MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10

NATIONAL HEADLINES:

COPENHAGEN ZOO KILLS HEALTHY BABY GIRAFFE DESPITE PROTESTS

Despite protests and petitions, a Denmark zoo killed a baby giraffe Sunday and fed it to the lions. The Copenhagen Zoo said it decided to put down Marius, a two-year-old healthy male, in order to prevent inbreeding. An online petition to save Marius was signed by thousands, and other zoos and even a private individual offered to take in the giraffe. But in the end, the animal could not be saved. The zoo even invited visitors, including children, to watch while the  giraffe was skinned and fed to the lions. The incident triggered outrage and a renewed debate about the conditions of zoo animals.

HUNDREDS FLEE SYRIAN CITY OF HOMS AS BLOCKADE IS LIFTED

More than 600 people were evacuated from the battle-torn Syrian city of Homs yesterday after Syrian officials agreed to lift a blockade. The evacuation was part of a U.N.-mediated truce that began Friday between the government of President Bashar Assad and armed rebels to allow women, children and elderly men to leave opposition-held parts of the city, and to permit the entry of food and supplies. But the truce didn’t stop gunmen from shooting and throwing mortar shells, and dozens of civilians were wounded as they fled.

NJ PAPER REGRETS CHRISTIE ENDORSEMENT

One of New Jersey’s leading newspapers, The Star-Ledger, admitted yesterday that they made a mistake in endorsing Gov. Chris Christie in his re-election bid last year. “We blew this one,” a column written by Tom Moran of the Star-Ledger’s editorial board said. Moran said they knew Christie was a bully, but never imagined he was capable of the allegations that have recently come to light – including the bridge closure scandal in Fort Lee. He wrote, “We didn’t know his crew was crazy enough to put people’s lives at risk in Fort Lee as a means to pressure the mayor. We didn’t know he would use Hurricane Sandy aid as a political slush fund. And we certainly didn’t know that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer was sitting on a credible charge of extortion by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.”

2 SISTERS OF IOWA REP. FOUND DEAD

Two sisters of an Iowa state representative were found dead of gunshot wounds Friday afternoon. Authorities discovered the bodies of 44-year-old Susan Wolfe and 38-year-old Sarah Wolfe in the basement of the Pittsburgh home they shared. They were alerted after the women didn’t show up for work. Both died from single gunshot wounds to the head and police are investigating the case as a double homicide. Their other sister is Mary Wolfe, an Iowa Democratic state representative. On her Facebook page Saturday night, Rep. Wolfe thanked friends, neighbors and colleagues for their support.

SUSPECTED DRUNK DRIVER KILLS 6 IN FREEWAY ACCIDENT

A wrong-way driver in Southern California was blamed for a devastating multi-vehicle crash early yesterday that left six people dead. The 21-year-old female driver, identified as Olivia Culbreath, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and felony manslaughter in connection with the accident on the Pomona freeway. Culbreath was in serious condition at a Los Angeles County hospital with a broken femur and a ruptured bladder. She was allegedly traveling east in a red Chevy Camaro when she collided head-on with a red Ford Explorer. The sequence of events involving the other vehicles was not immediately clear. Four people died at the scene and two died at area hospitals.

THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE FROM BOX OFFICE MOJO

ROCK NEWS:

UK’S NME NAMES NIRVANA NUMBER GREATEST SONG OF ALL-TIME

British music magazine NME has published its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time, and coming in at No. 1 is Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” As is always the case with lists like this, the rankings have cause rancor among music fans, leaving many scratching their heads at some of the top selections. Here is the rest of the top 10: Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart;Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love;” The Smiths’ “How Soon is Now?;” The Strokes’ “Last Night;”Pulp’s “Common People;” Arctic Monkeys’ “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor;” New Order’s “Blue Monday;” the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby;” the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.”

SIXX SAYS SIGNING “CESSATION OF TOURING AGREEMENT” A GOOD THING

In a recent interview with Time magazine, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx explained why all four members decided to sign a “Cessation of Touring Agreement” as part of their announcement of their Final Tour. Sixx said, “There are bands out there traveling under the same band name.Tommy [Lee] said it would be like, ‘Nikki Sixx’s Motley Crue at the Troubadour’ and ‘Tommy Lee’s Motley Crue at the Canyon Club,’ and they are all within a week of each other. I can’t get into my car and drive down the road and have that be a reality. We just wanted to have pride in the band when the band is done forever.”

SALIVA SALIVATING TO SHOW OFF NEW SINGER ON NEW SONG, CD, TOUR

Many fans and critics assumed Memphis-bred rockers Saliva would close up shop following the sudden departure of original frontman Josey Scott at the end of 2011, but nothing could be further from the truth. On April 29, the band will make its triumphant return with the release of Rise Upfeaturing new singer Bobby Amaru. The album’s title track will be available online on February 18, and 10 days later the group will kick off a round of live dates in Orlando, FL.

