Peep Amber Rose Looking Extra Thick, Wearing Pink Bikini In Barbados (going topless in one of the pics)

Amber Rose enjoyed some downtime and chilled on the beach in Barbados on Friday (April 8).

The Philadelphia babe has never been afraid to show off her body, going topless in one of the pics.

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Film director Sidney Lumet dies at 86

Director Sidney Lumet, whose gritty portraits of New York City earned him four Oscar nominations for Best Director for films such as Dog Day Afternoon and Network, died Saturday of lymphoma at his home in Manhattan; he was 86. Synonymous with the New York filmmaking scene, Lumet prowled the streets of his adopted hometown in a wide variety of films, working in the nascent medium of television in the early 1950s before making his feature film directorial debut in 1957 with the cinematic adaptation of the jury room classic 12 Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda. That film earned Lumet his first Oscar nomination and started a prolific career that would take him through crime dramas, Broadway and literary adaptations, occasional Hollywood films, and lacerating satires.

Born in Philadelphia to parents who were in show business -- his father was an actor and director, his mother a dancer -- he appeared in numerous Broadway plays as a child and young adult before serving three years in the Army during World War II and returning to New York to direct. Lumet's directorial style, described as "lightning quick" in an era when American cinema was still burdened by the limitations of decorative and expensive Hollywood films, earned him a successful career in television, where he adapted numerous plays for such early shows as Playhouse 90 and Studio One, and worked with the young Walter Cronkite on the news series You Are There. He directed a TV version of 12 Angry Men before turning it into a successful 1957 film, starring Henry Fonda as the lone dissenting juror in a murder trial; the film earned three Academy Award nominations (Best Picture, Director and Screenplay) and singlehandedly established Lumet's cinematic directing career.

Lumet alternated film and television work in the late 1950s and early 1960s -- including a television version of The Iceman Cometh starring Jason Robards -- before helming a number of acclaimed cinematic films in the early 1960s: the devastating adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962) starring Katharine Hepburn and Ralph Richardson; the New York drama The Pawnbroker (1964), which earned Rod Steiger a Best Actor Oscar nomination; and the nuclear drama Fail-Safe (also 1964), starring Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau. Through the late 1960s and early 1970s some of Lumet's work was uneven -- adaptations of bestsellers The Group (1966) and The Anderson Tapes (1971) as well as Chekhov's The Sea Gull (1968) are admirable but not entirely successful -- but scored again throughout the 1970s. The crime drama Serpico (1973) helped cement Al Pacino's star status after The Godfather -- and earned the actor his first Best Actor Oscar nomination, and the actor and director paired again in 1975's Dog Day Afternoon, the story of a bank heist gone crazily awry; the film, now considered a modern classic, earned Lumet and Pacion Oscar nominations and some of the best reviews of their careers. In between those films, set in New York, Lument took a literal and figurative jaunt with the successful adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (1974), an upper-class murder mystery set on a luxury European train that seemed as far from the seamy streets of Manhattan as possible.

In 1976, Lumet explored the themes of media exposure and saturation he delved into with Dog Day Afternoon even further with the scathing television satire and drama Network, starring William Holden, Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch. Lumet, along with screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, pioneered the idea (and condemnation) of what is now commonly thought of as reality TV in his story of a network anchorman (Finch) who suffers a breakdown on live television with the rallying cry "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!", and the television executive (Dunaway) who turns him into a folk hero, TV icon, and tragic figure, ultimately goading him into committing suicide live on television. The film, still potent and more lacerating than most explorations of modern media since, won Finch and Dunaway Oscars; Finch's award was posthumous, as the actor died in early 1977. It remains one of only two films to win three Academy Awards for acting (the third for supporting actress Beatrice Straight, who appeared onscreen for less than six minutes), the other being A Streetcar Named Desire.

After that string of commercial and financial hits, Lumet's career included a wide variety of films: adaptations of Broadway hits Equus (1977, fairly successful), The Wiz (1978, a musical flop but a strangely visionary view of New York), Deathtrap (1982, unexpected fun if not a perfect film); crime drama Prince of the City (1981, one of Lumet's most unheralded fims); courtroom drama The Verdict (1982, a big hit that earned star Paul Newman and Lumet Oscar nominations); Hollywood melodrama (1986's The Morning After, starring Jane Fonda); and indie drama (Running On Empty, the 1988 drama with River Phoenix in his only Oscar-nominated performance). Lumet's last film was the 2007 drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, which starred indie stalwarts Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, and Amy Ryan.

Lumet was married four times, first to actress Rita Gam, second to socialite Gloria Vanderbilt, and third to Gail Jones, daughter of Lena Horne. He married Mary Gimbel, who survives him, in 1980 and had two daughters with Ms. Jones, Amy Lumet and screenwriter Jenny Lumet, who scripted the drama Rachel Getting Married. Nominated for five Oscars (four for directing, one for screenplay), Lumet was awarded an honorary Academy Award at the 2004 Oscars.

Source: IMDB - Mark Englehart

800-horsepower Mustang on the way

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- An 800-horsepower version of the Ford Mustang will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show later this month.

The 2012 Shelby GT500 Super Snake will be built by Shelby American Inc., a Las Vegas-based performance car company. Shelby works with Ford Motor Co. to create various high-performance versions of the iconic Mustang.

While the base Super Snake will produce a mere 750 horsepower, those who feel the need for more power will be able to add an optional upgrade package that will provide 50 more. Shelby provides no warranty on the engine and transmission, in either case.

The base version of the outgoing 2011 Super Snake produces 630 horsepower, although no-warranty option packages have been available in recent months to push horsepower in those cars up to as much as 800, as well.

The 2012 Super Snake will be legal to drive on public roads on all 50 states, the carmaker promised, and it will cost less than $100,000.

Prices for the 2011 Super Snake start about $80,000 in total, including the separate purchase of a car from Ford -- a factory-produced Shelby GT500 -- and the necessary modifications.

