During Strictly Come Dancing semi-final on Saturday evening Lisa Riley and her professional dance partner Robin Windsor had the audience laughing for all the wrong reasons.
As the duo performed a Salsa centre stage to Best Years Of Our Lives by Modern Romance, an awkward attempt from Robin Windsor, 33, to lift Lisa Riley, 36, was not well received by fans of the BBC show.
During their uptempo routine Lisa Riley failed to gracefully glide across the floor and had many viewers believing she had taken a tumble.
Robin Windsor then swooped in to pick her up for the next segment of their dance but struggled to lift her.
The occurrence which lasted a total of seven seconds truly made for cringe-worthy viewing.
Fans of the dance show wasted no time taking to their Twitter accounts to discuss what they witnessed.
On person wrote: “That poor fella trying to lift Lisa Riley off the floor.”
While another tweeted: “Poor Lisa and robin!! Was Lisa sweeping the floor!!! #cringe #timetogo.”
During Strictly Come Dancing semi-final on Saturday evening Lisa Riley and her professional dance partner Robin Windsor had the audience laughing for all the wrong reasons
However, despite Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor’s blunders the pair were awarded 31 points by the judges.
Speaking to The Sun Robin Windsor admitted that he believed Lisa Riley was at a disadvantage in the competition because of her weight.
He said: “Last week, the tango was the best Lisa has done. It’s still not how I’d like it to be but because of her size she’s quite limited. I hope the public realize how difficult that is for her.”
The British dancer also revealed that he was a bit apprehensive ahead of the Salsa as he feared it could “end in absolute disaster”.
“I’ve taken lots of chances by throwing myself at Lisa – so we’ll see what happens.”
Kate Middleton will tonight attend the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards – the first sign that she is slowly recovering from the severe morning sickness that has plagued her first few weeks of pregnancy.
The Duchess of Cambridge is only likely to be at the event in London for around 45 minutes and she is keen to pay tribute to the nation’s sportsmen and women in what has been an incredible year.
Sources say Kate Middleton will be going on her own as husband Prince William is back at work as an RAF search and rescue pilot on Anglesey.
A St James’s Palace spokesman said: “The Duchess of Cambridge will tonight attend the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards at the ExCeL London, where Her Royal Highness will present the Lifetime Achievement and the main Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
“The Duchess will attend the event in response to a longstanding invitation from the BBC.”
Along with her husband and brother in law Prince Harry, Kate Middleton was a Team GB Ambassador at the Olympics this summer.
The hockey player is known to love sport and was pictured at London 2012, hugging Prince William at the Velodrome in August as Sir Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny stormed to success.
Tonight will be the first time Kate Middleton has been seen in public since she left hospital.
Kate Middleton will tonight attend the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards
Reports had suggested she could miss Christmas at Sandringham and instead choose to spend the festive period with her own family in a bid to recover.
Kate Middleton’s prolonged vomiting could continue for much of her pregnancy and she may need to take anti-sickness medication for months to come.
She was regularly visited by Prince William and younger siblings Pippa and James Middleton during her stay in hospital.
A royal source said: “While the Duchess does not feel ready to attend a four hour engagement, she is keen to show her support to the UK’s sportsmen and women at this prestigious event which caps a momentous year for British sport.”
The Duchess has been resting at Nottingham Cottage, the London home she shares with Prince William in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Kate Middleton, 30, who is around nine weeks pregnant, has been told by doctors to rest and, as a result, had cancelled all her upcoming engagements.
She was taken to hospital earlier this month by her concerned husband after falling ill at her parents’ house in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
Doctors at King Edward VII Hospital in London diagnosed her with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute form of morning sickness that causes the patient to vomit uncontrollably and become dehydrated.
She was immediately put on a drip to introduce fluids and nutrients into her body and spent three nights in hospital.
Nancy Lanza, mother of Newtown school massacre gunman Adam Lanza, was a survivalist who was stockpiling food because she thought the world economy was on the verge of collapse.
