Venezuela’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by opposition leader Henrique Capriles against April’s contested presidential election result.
The Supreme Court of Justice described the appeal as “inadmissible”.
After the ruling Henrique Capriles tweeted that there was a “lack of justice” in Venezuela.
Nicolas Maduro, Hugo Chavez’s handpicked successor, won the election by less than 1.5 percentage points – about 200,000 votes.
The opposition alleged that the vote had been marred by fraud.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court has rejected Henrique Capriles’ appeal against April’s contested presidential election result
In June the Venezuelan National Electoral Commission (CNE) confirmed President Nicolas Maduro’s victory in an audit on millions of votes, but Henrique Capriles denounced the audit as “a fake”.
In her ruling on Wednesday, Justice Gladys Gutierrez said the opposition had not offered “sufficient proof” to back up their allegations.
The 10-point appeal had been lodged by Henrique Capriles, the opposition coalition and several citizens.
On Tuesday, Henrique Capriles criticized the court’s delay in making a ruling and said that he would take the case to “international bodies”.
April’s election was called after the death of Hugo Chavez on March 5 following a long battle against cancer.
Attorney Polina Polonsky, who claims she had an affair with Lamar Odom, has now accused Khloe Kardashian of attacking her.
Polina Polonsky claims Khloe Kardashian started swinging punches after catching the lawyer and Lamar Odom together at a Downtown Los Angeles motel.
Lamar Odom had to drag his furious wife out of the room, where he had a foul-mouthed argument with his spouse before they left the Vagabond Inn on July 13.
The revelations were made in the tabloid Star magazine, and representatives for the Kardashians have yet to respond for a request for comment.
Polina Polonsky told Starmagazine: “Khloe charged into the room and began swinging at me…she tried to attack me!
“Lamar had to grab her by the hoodie and pull her back. She is way bigger than me. It was terrifying.
“Lamar took her into the hallway, and I shut the door for my own safety. I could hear them screaming at each other, and I kept banging on the door telling them to leave before they got arrested.
“As soon as they left, I left – I couldn’t stay there after all the craziness.”
Polina Polonsky, a criminal defense lawyer, claims she was relaxing after a night of passion with Lamar Odom when they got a nasty surprise at 5.30 a.m., when Khloe Kardashian started banging on the door.
She claims Khloe Kardashian started shouting: “Open the door now, or I am calling the police!”
Khloe Kardashian has been accused of trying to punch Lamar Odom’s alleged mistress Polina Polonsky
Polina Polonsky added: “I told her to leave, but she refused. I called the front desk and asked them to call the police because I was so scared, but no one ever came.
“While Khloe was screaming outside the door, Lamar was calling people to come and get her.
“She was out of control. The whole scene was so frightening – and I couldn’t understand why we were hiding, because he made it clear that he didn’t want to be with her!”
Polina Polonsky also claims her life has been ruined by the drama surrounding her alleged affair.
She said: “[Khloe’s] investigated my loved ones, and she personally tried to attack me.
“I can’t even go home, because I’m scared that something bad will happen.
“I want my story to be made public.”
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom had just been trying to rebuild their marriage following claims he had been unfaithful with dancer Jennifer Richardson.
However that was before the fresh infidelity claims were printed by Star, which is also claiming Polina Polonsky passed a lie detector (polygraph) test to prove she is telling the truth.
Lamar Odom first met Polina Polonsky at Los Angeles’ Roosevelt Hotel on June 2, where he had been staying for a week amid marital difficulties with Khloe Kardashian.
Polina Polonsky said: “I was under the impression that he had left Khloe, and that’s why he was living at the Roosevelt. He acted completely available and we definitely had a mutual attraction.”
Brunette Polina Polonsky, who claims to have had a six-week long affair with Lamar Odom, claims she had her first kiss with him on June 9th, before consummating their romance on June 13th at her apartment.
She said: “After we had s**, Lamar stayed the night with me. The next day we went back to the Roosevelt. I stayed there with him for the next couple of nights.”
However, Polina Polonsky said Khloe Kardashian was quick to discover her husband’s infidelity.
In an attempt to confront Lamar Odom while he was in the midst of being unfaithful, Polina Polonsky claims Khloe Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner made an impromptu visit to The Roosevelt Hotel.
Getting no answer after knocking on what they believed to be Lamar Odom’s door, Khloe Kardashian allegedly kicked down the door, before realizing she had the wrong room.
Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner then found the right room and reportedly confronted Lamar Odom, who was on his own as Polina Polosky was at her apartment at the time.
Polina Polonsky then claims that Lamar Odom was so infuriated by his wife’s behavior that, on June 22nd, he temporarily moved into her apartment, where he stayed until July 8th.
However, Khloe Kardashian is said to have then found out where Polina Polonsky lived, enlisting the help of momager Kris Jenner once again to confront her spouse.
But Polina Polonsky said: “I couldn’t believe they found where I lived and came to my apartment! They were knocking on the door, but Lamar refused to answer.”
This is not the first time that Lamar Odom has been accused of cheating on Khloe Kardashian.
It was previously claimed that Lamar Odom has been cheating on Khloe Kardashian with 29-year-old brunette, Jennifer Richardson, after meeting in a Washington, D.C club a year ago.
Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo, was taken back to her glamorous contest days in Wednesday’s episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Honey Boo Boo was clearly enjoying herself as she tried on garish and colorful gowns for her forthcoming role as flower girl at her mother June Shannon’s commitment ceremony to father Sugar Bear.
“To be honest, I look good in all dresses,” Honey Boo Boo told viewers after trying on a bright fuchsia pink dress complete with frilled skirt.
Alana Thompson appeared to enjoy the expedition a lot more than her older sisters, with Lauryn “Pumpkin” and Jessica “Chubbs” not used to wearing dresses.
Older sister Anna “Chickadee” faired a little better due to her being “really skinny” according to Pumpkin.
However, there was an equal amount of discussion about the smell of Pumpkin’s feet than the dresses themselves.
An ultra short minidress was dismissed by June Shannon as “not age appropriate”, before she settled for a pink and blue number.
Honey Boo Boo relived her pageant days by trying on garish bridesmaids dresses for Mama June’s wedding
The sisters were busying themselves in preparations for the forthcoming commitment ceremony and to take their mind of family patriarch Sugar Bear’s mystery illness.
