Eunice Huthart, former Hollywood stunt double, has sued News Corp, accusing the company of hacking into her phone.
The suit, the first such claim from the US, was filed by the former double for Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.
In the suit, the Liverpool resident alleges messages from family, friends and Angelina Jolie were intercepted and in some cases deleted.
News Corp did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a civil complaint filed on June 13, Eunice Huthart seeks damages for violations of federal and California laws and “intrusion into private affairs”.
According to IMDb, Eunice Huthart worked as Angelina Jolie’s stunt double on the films Wanted, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Eunice Huthart, who worked as Angelina Jolie’s stunt double, sues News Corp over phone hacking
In the court filing, she describes herself as a close friend of Angelina Jolie, and says the pair “often travelled and socialized together”.
Eunice Huthart said that in 2004-05, some friends and relatives complained she had not returned their phone calls, and she in turn complained to her mobile phone provider that voice messages were being lost in their system.
She said Angelina Jolie left messages concerning travel arrangements and other plans, which Eunice Huthart never received.
She added that her daughter left messages complaining about bullying in school in Liverpool, which she also never received – rendering her unable to console her daughter.
Eunice Huthart said her husband had also criticized her for not responding to his messages.
She says her name, telephone number and other private information appeared in the notes of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World and was jailed in January 2007 for unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages received by royal aides.
Eunice Huthart “believes that they were hacking her cellular telephone as a means to obtain information about Ms Jolie”, says the court filing.
According to the suit, The Sun newspaper published several news stories based on information illicitly obtained from Eunice Huthart’s mobile phone messages.
Leaders at the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, are close to signing a joint statement on Syria, despite their differences.
Russia and the US are backing opposite sides in the conflict, but officials say the statement could soon be agreed.
This could include the proposed peace conference in Geneva, and more access for deliveries of humanitarian aid.
The summit, which is now in its final day, is also discussing tax evasion and efforts to boost trade.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow would sign up to the statement on Syria later on Tuesday.
But he stressed the Kremlin wanted each of the Syrian sides in the talks to select not only their own delegations but the future terms of any transitional government.
Sergei Ryabkov sidestepped the question of whether this could leave open a role for President Bashar al-Assad in the future.
Leaders at the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, are close to signing a joint statement on Syria, despite their differences
To try to get as much consensus as possible on Syria, UK Prime Minister David Cameron – who is hosting the summit – held a working dinner on Monday night.
The leaders were alone, with no officials present, allowing them to express their views frankly.
After the meeting, British officials appeared more optimistic that an agreement could be reached on the joint statement on Syria.
However, they said it would take more work to agree the precise language.
Earlier on Monday, the British had raised the possibility of the other G8 nations issuing an end-of-conference statement without the participation of Russia.
But it now seems that Vladimir Putin is willing to consider some kind of joint stance, according to officials.
The communiqué is likely to back the launch of Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva, and insist that humanitarian aid agencies like the Red Cross are given access to all parts of the country.
Any statement which emerges may not be all that ambitious, correspondents warn – and even then, it is far from certain that any agreement will change the appalling reality in Syria itself.
The White House announced last week that it would provide military aid to the Syrian rebels. Russia meanwhile supplies weapons to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met for an hour of bilateral talks on Monday, and at a sombre press conference afterwards it was clear they had had a difficult exchange.
Both presidents acknowledged their differences but said they shared a common desire to stop the bloodshed.
Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, who terrorized Southern California in the mid-1980s, also had Hepatitis C and symptoms of chronic drug use when he died of cancer, coroner’s officials said Monday.
Richard Ramirez died June 7 at age 53 at a hospital where he had been taken for treatment of liver failure.
Prison guards have told how the notorious murderer turned bright green from liver failure in the hours before he died.
Richard Ramirez died of complications from B-cell lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, according to the Marin County coroner’s office. It listed other “significant conditions” including chronic substance abuse and hepatitis C, which is often spread by the use of intravenous drugs.
The drug abuse predated Richard Ramirez’s time in prison, said Lieutenant Keith Boyd, assistant chief deputy coroner.
“That’s chronic drug use prior to incarceration,” he said.
Night Stalker Richard Ramirez also had Hepatitis C and symptoms of chronic drug use when he died of cancer
“There’s nothing to support any kind of drug use while incarcerated.”
The drug use was the likely cause of the hepatitis C infection that probably lingered in Richard Ramirez’s system for a quarter-century before eventually destroying his liver, Keith Boyd said.
Richard Ramirez’s medical records remain confidential even after his death, said Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal official who controls medical care in California prisons.
Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, could not immediately say if Richard Ramirez had any disciplinary history of using drugs or obtaining contraband in prison. His voluminous file is kept only in hard-copy and would have to be reviewed by hand, she said.
Lieutenant Sam Robinson, a prison spokesman, said he could not immediately comment.
Richard Ramirez had been on death row at San Quentin State Prison since he was convicted in 1989 of 13 murders in 1984 and 1985. Executions have been on hold for years, however, because of ongoing legal challenges.
He was nicknamed the Night Stalker by the media because residents were warned to lock their doors and windows as the killings peaked during the hot summer of 1985. The killer had been entering homes through unlocked windows and doors. He then killed his victims with a gun or knife, burglarized the homes and assaulted his female victims.
Richard Ramirez reportedly turned “a shocking shade of green” before his death from liver failure on Friday June 7.
Amanda Bynes was pictured at Atlantic City at the weekend letting off steam with a group of party goers.
Amanda Bynes, 27, was pictured in a jacuzzi at the Revel Hotel where a few people gathered to get a photo, as she wore her trademark blonde wig.
After the pictures were taken however, Amanda Bynes was seen left alone playing on her iPhone as the group of people moved away.
According to E! however, the actress was not please when a man named Bobby Cohen approached her for a photo earlier that day.
Having taken a snap, Amanda Bynes reportedly said: “Sir, I need you to delete that. You can’t take pictures of me.”
Hotel security were called when Amanda Bynes is said to have not left the man alone and lunged at him in the hotel lobby.
Meanwhile on Twitter, Amanda Bynes has continued her worryingly bizarre posts – still concerning rapper Drake and his levels attractiveness.
Amanda Bynes was pictured in a jacuzzi at the Revel Hotel where a few people gathered to get a photo, as she wore her trademark blonde wig
“The reason I called @drake ugly is because he is! But I apologize!” she wrote.
She then revealed that her much-discussed nose surgery was yet to be completed.
