Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton reacts after being crowned
Miss USA 2009 during the Miss USA Pageant at the Planet
Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada April 19, 2009.
Britney
Spears and her famous ex Justin Timberlake are preparing
for a musical reunion, Us magazine is reporting.
The two pop
superstars are reportedly set to perform together on
stage with Madonna on her "Sticky and Sweet Tour,"
according to Ryan Seacrest, Us said. “They are going to
be onstage performing with Madonna,” Us quoted Seacrest
as saying. “If Justin and Britney end up on that stage
with her … I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything quite
like that before.” The former Mickey Mouse club stars –
and exes – have both collaborated with pop queen Madonna
separately. They dated for several years but split in
2002 after Spears reportedly cheated on Timberlake, Us
said.
Woman, 75, gets phone call about her funeral
arrangements
METHUEN, Mass. - Rose Griffin is not dead,
so the call from someone trying to arrange her funeral was a bit of a
shock. The Methuen woman got the call at a late hour Friday night from
someone looking for her son, who was not there.
When an irate Griffin used her caller ID to
call back, the man informed her he was a funeral director trying to make
arrangements for her son's dead mother.
WASHINGTON – Astronomers have found what appears to be a
gigantic suicidal planet.
The odd, fiery planet is so close to its star and so
large that it is triggering tremendous plasma tides on
the star. Those powerful tides are in turn warping the
planet's zippy less-than-a-day orbit around its star.
The result: an ever-closer tango of death, with the
planet eventually spiraling into the star.
It's a slow death. The planet WASP-18b has maybe a
million years to live, said planet discoverer Coel
Hellier, a professor of astrophysics at the Keele
University in England. Hellier's report on the suicidal
planet is in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
"It's causing its own destruction by creating these
tides," Hellier said.
The star is called WASP-18 and the planet is WASP-18b
because of the Wide Angle Search for Planets team that
found them.
The planet circles a star that is in the constellation
Phoenix and is about 325 light-years away from Earth,
which means it is in our galactic neighborhood. A
light-year is about 5.8 trillion miles.
The planet is 1.9 million miles from its star, 1/50th of
the distance between Earth and the sun, our star. And
because of that the temperature is about 3,800 degrees.
Its size — 10 times bigger than Jupiter — and its
proximity to its star make it likely to die, Hellier
said.
Think of how the distant moon pulls Earth's oceans to
form twice-daily tides. The effect the odd planet has on
its star is thousands of times stronger, Hellier said.
The star's tidal bulge of plasma may extend hundreds of
miles, he said.
Like most planets outside our solar system, this planet
was not seen directly by a telescope. Astronomers found
it by seeing dips in light from the star every time the
planet came between the star and Earth.
So far astronomers have found more than 370 planets
outside the solar system. This one is "yet another weird
one in the exoplanet menagerie," said planet specialist
Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
It's so unusual to find a suicidal planet that
University of Maryland astronomer Douglas Hamilton
questioned whether there was another explanation. While
it is likely that this is a suicidal planet, Hamilton
said it is also possible that some basic physics
calculations that all astronomers rely on could be dead
wrong.
The answer will become apparent in less than a decade if
the planet seems to be further in a death spiral, he
said.
Fadl Shaker confirms
retirement decision
Fadl Shaker said
that his earlier reported decision to quit music once his
contract with Rotana expires, is irrevocable. The Lebanese
crooner’s contract ends within 4 years.
Speaking to the TV show "Tarattatta", Shaker withheld reasons,
but giving a vague hint to his desire for inner peace.
Shaker is said to be strained by the conflicts with media and
entertainment community, and some noted his scarce appearance in
terms of interviews.
Giant West Bank cake
aims for Guinness record
NABLUS, West Bank (AFP)
– Palestinians with a sweet-tooth gathered on Saturday around a
giant syrupy cheesecake treat they hope will set a new Guinness
world record in their occupied West Bank city.
More than 100,000
Palestinians thronged Nablus city centre for a slice of Knafeh
-- a cake sprinkled with pistachio and made of semolina, white
cheese and a sugary syrup sprinkled with rose water.
Nablus bakers used
700 kilogrammes (1,540 pounds) of semolina flour and the same
amount of cheese as well as 300 kilos (660 pounds) of sugar to
produce the 74 metre long (243 feet) cake weighing 1,765
kilogrammes.