Sugar Bear, real name Mike Thompson, remained in hospital recovering while the girls stayed in charge of cleaning the house and arranging a bridal shower for Mama June.
Of course, the food list for the big event ended up taking priority, with meatballs, steak and a buffet all being thrown forward as possible options, before the girls settled on a pizza and chicken wings for the bash.
“We hope this bridal shower will hope Mama calm down, because she needs a little celebration or something,” Chubbs told viewers.
The big day came with June Shannon accosted by her sister’s new boyfriend Jose who found himself the only man in the restaurant as June and her friends chowed down on food and drink.
However, Pumpkin ruined the sisters’ unusually ladylike behavior by squashing a slice of tiramisu in her mother’s face, which June Shannon objected to, mainly because she is not a fan of the Italian desert.
Mama June then got emotional when it came to thanking her friends and family for attending and said she hoped they’d all be at the commitment ceremony.
Earlier, the four girls had been left in charge of keeping house while Mama June was visiting her partner in the hospital.
Honey Boo Boo appeared to have a very novel way of keeping the house clean, using the same mop for the floor as the inside of the fridge and the cupboard doors.
“It is very emotional – for me and the kids,” June Shannon said.
“I’m physically drained. The other girls really look up to him as a father figure.”
Honey Boo Boo was thrilled to be reunited with her father when he was finally allowed home and the pair shared a welcome home thumb wrestle.
Sugar Bear appeared to be in rather amorous mood after putting his feet up for a few days, asking a spluttering June Shannon: “How do you feel about having another baby?”
Beyonce stunned her fans yesterday as she unveiled a drastic new haircut.
Beyonce, who is known for her trademark honey colored tresses, has finally ditched her long weave for an edgier short pixie crop.
To launch her new look, Beyonce, 31, posted pictures to her Instagram account showing pictures of herself gazing in the mirror.
she can also be seen from behind feeling the back of her head where her long hair used to be.
Dressed in a short sleeve printed T-shirt and gilt choker, Beyonce shared another snap showing her pixie cut from the front – slightly combed back and parted the side, complete with dark roots.
Beyonce has been a diehard weave wearer for years – and will no doubt have thought long and hard about taking this new direction.
Comparisons to Rihanna – who has worn the shorter look on and off for some years now – will be inevitable.
Beyonce stunned her fans yesterday as she unveiled a drastic new haircut
Rihanna has also recently unveiled her shorter natural hair after removing her weave.
Beyonce has rarely sported anything other than big, bouffant looks in since blasting onto the music scene with Destiny’s Child.
And her new look could – like Halle Berry’s short crop from film Boomerang – see a rush to hair salons for fans eager to copy her new look.
Beyonce’s wig collection was once estimated to be worth $1 million.
The wigs are mostly handcrafted and custom made for the star out of real human hair, and a single wig is reportedly worth $10,000 each.
It’s unclear if she will keep her new look for long, but the singer donates her worn pieces to an organization that provides wigs for chemotherapy patients, so they should expect something of a bonanza shortly.
Beyonce still had her longer locks as she performed her last show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Monday.
Working up a sweat beforehand, she said: “I biked to Barclays for my last show in Brooklyn!”
Sharing photos to prove she was truthful, Beyonce made a collage showcasing her make-up free face hidden beneath a white trilby hat and aviator shades.
Syrian rebels’ claims that they attacked President Bashar al-Assad’s convoy have been denied today by the information minister.
Reports that rebel rockets hit his motorcade were “dreams and illusions”, Omran Zoabi told Syrian state TV.
Rebels said they fired mortars at his convoy as it headed towards the Anas bin Malek mosque in the Malki area, where the president has a residence.
Pictures showed Bashar al-Assad unharmed at a prayer service at a Damascus mosque to mark the end of Ramadan.
Earlier, Islam Alloush of the militant Liwa al-Islam Brigade, told Reuters news agency that rebel rockets hit the president’s motorcade as it drove to the mosque in the Syrian capital.
Other activists reported rockets were fired into the same part of the city.
Bashar al-Assad unharmed at a prayer service at a Damascus mosque to mark the end of Ramadan
It was unclear whether the pictures of the president aired on Syrian state television were pre-recorded. For a brief moment they carried a “live” caption, which then swiftly vanished.
It is possible that the footage was pre-recorded, analysts said, as the reports that the president’s convoy was struck while travelling to the mosque had come around one hour previously.
All roads leading to al-Rawdha neighborhood of Damascus, where the presidential office is, were closed for security reasons before the incident, Syrian opposition sources told the pan-Arab Saudi-owned Dubai-based al-Arabiya television station.
Firas al-Bitar, a rebel leader, told al-Arabiya that 17 mortars had targeted the presidential convoy. The opposition had been given advance information on Bashar al-Assad’s movements, he asserted.
But another of the president’s opponents, Wahid Sagar, told Al Arabiya the president might have been in a different convoy to one which reportedly came under attack.
On Wednesday, Syrian government forces claimed to have killed more than 60 rebels in an ambush near Damascus.
Military sources quoted by the state news agency Sana said the victims were insurgents in the jihadist group, al-Nusra Front. They had been planning an attack on a military post, they said.
The news came as rights group Amnesty International released satellite images of Aleppo, one of Syria’s biggest cities, showing how clashes between government and rebel forces had devastated built-up areas.
International flights have begun landing at Nairobi’s international airport a day after fire gutted the arrivals hall, causing serious disruption.
A plane from London was the first to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 06:30 local time, Kenyan airport authorities said.
Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also arrived.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. Kenyan authorities say no serious injuries were reported.
The Nairobi airport is a regional hub serving more than 16,000 passengers daily and its closure caused widespread disruption.
International flights into the city had been diverted to other airports in Eldoret and the coastal city of Mombasa.
On Wednesday the interior ministry announced the resumption of domestic and cargo services.
The fire took about four hours to bring under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted.
International flights have begun landing at Nairobi’s international airport a day after fire gutted the arrivals hall
The Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) said that Kenya Airways flights were arriving and taking off “now at more or less normal operations”.
Other international airlines had not yet clarified their operations, it added.