Nancy Lanza, 52, began hoarding food and water because she feared that the ongoing financial crisis was going to bring about the end of civilized society.
She reportedly became “obsessed” with guns and taught Adam how to shoot, but on Friday in a grim twist he blasted her to death while she laid in her own bed.
Law enforcement sources told the Hartford Courant that Nancy Lanza had not gotten up – and could have even been asleep – when her son killed her.
The disclosure raises the prospect that Adam Lanza could have had the same apocalyptic views as his mother, and that she could have even encouraged them in him.
The Mayan Apocalypse, which the ancient Mayan people thought would mark the end of the world, will supposedly take place on December 21, although it is not clear if Adam Lanza thought that was the case.
In an interview the killer’s aunt said Nancy Lanza was “self-reliant” and indicated she was a “prepper”, or a person who prepares for Doomsday by learning essential survival skills – like how to shoot a gun.
Set on the brow of a gently sloping hill, surrounded by two acres of woodland and well-tended lawns, Nancy Lanza’s spacious property looked like any American family’s dream home.
A wide veranda had views across the gardens. A swimming pool, flanked by a white pool house, was round the back of the two-storey building.
Yet behind the front door in the affluent Connecticut community of Newtown, all was not well at 36 Yogananda Street.
Three years previously, in 2009, Nancy and Peter Lanza had divorced after 28 years of marriage. The break up was traumatic, leaving the couple’s sons devastated. Ryan Lanza was living away at university, meaning that his brother Adam, four years younger, was left at home alone with their mother at their $500,000 house.
He was not well known to neighbors, who describe him as being reclusive and troubled.
And when the news broke on Friday of the murder of 26 people at a primary school in the town, and Ryan Lanza was hastily identified as the killer, people who knew the family knew they had named the wrong brother.
“Adam Lanza has been a weird kid since we were five years old,” said Tim Dalton, a neighbor and former classmate, on Twitter.
“As horrible as this was, I can’t say I am surprised.”
“This was a deeply disturbed kid,” a family insider said.
“He certainly had major issues. He was subject to outbursts from what I recall.”
A further family friend said he had acted as though he was immune to pain.
“A few years ago when he was on the baseball team, everyone had to be careful that he didn’t fall because he could get hurt and not feel it,” said the friend.
“Adam had a lot of mental problems.”
Nancy Lanza was obsessed with guns and preparing for the collapse of the world economy
Adam Lanza’s brother Ryan reportedly told police that his sibling had autism or Asperger’s syndrome, and a personality disorder.
He gave no details, but anti-social disorder – also known as sociopathy – is the type most closely linked with violence and criminal behavior.
Studies have suggested that 50% of the prison population meet the criteria for the diagnosis.
Those with such disorders are more likely to embark on impulsive, risk-seeking behavior, in an attempt to escape feeling empty or emotionally void.
In such cases, they are likely to have little regard for the consequences of their actions, and are unlikely to experience fear.
Ryan Lanza also said that he had not seen him since 2010.
As the news was breaking, Ryan Lanza was at work in accountancy firm Ernst and Young, sitting at his desk in Times Square.
To his horror, the 24-year-old found that his name was flashing up on the television news networks, wrongly accused of the massacre. He fled the office, jumping on a bus to return home to the house he shared in New Jersey. Shaken, he told his neighbor in an online message that he thought his mother was dead and he knew who was responsible for the multiple murder.
“It was my brother,” he said.
Those on the autistic spectrum have a more limited emotional range and can miss social cues, making it more difficult for them to communicate and feel empathy with others. Difficulties communicating can cause frustration, which can spill over into aggression.
Several studies have found that violence and criminal behavior are no more common in those diagnosed with autism than they are in the general population.
Asperger’s syndrome is a type of autism which is more commonly diagnosed in those with higher than average intelligence.
Adam Lanza was said by classmates to be fiercely intelligent.
He’d correct people’s Latin homework, when they were aged around 14, and at 16 was among the list of top students in his English class, studying Of Mice and Men and Catcher In The Rye – the classic tale of troubled youth.