"Shelby American has a rich history at the New York International Auto Show," said John Luft, president of Shelby American. in an announcement. "The very first Shelby car was introduced there in 1962, as well as the 1968 and 2008 Shelby GT500KR and the 2006 Shelby Hertz GT-H."

The original partnership between Ford and Shelby American founder Carroll Shelby, one that resulted in Mustang-based performance cars that can be worth millions of dollars today, ended in 1969. Ford and Shelby entered into a new agreement in 2003 that has produced a new line of Shelby Mustangs, some built by Ford Motor Co. and others built at the Shelby American factory.

Source: Yahoo

Gucci Mane Arrested Again, This Time Accused Of Throwing Woman Out Of Moving Car

Rapper Gucci Mane has been arrested yet again.

This time he's accused of pushing a woman out of a moving car according to AllHipHop.

Gucci, born Radric Davis was arrested while visiting his probation officer so it's not clear when the incident happened.

Already on probation, Gucci was charged with misdemeanor battery, but that charge could revoke his probation sending him back to prison.

Lil Wayne NOT banned From Touring in the UK

Previously there were reports on the internet that Lil Wayne was banned from touring in the Uk. Well acording to management, this is not the case. Check out his managements statement below:

“No visa was ever filed, nor were there any tour dates announced, or tickets sold. Lil Wayne is currently headlining his I Am Still Music Tour across the US and Canada with plans to extend the tour through North America this summer. We hope to bring the I Am Still Music Tour to the UK in the later half of the year.”

Soccer player answers phone during game

Nazi warplane lying off UK coast is intact

LONDON (Reuters) – A rare World War Two German bomber, shot down over the English Channel in 1940 and hidden for years by shifting sands at the bottom of the sea, is so well preserved a British museum wants to raise it.

The Dornier 17 -- thought to be world's last known example -- was hit as it took part in the Battle of Britain.

It ditched in the sea just off the Kent coast, southeast England, in an area known as the Goodwin Sands.

The plane came to rest upside-down in 50 feet of water and has become partially visible from time to time as the sands retreated before being buried again.

Now a high-tech sonar survey undertaken by the Port of London Authority (PLA) has revealed the aircraft to be in a startling state of preservation.

Ian Thirsk, from the RAF Museum at Hendon in London, told the BBC he was "incredulous" when he first heard of its existence and potential preservation.

"This aircraft is a unique aeroplane and it's linked to an iconic event in British history, so its importance cannot be over-emphasized, nationally and internationally," he said.

"It's one of the most significant aeronautical finds of the century."

Known as "the flying pencil," the Dornier 17 was designed as a passenger plane in 1934 and was later converted for military use as a fast bomber, difficult to hit and theoretically able to outpace enemy fighter aircraft.

In all, some 1,700 were produced but they struggled in the war with a limited range and bomb load capability and many were scrapped afterwards.

Striking high-resolution images appear to show that the Goodwin Sands plane suffered only minor damage, to its forward cockpit and observation windows, on impact.

"The bomb bay doors were open, suggesting the crew jettisoned their cargo," said PLA spokesman Martin Garside.

Two of the crew members died on impact, while two others, including the pilot, were taken prisoner and survived the war.

"The fact that it was almost entirely made of aluminum and produced in one piece may have contributed to its preservation," Garside told Reuters.

The plane is still vulnerable to the area's notorious shifting sands and has become the target of recreational divers hoping to salvage souvenirs.

The RAF museum has launched an appeal to raise funds for the lifting operation.

Source: Yahoo

Bieber trains with Barca after daring kit choice in Madrid

Pixieish pop sensation Justin Bieber is on tour in Spain and during a stop in Madrid, he risked the wrath of the locals by wearing the kit of Real Madrid's fiercest and most hated rivals, FC Barcelona, during a kickabout on the outskirts of the city. (For those of you that are just here for the Bieber, that's kind of like wearing a Selena Gomez shirt to a Belieber convention or a Red Sox jersey while playing baseball in New York City. But worse.)

Perhaps as a reward for endangering his bodyguards with his choice in apparel, Barca invited him to their training session on Thursday as he made his latest tour stop. After the session, Bieber put on the club's away teal and played a little game with the likes of Thiago, Bojan and Andreu Fontas. As Barcelona's official website reports, Bieber showed "surprisingly decent skills with his left foot." So, in the wake of Chad Ochocinco's attempt to play footy, an MLS trial probably isn't far off for him.

With Gerard Pique dating Shakira and now Bieber declaring that he's a fan of the club, Barcelona's stranglehold on pop music is growing stronger. It's probably just a matter of time before Lady Gaga is named the club's honorary president.

Source: Yahoo

Lil Wayne On Sobriety "My Sweat Used To Taste Like Weed"

Lil Wayne is seeing the world from an outlook he isn't used to. That of a totally sober man. He is regularly tested for drugs due to the terms of his probation stemming from a New York gun charge.

For a guy who made syrup, weed and liquor a major part of his every day life, the adjustment to sobriety has been smooth he claims.

"It's a big difference I almost jumped in the crowd," Weezy told MTV's Sway after a recent concert. "I'm like 'I'm sober', my sweat tastes different. My sweat used to taste like weed, now I don't know what it is. My eyes big, my eyes all wide ... I threw my glasses. I don’t even need these. I could see everything right now. But yeah man, it’s a great feeling.”

It's not a tough choice, get high and go back to jail or stay sober. Old vices die hard though, Wayne's got three more years to walk a straight line.

What do you think, will Lil Wayne remain sober and avoid going back to jail?

MTV Shows

Gunman Opens Fire Inside Elementary School In Brazil Leaving 12 Students Dead

WSJ reports: RIO DE JANEIRO—At least 12 students were killed here at an elementary school Thursday after a former student armed with handguns talked his way on to the premises and opened fire before taking his own life, police said.