The fire started in the airport’s international arrivals and immigration area at around 05:00 on Wednesday and spread quickly.
Questions are being asked about why so few fire engines were available initially.
It appears that some engines got stuck in the Kenyan capital’s notorious traffic jams. Many engines at the scene also quickly ran out of water.
Soldiers and police even came with buckets to help put out the fire, Sylvia Amondi, who was at the airport to pick up a relative who had been due to arrive there, told AFP news agency.
A third of Europe’s flower imports, and many fresh vegetables, come from Kenya and the Kenya Flower Council exporters’ association described the fire as “disastrous”.
Shares in Kenya Airways, which uses the airport as its main hub, fell 2% after the fire.
Foreign airlines which use the terminal include British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, KLM, Turkish Airways, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways. Several cancelled flights to Nairobi on Wednesday.
The country’s anti-terrorism chief, Boniface Mwaniki, has said he does not believe the fire – which happened on the 15th anniversary of the bombings by al-Qaeda of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – was connected to terrorism.
Correspondents say the airport is old and overcrowded.
A new research suggests that drinking cocoa every day may help older people keep their brains healthy.
A study of 60 elderly people with no dementia found two cups of cocoa a day improved blood flow to the brain in those who had problems to start with.
Those participants whose blood flow improved also did better on memory tests at the end of the study, the journal Neurology reported.
Experts said more research was needed before conclusions could be drawn.
It is not the first time cocoa has been linked with vascular health and researchers believe that this is in part due to it being rich in flavanols, which are thought to have an important role.
In the latest study, researchers asked 60 people with an average age of 73 to drink two cups of cocoa a day – one group given high-flavanol cocoa and another a low-flavanol cocoa – and consume no other chocolate.
Drinking cocoa every day may help older people keep their brains healthy
Ultrasound tests at the start of the study showed 17 of them had impaired blood flow to the brain.
There was no difference between those who drank flavanol-rich cocoa and those who had flavanol-poor cocoa.
But whichever drink they were given, 88% of those with impaired blood flow at the start of the study saw improvements in blood flow and some cognitive tests, compared with 37% of people whose blood flow was normal at the beginning of the study.
MRI scans in 24 participants found that people with impaired blood flow were also more likely to have tiny areas of brain damage.
“We’re learning more about blood flow in the brain and its effect on thinking skills,” said study author Dr. Farzaneh Sorond a neurologist at Harvard Medical School.
“As different areas of the brain need more energy to complete their tasks, they also need greater blood flow. This relationship, called neurovascular coupling, may play an important role in diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”
The researchers said the lack of difference between the flavanol-rich and flavanol-poor cocoa could be because another component of the drink was having an effect or because only small amounts were needed.
Simon Cowell is reported to be giving Lauren Silverman a $10 million home in Beverly Hills.
Simon Cowell, 53, will gift pregnant Lauren Silverman one of his mansions in order for the 36-year-old socialite to bring up their child in Los Angeles.
Lauren Silverman is currently based in The Hamptons, near New York where she lives with her husband Andrew and their seven-year-old son Adam.
According to a report in the Daily Mirror, the home is situated on the exclusive Trousdale estate in Beverly Hills and “will be given to Lauren” after her divorce.
The newspaper suggests that it is understood that Simon Cowell will live in another property nearby and see the child “when he can”.
“Simon has amassed a lot of houses with his fortune and will want to provide for his child,” a US property source told the newspaper.
Simon Cowell will give Lauren Silverman a $10 million Beverly Hills mansion to raise their child nearby
“But he seems to give away a house every time he splits from a girlfriend, so he is getting through them more quickly than he thought.
“He has instructed his advisers to let Lauren have the house, which means she can be nearby but crucially not too close so he can get on with his work and usual lifestyle.”
It is thought Lauren Silveerman will live at the property with her mother Carole Saland and her baby.
With neighbors including Ringo Starr and Elton John, Lauren Silverman will apparently enjoy a 7,265 square-foot home complete with swimming pool and four bedrooms.
“Simon has lots of housing in Beverly Hills all close to each other and now lots of it contain his exes,” a source said.
“He doesn’t seem to mind that he could bump into them at any time, but the rate he is going he may need to buy some more.”
Simon Cowell and his beau are hoping the divorce can soon be settled.
Lauren Silverman, who is expecting a baby with the music mogul, has held “productive conversations” with her estranged husband as they continue to thrash out their divorce agreement.
James Gandolfini was reportedly robbed on the same day that he died of heart attack in Rome almost two months ago.
James Gandolfini’s expensive Rolex watch was stolen from his hotel room shortly after his life was tragically cut short.
According to insurance forms obtained by TMZ, a $3,000 Rolex submariner timepiece went missing from James Gandolfini’s Boscolo Luxury Hotel Exedra suite.
James Gandolfini’s expensive Rolex watch was stolen from his hotel room shortly after his life was tragically cut short
The form implies that the thief perhaps took the watch during the commotion following the heart attack that killed James Gandolfini.
It states that there were no signs of forced entry nor any damage done to the room.
James Gandolfini died following a massive heart attack during a family trip to the Italian city.
He was vacationing with wife Deborah Lin and his 13-year-old son Michael when he collapsed in the bathroom of his suite at the city’s Boscola Exedra Hotel on June 19.
James Gandolfini – best known for his role as mob boss Tony Soprano in hit HBO show The Sopranos – had spent the day sightseeing in Rome ahead of an expected flight to Sicily on June 22 to collect an award at the Taormina Film Festival.
Pauline Ducruet, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco’s teenage daughter, is already showcasing some serious style credentials.
Pauline Ducruet, 19, joined her family at the Summer Monaco Fight AIDS Gala wearing a sharp monochrome ensemble brightened up with chunky red wedges.
Making for a very handsome family, Pauline Ducruet, brother Louis, 20, and their mother seemingly coordinated their matching monochrome outfits.
Pauline, daughter of Princess Stéphanie and Daniel Ducruet, has clearly taken some style tips from her former model and swimwear designer mother.
Her 48-year-old mother’s fashion career began early on an apprentice programme at Christian Dior.
Pauline Ducruet, brother Louis, and their mother Princess Stephanie of Monaco at the Summer Monaco Fight AIDS Gala
Just a year later, Princess Stéphanie debuted as a model in Spanish magazine ¡Hola!, followed by appearances in German Vogue and the American edition of Vanity Fair.