“It was almost painful to have a conversation with him, because he felt so uncomfortable,” said Olivia DeVivo, who sat behind him in English.
“I spent so much time in my English class wondering what he was thinking.”
“He didn’t have any friends, but he was a nice kid if you got to know him,” said Kyle Kromberg, now studying business administration at Endicott College in Massachusetts. He studied Latin with Adam Lanza.
“He didn’t fit in with the other kids,” he said.
“He was very, very shy. He wouldn’t look you in the eyes when he talked. He didn’t really want to lock eyes with you for very long.”
He was also a technical whizz kid, keen on computers and video games, and part of a group who would meet up for computer programming get-togethers.
“My brother has always been a nerd,” Ryan Lanza said, according to Gloria Milas, whose son was a club member along with Adam Lanza.
Catherine Urso, who was attending a vigil on Friday evening in Newtown, said her college-age son knew the killer and remembered him for his alternative style.
“He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths,” she said.
The siblings certainly carved out different paths in life.
Ryan Lanza went to university; followed his father into finance; was living with friends in an attractive red-brick property in New Jersey. By contrast, Adam Lanza had few friends and, as a child, went to great trouble not to mix with his fellow students at his state school. A Newtown resident also suggested he was home-schooled for some time.
“I always saw him walking alone, sitting on his own at a table or on the bus. Most of the time I saw him he was alone,” said Alex Israel, who was at school with him as a young girl.
“He was really quiet. A little fidgety, uneasy. I think socially he was just going out (into the world) and not making friends with everyone.”
Her mother Beth Israel, who lived nearby, said: “I know he had issues. He was a really troubled kid … a very quiet kid, a shy kid, maybe socially awkward.”
He was not on Facebook, unusually for any Westerner of his generation, and did not appear in his 2010 High School Yearbook. Instead were written the words: “Camera shy”.
Forty miles away from Newtown, in the well-heeled Connecticut city of Stamford, Lanza’s father Peter was returning home on Friday afternoon. A highly-qualified academic who a year ago was appointed vice president of taxes for energy investment firm GE Energy Financial Services, Peter Lanza wound down the window on his blue Mini Cooper and asked the person outside his home how he could help her.
“I explained that I’d been told someone at his address had been linked to the shootings in Newtown,” said Maggie Gordon, a reporter from the local newspaper.
“His expression twisted from patient, to surprise, to horror.”
Peter Lanza had moved out in 2009, remarrying a University of Connecticut librarian in January 2011. He was said to have last seen his son Adam in June. But the painfully shy young man had taken the divorce badly.
“The kids seemed really depressed” by the break-up, said Ryan Kraft, 25, who stayed with Adam when Nancy Lanza went out.
“He would have tantrums,” Ryan Kraft said.
“They were much more than the average kid [had].”
Peter Lanza’s lawyer Gary Oberst said: “He was very upset that he was getting divorced, but he didn’t want to take it out on anybody.
“He did more than he had to with the divorce. When he came in to consult with me, I said ‘This is what your obligation is.’ And he said: <<That’s not enough. I want to do more>>.”
Peter Lanza agreed to pay $240,000 annually to his ex-wife, and Nancy Lanza appeared to live in comfort with Adam. There was also suggestions that she was unable to work.
“She needed to be home with Adam,” one family insider said.
Marsha Lanza, aunt to the boys, described Nancy Lanza as a good mother and kind-hearted.
Nancy Lanza would host games of dice, or else venture out to visit her neighbors for a glass of wine. The home was immaculate; the swimming pool behind the house well maintained.
But Nancy Lanza was also, according to friends, an avid gun collector.
Dan Holmes, owner of a Connecticut landscaping firm, said Nancy Lanza once showed him a “high-end rifle” that she had purchased, adding: “She said she would often go target shooting with her kids.”
The gun used to shoot Nancy Lanza was her own.
Yet, perhaps predictably, the owner of the local rifle range was defiant.