“I’m in between nose surgeries! My eyes are black and blue because my nose is broken! I can’t wait for my nose to be done! I’ll share pics!:)” she explained.
Turning her attention back to Drake, Amanda Bynes tweeted an hour later: “I don’t like leading people on. I will not date @drake ever. I only want to be his friend. I’m sorry that I insult him but it’s hard not to!”
She had her first nose job last month, claiming she went under the knife to remove skin that was growing between her nose and her eyes, before following up with a second surgery and the actress has revealed she is “in between nose surgeries”.
Amanda Bynes tweeted: “I’m in between nose surgeries! My eyes are black and blue because my nose is broken! I can’t wait for my nose to be done!”
Vladimir Putin has hit back at allegations he stole a diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring from billionaire Robert Kraft, the owner of New England Patriots.
Robert Kraft claims the Russian president pocketed his $26,000 ring during a visit to St Petersburg back in 2005.
He has kept quiet about the incident for the past eight years, but broke his silence during a gala in New York at the weekend.
Robert Kraft says he meant to only show Vladimir Putin the ring, but the president pocketed it.
“He put it on and he goes, <<I can kill someone with this ring!>>” Robert Kraft said.
Vladimir Putin has hit back at allegations he stole a diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring from billionaire Robert Kraft
“I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket. And three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”
The ring, which is encrusted with 124 diamonds that spell out the words “World Champions”, has turned up on display at the Kremlin Library.
But Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, insists it was a gift.
“What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird. I was standing 20 centimetres away from them, and I saw Mr. Kraft give this ring as a gift,” he said in a statement.
“If the gentleman is really experiencing such excruciating pain from his loss, the president is ready to send him any other ring he can buy for that kind of money.”
Dmitry Peskov has also suggested Robert Kraft should see a psychoanalyst.
“These words about how someone put pressure on him and so forth – I think this is an issue for a detailed discussion with psychoanalysts,” he said.
Robert Kraft says he tried to get the ring back in 2005, but was advised by the White House that it would be in the best interest of American-Russian relations if he dropped the matter.
His spokeswoman Stacey James says while Robert Kraft still has emotional ties to the ring, he is happy for it to remain in Moscow.
“It’s a humorous, anecdotal story that Robert retells for laughs,” she said.
“He loves that his ring is at the Kremlin and, as he stated back in 2005, he continues to have great respect for Russia and the leadership of president Putin.”
At least 200,000 people have marched through the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities, as protests over rising public transport costs and the expense of staging the 2014 World Cup have spread.
The biggest demonstration was in Rio de Janeiro, where 100,000 people joined a mainly peaceful march.
In the capital, Brasilia, people breached security at the National Congress building and scaled its roof.
In Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, about 65,000 people took to the streets.
The wave of protests kicked off earlier this month when Sao Paulo residents marched against an increase in the price of a single bus fare, from 3 reals ($1.40) to 3.20.
Authorities said the rise was well below inflation, which since the last price increase in January 2011 has been 15.5%, according to official figures.
The way these initial marches were policed – with officers accused of firing rubber bullets and tear gas at peaceful protesters – further incensed Sao Paulo residents and shifted the focus from rising transport costs to wider issues.
“For many years, the government has been feeding corruption, people are demonstrating against the system,” Graciela Cacador told Reuters news agency.
Others complained about vast sums of money spent on hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics instead of being invested in health and education.
“This is a communal cry saying: <<We’re not satisfied!>>,” Maria Claudia Cardoso told the Associated Press news agency.
At least 200,000 people have marched through the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities, as protests over rising public transport costs and the expense of staging the 2014 World Cup have spread
“We don’t have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up to the fact we’re not taking it anymore,” she said.
“We need better education, hospitals and security, not billions spent on the World Cup,” said one mother who attended the Sao Paulo march with her daughter.
“We’re a rich country with a lot of potential but the money doesn’t go to those who need it most,” 26-year-old photographer Manoela Chiabai told the Associated Press.
Police took a hands-off approach at Monday’s demonstration following an earlier meeting between protest organizers and security chiefs at which they had agreed that regular police would not carry rubber bullet guns.
Protests were reported in as many as 11 cities on Monday.
In Rio 100,000 people took part in a mainly peaceful march, although a small group threw rocks at police, wounding five officers. They also set fire to a car and vandalized the state assembly building.
Police there reportedly used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse them.
There were also clashes with police in Belo Horizonte, which was hosting the latest game in the Confederations Cup, the warm-up tournament for the World Cup.
An 18-year-old is reportedly in a stable condition in hospital after falling from an overpass in the city.
And in Brasilia, more than 200 protesters managed to get onto the roof of the National Congress building. After negotiations with police, the crowd agreed to leave. Later, youths formed a human chain around the building, the AFP news agency said.
“Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate,” President Dilma Rousseff said in a statement.
“It is natural for the young to demonstrate.”
However, Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo warned protesters that the authorities would not allow them to disrupt the Confederations Cup or next year’s World Cup.
“The government assumed the responsibility and the honor to stage these two international events, and will do so, ensuring the security and integrity of the fans and tourists,” he said.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called on both sides to remain calm.
“We urge the Brazilian authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with spreading social protests in the country, and also call on demonstrators not to resort to acts of violence in pursuit of their demands,” said a spokesman for the High Commissioner.
“With further protests planned, we are however concerned that the reported excessive use of police force in recent days should not be repeated.”
NATO has handed over security for the whole of Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
At a ceremony in Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that from Wednesday “our own security and military forces will lead all the security activities”.
Observers say the best soldiers in the Afghan army are up to the task but there are lingering doubts about some.
International troops will remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2014, providing military back-up when needed.
The ceremony came shortly after a suicide bomb attack in western Kabul killed three employees of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and wounded more than 20.
The attacker was believed to be targeting the convoy of prominent politician and Hazara leader Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, who escaped with light injuries.
Meanwhile, sources close to Taliban representatives have confirmed to the BBC that they are opening an office in the Qatari capital Doha, possibly as early as Tuesday. It is seen as an important stage in establishing a political face for the movement.
The Taliban has in the past refused talks with Hamid Karzai’s government, calling it a puppet of the US. But the Afghan president said on Tuesday he is sending representatives to Qatar to discuss peace talks with the movement.
Hamid Karzai has been outspoken about his upset at previous US and Qatari efforts to kick-start the peace process without properly consulting his government.
There is also concern within the presidential palace that the Taliban will use the political office in Qatar to raise funds.