In 1986, Stéphanie launched a swimwear line, Pool Position, and three years later she launched her own self-titled perfume.
Pauline Ducruet holds no title but is eighth in line to the Monegasque throne. Her grandparents are Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly and her cousin is Charlotte Casiraghi – the current face of Gucci.
Like her aunt, Princess Charlene, Pauline Ducruet is an excellent swimmer and competed in the Youth Olympic Games for diving.
Pauline Ducruet’s sporting talents are clearly inherited – her great-grandfather John Kelly – father of her late grandmother Princess Grace – won three Olympic gold medals for rowing in the 1920s, while her uncle Prince Albert II has bobsleighed at five winter Olympics.
Lamar Odom has been hit with fresh infidelity claims, as Star Magazine reports to have proof that the professional basketball player cheated on wife Khloe Kardashian with lawyer Polina Polonsky.
The website also claims that Polina Polonsky passed a lie detector (polygraph) test to prove she is telling the truth.
According to Star magazine, Lamar Odom and Polina Polonsky first met at Los Angeles’ Roosevelt Hotel on June 2nd, where the sportsman had been staying for a week amid marital difficulties with Khloe Kardashian.
Polina Polonsky said: “I was under the impression that he had left Khloe, and that’s why he was living at the Roosevelt. He acted completely available and we definitely had a mutual attraction.”
Brunette Polina Polonsky, who claims to have had a six-week long affair with Lamar, claims she had her first kiss with him on June 9th, before consummating their romance on June 13th at her apartment.
Lamar Odom reportedly cheated on Khloe Kardashian with lawyer Polina Polonsky
She said: “After we had s**, Lamar stayed the night with me. The next day we went back to the Roosevelt. I stayed there with him for the next couple of nights.”
However, Polina Polonsky said Khloe Kardashian was quick to discover her husband’s infidelity.
In an attempt to confront Lamar Odom while he was in the midst of being unfaithful, Polina Polonsky claims Khloe Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner made an impromptu visit to The Roosevelt Hotel.
Getting no answer after knocking on what they believed to be Lamar Odom’s door, Khloe Kardashian allegedly kicked down the door, before realizing she had the wrong room.
Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner then found the right room and reportedly confronted Lamar Odom, who was on his own as Polina Polonsky was at her apartment at the time.
Polina Polonsky then claims that Lamar Odom was so infuriated by his wife’s behavior that, on June 22nd, he temporarily moved into her apartment, where he stayed until July 8th.
However, Khloe Kardashian is said to have then found out where Polina Polonsky lived, enlisting the help of momager Kris Jenner once again to confront her spouse.
But Polina Polonsky said: “I couldn’t believe they found where I lived and came to my apartment! They were knocking on the door, but Lamar refused to answer.”
This is not the first time that Lamar Odom has been accused of cheating on Khloe Kardashian.
It was previously claimed that Lamar Odom has been cheating on Khloe Kardashian with 29-year-old brunette, Jennifer Richardson, after meeting in a Washington, D.C club a year ago.
Lucille Ball’s famous polka-dot dress sold for more than double the expected takeaway at a Hollywood auction.
The items were on auction at a Profiles in History sale on July 30, which also included props from The Sopranos, The Sound of Music, and Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom.
Lucille Ball’s “Lucy Ricardo” dress was expected to fetch between $40,000 and $60,000 at auction, but ultimately sold for $168,000.
From Temple of Doom, a lot of sankara stones and a pyrotechnics bag got $72,000 and $64,000 respectively, well over their estimates.
Lucille Ball’s famous polka-dot dress sold for $168,000 at Hollywood memorabilia
A collection of costumes from The Sound of Music sold for $1.3 million. The collection included a costume worn by Julie Andrews’ character, as well as floral lederhosen worn by the Von Trapp children.
The costume worn by James Gandolfini in the final scene of The Sopranos sold for $22,000.
Steve McQueen’s Bullitt jacket and Charlie Chaplin’s “tramp” cane from modern times also commanded high selling prices.
Lastly, Judy Garland’s iconic Wizard of Oz dress sold for $360,000, which was twice its estimate.
Other Lucille Ball memorabilia was also auctioned off on August 3 at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, which also included a fashion show. These items included props and dresses from I Love Lucy! and other Lucille Ball / Desi Arnaz productions.
Items included Lucille Ball’s red velvet dress from Mame, her pink sequined costume from the first episode of the Milton Berle Show, and her Charlie Chaplin costume from The Lucy Show episode “Chris’ New Year’s Eve Party”.
Matt Lauer has been denied an interview with recently convicted kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro and turned away from the Ohio prison where Castro is being held.
NBC’s Matt Lauer traveled to Cleveland to conduct a jailhouse interview with Ariel Castro, who was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years for his crimes against Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.
Instead, Matt Lauer’s request was declined by Cuyahoga County Sheriff Frank Bova in no uncertain terms.
Scott Taylor, an investigative reporter for 19 Action News in Cleveland tweeted the news yesterday, writing: “@MLauer of @todayshow spotted at jail here in Cleveland asking for #ArielCastro interview. Sheriff Bova said NO.”
According to Scott Taylor, Sheriff Bova told him “I won’t allow it”, and that “an Ariel Castro interview from jail isn’t going to happen in Cleveland”.
Scott Taylor first tweeted news of Matt Lauer’s failed Ariel Castro interview attempt
A spokesperson for Sheriff Bova said that the reason Lauer was denied the interview was because Ariel Castro was being moved to Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio.
“Matt Lauer arrived at the jail on Friday morning and his interview request was denied. Castro is leaving the building today and the interview was declined for security purposes,” she said.
A spokesperson for Ohio’s prisons department said Ariel Castro will be isolated from the greater prison population for his own safety at the beginning of his sentence due to the high profile nature of his case.
Ariel Castro’s lawyers struck a deal with prosecutors that spared him the death sentence but also spared his victims having to testify in court, pleading guilty to aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape on Thursday.
NBC’s Today show has declined to comment on the incident, but Twitter users are speculating about Matt Lauer’s interview techniques.
