TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

NATIONAL HEADLINES:

KENYAN FORCES CLAIM UPPER HAND IN MALL HOSTAGE CRISIS

Amidst explosions and thick smoke Kenyan officials said security forces had taken control of nearly all of an upscale shopping mall on Monday. Two days earlier it had been invaded by the terrorist group al-Shabab, killing at least 62 people and injuring more than 170. Officials said three attackers were killed in Monday’s fighting and more than ten suspects arrested. One security official tweeted, “Taken control of all of the floors. We’re not here to feed the attackers with pastries but to finish and punish them.” On Sunday Kenyan officials announced that “most” of the hostages had been rescued but no numbers were given. Kenya’s Interior Ministry has increased security at the country’s entrance points and arrested “more than ten individuals” in relation to the attack.

BOSTON BOMBER HEARING FOCUSES ON DEATH PENALTY

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokahar Tsarnaev’s lawyers have asked a judge to order prosecutorsto give them more time to make their case against the death penalty. In court Monday, Tsarnaev’s lawyers said they still have not received key evidence from prosecutors and because of that, they have not had time to prepare their argument. Prosecutors argued that the six months since the bombing was a “reasonable” amount of time for the defense to make its case. Prosecutors said they plan to make their recommendation to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder by Oct. 31. Holder will have the ultimate say whether to seek the death penalty. The two bombings at the Boston Marathon’s finish line last April killed three people and injured more than 160.

EGYPTIAN COURT BANS MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters banned “all activities” by the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday. It also ordered Egypt’s interim government to seize the Brotherhood’s funds. Egypt’s military authorities have launched a crackdown on the group since ousting President Mohammed Morsi last July. Ibrahim Manour, a leading Brotherhood member, described the ruling as “a totalitarian decision” and vowed the group would not disappear. “It will remain with God’s help” he said.

FAA TO CONSIDER EASING UP ON IN-FLIGHT ELECTRONIC DEVICES

In a behind-closed-door meeting this week a Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel will discuss recommendations for the use of electronic devices on airplanes during take-offs and landings. "The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft," the group said in a written statement. The new guidelines are expected to allow reading e-books or other publications, listening to podcasts, and watching videos, according to several of the panel’s members who requested anonymity because they could not comment on the recommendations. But the ban on sending and receiving e-mails and text messages or using Wi-Fi during takeoff or landing is expected to remain in place. The panel will make its recommendations to the FAA later this month and they are expected to go into effect next year.

APPLE I-PHONE SALES SOAR; BLACKBERRY TO BE TAKEN OVER

It’s the best of times and the worst of times for technology firms. On Monday Apple announced it had sold a record nine million new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models over the weekend. The news topped Wall Street expectations and sent Apples’ stock price up more than 5%. Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while we've sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly.” Also on Monday, the once all powerful Blackberry said it had reached a $4.7 billion deal to be taken private by a group led by Fairfax Financial Holdings. The takeover deal would pay shareholders $9 per share in cash. Being privately held would allow BlackBerry to restructure without worrying about bad news affecting its share price. On Friday, BlackBerry announced that it would lay off about 40 percent of its employees, 4,500 people, and report a $1 billion quarterly loss.

SHOWBIZ NEWS:

REAL HOUSEWIVES OF O.C. DROPS 2 CAST MEMBERS

The Real Housewives of Orange County is apparently undergoing a cast shake-up! According to Starmagazine, Gretchen Rossi and Alexis Bellino will not be returning to the show for season 9. Sources said Gretchen was dropped from the show after she failed to generate a storyline in season 8. She allegedly faked an engagement to get more screen time, but even that wasn’t enough. Alexis was already fired from the show before season 8, but she had been brought back at the last minute when a new cast member dropped out. Producers felt that, similar to Gretchen, Alexis didn’t contribute very much to the show. Tamra Barney, Vicki Gunvalson, Heather Dubrow and Lydia McLaughlin have all been asked to return.