NATO has handed over security for the whole of Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban were ousted in 2001
Tuesday’s ceremony saw the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) hand over control of the last 95 districts in a transition process that began in 2011.
The last remaining districts included 13 in Kandahar province – the birthplace of the Taliban – and 12 each in Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika, all bastions of insurgent activity along the border with Pakistan.
Hamid Karzai called it an historic day and a moment of personal pride.
“This has been one of my greatest desires and pursuits, and I am glad that I, as an Afghan citizen and an Afghan president, have reached this objective today,” he said.
He reiterated a shift in military strategy, ruling out the future use of air strikes on what he called Afghan homes and villages; the issue of NATO air strikes and civilian casualties has long been a sensitive one.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Afghan forces were taking up the role with “remarkable resolve” but said there was still 18 months of hard work ahead for ISAF troops.
“We will continue to help Afghan troops in operations if needed, but we will no longer plan, execute or lead those operations, and by the end of 2014 our combat mission will be completed,” he said.
The number of Afghan security forces has been gradually increasing from fewer than 40,000 six years ago to nearly 350,000 today.
However, as it has taken over more responsibility for security, the Afghan army has suffered a sharp rise in casualties.
By comparison, international coalition casualties have been steadily falling since 2010.
A high desertion rate among Afghan forces has also meant that thousands of new recruits are needed each month to fill its ranks.
In recent Taliban attacks on the capital Kabul, Afghan rapid reaction police tackled the insurgents without having to call in ISAF forces.
The number of ISAF forces in Afghanistan peaked in 2011 at about 140,000, which included about 101,000 US troops.
ISAF currently has about 97,000 troops in the country from 50 contributing nations, the bulk of whom – some 68,000 – are from the US.
By the end of 2014 all combat troops should have left to be replaced – if approved by the Afghan government – by a smaller force that will only train and advise.
The pressure on contributing nations to withdraw their troops has been exacerbated by a series of “green-on-blue” attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces have killed coalition troops.
At least 60 NATO personnel died in such attacks in 2012. Many more Afghan security force members have died at the hands of their colleagues, in so-called “green-on-green” attacks.
US President Barack Obama has not yet said how many troops he will leave in Afghanistan along with other NATO forces at the end of 2014.
Washington has said that the Afghan government will get the weapons it needs to fight the insurgency including a fleet of MI-17 transport helicopters, cargo planes and ground support airplanes.
David and Jackie Siegel, the owners of America’s largest family home, the gold-encrusted “Palace Of Versailles”, have announced that their mansion will finally be completed in 2015, after 11 years of construction.
Self-made billionaire David Siegel, toldCNBC that he’s excited about moving into the property located in Windermere, Florida, although, if someone offered him enough money – $100 million to be exact – he might consider selling out.
However, his 47-year-old former beauty queen wife, Jackie Siegel, seemed distraught at the thought of letting her dream mansion go and jokingly interjected: “Or I could live there and you could sell your half right?”
David and Jackie Siegel, who have eight children, along with their entourage of nannies and housekeepers starred in the 2012 award-winning documentary by Lauren Greenfield, The Queen Of Versailles.
The documentary chronicled them as they built their 90,000-square-foot, 30-bedroom abode modeled after France’s 17th century Palace of Versailles. The project has been in the pipeline since 2004.
Work stopped on the 90,000-square-foot build in 2009 after creditors went after David Siegel’s timeshare company, Westgate Resorts, but recommenced this year after business bounced back.
Now the finish date is just two years away.
Unable to contain her excitement, Jackie Siegel recently told New York Magazine: “We’re going to inlay the floors with a lot of onyx and amethyst and semiprecious stones.”
Jackie Siegel recently explained that as a result of the delay they have had to make several minor adjustments to the floor plans – especially now the children are older.
For example, instead of sandboxes and playrooms, they plan on creating ‘man caves’ and yoga studios.
David and Jackie Siegel, the owners of America’s Palace Of Versailles, have announced that their mansion will finally be completed in 2015
The mansion is the largest single-family home in America, with a custom-made stained-glass oculus, 10,000-square-foot spa and a commercial kitchen with a Benihana-style grill.
It is nine times larger than other houses in the area and has a $20 million mortgage, which is 100 times the size of the average mortgage in Central Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Explaining their master suite, Jackie Siegel, who won the Miss Florida beauty title in the Nineties, said: “We’re gonna have a round platform with a round bed, and it’s going to have buttons so you can watch TV.”
The master bathroom will include a Jacuzzi, his-and-hers showers, and a third in the center – in case they “want to take a shower together”. Gesturing at the space between the his-and-hers showers, she said: “Because this, is too far to walk.”
The ten staff quarters located inside the mansion each includes a jacuzzi and a kitchen.
Jacie Siegel, who was branded as “tacky” and “ditzy” after the documentary The Queen Of Versailles premiered at the Sundance Festival last year, explained: “People said, <<Why do they need ten kitchens? That’s ridiculous!>>. But it’s because they’re in the staff apartments.”
The mansion’s doors are made from one of world’s last batches of Brazilian mahogany. The former beauty queen casually remarked: “They had to stop exporting it because they were cutting down the rain forest, or whatever.”
As well as 30 bedrooms, the home will have 23 bathrooms with views over Lake Butler, about 20 miles outside Orlando.
Meanwhile, Jackie Siegel said that the mansion’s mezzanine will be used for “an orchestra for the people downstairs. Or speeches. Like if the president came”.
Jackie Siegel said that once her dream home is complete she would like to launch her own reality show. But David Siegel, 77, said he has no interest in getting back in front of the camera.
He is only intent on finishing work on the mansion which has been under construction for more than a decade, after the financial crisis and recession delayed progress – “but now we’re doing better than ever” David Siegel said of his company.
David Siegel actually filed suit against the filmmaker, Lauren Greenfield, before The Queen of Versailles even premiered, claiming its depiction of his company’s downfall was inaccurate and damaging to his business.
“I don’t know how it happened,” he said.
“Suddenly the focus wasn’t the house. It became the family, and then it became the business.”
He added: “The only thing that’s true about [the documentary] is that my wife is a big-busted shopaholic. Jackie, they could have called her an ax murderer, and she’d have been happy they spelled her name right.”
David and Jackie Siegel currently live in a 26,000-square-foot home in the exclusive Isleworth gated community, best known as the scene of Tiger Woods’ 2009 car crash just before his divorce.
While their yet-to-be-completed home is large, the original Versailles, outside Paris and completed by the Sun King, Louis XIV, in 1710, is much, much larger.