Palestinian prime
minister Salam Fayyad and local dignitaries were among the first
to receive a slice before the crowd was invited to dig into the
Knafeh.
Hazem Shunnar, from
the Guinness Book of World Records, and project mastermind
Muhannad al-Arabi said that 170 bakers from 10 Nablus pastry
shops helped make the giant Knafeh which sost around 15,000
dollars, the Palestinian news agency Maan reported
Rare, Prehistoric, Pregnant Turtle Found in Utah
Paleontologists
say a 75-million-year-old turtle fossil uncovered in southern
Utah has a clutch of eggs inside, making it the first
prehistoric pregnant turtle found in the United
Doctors Discover Dallas Twins Have Two Different Dads
A Texas mother of twins got the shock of her life when doctors
revealed that her 11-month-old boys do not have the same father.
Mia Washington decided to get some expert advice when she and
Marwa prepares for
marriage
The Lebanese artist
Marwa is getting ready to marry an Egyptian businessman. The
wedding will take place in Cyprus right after the Muslim holiday
“Eid Al Fiter,” that comes at the end of the holy month of
Ramadan.
Marwa is currently
filming a new movie to be screened at the end of Ramadan.
Rumors claim that
Marwa’s fiancé is producing her new film. She revealed that she
has been involved with him for a while now, but she kept their
relationship a secret and only told close friends.
Marwa will settle
with her new husband in Egypt.
Cannes Fashion
Actress Frederique Bel arrives on the red carpet for the
screening of the film "Bright Star" by director Jane Campion at
the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.
Dominique Hourany: I Will Never Quit ShowBiz
The Lebanese singer has confirmed she will never quit despite
her new responsibility as a mother since she gave birth to her
daughter Dilara three months ago, pointing out that she will be
making a video clip for her new Khaliji song “Sheltako”.
And about her being a mom Dominique said that she’s never away
from her daughter, and worries....read more.
Cynthia Nixon engaged to girlfriend
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon
announced her engagement to girlfriend Christine Marinoni at a
gay rights rally over the weekend, celebrity web sites reported
on Monday.
Two French movies focusing on the plight of immigrants in
foreign lands have received top awards at a Los Angeles French
film festival, organizers said Sunday.
"Eden a l'Ouest," the latest production of famed director Costa-Gavras,
has received the critics' award at the "City of Lights, City of
Angels" festival.
The film tells the story about the trials and tribulations of an
illegal immigrant in Europe.
"Welcome," produced by director Philippe Lioret, has won the
public's award. It recounts the story of a meeting between a
Frenchman and an illegal Kurdish immigrant trying to reach
Britain.
TOKYO (Reuters) -
Japan's Supreme Court sentenced a woman to death on Tuesday for
killing four and making more than 60 ill by poisoning a large
pot of curry at a summer festival in 1998, a case widely covered
in domestic media.
The incident shocked
Japan, where crime rates are relatively low and mass killings
extremely rare.
Public broadcaster
NHK reported the Supreme Court upheld a lower court death
sentence on Masumi Hayashi, 47, for the crime that took place in
the western Japanese city of Wakayama.
The Supreme Court
called the crime "cruel and despicable," NHK added.
Prosecutors charged
Hayashi became enraged after being shunned by her neighbors and
put arsenic in the curry when she was alone in the garage where
it was being prepared, Japanese media said.
Hayashi has
denied being involved in the deaths in recent interviews with
several domestic media outlets.
Pop quiz: Which film has grossed more
money? The hit Paul Rudd comedy "I Love You, Man" or the
47-minute-long documentary "Space Station 3D"?
Julia Roberts' star vehicle "Duplicity" or
the Humboldt squid's big turn in "Deep Sea 3D"?
There are many reasons why the Walt Disney Co. is launching its
new documentary label
Disneynature with
“Earth,” and not all of them revolve
around Earth Day. While movie studios struggle to create,
produce and
A Russian karate expert has been charged with beating to death a
61-year-old woman and her son, whom he accused of infecting his
wife with lice, an investigator said Friday.
The drunk 26-year-old burst into a neighboring room in his
hostel Tuesday and used karate moves to kill the pair, state
investigator Eduard Abdullin said by telephone from Kazan, a
city 700 km (430 miles) east of Moscow.