LORDE LANDS PREAKNESS INFIELD CONCERT GIG

Still riding high fresh off her Grammy wins, Lorde has been selected to take the reins and headline the Preakness infield concert at Pimlico Race Course on May 17. The 17-year old New Zealander is expected to perform an extended set of songs, including her appropriately titled (for the so-called “Sport of Kings” event) hit “Royals,” at the 139^th running of the Preakness Stakes, one-third of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

DEF LEPPARD DELIVERS DELUXE EDITION OF 1996’S SLANG

Arena rock royalty Def Leppard has spent more time in their vast vault and has unearthed enough gems left off their 1996 album Slang to justify the release of a Deluxe Edition of the criminally underrated original collection. In stores and online tomorrow, the Deluxe Edition of Slang will be available in three formats: a two-CD and digital package, plus a Double Vinyl Deluxe Edition. Each of the formats features a plethora of previously unreleased demos, alternate versions, remixes and new tunes recorded during the original Slang sessions.

PAUL, RINGO CAP BEATLES TRIBUTE WITH TWO FAB FOUR FAVORITES

Sunday’s CBS special The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles came to a climactic close with surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr sharing the stage for a rousing rendition of “With a Little Help from My Friends” and a stirring sing-along of “Hey Jude.” The surviving Beatles and an impressive list of their friends celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the Fab Four’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.

CLARK CALENDAR FILLED WITH TRIBUTES, TELEVISION AND TOURS

Austin-based Grammy-winning guitarist Gary Clark Jr. will be here, there and everywhere in the coming days, weeks and months. Clark was seen last night on CBS’ The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles, where he joined The Eagles’ Joe Walsh and the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl on the George Harrison-penned “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Next Monday, February 17, the six-string superstar will make his fifth appearance on CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman, where he will perform “You Saved Me” from his debut album Blak and Blu. Finally, the guitar great is currently on the road with Kings of Leon for 13 more shows through March 8 in Chicago.

KISS TO PIMP PROMOTE ARENA FOOTBALL TEAM ON REALITY TV SERIES

Master marketers and part-time rock stars Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss have signed a deal to promote their new Arena Football League team the Los Angeles Kiss in a 10-episode reality show centered around the squad set to debut this summer. The series will be captained by AMC, the same company responsible for producing Simmons’ reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

QUEEN CROWNS AMERICAN IDOL ALUM LAMBERT FRONTMAN FOR TOUR

All indications are that Queen will mount a full tour with former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert as lead singer. Guitarist Brian May recently said that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band was “up for one more swing out there,” and later tackled the always thorny subject of who would be tapped to fill the unfillable shoes of the late Freddie Mercury on vocals, saying, “We’ve been talking to Adam Lambert, you know we’ve already done some gigs with Adam, who is amazing.” Though no specifics have been revealed, the forthcoming tour will most likely include a U.S. leg, since May said, “I think we’ll be doing some more stuff this summer in fact, probably in the States.”

BLONDIE BALKED AT ACCEPTING SOCHI OLYMPIC GAMES INVITE

It turns out Blondie had an opportunity to perform at the Sochi Olympic Games, but the veteran rockers turned down the invitation as a protest against Russia’s anti-gay legislation. On Friday, singer Debbie Harry tweeted a photo of the group’s official invite with the words “Pass human rights” written across it in big bold black letters. Harry encouraged fans to share the photos, writing: “Pass 4 human rights Sochi 2014… Share if you agree…”

RICHARDS HAPPY TO BE A FIVE-TIME GRANDFATHER

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Keith Richards became a five-time granddad last week after his daughter, Angela, gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Otto. Angela and her partner Graham Whitney already have a two-year old daughter, Ava Melody, and the 70-year old Rolling Stonesguitarist’s son, Marlon, has three children.

THE WILD FEATHERS ADD TOUR CLOSING NYC STOP TO CURRENT TREK

Nashville-based The Wild Feathers, whose self-titled debut album spawned the soaring single “The Ceiling,” have tacked on a New York City show on May 15 at the Bowery Ballroom to their current cross-country headlining trek. The must-see live group’s road trip stops in Montreal tonight and includes gigs in major markets such as Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles before coming to an end with the newly added Big Apple performance.

MINER MAKING MAJOR SPLASH WITH HIT “HEY LOVE;” DEBUT ALBUM DUE

Emerging from the fertile musical enclave of the Silverlake district of Los Angeles, folk rockers Miner have garnered great press for their single “Hey Love” off their forthcoming debut album Into the Morning, due on February 25. The six-piece, led by singer/songwriterJustin Miner and his wife, Kate, will support the release of Into the Morning with a short six-show West Coast road trip, starting March 6 in Los Angeles and including gigs in Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, Sacramento and Santa Cruz, too.

SHOWBIZ NEWS:

MORE BIZARRE ANTICS FROM SHIA

Shia LaBeouf is acting weird again. First the Transformers star, who is missing a lower bottom tooth, stormed out of the Berlin press conference for his new movie Nymphomaniac after telling reporters, “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much." Then later that night he showed up to the film’s premiere wearing abag on his head that said, “I am not famous anymore.” Earlier in the weekend, Shia reportedly lunged at three men who tried to take his picture at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Acquaintances of the actor intervened to calm things down. 