The 219,000-square-foot landmark boasts 2,300 rooms and 67 staircases. Building it also caused financial problems, nearly bankrupting France.
Jackie Siegel is married to timeshare mogul David Siegel, but recently admitted that she went on a few dates with Donald Trump.
“We just went out a couple times,” the Queen of Versailles star told HuffPost Live.
“Like, he invited us to Mar-a-Lago and go to his parties and things like that. He’s a really great person. So much charisma.”
The 47-year-old mother-of-eight from Windermere, Florida, is the star of The Queen Of Versailles, an award-winning documentary chronicling Jackie Siegel and her billionaire husband as they build their 90,000-square-foot mansion modeled after France’s 17th century Palace of Versailles.
“I’m so glad we’re still friends,” Jackie Siegel said of Donald Trump, adding: “He in fact wrote me and my husband a note because we were in the New York Post last week and he said <<Congratulations on the construction of your home>>.”
Award-winning documentary The Queen Of Versailles chronicles Jackie Siegel and her billionaire husband David Siegel
Other than extreme wealth, Jackie Siegel and donald Trump appear to have a lot in common. The Siegels became the poster children for the excesses of the subprime real estate market – and collapse of the American dream – after director Lauren Greenfield followed them and their eight children, 19 staff members and four dogs in their efforts to complete construction on the mega-mansion.
Donald Trump made a fortune by building an American empire from New York to Las Vegas with glittering hotels and casinos, yet companies that bear his name have filed for bankruptcy four times.
The Siegels’ plans were derailed by the 2008 stock market crash. David Siegel’s timeshare business took a hit, and he was forced to sell a building in Las Vegas. The couple was also forced to halt construction on Versailles and the film, which recently aired on Bravo, showed Jackie Siegel filling up her shopping cart with Walmart instead of Gucci. Viewers saw trash and dog feces pile up in the mansion, and a pet lizard died from neglect.
After the documentary’s release Jackie Siegel filed a lawsuit against the director over the film, claiming that it hurt the reputation of his company – yet his wife continues to promote it.
By the end of the movie, construction on the dream home has ground to a halt, but Jackie Siegel claims construction has resumed. For now the Siegels are residing in their 26,000 square-foot home, but she tells New York magazine that Versailles will contain a theater inspired by the Paris Opera House, a bowling alley, roller-skating rink, and 30-car garage.
At one point, Jackie Siegel says the house was listed for $75 million unfinished and $100 million finished. She later claimed that it was not for sale, but has stated that if someone made a $100 million offer the family would “entertain” it.
David and Jackie Siegel’s partially finished dream home known as Versailles will include a theater inspired by the Paris Opera House, a bowling alley, roller-skating rink, and 30-car garage.
The 47-year-old mother-of-eight from Windermere, Florida, was the star of The Queen Of Versailles, an award-winning documentary chronicling Jackie Siegel and her billionaire husband, David Siegel, as they build their 90,000-square-foot mansion modeled after France’s 17th century Palace of Versailles.
Jackie Siegel, who resumed construction on the sprawling house after creditors went after her husband’s company, Westgate Resorts, and work on Versailles was halted, told New York Magazine: “We’re going to inlay the floors with a lot of onyx and amethyst and semiprecious stones.”
The mansion is the largest single-family home in America, with a custom-made stained-glass oculus, 10,000-square-foot spa and a commercial kitchen with a Benihana-style grill.
Explaining their master suite, Jackie Siegel, who won the Miss Florida beauty title in the Nineties, said: “We’re gonna have a round platform with a round bed, and it’s going to have buttons so you can watch TV.”
The master bathroom will include a Jacuzzi, his-and-hers showers, and a third in the center – in case they “want to take a shower together”. Gesturing at the space between the his-and-hers showers, Jackie Siegel said: “Because this, is too far to walk.”
David and Jackie Siegel’s partially finished dream home known as Versailles will include a theater inspired by the Paris Opera House
The ten staff quarters located inside the mansion each include a jacuzzi and a kitchen.
Jackie Siegel, who was branded as “tacky” and “ditzy” after the documentary premiered at the Sundance Festival last year, explained: “People said, <<Why do they need ten kitchens? That’s ridiculous!>>. But it’s because they’re in the staff apartments.”
The mansion’s doors are made from one of world’s last batches of Brazilian mahogany. The former beauty queen casually remarked: “They had to stop exporting it because they were cutting down the rain forest, or whatever.”
As well as 30 bedrooms, the home will have 23 bathrooms with views over Lake Butler, about 20 miles outside Orlando.
Meanwhile, she said that the mansion’s mezzanine will be used for “an orchestra for the people downstairs. Or speeches. Like if the president came”.
Jacqueline Siegel said that once her dream home is complete she would like to launch her own reality show. But David Siegel, 77, said he has no interest in getting back in front of the camera.
David Siegel is only intent on finishing work on the mansion which has been under construction for more than five years, after the financial crisis and recession delayed progress – “but now we’re doing better than ever” he said of his company.
He actually filed suit against the filmmaker, Lauren Greenfield, before the documentary even premiered, claiming its depiction of his company’s downfall was inaccurate and damaging to his business.
David Siegel, the founder of Westgate Resorts, a real estate and timeshare business which employs thousands of people across the U.S. – many of whom lost their jobs during the recession – said he was happy for Lauren Greenfield to film the house, but “then the economy changed”, he said.
“I don’t know how it happened, suddenly the focus wasn’t the house. It became the family, and then it became the business.”
David Siegel added: “The only thing that’s true about [the documentary] is that my wife is a big-busted shopaholic. Jackie, they could have called her an ax murderer, and she’d have been happy they spelled her name right.”
The Queen of Versailles, filmed by Lauren Greenfield, premiered on Bravo in April.
Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin have acknowledged at the G8 meeting in Northern Ireland that they have a different stance on Syria, but agreed to push for a summit in Geneva.
After face-to-face talks, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin said they shared a common desire to end the violence.
Both also said they were optimistic on Iran, after its presidential election.
Earlier, the G8 nations discussed the global economy, with the leaders agreeing world prospects remained weak.
The G8 leaders are now heading to a working dinner, where Syria is likely to be top of the agenda.
Other nations joining the UK, US and Russia for the 39th Summit of the Group of Eight (G8) in Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, are Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama met for about two hours on the sidelines of the summit.
Correspondents say that both leaders looked tense as they addressed journalists afterwards, with the Russian president regularly looking at the floor.