A gunman kills at least 12 people at a school in Rio de Janeiro before turning the gun on himself. Video courtesy of Reuters and photo courtesy of AP.

The killings, which city officials described as Brazil's worst-ever schoolhouse violence, produced a mix of shock, grief and dismay in a nation that has long struggled with high crime levels, but so far remained immune to the kind of murderous rampages at U.S. schools such as Virginia Tech in recent years.

"It's not characteristic of this country for this type of crime to happen," said President Dilma Rousseff, who appeared on the verge of tears as she called for a moment of silence in memory of the young victims during a televised speech.

Police said 23 year old Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, pictured above, walked into the Tasso da Silveira public school in the Realengo neighborhood on Rio's west side as classes started about 8 a.m. local time. He was armed with two .38-caliber revolvers and ample ammunition, police said.

To get in, he told guards he was there to give a presentation to students as part of the school's 40th anniversary celebrations. On his way in, Mr. Oliveira spoke briefly with a teacher who recognized him from his school days. Then, he walked casually into a classroom and opened fire, officials said.

The shooter is seen on CCTV holding a gun in the hall

Mr. Oliveira shot and killed 10 female students and two males during the rampage, and injured at least 16 others—some of whom remained in surgery late Thursday—before police arrived at the scene. The victims were between the ages of 12 and 15.

Investigators are still putting together a picture of Mr. Oliveira. But his act bore some of the hallmarks of the bloody schoolhouse violence perpetrated by deranged killers bent on carrying out premeditated suicidal rampages.

A former co-worker at a food company described Mr. Oliveira as an introverted man who was fired for "low productivity," the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported.

He also left a suicide note that included detailed instructions on how to care for his body, including entreaties about which kind of material should be used for a shroud and about keeping it sterile. Mr. Oliveira asked to be buried beside his mother, and requested that a "faithful follower of God visits my grave at least one time, I need him to pray before my grave and ask God to forgive me for what I've done."

The shootings took place in a densely populated, lower middle-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's west—far different than the scalloped white sand beaches and dramatic green hills in the postcard version of Rio.

The school is a plain four-story cement block building walled off from the street, with a asphalt courtyard and playground surrounding the building.

During the attack, some wounded students fled the school and made their way to a nearby house, leaving smears of blood on the doorway as they entered for safety, TV images showed.

Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral said that a quick response by a local policeman responding to cries of help from a group of wounded children may have saved lives. Sgt. Marcio Alves rushed into the school where he ran across Mr. Oliveira, who was coming out of a classroom.

"He leveled his gun at me, and I shot him in the abdomen. He fell into a stairwell, where he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head," Sgt. Alves told reporters.

Frantic parents descended on the school searching for their children. Police officers sought to control crowds. A mother screamed in anguish as she learned details of the attack. Nearby, a woman fainted. A man picked her up and sought to bring her to medical attention.

"I saw a lot of children dead and a dead bandit covered up," a young girl, who did not give her name, said during a televised interview just as she emerged from the school. "The teacher told us to get on the floor. We were all very scared and trembling."

Across the city, which already struggles with one of the world's highest murder rates from gang violence and other crime, news of the killing brought a heightened sense of angst that they may be faced with a new brand of senseless killings. Though gun laws restrict ownership, in practice they are easy to get.

Brazilian TV ran video footage from U.S. school killings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech throughout the day as the country searched for reference points for the killings.

"It's totally atypical of Brazil. We're used to hearing of this kind of thing happening in the USA, but not here," said Nilza Waldeck, a retired schoolteacher in Rio. "It's shocking "Brazil's culture typically shows little aggression, particularly against children."

Nicki Minaj Pulls Out TRYX at Casio Camera Launch Party

Nicki Minaj showed her Big Apple Barbz some love last night at New York City’s Best Buy Theater in the heart of Times Square. Taking a detour from her “I Am Music II” tour with Lil Wayne, the Young Money diva joined The Roots at the invite-only TRYX OUT: NYC 2011, celebrating Casio’s new pocket camera.

The Harajuku Barbie took the stage shortly after 10 p.m. to the tune of an Enya song, emerging from the wings with her pink-wigged backup dancers already in position. Touting her Bride of Frankenstein ‘do, the platinum raptress set things off with “Roman’s Revenge,” segueing into “Did It On’em” before running through a medley of her banner guest appearances.

The animated performer, clad in a black adidas jacket adorned with buttons and neon leggings, received a riotous response to “Up All Night,” “Bottoms Up,” and “My Chick Bad.” She capped her jumble of features with “Monster,” where she straddled a fan strapped to a chair as her demonic dancers swarmed around them.

“This song means so much to me, because you guys have supported me for so long,” said an emotional Nicki of “Fly,” transitioning into a sensitive acapella rendition of “Save Me.” Clutching her sparkling pink mic, she kicked it back up a notch with “Super Bass” and “Moment 4 Life,” signing “N”’s on the back of Barbz’ hands with a Sharpie before bidding adieu to her legion of followers.

“I’ma tell you why this is so important,” she told the audience of being chosen to perform for Casio. “I’m a black girl from Southside Jamaica, Queens, and that is why I tell you Barbz, don’t give up.”

While members of the packed crowd showed their love for Nicki by rocking pink wigs and eccentric ensembles, The Roots helped warm them up for the main event. Though patrons were apathetic at first, the Philly cats won them over with cuts from their oeuvre including “You Got Me,” “The Seed (2.0),” “The Next Movement,” and “Get Busy,” tossing in covers of Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and Sugar Hill Gang’s “Apache.”

J. Period manned the wheels of steel for the event, convincing the crowd that a picture with the new TRYX is worth a thousand words. Based on the frenzy of flashes from cameras in the crowd throughout the night, Nicki ended up with a few milli.