Richard Dravis, who gives shooting training at Wooster Mountain rifle range, 15 miles away from the school, said: “We don’t train crazy people. I think that if we would address the mental health issue here we could possibly do something in the future. But we can’t count the number of rounds in the magazine of a nut head.”
His grandmother was too distraught to speak when reached by phone at her home in Florida, Associated Press reported.
“I just don’t know, and I can’t make a comment right now,” Dorothy Hanson, 78, said in a shaky voice as she started to cry.
Senior US Democrats Dan Malloy and Dianne Feinstein have called for stricter gun control following Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.
Twenty children and six teachers died in Friday’s assault on Sandy Hook school by a lone gunman who then turned his weapon on himself.
Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy said he wanted stronger national limits.
And Senator Dianne Feinstein said she would introduce a bill to ban assault weapons as soon as Congress convened.
A nationwide ban on certain semi-automatic rifles in the US expired in 2004.
President Barack Obama – who shortly after the school attack urged “meaningful action” against gun crime in the US – is to visit Newtown on Sunday.
Barack Obama will meet families and emergency service workers, and speak at an interfaith vigil at the town’s high school.
Ahead of his visit, reports from Newtown say a service for the victims at St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church has been abandoned and the church evacuated because of an unspecified threat.
The gunman behind Friday’s shootings has been named in media reports as Adam Lanza, who is said to have killed his mother before driving to the school, opening fire and then killing himself.
The state’s chief medical examiner said the gunman used a semi-automatic rifle as his main weapon, and all the victims appeared to have been shot several times, some of them at close range.
Speaking on Sunday, Governor Dan Malloy said Connecticut had an existing ban on assault weapons, but the lack of a similar law at federal level made it difficult to keep them out of the state.
“These are assault weapons. You don’t hunt deer with these things,” he told CNN.
“One can only hope that we’ll find a way to limit these weapons that really only have one purpose.”
Governor Dan Malloy had to break the news to most of the victim’s families on Friday.
“You can never be prepared for that – to tell 18 to 20 families that their loved one would not be returning to them that day or in the future,” he said.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents California in the upper house of Congress and is a long-term supporter of stricter gun control, told US TV network NBC: “I’m going to introduce in the Senate, and the same bill will be introduced in the House (of Representatives), a bill to ban assault weapons.”
Asked if President Barack Obama would support her measure, she said: “I believe he will.”
Senior US Democrats Dan Malloy and Dianne Feinstein have called for stricter gun control following Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, another strong gun control advocate, has urged President Obama to act.
“We have heard all the rhetoric before,” he said.
“What we have not seen is leadership – not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today.”
All 20 children who died in the shootings – eight boys and 12 girls – were aged between six and seven, according to an official list of the dead were killed. The youngest, Noah Pozner, had celebrated his birthday only last month.
The head teacher at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Dawn Hochsprung, was among the dead, along with adults Rachel DaVino, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Russo, Mary Sherlach and Victoria Soto.
A woman who worked at the school was the only person to be shot and survive.
Scores of people have left tributes at a memorial outside the school, while a minute’s silence is being held before National Football League games across the US on Sunday.
Connecticut State Police say the process of releasing the victims’ bodies to their families is under way, and have condemned what they term “misinformation” being published on social media about the tragedy – including people wrongly claiming to be the gunman.
The authorities now say the gunman forced his way into the school, contradicting first reports that he was been let in voluntarily.
Investigators say they have gathered “good evidence” in the search for a motive, but have not given any details.
The gunman is said to have shot dead his mother at their home before driving to the school in her car and opening fire on the victims. Reports say the guns found at the scene were registered to her.
Education officials say they have found no link between the gunman’s mother and the school, contrary to earlier reports that said she was a teacher there, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Investigators said they believe Adam Lanza attended Sandy Hook many years ago.
The killings took place in two rooms and a hallway within a single section of the school, police have said. The shooting lasted just a few minutes.
As they heard the shots, teachers in other parts of the building tried to protect children by locking doors and ushering them into closets.