Vladimir Putin said: “Our positions do not fully coincide, but we are united by the common intention to end the violence, to stop the number of victims increasing in Syria, to resolve the problems by peaceful means, including the Geneva talks.”
Barack Obama said the two leaders had instructed their teams to press ahead with trying to organize the peace conference in Switzerland.
Neither the rebels nor the Syrian government have yet fully committed to the proposed Geneva talks, which would seek to end more than two years of unrest that has left an estimated 93,000 people dead.
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin did say that they had agreed to meet in Moscow in September.
Earlier UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who is hosting the summit, had said he hoped to find “common ground” on Syria.
The US said last week it was prepared to arm opposition forces, saying it had evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons on a “small scale”.
David Cameron, who backed the recent lifting of EU arms sanctions against the rebels, said on Monday that no decision had yet been made on whether the UK would do the same.
In an interview in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday, President Bashar al-Assad denied that his military had used chemical weapons, and warned that arming the rebels would result in “the direct export of terrorism to Europe”.
“Terrorists will return to fight, equipped with extremist ideology,” he said.
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland
On Monday, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said of the possibility of a no-fly zone over Syria: “I think we fundamentally would not allow this scenario.”
The formal talks on Monday covered the global economy.
In their statement after the session, the leaders said prospects remained weak but added that action in the US, Japan and eurozone had helped ease the situation.
“Downside risks in the euro area have abated over the past year, but it remains in recession.
“The US recovery is continuing and the deficit is declining rapidly in the context of a continuing need for further progress towards balanced medium-term fiscal sustainability.”
Ahead of the first session, the US and EU members of the G8 announced that negotiations were to begin on a wide-ranging free-trade deal.
David Cameron, Barack Obama and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso held a press conference on the proposed EU-US deal.
The British prime minister said a successful agreement would have a greater impact than all other world trade deals put together.
“This is a once-in-a-generation prize and we are determined to seize it,” said David Cameron.
He said the deal “could add as much as £100 billion [$157 billion; 117 billion euros] to the EU economy, £80 billion to the US economy and as much as £85 billion to the rest of the world”.
Barack Obama said the deal was a priority for the US and he hoped that it would create an economic alliance as strong as the diplomatic and security alliances the two sides enjoyed.
NFL star Reggie Bush celebrated his first Father’s Day and shared a picture of his month-old baby daughter Briseis.
Kim Kardashian’s former boyfriend posted an adorable Father’s Day image of him holding his tiny daughter via Instagram on Sunday.
The delighted father wrote: “Enjoying my first Father’s Day with my family! #blessed.”
Reggie Bush celebrated his first Father’s Day and shared a picture of his month-old baby daughter Briseis
Baby Briseis was born on May 6 weighing in at a healthy eight pounds and nine ounces and clearly she is thriving with her mop of dark hair.
“I look at Briseis and I can’t believe that she is mine. There’s still that element of I can’t believe this came from me,” he told Us Weekly after her birth.
Reggie Bush, 28, famously dated Kim Kardashian on and off for several years before finally calling time on their relationship on March 2010.
The Detroit Lions running back has been dating 25-year-old dancer Lilit – who looks strikingly like Kim Kardashian – for around 19 months now.
Both Lilit and Kim Kardashian are of Armenian heritage and share beautiful long dark hair and curvaceous figures.
Reggie Bush confirmed Lilit was pregnant in October 2012, just two months before Kim Kardashian, 32, announced that she was pregnant with her superstar boyfriend rapper Kanye West.
Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor who leaked documents on US surveillance programmes, has defended himself in an online chat, the Guardian reports.
Edward Snowden, 29, said US officials had destroyed any possibility of a fair trial by labelling him a traitor.
The former CIA contractor also denied suggestions he was a Chinese agent and repeated his claim that intelligence analysts could wiretap any phone call or email.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has denied such allegations.
James Clapper has said the kind of data that can be accessed, and who can access it, is severely limited.
But in the online chat, Edward Snowden said such restrictions were easily circumvented.
Edward Snowden took to live web chat to defend leaking NSA secrets
He acknowledged that the US internet surveillance programme did have a filter that was meant to exclude American citizens.
But he added: “The filter is constantly out of date, is set at what is euphemistically referred to as the <<widest allowable aperture>>, and can be stripped out at any time.”
Edward Snowden said he had decided to speak out after observing “a continuing litany of lies” from senior officials to Congress.
“The US government, just as they did with other whistleblowers, immediately and predictably destroyed any possibility of a fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason,” Edward Snowden wrote.
Two influential members of the US Congress last week accused him of betraying his country.
Of claims that he was working for Chinese intelligence, Edward Snowden said: “This is a predictable smear that I anticipated before going public.”
Edward Snowden added that he had no intention of going back to the US or turning himself in.
“The US government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me,” he said.
New details have emerged about the air crash on 27 March 1968 that killed the first man in space – Yuri Gagarin.
Fellow cosmonaut Alexey Leonov claims an “unauthorized” plane flew too close to Yuri Gagarin’s fighter jet, sending it into a spin.
Yuri Gagarin and his flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin died when their MiG-15 went down near the town of Novoselovo, about 90 km (56 miles) from Moscow.
Secrecy surrounding the crash has led to vigorous speculation down the years.
A government investigation of the accident (which Alexey Leonov was part of) concluded that the MiG tried to avoid a “foreign object” – such as geese, or a hot air balloon.
On the conclusions of this original investigation, Alexey Leonov said: “That conclusion is believable to a civilian – not to a professional.”
Yuri Gagarin became the first person to journey into space on 12 April 1961, when his Vostok spacecraft completed a single orbit of Earth
In an interview with Russia Today, the cosmonaut – who, in 1965, became the first person to walk in space – claimed he had been permitted to share a declassified report showing that a Sukhoi fighter jet flew too close to Yuri Gagarin’s MiG, disrupting its flight.
“We knew that a Su-15 was scheduled to be tested that day, but it was supposed to be flying at the altitude of 10,000 metres or higher, not 450-500 metres. It was a violation of the flight procedure,” he told the television channel.
Alexey Leonov says Yuri Gagarin’s plane went into a spiral at 750 km/h following the close pass by the jet.
However, Alexey Leonov declined to name the Sukhoi pilot.
“My guess would be that one of the reasons for covering up the truth was to hide the fact that there was such a lapse so close to Moscow,” he explained.