Source: Rap-up

Exclusive Footage From Floyd Mayweather's Birthday Party hosted by 50 Cent

D12's Proof To Be Remembered Next Week At Vigil & Tribute Show In Detroit

D12 rapper Proof was taken from us way too soon by senseless gun violence five years ago. Next week the rapper will be honored at the 4th Annual Candlelight Vigil & Tribute Show in Detroit.

The event will feature friends and family remembering Proof through his song and poetry.

Here is the official information listed on ProofFoundation.org

Five years after losing DeShaun “Proof” Holton, the Proof Foundation will host the Fourth Annual Candlelight Vigil & Tribute Show to celebrate his life. Proof, a member of the Shady/Interscope Records group D12 and an accomplished solo artist, was a musical mentor to many and a frequent speaker at local schools encouraging students to continue their education. On Monday, April 11, 2011, the annual candlelight vigil will be held from 4:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. at the Rosa Parks Freedom Chapel on the grounds of the Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit. Family and friends will gather to reflect and remember Proof through poetry, inspirational words and stories.

In the evening, there will be a tribute concert to honor the musical legacy ofProof. Doors open at 9:00 P.M. at The Shelter (431 E. Congress, Detroit). Performing artists will cover songs originally recorded by Proof during this show. Rappers Chino XL, Miz Korona, Invincible, Moe Dirdee, Rio Data, Seven The General, V Stylez, 5 ELA, former group members of Proof, and Supa Emcee, along with R&B singer, Melanie Rutherford are scheduled to perform. DJ Sin and DJ Jewels will be the guest DJs, and DJ Henhouse will host the event.

The foundation is also currently accepting applications for its first scholarship. The $1000 scholarship is available to high school seniors in Detroit for the 2011/2012 academic school year. Scholarship applications must be postmarked by May 30, 2011. The scholarship winner will be announced in August.

Proof’s mother, “Pepper” Holton created the Proof Foundation, a Michigan nonprofit corporation, in July 2007 to honor and preserve his legacy in three ways: (1) promoting the importance of education to low-income children and children from single parent households by offering them scholarships to finance their education at schools Proof attended in Detroit as well as other educational institutions, colleges and universities, (2) encouraging artistic and creative development of inner city youth interested in pursuing careers in music by sponsoring educational and cultural activities, workshops and field trips and (3) educating aspiring artists about the business aspects of the entertainment industry through panel discussions, programs and seminars.

For more information, please email prooffoundation@gmail.com or call (248) 721-9881

Archaeologists Uncover 1st Gay Man, 5000 Years Old!

Y-M-C-Cave: The skeleton was found in a Prague suburb with its head pointing eastwards and surrounded by domestic jugs - rituals only previously seen in female graves. Men would normally be buried with weapons, hammers and flint knives

Five thousand years after he died, the first known gay caveman has emerged into the daylight.

According to archaeologists, the way he was buried suggests that he was of a different sexual persuasion.

The skeleton of the late Stone Age man, unearthed during excavations in the Czech Republic, is said to date back to between 2900 and 2500 BC.

One of the domestic jugs among the caveman's remains. Normally only placed in female graves, the jugs suggest the caveman was either homosexual or transsexual

Another member of the archaeological team, Katerina Semradova, said that colleagues had uncovered an earlier case dating from the Mesolithic period where a female warrior was buried as a man.

She added that Siberian shamans, or witch doctors, were also buried in this way but with richer funeral accessories appropriate to their elevated position in society.

‘This later discovery was neither of those. We believe this is one of the earliest cases of what could be described as a transvestite or third-gender grave in the Czech Republic.

Source: Daily Mail

The price of a government shutdown

So if the federal government shuts down, taxpayers would save a lot of money, right?

Not quite.

It would actually cost taxpayers money. And for every day the shutdown continues, the bill would go up.

"There is absolutely no way this saves money. Zip," said Bo Cutter, former director of the National Economic Council and a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute.

It's pretty hard to put an accurate price tag on a shutdown. Official estimates of the costs incurred during last major shutdowns in 1995 and 1996 vary widely.

And the White House hasn't produced an estimate of how much a shutdown might cost, but it does say it will cost something.

First, the government actually has to spend money in order to complete an orderly shutdown.

"When you have to shut something down, that costs money, and ramping something back up costs money," Jeffrey Zients, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget said Thursday.

Imagine a government construction project. Since it's impossible to know how long the shutdown will last, workers are forced to wind down all operations and secure the work site. That all costs money.

It's a process that will be repeated all across the country, and in every government agency. Plus, whenever funding is restored, it will cost money to get the project back up to speed.

In the meantime, costs will increase the longer a shutdown drags on.

"The longer a shutdown is in place, the more extensive the costs become," said John F. Cooney, a partner at law firm Venable who designed shutdown plans for the government while employed at the Office of Management and Budget.

There is also the issue of federal worker pay.

When the clock strikes midnight and a shutdown starts, paychecks for federal workers stop. But that won't be saving taxpayers any money.

When a shutdown ends after Congress passes a spending bill, the "essential" workers who were kept on the job will automatically be paid for the time they worked during the shutdown.

And the 800,000 or so workers who might be furloughed? In every previous government shutdown, Congress has authorized back pay for them as well, even for days they didn't work. One caveat: There is no guarantee that will happen again.

But if it does, it'll be a double whammy. Workers will get their paychecks, but the work they normally do will have piled up in the meantime. When workers return, agencies might have to pay overtime just to catch up on all the work that wasn't done during the shutdown.

And not only will the government end up with a bigger bill, there will be less revenue as well.

Some agencies -- like the National Park Service -- charge user fees. When they close, no fees are collected. On an average day, visitors spend $32 million at National Parks.

There are also intangible costs, especially when the productivity of federal workers is considered.

"You've been working your ass off ... and someone comes to tell you that you are non-essential?" Cutter said. "There is a huge management morale issue when everyone comes back to work."

Of course, when a shutdown is considered in the context of the larger budget negotiations, the whole process will almost certainly result in savings for taxpayers. That's because both Democrats and Republicans agree that a compromise spending bill will slash tens of billions from the federal budget.