PENN AND ZOE TOGETHER AGAIN

Penn Badgley and Zoe Kravitz: together again! The two young stars were photographed smooching while vacationing in Rome over the weekend. The 26-year-old former Gossip Girl star and the 24-year-old actress had reportedly called it quits in June, but even then a source predicted, “they could possibly reconcile.”

ANNA GUNN CRITICIZED FOR SKINNY FRAME

Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Emmy on Sunday, but it was her skinny frame everyone was talking about. The 45-year-old dropped some major pounds and looked newly svelte in her Romona Keveza gown. Viewers took to Twitter to express their concern. One tweeted, “Am I the only person in the twitter verse that thought Anna Gunn looked like she was starving?” While another wrote, “Woah, Anna Gunn is so skinny… What happened?” A pre-Emmy crash diet, perhaps?

BREAKING BAD PROPS TO GO ON SALE

In other Breaking Bad news, about 250 items from the AMC series will be put up for auction on Screenbid.com. The props, ranging from yellow hazmat suits to a pink teddy bear featured prominently on the show, will be up for sale with bidding starting at $1,500. The founders of Screenbid said the site was created to help studios dispose of their props systematically and profitably. The Breaking Bad sale begins September 29 – the day of the series finale.

KHLOE WAITING TO DECIDE FATE OF MARRIAGE TIL AFTER FILMING

According to RadarOnline.com, Khloe Kardashian is waiting to decide the fate of her marriage to Lamar Odom until after filming is completed for Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She reportedly doesn’t want any relationship drama to play out on TV. “Khloe is steadfast, that she won’t decide whether she wants out of the marriage until she is done shooting the current season of the … show,” sources said. “She has been through so much the last year with Lamar, and Khloe just doesn’t want this to be played out in front of the cameras.” The sources go on to say that Khloe is being a total professional while shooting, but once filming is done, a divorce is inevitable. Lamar has been accused of cheating and abusing drugs, and the two have been living apart as of late.

MERRITT WEVER EXPLAINS SHORT SPEECH

Merritt Wever gave perhaps the shortest speech in Emmy history Sunday night! The Nurse Jackie actress, who won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, explained her quick exit from the stage saying that she blanked out and had actually wanted to thank a lot of people. "I wanted to thank a lot of people – it's happening again," the 33-year-old joked of blanking. "I wanted to thank everybody at Showtime. I wanted to thank most of all Edie Falco. I wanted to thank David and Gary and Matt at Showtime. I wanted to thank Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem, Richie Jackson, and…I wanted to thank Edie Falco very badly. It's hard to do those [Sighs]. Sorry." She was clearly very shocked when she took the stage Sunday night to claim her award. All she could manage was, "Oh my God, thanks so much. Thank you so much. Um, I gotta go. Bye!"

MICHAEL DOUGLAS SPEAKS OUT AGAINST PRISON SYSTEM

Michael Douglas said he referenced his imprisoned son in his Emmys acceptance speech Sunday as a way to bring attention to what he believes is an injustice in the federal prison system. When the 68-year-old Behind the Candelabra actor took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, he mentioned his eldest son, Cameron, who is serving a 10-year drug sentence. "I'm hoping I'll be able to — [they'll] allow me to see him soon," he said. Backstage he explained, “For my son's case, he's spent almost 2 years in solitary confinement and right now I'm being told that I cannot see him for two years." Douglas said that at first he was disappointed with his son, but now he’s reached a point where he’s very disappointed in the prison system, especially regarding the way they treat nonviolent offenders.

KENDALL JENNER LIGHTENS HAIR

Big news everyone: Kendall Jenner lightened her hair! The 17-year-old model posted a selfie on Instagram that showed she has added some blonde highlights to her naturally dark brown ‘do. She joins sisters Kim, who recently went blonde, and Khloe, who’s been rocking a blond ombré style.