WOODY ALLEN ISSUES DENIAL OF MOLESTATION CLAIMS

Woody Allen has responded to claims of molestation from his daughter, Dylan Farrow. In a letter published Friday in the New York Times, the filmmaker issued his denial. He reiterated the fact that 21 years ago, when these claims were first lodged, Yale experts determined that Dylan had not been abused, but instead had been coached by her mother, Mia Farrow. "Of course, I did not molest Dylan," the 78-year-old wrote. "I loved her and hope one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter's well-being." He said he does not want to discourage sexual abuse from speaking out, but that “one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing." He added that this op-ed piece would be his “final word” on the matter. 

Dylan responded Saturday, saying she will not be silenced. "His op-ed is the latest rehash of the same legalese, distortions and outright lies he has leveled at me for the past 20 years,” the 28-year-old said. 

HUNDREDS MOURN PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN AT NYC FUNERAL

Friends and family members gathered in New York on Friday to mourn the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Around 400 people attended the private funeral service at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Cate Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton, Laura Linney, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Amy Adams, and Mary-Kate Olsen were among those who came to pay their respects to the beloved actor. The 46-year-old Oscar winner died last Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose. He leaves behind his partner of 15 years, Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children – son Colin, 11, and daughters Tallulah, 7, and Willa, 5.  A private wake was held last Thursday and a larger memorial service is expected later this month.

FALLON SIGNS OFF ON RATINGS HIGH

Jimmy Fallon said goodbye to Late Night Friday and did so with his best ratings ever. His final show attracted 6.6 million viewers, a record high for Fallon and the most for any Late Night host since David Letterman's final show in 1993. “I’m really gonna miss being on TV at 12:37, especially in this battle for late-night ratings with my fierce rivals — Craig Ferguson and a vegi-chopper infomercial,” Fallon said during his monologue. “I’m not gonna cry, but I’m getting really close. Because we’re not going anywhere – we’re just going to The Tonight Show.” Fallon premieres as host of The Tonight Show on February 17^th.

BIEBER SOURCES SAY SELENA CAUSED HER OWN PROBLEMS

Was Justin Bieber a bad influence on ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez? No way, say sources close to him. In fact, sources told TMZ that Selena was always the drunk at the party. While Bieber admits he gets wasted, he claims that whenever he had parties, Selena smoked as much weed as the guys and would even get competitive about it. The sources say she was also heavily into alcohol. TMZ reports that Justin believes Selena’s parents are behind the “bad influence” claims, because they hate him. Apparently, Justin is happy he’s no longer with Selena because she was too high maintenance and out of control. It was revealed last week that Selena secretly spent a two-week stint in rehab last month.

DMX/ZIMMERMAN BOXING MATCH CANCELLED

A planned “celebrity” boxing match that was to feature rapper DMX and George Zimmerman, the man who was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, has been canceled. "This was the wrong person to put in the ring and define celebrity boxing," Damon Feldman said Saturday on Twitter about Zimmerman. He said he was calling off the match because "I'd rather be happy and make people happy." DMX later said he never agreed to box Zimmerman in the first place.

BETHENNY MOVES OUT

TV talk show host Bethenny Frankel has decided to rent out a second New York City apartment to avoid run-ins with her estranged husband, Jason Hoppy. Frankel and Hoppy, who share custody of their 3-year-old daughter Bryn, have remained in the same Tribeca loft since their separation 14 months ago. But Frankel has since moved on with her financier boyfriend Michael Cerussi and decided to move to a new place to keep her ex away from her new beau. Frankel filed for divorce in January 2013, causing her hubby to file his own papers for primary custody of Bryn. They have yet to settle.

PREGNANT TERESA PALMER TIES THE KNOT

A nine months pregnant Teresa Palmer and her boyfriend Mark Webber decided to make it official last week! The two tied the knot in a small ceremony last Thursday. "Today we were legally married and had a beautiful Christian ceremony led by our pastor @judasmith Thank you god for the blessings @likemark,” the 27-year-oldWarm Bodies actress tweeted.

LEO GETS A CROTCH HUG

Leonardo DiCaprio got his crotch hugged on the red carpet last week. Ukrainian journalist Vitalii Sediuk, known for pranking celebs at big events, knelt down and wrapped his arms around the actor’s legs at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival last Thursday. DiCaprio seemed surprised, but took Sediuk’s actions in stride. According to reps for the festival, Sediuk "broke through the barricade and did this. He was 'escorted' off the premises and now blackballed." Less than a month ago, Sediuk, 25,  pulled the same stunt withBradley Cooper on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

X FACTOR CANCELED AND OTHER TV TIDBITS!

Fox has canceled The X Factor after three seasons amid declining ratings, the network announced Friday. The news came on the same day judge and executive producer Simon Cowell announced he would return to the UK version of the show.

Southland’s Ben McKenzie has landed the lead role in Fox’s Gotham, about DC Comics fixture Commissioner James Gordon and the villains that made the city famous.

Former American Idol competitors Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry will return to the Fox hit this month taking part in a new competition phase of the series called “Randy Jackson’s Boot Camp. “ The shows will begin airing February 18^th,and will last for three nights.