Source: Yahoo

LeBron James Mother ARRESTED In Miami For Fighting with Valet

TMZ reports:

LeBron James' mom, Gloria, was arrested in Miami Beach early this morning for allegedly assaulting a parking valet at the famous Fontainebleau Hotel ... this according to law enforcement.

Hotel sources tell us ... Gloria was partying at LIV nightclub with some of her girlfriends earlier in the evening ... but when she tried to leave the hotel, she got into an altercation with one of the valet parking attendants.

We're told Gloria allegedly assaulted the valet. Cops received a call about the incident at 4:47 AM. Gloria was eventually arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault. The valet was not arrested.

We're told Gloria has been released from custody.

Gloria has been in trouble with the law before ... having been arrested in 2006 for DUI in Ohio.

LeBron was in Miami last night -- where the Heat played the Bucks ... and lost.

A rep for the hotel confirmed the incident ... but had no further comment.

The Miami Beach PD released a statement ... explaining, "Mr. Sorel Rockfeller, a hotel valet worker, claimed he was assaulted by Ms. James, who was angered because her car was taking too long to be delivered. Several witnesses supported Mr. Rockfeller’s account of what occurred."

The statement continues. "Both Ms. James and the driver of the vehicle were initially uncooperative with the investigating officer. Ms. James was apparently intoxicated as she had bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on her breath."

"Ms. James was arrested and taken to the Miami Beach Police Department where she was processed, issued a Promise to Appear and subsequently released."

James was charged with simple battery and disorderly intoxication.

Sources tell us the valet sought medical attention after the incident but is expected to return to work.

Another strong quake rattles tsunami-ravaged Japan

TOKYO – A magnitude-7.4 aftershock rattled Japan on Thursday night, knocking out power across a large swath of the northern part of the country nearly a month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened the northeastern coast.

Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning but canceled it about 90 minutes later. Officials said power was out in all of three northern prefectures (states) and in parts of two others.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or damage. The aftershock was the strongest since the March 11 megaquake and tsunami that killed some 25,000 people, tore apart hundreds of thousands of homes and caused an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.

The operator of the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant said there was no immediate sign of new problems caused by the aftershock, and Japan's nuclear safety agency says workers there retreated to a quake-resistant shelter in the complex. None were injured. The crisis there started when the tsunami knocked out cooling systems. Workers have not been able to restore them.

Thursday's quake knocked out several power lines at the Onagawa nuclear power plant north of Sendai, which has been shut down since the tsunami. One remaining line was supplying power to the plant and radiation monitoring devices detected no abnormalities. The plant's spent fuel pools briefly lost cooling capacity but an emergency diesel generator quickly kicked in.

Officials said the aftershock hit 30 miles (50 kilometers) under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., later downgraded it to 7.1.

Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.

The quake struck at 11:32 p.m. local time. Moments beforehand, residents in the western Tokyo suburb of Fuchu were warned on a neighborhood public address system of an imminent quake.

In Ichinoseki, inland from Japan's eastern coast, buildings shook violently, knocking items from shelves and toppling furniture, but there was no heavy damage to the buildings themselves. Immediately after the quake, all power was cut. The city went dark, but cars drove around normally and people assembled in the streets despite the late hour.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan huddled with staff members in his office shortly afterward, according to deputy Cabinet spokesman Noriyuki Shikata.

A separate government emergency response team met shortly after midnight to monitor any reports of damage and urged firefighters, police and other emergency personnel to aid those in need.

Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at USGS, said the quake struck at about the same location and depth as last month's huge one.

Another USGS geophysicist, Don Blakeman, said it was the strongest aftershock since March 11, although several aftershocks on that day were bigger.

The USGS said the aftershock struck off the eastern coast 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Sendai and 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Fukushima. It was about 205 miles (330 kilometers) from Tokyo.

Source: Yahoo
Associated Press writers Jay Alabaster in Ichinoseki, Japan; Malcolm Foster, Ryan Nakashima and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Colleen Slevin in Denver, Colorado, contributed to this report.

Suspects Arrested In DJ Megatron Murder

NY1 reports:

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the shooting death of DJ Megatron, a famed radio disc jockey and Staten Island native.

Richard Cromwell, 20, and William Williams, 21, were charged today with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, stolen property and robbery.

DJ Megatron, whose real name was Corey McGriff, was shot near his New Brighton home on March 27.

The disc jockey for Hot 97 who appeared on BET was buried yesterday.

Throwback Pause Clip: Birdman Kisses Lil Wayne On The Lips On BET 2002

Mariah Carey Goes Nude, Bares Baby Bump On The Cover Of Life & Style Magazine

"I was feeling very vulnerable about taking pictures at all right now, but then I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to document this once-in-a-lifetime experience," Carey told Life & Style magazine. "My ultimate goal was to share this incredibly personal moment with my true fans."

Taylor Swift's A Fan Of Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, 50 Cent

MTV reports:

Taylor Swift was recently snapped by the prying paparazzi lenses doing something quite shocking. No, she wasn't stumbling out of a nightclub or caught wearing a skirt and no underwear — rather, the pop superstar was photographed buying stuff at Target.

"I'm spending a few weeks out in L.A. 'cause I have video shoots and stuff to do so I needed to go buy a record player and they have really good ones at Target," she explained to Jay Leno when she stopped by "The Tonight Show" on Tuesday night. "I've been listening to a lot of music on vinyl. It makes it an event."

During her interview, Swift also admitted that she's been spinning some unexpected tunes. "I listen to everything. Right now I'm listening to a lot of 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj and Keri Hilson and Rihanna," she revealed. "I'm listening to a lot of rap, hip-hop music right now."