The cosmonaut had already hinted in his 2004 book Two Sides of the Moon that a Sukhoi jet may have been flying below its minimum allowed altitude. Alexey Leonov had been flying a helicopter in the same area on the day of the accident and heard “two loud booms in the distance”.
Many other theories have been advanced in the ensuing years, including one that a cabin air vent was accidentally left open in Yuri Gagarin’s aircraft by the previous pilot. This, the theory claims, would have led to oxygen deprivation for the crew.
Yuri Gagarin became the first person to journey into space on 12 April 1961, when his Vostok spacecraft completed a single orbit of Earth.
Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rouhani says his country is ready to show more transparency on its nuclear programme.
In his first news conference since Friday’s vote, Hassan Rouhani also described as unfair sanctions imposed on the country over the issue.
The president said Tehran would not suspend its uranium enrichment activities.
The West suspects Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons. Tehran says its programme is solely for peaceful purposes.
At the news conference, which covered a wide range of issues, Hassan Rouhani also said his government would work towards “constructive interaction with the world”.
He thanked Iranians for “choosing moderation”, saying he would not forget his election promises.
Hassan Rouhani, a long-standing political figure in Iran, won just more than 50% of the vote in the election, avoiding a run-off vote.
Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rouhani says his country is ready to show more transparency on its nuclear programme
Iran’s president has limited powers, with key policy decisions being taken by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Our nuclear programmes are completely transparent,” Hassan Rouhani told a packed hall in the capital Tehran.
“But we are ready to show greater transparency and make clear for the whole world that the steps of the Islamic Republic of Iran are completely within international frameworks,” he said.
But he stressed that he would oppose halting Iran’s uranium enrichment – a key stumbling block in the continuing talks between Tehran and world powers.
Last month, the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had installed hundreds of new centrifuges at its Natanz plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) again expressed concern about the “possible military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear programme.
But it said there had not been much growth of the most sensitive nuclear material – uranium enriched to 20%.
Iran has been the target of four rounds of UN sanctions and numerous UN Security Council resolutions calling on it to cease enrichment work.
Israel has threatened to carry out air strikes on its long-time foe if its enrichment activities do not stop.
The Turkish government has announced it could use the army to end nearly three weeks of unrest by Gezi Park protesters in Istanbul and other cities.
The government would use “all its powers” and the armed forces if necessary, Deputy PM Bulent Arinc said on state-run television.
It is the first time the Islamist-rooted ruling party has raised the prospect of deploying the armed forces.
The issue is sensitive as the army is seen as a bastion of secularism.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday that the protesters were manipulated by “terrorists”.
Trade unions have called a strike to protest against the police crackdown on demonstrators which has seen some 500 people arrested.
Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and at least four killed in the unrest.
The protests began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul’s Gezi Park, on the city’s central Taksim Square, but it snowballed into nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.
The Turkish government has announced it could use the army to end nearly three weeks of unrest by Gezi Park protesters in Istanbul and other cities
Bulent Arinc told state-run TV that “the innocent demonstrations that began 20 days ago” had “completely ended”.
Any further demonstrations would be “immediately suppressed”, he added.
“Our police, our security forces are doing their jobs,” he said.
“If it’s not enough then the gendarmes will do their jobs. If that’s not enough… we could even use elements of the Turkish armed forces.”
The deployment of gendarmes – a military unit under control of the interior ministry in peacetime – shocked some protesters in Istanbul this weekend.
In a separate interview, Interior Minister Muammer Guler stressed that he had not called on the army to help police the protests.
But he argued that the use of the gendarmerie was “quite normal”, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports.
Bloggers reacted with skepticism to news that the army might be deployed.
“And this coming from the same people who always claim they liberated Turkish democracy from army intervention,” one wrote.
In Turkey’s capital, Ankara, riot police could be seen facing off with trade union activists on Monday.
Police officers used megaphones to order workers to stop their march towards the central Kizilay district, reports Reuters news agency.
“Those of you on the streets must stop blocking the streets,” they said.
“Do not be provoked. The police will use force.”
Union marches were also being planned for Istanbul, where police evicted protesters from their camp in Gezi Park over the weekend.
The Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK) and Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK), along with three professional organizations, announced a one-day work stoppage to demand an end to “police violence”.
Fans of the hit reality series Duck Dynasty are going to see the only clean-shaved Robertson brother featured on the show’s next season.
Alan and his wife Lisa Robertson will be joining the cast for the upcoming 4th season.
Alan Robertson, Duck Commander’s oldest son, likes to joke about his beardlessness as he’s chosen to stay behind the scenes and off the cameras.
He likes to think of himself as the original, after Phil Robertson of course. Alan has spent the past 22 years as a pastor but recently rejoined the team, with his primary responsibility being the one who schedules the cast’s seemingly endless public appearances.
Alan Robertson said: “It’s hard ’cause my thing has kinda been the different one, to not have to do that. The feeling is that once you go the long hair and the beard there’s no going back from that.”
Via the family’s official business they describe Alan Robertson this way: “Alan is the oldest son of the Duck Commander. He grew up hunting and fishing and helping build the foundation of the family business in the 1970’s & ’80’s. Back in the day, he and Phil would travel around Louisiana and Arkansas selling duck calls to stores right out of the truck! The sales pitch back then was the same as today: <<These calls are the best ‘cause they sound just like a duck!>>.
Alan Robertson and his wife Lisa join Duck Dynasty cast for Season 4
“He left the duck call business when he received the call for full time ministry in 1988 and now serves as a senior pastor in West Monroe, LA. Alan is still a part of the family’s commitment to spreading the gospel of Christ through their love of hunting and the great outdoors. He calls himself a Jacob in a family of Esaus.”
Alan Robertson also stated: “It’s like a sasquatch in reverse, cause you know, instead of the hairy sighting, I’m like the clean sighting.”
In a recent piece on 20/20, Willie Robertson stated that before the show Duck Commander sold around 60,000 of their patented duck calls a year. Now he says that number is way over 300,000. Taking that kind of growth into consideration, it’s obvious the Robertsons can use all the family help they can get – beard or not.
Via the Duck Commander Twitter page, a great photo of the ladies of the Duck empire was posted which includes Lisa Robertson.
A&E has reportedly been leery about including Alan Robertson because of how identifiable the beards are with the brand. But like the family says, it’s “Faith, Family, Ducks”.
Duck Dynasty’s bearded brotherhood is the most popular family in reality TV right now but one member of the family has been left out, until now.
Who could have predicted that excess facial hair would become a phenomenon with nearly 4 million viewers?
