were gay lovers. After Katz filed a $50 million lawsuit against the tab, The Enquirer settled things out of court. They agreed to fund an annual $45,000 award to be granted by the American Playwright Foundation. In addition, The Enquirer took out a full-page ad in the New York Times in which they apologized for the story, explaining that someone claiming to be Katz fooled them with the false information.
PEOPLE SAYS NO TO PAPARAZZI KID PHOTOS
Kristen Bell and hubby Dax Shepard have been using their Twitter feed recently to pressure entertainment magazines to stop buying paparazzi pictures of celebrity kids, and it sounds like they’ve convinced at least one publication. Yesterday, People magazine’s editorial director Jess Cagle published a letter in which they announced they will no longer publish any kid photos taken without the permission of the celebrity parents. “We have no interest in running kids' photos taken under duress,” wrote Cagle. Needless to say, Bell and Shepard were thrilled. Tweeted Dax, “I woke up to the BEST NEWS! @peoplemag is joining the fight against #pedorazzi with a #NoKidsPolicy !!!! I knew they would be first. #class.”
BIEBER SAYS NO DEAL
Looks like Justin Bieber is going to trial. According to TMZ, Miami Beach prosecutors offered the pop star a deal in his DUI case but he turned it down. Prosecutors were willing to allow Justin to plead no contest to reckless driving as long as he agreed to submit to random drug testing for 6 to 9 months. Well, apparently Justin was having none of it, and sources say he insisted that he wouldn’t accept any plea that involved drug testing. But prosecutors won’t budge, so that means Justin will likely go to trial. He is charged with DUI, resisting arrest and driving on an expired license, and could face two-and-a-half years in jail if convicted.
OBAMA, MURRAY & CHASE REMEMBER HAROLD RAMIS
President Obama released a statement yesterday regarding the passing of comedy legend Harold Ramis. "Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Harold Ramis, one of America’s greatest satirists, and like so many other comedic geniuses, a proud product of Chicago’s Second City. Our thoughts and prayers are with Harold’s wife, Erica, his children and grandchildren, and all those who loved him, who quote his work with abandon, and who hope that he received total consciousness." The last line, referring to “total consciousness,” is from Ramis’ movie Caddyshack. In Bill Murray’s Dali Lama speech he says, “when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.”
Bill Murray, who worked with Ramis on numerous films, also released a statement regarding the comedian’s passing. He told Time magazine, “Harold Ramis and I together did The National Lampoon Show off-Broadway, Meatballs, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”
Chevy Chase, who starred in Ramis’ Caddyshack and National Lampoon’s Vacation, said, “I’m shocked and heartbroken to hear of Harold’s passing. He was truly a great friend and a great man …He was a truly funny and highly intelligent man with great honesty and a great appreciation for the best kind of comedy. It’s just awful to lose Harold, there is just no one like him, he was so kind, so caring and so smart. God Bless him and God Bless his family.”
WORTHINGTON PAPARAZZO CONFRONTATION CAUGHT ON TAPE
Video of Sam Worthington’s confrontation with a paparrazo in New York over the weekend has [NOTE CONTENT] hit the internet. The clip starts out with cameraman Sheng Li following Worthington’s girlfriend Lara Bingle, who then bumps into him. After he starts complaining that she hit him, Bingle begs him to stop following her (reports claim he had been following her for four hours). A little bit later, Worthington arrives and pummels Li. Interestingly, during the scuffle, Worthington refers to Bingle as “my wife.” Both Worthington and Li were arrested following the incident.
JOLIE DISCUSSES LATEST PROJECT
Angelina Jolie says she felt a great pressure making her latest film Unbroken, about 97-year-old Olympic runner and World War II hero Louis Zamperini. "[It's] such a huge responsibility to get it right. Because I love him so much," she told Tom Brokaw in an interview on Today. "And because he's helped me so much in my life." Jolie said that after her directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey, she thought long and hard before taking on another project. "I wanted to direct something again, but I just wasn't sure what. And it had to be something that I would love and care about, because it takes much more time away from your family, and much more effort than acting,” she said. But Jolie was so inspired by Zamperini’s story she decided to go after the project, explaining, “This has been the hardest thing I've ever done.” Unbroken is due in theaters December 25th.
FONDA REFLECTS ON AGING
In an essay on her website entitled “Crying,” 76-year old Jane Fonda seems to be coming to terms with getting older. "I find my emotions are way more accessible than they were when I was younger and I've come to feel it has to do with age. I have become so wonderfully, terribly aware of time, of how little of it I have left; how much of it is behind me, and everything becomes so precious," she wrote. "With age, I am able to appreciate the beauty in small things more than when I was younger perhaps because I pay attention more. I feel myself becoming part of everything, as if I bleed into other people's joy and pain." The actress says she’s been crying a lot lately, and not only about sad things. "I've listed sad things but what startles me even more is how I get emotional about nice things," she wrote. "Maybe because I'm older my heart is wider open, like a net that wants to catch all the things that matter."
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS STAR ENGAGED
Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario is engaged to Suits star Patrick J. Adams. People reports Adams popped the question during the pair’s current vacation in Europe. They have been dating for three years.
GLEE’S 100TH EPISODE SONGS REVEALED
The 100th episode of Glee will air March 18th and 25th and will feature songs voted on by the fans. Yesterday, Fox announced which previously-performed tunes have made the cut, and they include: “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Defying Gravity,” “Raise Your Glass,” “Loser Like Me,” “Just Give Me A Reason,” and “Valerie,” among others. The two-part episode will have Jane Lynch’s character Sue Sylvester finally shutting down the glee club, and will have original castmembers returning to help Professor Schuester (Matthew Morrison) say goodbye.
TV TIDBITS
â— Jamie Lee Curtis is set to star in the CBS drama pilot Only Human, described as a soapy medical series centered around quadruplets – three brothers and a sister – who grew up on a reality show. Curtis will play the quadruplets’ mother, a physician who now runs a hospital.
â— Jericho’s Skeet Ulrich will join Meagan Good in the NBC drama pilot Babylon Fields. Ulrich will play identical twin brothers in the series, which centers on the dead rising again in Babylon, NY.
â— Girls’ Lena Dunham will host the March 8th episode of Saturday Night Live, with musical guestThe National.
â— ABC has yet to announce who’ll compete on this season’s Dancing with the Stars, but rumors are already starting. According to E!, Real Housewives of Atlanta’s NeNe Leakes and former Full Housestar Candace Cameron Bure have signed on to compete. The cast will officially be announced onGood Morning America, Tuesday, March 4th.
â— Fresh off their stint as commentators at the Sochi Olympics, figure skaters Tara Lipinski andJohnny Weir have been hired by Access Hollywood to interview celebrities on the Academy Awards red carpet Sunday.
â— The MTV Movie Awards will air Sunday, April 13th at 9 pm from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Nominations will be announced March 6th.