Swift may have love for hip-hop, but on Sunday night she was honored for her work in country music when she was awarded the Entertainer of the Year prize at the Academy of Country Music Awards. "I am still really just blown away and so excited that the fans have been so nice to me," she explained to Leno. "It's been a really good week. We came back from our tour in Europe and Asia and we had one day in Nashville. Nashville's where I live and I love it more than anywhere in the world and one of the reasons for that is because in Nashville, country music award shows are like the Super Bowl. I was out and about on my day off ... and everywhere I would go someone would tap me on the shoulder [and wish me good luck]."

Swift admitted that she did have a good omen the night of the ceremony ... she saw her lucky number, 13, pop up mid-show. "The night of the award show they were announcing the nominees for Album of the Year. And they showed Kenny Chesney ... and as they're playing a clip of his video it shows a football player running towards the screen with a '13' on his jersey... and it ended up being good [for me]," she explained.

And, while it doesn't seem like Swift will slow down anytime soon in terms of her music career, she told Leno that she does have a backup plan: haircutting. "Because we were on the tour for two months... you're on the road and you get bored," she recalled. "So I cut [my bandmate's] hair [and] she looked awesome and so I started cutting all the people on the road's hair."

Nicki Minaj Goes Glam for Elle Magazine

Nicki Minaj strikes a bold pose, wearing a Mark Fast knit minidress and Maison Martin Margiela bodysuit, in a black-and-white photo for Elle’s Music Issue, on newsstands April 12.

“I always wanted to play with the boys,” she tells the magazine. “I didn’t want to be a pawn in their game or have a sidekick role. I wanted to be more of a lead character—a superhero.”

Michael Jackson - "Michael: The Making of the Album"

Stamp gaffe tears Kate and William apart

It may come as a shock, but Kate Middleton and Prince William have 'split' less than one month before they are due to tie the knot.

A new stamp officially released by New Zealand Post and sold in the South Pacific island nation of Nieu will mark the couple's wedding on 29 April.

The commemorative stamp, launched last week, is actually a double stamp - with the prince on one, his bride on the other and a perforated line down the middle.

Effectively, Wills and Kate can be torn apart.

The second-in-line to the throne is also worth NZ$1 (76 cents) more than his bride - with Kate's side worth $2.40 ($1.84), and her husband-to-be $3.40 ($2.60).

Together the Royal Wedding stamps are worth NZ$5.80 ($4.44).

It is predicted the unusual stamp will soon become a collectors' item.

Editor of Gibbons Stamp Monthly, Hugh Jefferies, has labeled the stamp "embarrassing", saying it had not been designed well.

He said Buckingham Palace would surely have had to approve the design, but suggested they would not have been shown the perforation down the middle.

"Whoever designed this will have egg on their face and someone's head will roll," Mr Jefferies said.

"I'm sure they didn't mean to ominously suggest the couple could be easily separated, it's just a very bizarre design.

"They are a lovely looking couple and the stamps stand alone well, it's just unfortunate the separation line is between them."

This is not the first Royal Wedding-related gaffe NZ Post has made, after an embarrassing mistake forced it to recall more than 2,000 Royal Wedding stamp collection packs in March.

The presentation text on the packs included the wrong birth date for the Prince – stating it as 21 May, 1982, instead of the correct date, 21 June.

A spokesman from NZ Post said the error was not picked up during the checking process and that it is regrettable and embarrassing.

Source: Yahoo

Are You Ready For Britney Spears & Nicki Minaj Together?

Billboard is reporting that there is a very good chance the Young Money starlet could be the opening act for Britney Spears' latest tour.

This all came about because previous opening act Enrique Iglesias pulled out abruptly.

The 26-city trek would keep the two on them road for a month a half.

It's possible Nicki's interest is piqued because she got a similar offer last year from Lady Gaga and turned it down. For an artist like Nicki, who is obviously going for a pop audience, being associated with and performing in front of fans of Spears is a good look.

The timing would work out perfectly for Nicki who would be coming off the end Lil Wayne's 'I Am Still Music II' tour in May.

Peep the confirmed tour dates below.

June 17: Sacramento, Ca. (Power Balance Pavilion)
June 18: San Jose, Ca. (HP Pavilion)
June 20: Los Angeles, Ca. (Staples Center)
June 24: Anaheim, Ca. (Honda Center)
June 25: Las Vegas, Nev. (MGM Grand)
June 28: Portland, Oreg. (Rose Garden Arena)
June 29: Tacoma, Wash. (Tacoma Dome)
July 1: Vancouver, B.C. (Rogers Arena)
July 4: Winnipeg, M.B. (MTS Centre)
July 6: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Center)
July 8: Chicago, Ill. (United Center)
July 12: Dallas, Tex. (American Airlines Center)
July 13: Houston, Tex. (Toyota Center)
July 15: New Orleans, La. (New Orleans Arena)
July 17: Atlanta, Ga. (Philips Arena)
July 20: Orlando, Fla. (Amway Center)
July 22: Miami, Fla. (American Airlines Arena)
July 26: Cleveland, Ohio (Quicken Loans Arena)
July 28: Detroit, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
July 30: Philadelphia, Pa. (Wells Fargo Center)
July 31: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
Aug. 2: Uniondale, N.J. (Nassau Coliseum)
Aug. 5: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center)
Aug. 8: Boston, Mass. (TD Garden)
Aug. 11: Montreal, Quebec (Bell Centre)
Aug. 13: Toronto, Ont. (Air Canada Centre)

Source: ThisIs50

''The Knicks Are Back''....NY Earns First Trip To NBA Playoffs Since 2004

The 2010 offseason for the NY Knicks and their fans proved to be an emotional roller coaster. With the uncertainty of landing Lebron James, the Knicks made the bold move of going ahead and giving free agent superstar Amare Stoudemire
a huge contract to bring his talents to the Garden. A few days later, Lebron hit up primetime tv and let the world know he was to become part of the Miami Heat.

Instead of worrying about the lack of talent around him, Amare played like a man possessed and made the Knicks look like something that they haven't in years.....WINNERS.