@LovinTheTribe wrote: “Did Castro agree to interview first? Was wondering why Lauer just showed up?”
According to Scott Taylor, the Today show had already secured the interview.
“MY SOURCE: @MLauer & @todayshow had green light for interview with #ArielCastro today but County Sheriff Frank Bova pulled the plug,” Scott Taylor wrote.
Cleveland kidnap victim Gina DeJesus has made her first public appearance since her dramatic escape at the annual Puerto Rican Parade and Latino Fest on Sunday.
Gina DeJesus, 23, looked relaxed as she waved a flag and threw treats to the crowd during the parade.
Although Gina DeJesus thanked her supporters in a video released by the three survivors a month ago, it is the first time she has been seen in public since just her escape from the house on May 6.
Her smiling, relaxed appearance came in stark contrast with the gaunt, shaky figure that appeared in police interview footage shortly after her escape three months ago.
The other survivors, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight, have also stepped out in public in remarkable shows of courage.
Amanda Berry, 27, was pictured dancing at a Nelly concert last month, while 32-year-old Michelle Knight faced her captor, Ariel Castro, at his sentencing in court last week before returning to the home on Seymour Avenue on Friday to thank neighbors for their support.
Members of the community who attended the parade on Sunday said they became emotional when they saw Gina DeJesus, whose family is Puerto Rican. She was riding with relatives as part of the Janet Garcia for City Council group.
Gina DeJesus has made her first public appearance since her dramatic escape at the annual Puerto Rican Parade and Latino Fest
“It was very beautiful. I got chills when I saw her on top of the car,” Vivian Prez, who watched the parade, told Fox8.
Aida Cruz added: “I got emotional when I saw her. I got a granddaughter back there, looked like she was about to cry. It was just very emotional.”
The theme of the parade was “a celebration of renewed hope and community healing”, and many taking part in the festival held posters bearing the faces of people missing from the area.
Gina DeJesus’ father Felix also spoke at the Latino Fest with his wife by his side as he pleaded with the crowd to keep their ears and eyes open to help find other missing children in the state.
“I want to tell you Gina, Amanda and Michelle are doing beautiful,” he said.
“I got to tell you something. Our work is not done. We have more beautiful children out there that need our help.”
Community activist Angel Arroyo added: “On Friday, there were still 95 people in this city missing. Fifty people from the list are children, 45 people are adults and so we still have a lot right here.”
The three survivors released a video last month thanking people for their support and donations.
After their escape from Ariel Castro’s house, The Cleveland Courage Fund was set up to help them rebuild their lives and has so far raised more than $1.2 million.
“I would like to say thank you for the support,” Gina DeJesus said in the video, while the other two women spoke out at greater length.
Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and her six-year-old daughter fathered by Ariel Castro were saved from the house in Cleveland in May after Amanda Berry managed to escape, alert neighbors and call 911.
Michelle Knight today visited Ariel Castro’s house, the place where she spent more than a decade in captivity being raped and beaten, and watched it being torn to the ground.
Carrying a bunch of yellow balloons when she arrived at 2207 Seymour Street in Cleveland, Ohio, just before 7 a.m. this morning, Michelle Knight handed them out to neighbors to thank them for their support.
They then released them together as a symbol of hope and solidarity.
Wearing a pair of rosary beads around her neck, Michelle Knight said a prayer and hugged representatives from the county prosecutor’s office as she was accompanied down the street by a small group of Guardian Angels.
Michelle Knight, who has become an advocate for missing children, told the crowd she wanted to be there today because no one was there for her when she was missing.
“Dear Lord, give the missing people strength and power to know they are loved, we hear their cries, they are never forgotten in my heart,” Michelle Knight said.
“They are caterpillars waiting to be turned into butterflies.
“I want the people to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope, and their child will come back.”
The balloons represented children who have been abducted but were never found, Michelle Knight said, and carried with them the simple message that “there is hope for everyone”.
The crowd who gathered at the house erupted into cheers as the crane came smashing down on the roof.
Gina DeJesus’ aunt Peggy Arida was in the cab of the crane and took the first swing. Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were not there.
Michelle Knight said organizers asked the families if someone wanted to begin the demolition and she agreed to do it, “because I had so much anger inside me. I wanted to do it. It felt great. It felt like a house of horrors coming down”.
Michelle Knight visited Ariel Castro’s house and watched it being torn to the ground
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said at a press conference outside the home: “For ten years this house was a secret prison of a psychopath but after today it will be gone.
“He’s going to sit in the bowels of prison now the rest of his life, the rest of his days, in fear himself of the other prisoners.”
Officials will grind Ariel Castro’s house to dust to make the place where unimaginable tortures took place completely disappear.
Authorities revealed they will be using the $22,000 found in Ariel Castro’s washing machine to tear down the house and put a symbol of hope in its place.
The money was offered to the girls but they said they wanted it to go to the neighborhood.
The house was torn down as part of a plea deal that spared Ariel Castro from a possible death sentence.
Ariel Castro had such an emotional attachment to the home that he broke down in tears when he had to sign over the property deed, ABC reports, saying it was wrong to tear it down because he had so many happy memories there.
His family members were allowed to take approved personal items from the home on Monday. Workers emptied the house of furniture and other belongings Tuesday.
The girls – and the community – will decide what to put at the spot once it is torn down.
The razing comes less than a week after Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus 1,000 years, for holding Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry captive in his home on Cleveland’s west side.
A steady stream of on-lookers drove by the house before Cleveland police blocked off the street to traffic.
Google had already “disappeared” the house on its Street View features since yesterday. Searches for the address now show just a blurred box instead of the house.
The city of Cleveland seized the home and donated it to the Cuyahoga Land Bank, a non-profit organization that fights urban blight in the city.
The Land Bank has not revealed its plans for the property.
Felix DeJesus said he and his wife and daughter Gina will watch the house come down.
“Thank God it will be over with. And tomorrow I will be there to see this house come down,” he told WOIO-TV.
On July 26, Ariel Castro – a former elementary school bus driver – pleaded guilty to more than 900 counts of kidnapping, rape and assault and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Pictures emerged from inside the home of chains and restraints and makeshift alarms that he used to keep the young women bent to his sadistic will.
Neighbors are happy to see the house torn down.