PAPARAZZI SNAP PHOTOS OF FAKE J. HUD

Sounds like the paparazzi need to get their eyes checked! Photogs mistook a random girl walking down the street in Beverly Hills for actress/singer Jennifer Hudson! Celebrity websites posted the photos under headlines such as "Jennifer Hudson Dressing to Impress." But J. Hud took to the internet to clarify that those pics were not her. "Cute girl!" Hudson wrote, "But that ain't me! I know the poor girl was like, y r they taking pictures of me!! Wow!" The doppelganger later responded, "I'm all over the internet. I just want to clear this up! I WAS NOT trying to Impersonate [Jennifer Hudson] I was minding my business on the phone with my mom! BUT I do look good! Thanks."

TV TIDBITS!

Kendra Wilkinson will be appearing on an episode of The Mindy Project this season, Us Weekly reports. "She will be playing a character," a source said. "Mindy is a huge fan of Kendra's and asked her to do one episode. Kendra is so excited!"

ROCK NEWS:

MUMFORD & SONS TAKING A MUCH-NEEDED BREAK

They sing “I Will Wait,” but will YOU wait for THEM? In an interview with Rolling Stone, Mumford & Sons keyboardist Ben Lovett revealed that the band is taking an indefinite hiatus, saying, “There won’t be any Mumford & Sons activities for the foreseeable future.” Lovett went on to say that the band members have no idea how long the break will be, only that they are “going to take a considerable amount of time off and just go back to hanging out and having no commitments or pressure.”

WAYNE COYNE’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT DELETED

Flaming Lips fans got burned by Instagram. Frontman Wayne Coyne has been kicked off the photo-sharing site! Coyne was known for breaking the Instagram terms of service by posting pics containing nudity, and apparently the site finally had enough. Although Coyne has already started a new account, all the photos from his previous one, which included images from shows, old concert posters and more, are gone. Flaming Lips fan site The Future Heart is currently petitioning Instagram to bring back the deleted pics.

NEW SONG BY THE NATIONAL TO BE FEATURED ON HUNGER GAMES SOUNDTRACK

One of indie rock’s most revered bands is getting in on the Hunger Games action. The Nationalhas a song on the upcoming soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. While frontmanMatt Berninger says he enjoyed the process of writing a song specifically for a soundtrack, he admits the band faced a unique obstacle: the original title of the track, “Dying is Easy,” had to be changed because it was supposedly “too dark” for the movie. Berninger told NME, “The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark…which I thought was sort of funny because it's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that?” The song, now called “Lean,” will appear alongside a new Coldplay song, “Atlas.”

BON JOVI DRUMMER HOSPITALIZED AGAIN

Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres was rushed to the hospital over the weekend for emergency gall bladder surgery. The news was confirmed by an official statement from Jon Bon Jovi on the band’s website, which read, “Tico Torres has been the heart and soul of our band since we started 30 years ago. He’s also one tough SOB and we look forward to him again pounding away brilliantly at the drums on remainder of this and future tours.” Torres himself issued a statement on the site as well, thanking his fans and doctors and promising to be back on stage soon. Rich Scannellafilled in for Torres at the Rock in Rio festival over the weekend. This is the second time Torres has been hospitalized recently; last week he underwent an emergency appendectomy.

GREEN DAY FRONTMAN GETS MOVIE GIG

He’s no American Idiot– Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is branching out in showbiz. The rocker landed a lead role in the upcoming indie drama Like Sunday, Like Rain, alongsideGossip Girl’s Leighton Meester and Debra Messing of Will & Grace. Armstrong will play Meester’s boyfriend, a struggling musician who becomes the guardian of a 12-year-old musical prodigy.

U2’S BONO DEFENDS USING TAX LOOPHOLES

U2 frontman Bono publicly defended his band’s unique tax arrangement, which involves offshoring a share of their income through the Netherlands. In a recent interview with The Observer, Bono rejected accusations that he’s a hypocrite for hoarding his wealth while criticizing the Irish government’s economic strategy. He said, “U2 is in total harmony with our government’s philosophy. Tax competitiveness has taken our country out of poverty…At the heart of the Irish economy has always been the philosophy of tax competitiveness. On the cranky left that is very annoying, I can see that. But [that] is why Ireland has stayed afloat.” He sounds pretty cranky to us.