Then came the blockbuster trade 50+ games into the season that sent Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to NY in exchange for several of the team's starting players. The mid season shake up has proven to keep the roller coaster going as the team has endured some ugly losses and has a losing record since the trade (10-12).

All these things were put into the background last night at Madison Square Garden as the Knicks crushed the Cleveland Cavs and clinched their first playoff appearance in 7 years.

“That was the first goal,” D’Antoni said of making the playoffs. “It would be nice to have home-court advantage, but we didn’t do that. Other than that, this is as good as we can do up to this point. Now we have to keep getting better defensively, rebounding, all the little stuff.”

Coach D'Antoni made sure to show his appreciation to the player that began the reversal of fortune, Amare Stoudamire.

“He was just very appreciative that I was strong enough to come here in a situation where it wasn’t looking great and secondly to take the challenge for myself and also the team to speak so bold at the start of the year about the Knicks are back,” Stoudemire said. “And then be in a position now in the playoffs, which was the ultimate goal that we talked about with Mr. Dolan and his staff.”

The Knicks will most likely take the 7th seed and face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in the first round where the will look to get the franchise's first playoff win since the 2000-2001 season.

Source: ThisIs50

Meet Lily Collins, the Other New Snow White

Like the two simultaneous Christopher Columbus movies, the two simultaneous Steve Prefontaine movies and the simultaneous asteroid-attacking-earth movies, there are two Snow White movies coming out in the next two years. Considering they both have substantial star power, it can be difficult to keep the two movies straight. One is being directed by someone named Rupert Sanders, is called "Snow White and the Huntsman" and is starring Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. The other is being directed by Tarsem Singh

-- whose "Immortals" hits screens this summer -- is called simply "Snow White" and stars "The Social Network"'s Armie Hammer as the Prince and Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen. And this weekend, that one cast its Fairest Of Them All.

The winner of that Snow White derby is Lily Collins, a name you're likely not familiar with but will be rather soon. Collins, daughter of music legend Phil Collins, has only starred in one movie so far, "The Blind Side," (she was Sandra Bullock's daughter) but has two high-profile movies coming out this year: "Priest," with Paul Bettany battling vampires, and "Abduction," a crime thriller starring Taylor Lautner (her rumored real-life boyfriend) and directed, curiously, by John Singleton. But that's nothing compared to playing Snow White opposite Julia Roberts' Evil Queen.

Source: Yahoo

British spy files shed light on Nazi saboteurs

LONDON – The four men wading ashore on a Florida beach wearing nothing but bathing trunks and German army hats looked like an unlikely invading force.

Declassified British intelligence files describe how the men were part of Nazi sabotage teams sent to the U.S. in June 1942 to undermine the American war effort.

They were trained in bomb-making, supplied with explosives and instructed in how to make timers from "easily obtainable commodities such as dried peas, lumps of sugar and razor blades."

Fortunately for the U.S., they were also spectacularly unsuccessful.

"It was not brilliantly planned," said Edward Hampshire, a historian at Britain's National Archives, which released the wartime intelligence documents Monday. "The Germans picked the leader for this very, very poorly. He immediately wanted to give himself up."

A detailed new account of the mission — code-named Pastorius after an early German settler in the U.S. — is provided in a report written in 1943 by MI5 intelligence officer Victor Rothschild. It is one of a trove of previously secret documents which shed light on the Nazis' desire to use sabotage, subterfuge and even poisoned sausages to fight the war.

Pastorius was a mixture of elaborate planning, bad luck and human error.

Eight Germans who had lived in the U.S. were dropped along the Eastern seaboard — four on Long Island, the rest south of Jacksonville, Florida. They were to go ashore, blend in, then begin a campaign of sabotage against factories, railways and canals, as well as launching "small acts of terrorism" including suitcase bombs aimed at Jewish-owned shops.

But the plan started to go wrong almost as soon as the men left their "sabotage camp" in Germany.

They went to Paris, where one of the team got drunk at the hotel bar and "told everyone that he was a secret agent" — something, the MI5 report notes, that may "have contributed to the failure of the undertaking."

The submarine dropping half the group on Long Island ran aground, and MI5 noted that "it was only owing to the laziness or stupidity of the American coast guards that this submarine was not attacked by U.S. forces."

The Germans were stopped by a coast guard, who — to the evident astonishment of the British — did not detain them. He told his superiors, who were slow to contact the FBI.

The others in Florida also made it ashore, despite their attention-grabbing attire of "bathing trunks and army forage caps."

Unfortunately for the team, their leader, George John Dasch, had decided to surrender. The report describes Dasch "ringing up the FBI in Washington from the Mayfair Hotel and saying that he was a saboteur and wished to tell his story to Mr. Hoover" — FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover. The FBI was initially skeptical, but Dasch was soon giving a full confession, and the whole gang was rounded up.

Within months, the saboteurs had been tried and sentenced to death. All were executed except Dasch and another who had also backed out. They were deported to Germany after the war.

For the U.S. it was a lucky escape. In World War I, German saboteurs blew up an arms dump in New York harbor, killing several people and injuring hundreds.

The newly declassified files give a glimpse of the Nazis' desperate determination to fight a covert campaign against the Allies, even as they knew the war was lost.

One captured French Nazi intelligence agent told his interrogators he had attended a conference in the final weeks of the war to plan a violent campaign that would sow chaos across Western Europe and "eventually lead to a state of civil war in which Fourth Reich would re-emerge."

The campaign was to involve sabotage, assassinations and even chemical weapons.

One file chronicles German attempts to use poison as a postwar weapon. Intelligence from captured Nazi agents indicated there were plans to contaminate alcoholic drinks with methanol, inject sausages with poison and prepare "poisoned Nescafe, sugar, German cigarettes and German chocolate."

Another elaborate plan involved supplying agents with special headache-inducing cigarettes, which could be given to an assassination target. When the person complained of a headache, they would be offered an aspirin — which had been laced with poison.