“I want things to be like it were, quiet and peaceful. But to see that house go down it really will be a relief because I am so sick and tired of looking at it,” Henrietta Bell told the Cleveland TV station.
The land bank’s president, Gus Frangos said that the organization is trying to keep away scavengers who might try to sell the rubble as what is known as “murderabilia”.
In 2011, a website that sells items related to high-profile crimes put on sale 1-gram packages of soil from the home of Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell before a city agency razed the house.
Anthony Sowell was convicted that year of killing 11 women and was sentenced to death. His case is under appeal.
Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia’s decision to grant asylum to Edward Snowden, the White House said.
But President Barack Obama will still attend the G20 economic talks in St Petersburg.
A White House aide said Edward Snowden’s asylum had deepened the pre-existing tension between the two countries.
The Kremlin said it was disappointed by the move and that the invitation to bilateral talks remained in force.
Edward Snowden, a former intelligence contractor, has admitted leaking information about US surveillance programmes to the media.
The decision to cancel the talks, announced during a trip by the president to Los Angeles, comes the morning after Barack Obama said he was “disappointed” with Russia’s decision to offer Edward Snowden asylum for a year.
“We have reached the conclusion that there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a US-Russia Summit,” the White House said in a statement.
Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with Vladimir Putin after Russia’s decision to grant asylum to Edward Snow
In addition to Russia’s “disappointing decision” to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum, the White House cited a lack of progress on issues ranging from missile defense to human rights.
“We believe it would be more constructive to postpone the summit until we have more results from our shared agenda,” the White House said.
The decision to cancel the US-Russia summit comes the day after Barack Obama appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in which he condemned a newly enacted anti-gay law in Russia.
But the White House reaffirmed Barack Obama’s commitment to attending an upcoming round of G20 economic talks, which take place on 5-6 September in the Russian city of St Petersburg.
In the wake of the announcement, Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said it was clear the US had canceled the meeting over the Snowden affair.
In a conference call on Wednesday, Yuri Ushakov added the Kremlin was disappointed by the move and that the invitation for talks remained open.
“Russian representatives are ready to continue working together with American partners on all key issues on the bilateral and multilateral agenda,” he said.
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin last met in June, on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
Edward Snowden, an American former National Security Agency (NSA) technical contractor and CIA worker, in June leaked to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers documents and details relating to NSA programmes that gather data on telephone calls and emails.
Edward Snowden, 30, fled his home in Hawaii, where he worked at a small NSA installation, to Hong Kong, and subsequently to Russia. He faces espionage charges in the US.
He spent about a month in a transit area of the Moscow airport as the US pressured other countries to deny him asylum.
On August 1st, Edward Snowden left the airport after the Russian government said it would give him asylum there for a year.
New York police is investigating Justin Bieber and his entourage following a club brawl in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Justin Bieber’s night out at the South Pointe venue in The Hamptons ended in a fight, which led to the hospitalization of a man.
The altercation is said to have started in the roped-off VIP area – where Justin Bieber, 19, was seated with his entourage – but ended up in a bloody brawl in the club’s car park.
Footage of the incident shows Justin Bieber leaping out of a SUV’s sunroof as other men appear to be engaging in a physical confrontation.
Although Justin Bieber is never seen making any physical contact with any other clubgoer but he does appear very agitated.
Southampton Police sergeant Todd Spencer confirmed police were trying to determine whether or not Justin Bieber coaxed his bodyguards into an alleged attack on clubber Wayne Rennalls, 22.
Sgt. Todd Spencer told the New York Post newspaper: “That would be part of the investigation, whether Bieber directed them or not.”
The argument was said to have started after Wayne Rennalls clashed with Justin Bieber’s entourage over a bow tie.
Justin Bieber’s night out at the South Pointe venue in The Hamptons ended in a fight, which led to the hospitalization of a man
Wayne Rennallls was said to have given his white H&M accessory to a waitress at the club after she complimented it.
However, when she visited Justin the VIP area to provide him with service, Wayne Rennalls attempted to follow her to get his tie back.
A source told The Post: “Justin was flashing all these girls with his flashlight. The girl with the bow tie went over to Justin and Wayne followed because he wanted his tie back. Then Bieber’s people got in his face . . . he eventually got the tie back.
“We thought it was all over, but it escalated outside when we heard Bieber yelling and talking s**t. He was screaming in Wayne’s direction, <<Punk b**ch!>> Wayne thought somebody threw something at him. Wayne picked up a small rock and threw it back towards Justin.
“Justin jumped out the sunroof of his car and slid down the car like he was in Die Hard… He dropped his shirt and threw his hat and wanted to throw hands. His people surrounded Wayne, who was getting punched from all angles.”
Wayne Rennalls ended up in hospital with a black eye, a busted lip and bruised ribs, while another clubber was also knocked unconscious during the incident.
Justin Bieber took to Twitter on Monday seemingly to dismiss the incident as a rumor.
The star tweeted: “The most recent rumors might be the funniest of all. Where do u get this stuff??? #focusedonreality.”
“Off to do what I love. Perform and see my fans. Focused on the positive and what is real. South Carolina see u soon.”
Justin Bieber had spent his day sunning himself and positing shirtless pictures on Instagram.
Barack Obama made his first comments about Edward Snowden since Russia granted him a temporary asylum last week during an interview with NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he was “disappointed” that Russia granted temporary asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, defying his administration’s demands that the former government contractor be sent back to the U.S. to face espionage charges.
“There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality,” Barack Obama said.
Edward Snowden, a 30-year-old ex-NSA systems analyst, is accused of leaking details about highly-secretive government surveillance programs.
He spent several weeks in the transit zone of a Moscow airport before being granted asylum for a year.
Russia’s decision has pushed the White House to reconsider Barack Obama’s plans to travel to Russia in September. He said he would attend an international summit in St. Petersburg, saying it was important for the U.S. to be represented at talks among global economic powers.
But the president did not say whether he planned to attend separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The White House has said it was evaluating the “utility” of the Putin meetings.
Barack Obama also criticized a new Russian law cracking down on gay rights activism.
Russia has said it will enforce the law when it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics. Asked whether the law would impact the games, Barack Obama said he believes Vladimir Putin and Russia have “a big stake in making sure the Olympics work”.