"He literally beat them to death with his hands and feet,"
Abdullin said. "The family were poor and drank a lot. He blamed
them for infecting his wife and the entire corridor with lice."
The 58-year-old husband of the dead woman was also badly beaten,
but survived.
The suspect, who studied karate for seven years, faces life in
prison if convicted, Abdullin added.
The Longest Wedding Train
A Romanian model displays wedding dress with a train measuring
1,579 metres long for a new world record for the longest wedding
train in Bucharest Romania.
According to French magazine Le Point, as
translated by
People.com, Hayek, 42, married
Francois-Henri Pinault, 46, on Saturday (Valentine’s Day) in the
City Hall of the Sixth Arrondissement in central Paris, which is
owned by Pinault’s family. The
couple, who have a daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault,
called off their enagement last summer, but reportedly reunited
on a romantic Paris trip in September.Pinault is CEO of luxury
company PPR. His father, Francois Pinault, is one of the richest
men in France with an estimated fortune of $16.9 billion.
Saudi producer Zaid Al Shamardal will produce a new operetta
called “Wahedo Sfoof Al Arab” (Unite the Arab Lines) to support
the people in Gaza.
The songs are written by Ashraf Hamad, and composed and
distributed by Muhammad Musbah.
The opera will feature a number of rising Egyptian artists like
Hadeer, Muhammad Musbah, Tareq Ali, Lail and Eyad.
The opera is about Arabs and Arab countries uniting and becoming
stronger to stand up for their rights and resolve the crisis in
Palestine, most recently in Gaza.
Madonna has paid her ex-husband British director Guy Ritchie up
to 60 million pounds ($92 million) to settle their divorce after
eight years of marriage, her spokeswoman said on Monday.
Liz Rosenberg said the singer, 50, had given Ritchie, 40,
between 50 and 60 million pounds ($76 million and $92 million)
as part of their divorce, which was granted by a British court
on November 21.
She said that sum includes the couple's English country estate,
Ashcombe, which is valued at about 20 million pounds ($30
million).
The couple's combined wealth has been estimated at about $525
million, but Madonna accounts for most of it.
Rosenberg said custody arrangements for the couple's children
have not been finalized.
Madonna and Ritchie have an 8-year-old son, Rocco, and
3-year-old son David, adopted from Malawi. The singer also has a
daughter Lourdes, born in 1996, from her relationship with
fitness trainer Carlos Leon.
Madonna, one of the most successful singers of all time with
estimated album sales of more than 200 million, was married once
before, to actor Sean Penn, in the 1980s.
Madonna and Ritchie announced their split in October, nearly
eight years after their fairytale wedding at Skibo Castle in
Scotland.
Ritchie is a British film director who is making Hollywood
blockbuster "Sherlock Holmes" starring Robert Downey Jr. as the
Victorian-era super sleuth.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie
Settle $60 Million Divorce Deal
LONDON — Guy Ritchie
will get at least $34 million in cash and properties
worth many more millions in his surprise settlement with
Madonna, the U.K's Sun is reporting.
The 40-year-old film
director gets the couple’s 1,200-acre country estate and
a swanky London pub. The cash is to cover their London
properties — a family townhouse in Marylebone, a
ten-bedroom property next door and two mews cottages
each. The total value will be around $60 million —
enough for Guy to walk away satisfied. The director of
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and RocknRolla
already had an estimated $44 million fortune. The couple
of almost eight years announced their divorce last week.
Internet users should soon be
able to use new domain names such as .love, .paris or .bank if
one of the world wide web's biggest shakeups is approved this
week as expected by the web regulator ICANN. The Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
...read more
In Rihab,
Jordan—in a
cave beneath a church dating to 230
AD—archaeologists
have found what may be the oldest church in the world. The
church above, St. Georgeous, bears an inscription in mosaic,
reading "70 beloved by God and the divine"1;
archaeologists and
historians believe it refers to a band
of 70 early
Christians who fled
persecution in Jerusalem during the first century.
It is speculated
that the cave was the home and place of worship for these 70
pilgrims. If, as has been estimated, the cavernous chapel dates
to the period between 33 AD and 70 AD, it would be the world's
oldest known church.