The files suggest British agents were unsure how much credence to give some of the more fanciful claims, though a memo was drawn up advising that Allied soldiers should not eat German food or smoke German cigarettes "under pain of severe penalties."

"Nowadays, it's easy to regard such schemes as impossibly far-fetched," said Christopher Andrew, the official historian of MI5. "But at the time it was reasonable to believe that after the Allied victory there would remain a dangerous postwar Nazi underground which would continue a secret war."

An undated image released by Britain's National Archives Friday April 1, 2011 shows sabotage equipment smuggled into the United States in 1942 by German agents.

Source: Yahoo

Lil Wayne Owes $5.6 Million In Unpaid Federal Taxes

Lil Wayne won't be a superstar forever. it might be time to hire someone to handle his financial records because the IRS is breathing down his neck again.

Weezy just paid off a $1.13 million dollar IRS debt in February. Now they are right back on his heels, this time for $5,610,034 according to the Detroit Press.

The government alleges Wayne didn't pay taxes in 2008-2009.

The star recently said he wanted to make $50 million this year. It's gonna take that kind of dough to pay off this kind of bill.

Shaq suffers calf injury after only 5 minutes

BOSTON – Shaquille O’Neal’s long-awaited return to the Boston Celtics’ lineup ended within minutes as he hobbled off the floor with a right calf injury on Sunday night.

After missing nearly two months with inflammation in his right heel, O’Neal, 39, had played nearly six productive minutes against the Detroit Pistons to end the first quarter. He had six spry points and a rebound, but injured the calf less than a minute into the second quarter.

O’Neal, who missed 27 straight games, struggled to get back to the bench and quickly was led down the corridor to the locker room. At times, witnesses say, he appeared to crumple with the pain. There was fear that he aggravated that heel.

“It had nothing to do with the Achilles’; it’s a calf strain,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after Boston’s victory. “It’s not a bad strain, but it’s a strain.”

When asked how long he could be lost, Rivers said the team doctor told him, “That it’s very minor.”

After missing two months, Rivers said he would bring O’Neal back with 10-12 minutes on Sunday, and slowly integrate him with the second unit. Rivers planned to let O’Neal sit out some of the Celtics’ remaining games.

Source: Yahoo

Kanye West Allegedly Linked Romantically To 18 Yr-Old SI Swimsuit Model Kate Upton .

While Amber Rose goes bopping her way into possible marriage to Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West has reportedly been putting in some quality time with Kate Upton.

According to the New York Post the 33-year old Louis Vuitton Don was spotted leaving hand in hand Victoria's Secret VIP Swim event at Los Angeles' Club L last Wednesday (March 30) with Upton.

Upton is a 5'10 blonde, blue eyed, 18-year old swimsuit model for Sports illustrated.

Source: ThisIs50

Not Winning: Charlie Sheen Gets Booed Off The Stage In Detroit

Bobby Creekwater - You and What Army (Official Music Video)

Ludacris Teams with Slaughterhouse for ‘Furious’ Collaboration

Ludacris and Slaughterhouse are revving up to release a new collaboration for the upcoming Fast Five movie.

Luda and the Shady Records signees trade verses on “Furiously Dangerous,” the lead single from the soundtrack to the fifth installment in The Fast and the Furious series. The explosive track, created especially for the film, also features singer Claret Jai. The Latin and hip-hop-influenced soundtrack speeds into stores on May 3 and includes a remix to Don Omar’s “How We Roll” with Busta Rhymes, Reek da Villian, and J-doe.

In addition to lending his rap skills, Luda reprises his role in the racing flick, in theaters April 29. “That movie is amazing. I guarantee you, if not No. 1, it will be top three movies of this year,” boasted the actor-turned-rapper, who recently returned to the studio to work on his next album Ludaversal.

Source:Rap-Up

Fulham owner unveils Michael Jackson statue.

When Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed first announced that he was going to have a statue built to honor his friend Michael Jackson and placed outside Craven Cottage, many people thought it was a joke while others wondered what business a statue of the dead singer had at a Premier League stadium.

Well, the former Harrods proprietor followed through on his promise. And on Sunday, before Fulham's match against Blackpool at the quaint little London ground that first opened in 1896, he unveiled the statue to excited fans of the singer and confused fans of Fulham. Al Fayed then danced with children and made it clear that if anyone doesn't like the statue, he doesn't really care.

From the AP:
"Why is it bizarre?" he said. "Football fans love it. If some stupid fans don't understand and appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell.

"I don't want them to be fans. If they don't understand and don't believe in things I believe in, they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else."

How sweet. Any Fulham fan upset that a statue was built to honor a man who attended one match with Al Fayed in 1999 instead of a legendary player or someone with an actual association to the sport might want to reconsider their anger, though. After the statue was unveiled, Fulham went on to beat Blackpool 3-0. So, clearly, the odd presence of the King of Pop isn't hurting their results.

Source: Yahoo

Pennsylvania School Separates Kids By Race

A school is Lancaster, Pa is using a new mentoring program designed to boost academics for African Americans,

McCaskey East High School separate black students from white students, then separates black females from males. This takes place six minutes each day and 20 minutes twice a month.

The goal is to boost kid's self esteem and help them to improve academically. The school has found that the black kids lag behind their white peers in certain academic areas.

Principal Bill Jiminez admits only blacks get this special treatment, but insists it needed to be done.

Others worry the program could have the opposite affect intended.

"Sometimes when we separate students this way we inadvertently reinforce the stereotypes, and may in fact stigmatize these children by suggesting that there is something wrong with them," says Pedro Noguera a Sociologist and Professor of Education at NYU.

Miley Cyrus out of step on the red carpet

Former "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus looked a bit out of step on the orange carpet at Nickelodeon's 24th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, wearing a long floral-print dress with a train when most of her peers opted for shorts or short skirts.