President Barack Obama giving Jay Leno a replica of his limo The Beast on The Tonight Show
“I think they understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn’t tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently,” the president said.
In a wide-ranging interview, Barack Obama touched on the closure of 19 embassies in the wake of the al-Qaeda terror alert.
He said that the U.S. was not overreacting with its decision and that Americans can still take their vacation in a “prudent way” by checking on State Department websites for up-to-day information before making plans.
Barack Obama added: “The odds of dying in a terrorist attack are a lot lower than they are of dying in a car accident, unfortunately.”
The administration was earlier today accused of behaving “like a bunch of cowards” following the embassy closures.
Louis Gohmert, a Republican congressman from Texas, recalled the September 11, 2012, terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Barack Obama also lauded two of his former political rivals: former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator John McCain, R-Ariz.
Once bitter adversaries, Barack Obama and John McCain have deepened their ties in recent months. The Republican senator helped usher a White House-backed overhaul of U.S. immigration law through the Senate and most recently negotiated a plan to clear the way for votes on several stalled Obama nominees.
The president said that while he and John McCain still have significant policy differences, the Republican senator is “a person of integrity”.
But Barack Obama said jokingly that it’s probably not good for John McCain if the Democratic president compliments him on television.
The president also discussed his recent lunch with Hillary Clinton, his rival in the 2008 Democratic primaries.
Hillary Clinton, who left the State Department earlier this year, had a post-administration “glow”, Barack Obama said.
But he sidestepped questions about whether she was measuring the curtains in the White House for a possible 2016 presidential bid.
“Keep in mind, she’s been there before,” Barack Obama said.
Scientists have reported the first case of human-to-human transmission of the new strain of bird flu that has emerged in China.
The British Medical Journal said a 32-year-old woman was infected after caring for her father. Both later died.
Until now there had been no evidence of anyone catching the H7N9 virus other than after direct contact with birds.
But experts stressed it does not mean the virus has developed the ability to spread easily between humans.
By 30 June there had been 133 cases of H7N9 bird flu reported in eastern China and 43 deaths.
Most people had visited live poultry markets or had close contact with live poultry in the week or two before they became ill.
Yet researchers found that the 32-year-old woman had become infected in March after caring for her 60-year-old father in hospital.
Scientists have reported the first case of human-to-human transmission of the new strain of bird flu that has emerged in China
Unlike her father – who had visited a poultry market in the week before falling ill – she had no known exposure to live poultry but fell ill six days after her last contact with him.
Both died in intensive care of multiple organ failure.
Tests on the virus taken from both patients showed the strains were almost genetically identical, which supports the theory that the daughter was infected directly from her father rather than another source.
Public health officials tested 43 close contacts of the patients but all tested negative for H7N9, suggesting the ability of the virus to spread was limited.
The researchers said that while there was no evidence to suggest the virus had gained the ability to spread from person to person efficiently, this was the first case of a “probable transmission” from human to human.
“Our findings reinforce that the novel virus possesses the potential for pandemic spread,” they concluded.
Dr. James Rudge, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that limited transmission between humans is not surprising and has been seen before in other bird flu viruses, such as H5N1.
He added: “It would be a worry if we start to see longer chains of transmission between people, when one person infects someone else, who in turn infects more people, and so on.
“And particularly if each infected case goes on to infect, on average, more than one other person, this would be a strong warning sign that we might be in the early stages of an epidemic.”
An accompanying editorial in the BMJ, co-authored by Dr. James Rudge, concluded that while this study might not suggest that H7N9 is any closer to delivering the next pandemic, “it does provide a timely reminder of the need to remain extremely vigilant”.
US officials say they will go ahead with high-level talks with Russia on Friday despite Moscow’s decision to grant asylum to Edward Snowden.
Some members of Edward Snowden’s family are applying for visas to visit him in Russia, his lawyer says.
Edward Snowden was granted asylum by Russia despite repeated requests from the US that he be returned to America.
He leaked details about a secret data-gathering programme.
The US state department said Secretary of State John Kerry and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel would hold talks on pressing bilateral and global issues with their Russian counterparts in Washington, including Syria and Iran’s nuclear programme.
The two sides were also to discuss Edward Snowden, it added.
President Barack Obama has meanwhile said he is “disappointed” that Russia granted asylum to Edward Snowden.
US will go ahead with high-level talks with Russia despite Moscow’s decision to grant asylum to Edward Snowden
Speaking during an interview for Tuesday’s broadcast of The Tonight Show on NBC, Barack Obama accused Moscow of occasionally adopting a “Cold War mentality”.
Barack Obama said: “What I say to President [Vladimir] Putin is, that’s the past and… we’ve got to think about the future. And there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to cooperate more effectively than we do.”
Edward Snowden’s whereabouts in Russia are not publicly known after he slipped away from Moscow’s international airport last week.
But his lawyer says he has now registered an address within Russian territory and his father, Lon Snowden, is waiting for a visa to visit him.
He said Edward Snowden wanted his father’s advice on what to do with his new life.
“We do not have a set date yet, but we have been working closely with Anatoly Kucherena, Ed Snowden’s attorney, on setting a definitive date which will be some time in August,” Mattie Fein, a representative for Lon Snowden, told the Reuters news agency.
Russia’s decision to grant temporary asylum to the former intelligence analyst has strained relations between Moscow and the US.
Edward Snowden leaked details of the National Security Agency’s electronic surveillance programme which gathers data about emails and phone calls made by American citizens.
Dustin Hoffman has been successfully treated for cancer and is “feeling great”, his spokeswoman announces.
Publicist Jodi Gottlieb said Dustin Hoffman, 75, had been “surgically cured”, after the cancer was detected at an early stage. No further details were given.
Dustin Hoffman has been successfully treated for cancer and is feeling great
People magazine reported Dustin Hoffman would undergo treatments to prevent the cancer returning.
Dustin Hoffman won the best actor Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).
The actor will appear in the comedy movie Chef with Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr. next year.
Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut Quartet came out last year.
Jodi Gottlieb said Dustin Hoffman was “feeling great and in good health”.
Yemen announces it has foiled an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize some of the country’s main ports.
Security remains tight – and hundreds of armored vehicles have been deployed to protect key targets.