“Used to, we would just have the beards during hunting season. That was the tradition where that got started. Then we would shave after hunting season. Now we’re filming, so you just have it year round,” said Jase Robertson.
The Robertsons say beards are good for business. It makes the family more recognizable for all of the Robertson boys, except one.
“Can’t you tell I look like a Robertson? Just imagine, you wonder what they look like underneath the beard. This is it,” said Alan Robertson, the oldest son of Duck Commander Phil.
Alan Robertson is the oldest of the four Robertson children. He likes to call himself the original.
Oldest Robertson brother Alan, who isn’t featured on the show, stands over his younger brothers Willie, Jep, and Jase
He spent the past 22 years as a pastor until just recently, when he decided to join the family business, where he helps schedule appearances.
Alan Robertson never really got into this whole beard thing.
“It’s like a sasquatch in reverse, cause you know, instead of the hairy sighting, I’m like the clean sighting,” he said.
The show’s network, A&E, is reportedly leery about adding a brother who doesn’t have a beard, saying it could take away from some of the mystery.
It has been that way for most of the company’s projects in the past.
“We went to Wal-Mart to sell them Duckmen 9 and Alan didn’t have a beard and they said the buyers said, <<Y’all are gonna have to put one on him>>. I was like, <<What?>> So that’s photoshopped,” said Missy Robertson, Alan’s sister-in-law.
“It’s hard ’cause my thing has kinda been the different one, to not have to do that,” said Alan Robetrtson.
“The feeling is that once you go the long hair and the beard there’s no going back from that.”
Do not be surprised if you see a little more skin in the coming seasons with the introduction of the abnormal brother of the Robertson clan.
Alan Robertson, the oldest son of Duck Commander Phil Robertson, is not featured in A&E’s hit reality series Duck Dynasty.
He grew up hunting and fishing and helping build the foundation of the family business in the 1970’s & ’80’s.
Back in the day, Alan and Phil Robertson would travel around Louisiana and Arkansas selling duck calls to stores right out of the truck! The sales pitch back then was the same as today: “These calls are the best ‘cause they sound just like a duck!”
Alan Robertson pictured with his brothers Willie and Jase, father Phil, uncle Si, brother Jeptha and duck call makers Justin Martin and John Godwin
Alan Robertson left the duck call business when he received the call for full time ministry in 1988 and now serves as a senior pastor in West Monroe, Louisiana.
He is still a part of the family’s commitment to spreading the gospel of Christ through their love of hunting and the great outdoors.
Alan Robertson calls himself a Jacob in a family of Esaus.
After 20 years in the pulpit, Alan Robertson stepped down as one of the 1,200-member congregation’s ministers. The clean-shaven member of the clan left to help run the family business, which has exploded with growth since Duck Dynasty premiered.
Alan Robertson works for the company on occasion, but is not featured on their reality show, Duck Dynasty.
Apple has decided to publish details of data requests from the US authorities.
Apple is the latest tech firm to disclose the US government requests and said it received demands for information linked to between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices between December 2012 and the end of May 2013.
It said the demands included “national security matters” among other information. Microsoft and Facebook published similar numbers last week.
But Google and Twitter have said that such disclosures are not helpful.
“We have always believed that it’s important to differentiate between different types of government requests,” said a statement by Google published on Saturday.
“Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users.”
A tweet from Twitter’s legal director, Benjamin Lee, added: “We agree… it’s important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests – including FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] disclosures – separately.”
Apple has decided to publish details of data requests from the US authorities
Tech firms have been under pressure to disclose information about data passed to the National Security Agency (NSA) since The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers revealed the existence of PRISM – a programme giving the NSA access to user data held on the servers of tech firms including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, and Apple.
The NSA later confirmed the existence of the surveillance scheme as well as a separate phone records programme which it said had helped it thwart terrorist plots in the US and more than 20 other countries.
However, privacy activists and some politicians have raised concerns that the efforts went beyond what was intended under powers granted by the Patriot Act following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks.
Following the revelations, several of the tech firms involved said they had asked the US government to allow them to disclose information which would help them address concern about the scale of information that had been handed over.
On Friday, Facebook and Microsoft announced they had been given permission to reveal the number of data requests from US officials in aggregate, and Apple has now followed with its own statement.
“We first heard of the government’s <<PRISM>> program when news organizations asked us about it on June 6,” it said.
“We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer content must get a court order.”
Facebook added that between 1 December 2012 and 31 May 2013 it received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from US law enforcement for customer data, involving between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices. It did not say with how many it had complied.
It said the “common form of request” came from police who were investigating crimes such as robberies, trying to find missing children and patients with Alzheimer’s disease, or hoping to prevent suicides.
It noted that it would not have been able to decode encrypted conversations which took place over its iMessage or Facetime chat software on behalf of the authorities, nor did it store “identifiable” data related to Apple Map searches or requests made to its voice-controlled Siri service.
“Regardless of the circumstances, our legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities,” it added.
Kim Kardashian’s younger sister Khloe finally confirmed the safe arrival of her new niece on Sunday, who was born five weeks premature in Los Angeles on Saturday morning.
Khloe Kardashian, 28, also assured Keeping Up with the Kardashians fans that more news about the baby, including her name, which is rumored to begin with the letter K, will be revealed soon.
Writing on Twitter on Sunday, Khloe Kardashian said: “I can not even begin 2 describe the miracle that is now apart of our family. Mommy/baby are healthy & resting. We appreciate all of the love.”
The reality star added: “More info will come when the time is right! Thank you all for understanding! We love you all dearly! Overwhelmed with love right now.”
The messages were re-tweeted by her mother Kris Jenner, who also wished the rapper well for his first Father’s Day.
Kim Kardashian’s younger sister Khloe confirmed the safe arrival of her new niece
Kris Jenner wrote: “HAPPY FATHERS DAY @kanyewest!!!!!!”
The family matriarch later posted a collage of photos, featuring Kanye West, 36, her husband Bruce Jenner, her son-in-law Lamar Odom, her daughter Kourtney’s boyfriend Scott Disick and her late ex-husband Robert Kardashian, with the caption: “Well hello boys!!! Happy Fathers Day to the most wonderful men in the world!!! Thank you for being incredible Daddy’s I love you @letthelordbewithyou @reallamarodom @kanyewest Bruce and Our beloved Robert!!!”
Kanye West previously vowed to protect the privacy of his baby girl and is said to have urged Kim Kardashian, 32, to take a step back from the limelight for the sake of their daughter.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s baby, who was born at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, weighed in at just “under five pounds” at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and was almost one month premature.