Both the US and UK have withdrawn diplomatic staff from Yemen, prompted by intelligence reports of renewed terrorist activity.
The US is reported to be preparing special operations forces for possible strikes against al-Qaeda in Yemen.
It appears that Yemen was at the centre of a complex and audacious plot which – had it succeeded – would have given al-Qaeda control over a crucial aspect of the country’s infrastructure.
Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi said the plot involved blowing up oil pipelines and taking control of certain cities – including two ports in the south, one of which accounts for the bulk of Yemen’s oil exports and is where a number of foreign workers are employed.
“There were attempts to control key cities in Yemen like Mukala and Bawzeer,” said Rajeh Badi.
“This would be co-ordinated with attacks by al-Qaeda members on the gas facilities in Shebwa city and the blowing up of the gas pipe in Belhaf city.”
Yemen has foiled an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize some of the country’s main ports
Al-Qaeda members dressed as soldiers were to be outside the ports, he said. On a given signal they were to invade the facility and take it over.
Yemeni officials quoted by AP news agency said they believed the motive for the planned attacks was retaliation for the killing of senior al-Qaeda figure Said al-Shihri, who was critically wounded in a November drone strike and later died of his injuries.
Tanks and troops have surrounded foreign missions, government offices and the airport, and senior officials are being advised to limit their movements.
Both the US, which closed 20 embassies worldwide on Sunday, and the UK have withdrawn diplomatic staff from Yemen and urged their citizens to leave.
The US embassy and consulate closures reportedly followed intercepted conversations between two senior al-Qaeda figures, including top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, suggesting terrorist attacks.
According to the New York Times, the US intercepted communications between Ayman al-Zawahiri and the group’s head in Yemen, Nasser al-Wuhayshi.
The paper said the conversation represented one of the most serious plots since the 9/11 attacks.
The Yemeni government spokesman said the international community “feared the reaction of al-Qaeda” and added: “We understand such fears.”
But the foreign ministry has criticized the embassy withdrawals, saying “the evacuation of embassy staff serves the interests of the extremists.”
Although the US has previously sent special forces to train counter-terrorist units, there are now suggestions that the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), may be preparing units for strike operations, the sources said.
JSOC co-operates closely with the CIA, which has mounted four drone strikes in Yemen over the past 10 days.
Yemen is the base of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and both the White House and the US state department have said the current threat comes from AQAP but have refused to divulge further details.
A huge fire has broken out at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the main international airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) had been closed and passengers evacuated.
Cabinet secretary for transport Michael Kamau said the fire was “very severe” and urged people to stay away from the airport.
Images showed flames raging from one of the main buildings.
The interior ministry tweeted that an evacuation of the entire airport was under way, with only essential personnel remaining, but said the fire had been contained.
There have been no reports of any casualties and the cause of the fire is not clear.
Huge fire has broken out at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi
JKIA is an important regional hub for East Africa, with many long-distance flights landing there to connect to countries across the region.
Dark smoke could be seen billowing into the sky across much of Nairobi as the fire – which began at approximately 05:00 local time – took hold.
Shocked would-be passengers stood outside the airport, bags in hand, watching the blaze.
Multiple reports say the arrivals and immigration sections have been devastated by the blaze.
Mutea Iringo, a senior official at the interior and national co-ordination ministry, earlier confirmed “a serious fire” at JKIA, adding: “We are doing everything possible to avert a crisis.
“Apart from emergency landings, all flights into and out of JKIA have been cancelled… [the] airport has been shut down.”
Cabinet secretary for transport Michael Kamau urged people not to obstruct the work of the emergency services.
“They should allow the emergency work to continue and we kindly request even spectators, people who just want to watch, they should just keep off.”
The KAA said only emergency vehicles were allowed in the area.
The blaze comes two days after aircraft were delayed for several hours after the failure of a hydrant needed for refuelling planes.
It also comes 15 years to the day after attacks on the US embassies in Nairobi and in Dar es Salaam in neighboring Tanzania killed more than 224 people – though there has been no suggestion that terrorism played any role in this fire.
The US government filed two lawsuits against Bank of America relating to fraud on $850 million of mortgage-backed securities.
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed parallel suits in North Carolina.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the government wanted “justice for those who have been victimized.”
Bank of America denied the charges, arguing “these were prime mortgages sold to sophisticated investors.”
The bank already hinted it expected the suits in a filing last week.
The US government filed two lawsuits against Bank of America relating to fraud on $850 million of mortgage-backed securities
In the Justice Department suit, the government alleged that Bank of America “knowingly and willfully misled investors about the quality and safety of their investments” in a residential mortgage-backed security known as BOAMS 2008-A.
The security, worth around $850 million when it was issued in January 2008, eventually collapsed during the crisis as the quality of the loans contained in it soured.
This led to investor losses of more than $100m according to the complaint.
Bank of America says that the fact that the security failed was not the fault of the bank.
“We are not responsible for the housing market collapse that caused mortgage loans to default at unprecedented rates and these securities to lose value as a result,” it argued in a statement.
Bank of America has recently announced a series of settlements, including an $8.5 billion settlement with investors dealing with similar mortgage-based securities and a $1.6 billion deal with MBIA Inc, a bond insurer.
Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried had the most romantic proposal ever on the August 5 Bachelorette finale.
The following day on Live! With Kelly & Michael, Desiree Hartsock dished all the details about their wedding plans.
Desiree Hartsock, 27, and Chris Siegfried, 28, appeared on the morning show the day after their romantic engagement.
Desiree Hartsock accepted to marry Chris Siegfried on the season finale of The Bachelorette
“We would like to get married in the summer – next summer,” said Des to Michael, who added that she isn’t sure if she wants to film their nuptials for ABC.
“We want to keep it intimate.”
Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried made their first appearance as a couple on the After The Final Rose special, and Des called Chris the “greatest man alive.”
“I knew she was the one; she was in it for the long haul,” said Chris Siegfried, while Des added: “Yeah, 100% [I can trust this love]. We’re building something great since, it’s not something I want to get rid of anytime soon or anytime EVER!”
Desiree Hartsock also revealed that she is moving to Seattle to be with Chris Siegfried.
“I’m actually going to be moving to Seattle, this weekend. I want to be with him!”