The reality star was initially given July 12 as her due date – the same birthday of Kanye West’s departed mother, Donda West.
The baby was delivered at the same hospital where her sister Kourtney Kardashian and her partner Scott Disick had their two children Penelope and Mason.
Proud father Kanye West, who skipped out on a listening party for his latest album in Los Angeles on Friday, was at Kim Kardashian’s side during the birth when the baby was delivered naturally and without any complications.
During last episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians members of the clan focused on guns and protecting the famed family.
Bruce Jenner brought up the subject after saying police officers had advised him to get protection.
“There are a lot of wacko people in the world out there and I think I should have a gun in the house to protect me and my family,” said Bruce Jenner over a family dinner.
“The other day we had heavily armed police officers in our house after we were swatted. That is a good reason to get a gun in my house.”
Bruce Jenner insisted that he would use the gun with deadly force if anyone broke into his home armed.
“Yeah I’d blow his ass away,” he said.
Bruce Jenner and Rob Kardashian took their firearm safety course
But Kim Kardashian was against the idea: “I would never want a gun in my own home, that is really scary to me, I do not believe in them.”
Momager Kris Jenner was also opposed, saying: “No one is having guns in my house.”
But her husband Bruce Jenner told her he was taking a gun safety course and wanted his young daughters, Kylie and Kendall, to be trained in using weapons.
“It is a one in a million possibility but if it happens I want us to be ready. It is my responsibility to protect my family.”
Bruce Jenner and Rob Kardashian then took their firearm safety course, before Bruce took Kendall to the gun range with Scott Disick and Rob.
Despite being “freaked out” Kendall Jenner got her shots in, but Scott Disick was kicked off the gun range for waving a pistol about in an unsafe way.
Kris Jenner flew into a rage when she discovered her daughter had been to the gun range, but Bruce was not fazed.
“A gun is going in the house,” he said.
Daughter Kylie Jenner sided with her mother and refused to get involved with Bruce’s gun plans.
In the end, despite the disagreements Bruce Jenner won out and bought a gun for the house.
The United States and South Korea have responded coolly to North Korea’s offer of high-level talks with Washington.
North Korea will be judged “by its actions and not its words”, a US spokeswoman said.
The North proposed talks on “regional peace” with the US on Sunday, but said there should be no “preconditions”.
Last week, planned talks between Pyongyang and Seoul fell through following disagreement over which delegates should attend.
Regional tensions were raised earlier this year after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test and threatened to attack South Korean and US targets in the region.
In recent weeks rhetoric from Pyongyang has softened, but US officials appeared skeptical of its offer.
The US and South Korea have responded coolly to North Korea’s offer of high-level talks with Washington
“Our desire is to have credible negotiations with the North Koreans, but those talks must involve North Korea living up to its obligations to the world, including compliance with UN Security Council resolutions, and ultimately result in denuclearization,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
North Korea had to live up to its obligations on nuclear proliferation, Denis McDonough, chief of staff to the US president, told US broadcaster CBS news.
“We’ll judge them by their actions, not by the nice words that we heard yesterday,” Denis McDonough said.
“They’re not going to be able to talk their way out of very significant sanctions they’re under now,” he added.
North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission had also suggested that any talks on reducing nuclear weapons would need to include American weapons as well as North Korean ones.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said its stance on talks was the same as the US.
“The window of dialogue is open but that the North should take concrete steps first,” ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-seok said.
North Korea has reneged on deals with the US on several occasions in the past. In February 2012, it agreed to a partial freeze in nuclear activities and a missile test moratorium in return for US food aid.
However, it announced plans for a rocket launch in March that year – something the US called a disguised test of banned missile technology – leading the US to suspend its plans for food aid.
The US, Japan and South Korea are scheduled to meet in Washington on Wednesday to discuss resuming six-party talks on nuclear disarmament with North Korea.
The six party talks are the agreed forum for discussing North Korean denuclearization, but have been stalled since 2009.
The US also wants a commitment to denuclearization to be a precursor to negotiations with North Korea.
Czech PM Petr Necas has announced that he will resign on Monday after days of political turmoil.
Petr Necas’ ruling coalition will try to form a new government led by someone nominated by his Civic Democratic Party (ODS).
Pressure had been growing on Petr Necas to quit since prosecutors on Friday charged his chief of staff Jana Nagyova with corruption and abuse of power.
Two former MPs, an ex-minister and the current and former heads of military intelligence have also been detained.
All except one have been remanded in custody.
President Milos Zeman has said the charges, brought after armed police raids on government and private offices on Wednesday, are “serious”.
Up to 150 million koruna ($8 million) in cash, tens of kilograms of gold and large quantities of documents were seized during the raids.
Detectives have said Jana Nagyova was suspected of bribing the former MPs with offers of posts in state-owned firms. It is alleged this was in exchange for them giving up their parliamentary seats.
Jana Nagyova – a close colleague of Petr Necas for nearly a decade – is also suspected of illegally ordering military intelligence to spy on three people.
Czech PM Petr Necas will resign over Jana Nagyova corruption and spying scandal
Czech media reported that the targets included Petr Necas’s wife, Radka Necasova.
Petr Necas announced this week that they were divorcing.
The prime minister has rejected all the accusations against Jana Nagyova and the other five accused, saying: “I am personally convinced that I did not do anything dishonest and that my colleagues have not done anything dishonest either.”
However, Petr Necas told a televised briefing in Prague when announcing his resignation on Sunday evening: “I am aware of my political responsibility.”
“I will tender my resignation as prime minister tomorrow.” he said. “The entire government will therefore resign with me.”
The opposition Social Democrats had warned they would press for a no-confidence motion in parliament unless Petr Necas stepped down, and the two other parties in his centre-right coalition had signaled that they could no longer support him.
The prime minister said the coalition would try to form a new government, led by a different person, to rule until elections scheduled for June 2014. He is expected to stay on as caretaker until it is installed.
Under the Czech constitution, President Milos Zeman – a political rival – is under no obligation to respect the coalition’s wishes, and could name his own candidate to head an interim government until early elections are held,
Petr Necas also said on Sunday he would resign as his party’s chairman.
“I am fully aware how the twists and turns of my personal life are burdening the Czech political scene and the Civic Democratic Party,” he told the briefing.
The admission is the closest the prime minister has come to confirming that the woman at the heart of this scandal – Jana Nagyova – is more than just a colleague.