Police say that children are unlikely to return to the classrooms where the shootings took place. Surviving pupils will be taught at other schools in the area while a final decision about the Sandy Hook’s future is made, though one official said it was unlikely to re-open.
The suspected gunman’s father, Peter Lanza, said his family was “struggling to make sense of what has transpired”.
“Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy,” he said in a statement.
Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute to the victims and their families in his weekly address at the Vatican, saying he was “deeply saddened by Friday’s senseless violence”.
The attack at Newtown is the second deadliest shooting attack at a US school or university, after the Virginia Tech killings of 2007, which left 32 people dead and many injured.
Westboro Baptist Church’s Shirley Phelps-Roper, along with several other prominent members, announced on Twitter Sunday that they would be “singing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment” at the funerals of the Sandy Hook shooting victims.
It is unclear if they will actually be present, as the hate group is known for planning pickets and then not showing up, as they did after the Aurora, Colorado shooting, the Inquisitr reported.
Westboro Baptist Church is known for picketing soldiers’ funerals in protest of gay marriages, which they believe is the source of the world’s evils.
Hackers collective Anonymous responded swiftly to the picketing rumor, posting church members’ information online, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses, msnNOW reported.
There are also efforts being pulled together for counter protests to create “walls of love” around the funeral-goers, including one by Angel Action, a group that has volunteers dress in 10-foot wings to surround and shield the WBC’s targets.
Westboro Baptist Church plans praise gathering outside Sandy Hook Elementary school to celebrate God executing his judgement
“Westboro Baptist Church is planning another attack of hateful words, protesting the funerals of the 20 children and 7 adults who died yesterday at Sandy Hook elementary school,” Taylor Starr and Kelly Shannon, the group’s Sandy Hook organizers, wrote in a posting, according to the Daily Mail. “You can not fight hate with hate, so continuing in Romaine Patterson’s footsteps, if they do come here and try to protest we are going to put forth Angel Action.”
“Let’s not let more hate and sadness attack the already devastated family and friends of those who were lost,” they added.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Church’s picketing of funerals is legal, according to the Examiner, but some cities have passed laws that require protesters to stay a certain distance away from funerals.
South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) is holding its party congress at which members will vote for its next leader.
President Jacob Zuma is being challenged for the top job by his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.
ANC congress, held every five years, is taking place in Manguang, where the party was formed a century ago.
Correspondents say the party is battling to regain the moral high ground, amid accusations of corruption.
Some 5,000 delegates are eligible to vote at the 53rd National Conference, which will last for five days.
Jacob Zuma will open proceedings with an address to the delegates on the current political landscape in South Africa.
The president is confident he can win a second term, despite media coverage of his personal life and allegations that he misused public funds to renovate his private home.
South Africa’s governing African National Congress is holding its party congress at which members will vote for its next leader
But Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe was nominated by at least three of South Africa’s nine provinces and is hoping for a surprise victory. He only confirmed his candidacy last week.
If Kgalema Motlanthe is appointed, the ANC’s control of parliament means he will almost certainly become South Africa’s next president in elections in 2014.
The results of the leadership contest are expected later this week.
The ANC will use the congress to try to shake off persistent accusations of corruption and infighting.
It is also lagging in delivering meaningful change for millions of poor South Africans, as it promised when it came into power at the end of apartheid in 1994.
R&B star Trey Songz, whose real name is Tremaine Neverson, was arrested for assault after he allegedly threw some money which caught a woman in the left eye causing “substantial pain”.
The incident happened on August 22nd at the club in Queens, New York, although the story is just now going public.
According to the New York Daily News, Trey Songz was at the gentleman’s club hosting an album release party for his new CD Studio V.
“Tremaine Neverson, did throw a sum of United States currency at the complainant and said sum of United States currency struck the complainant’s left eye causing substantial pain to her left eye,” police officers wrote in the criminal complaint.
Trey Songz was arrested for assault after he allegedly threw some money which caught a woman in the left eye causing substantial pain
Trey Songz was taken into custody a month later for misdemeanor assault.
He faced a judge in November regarding the matter and is scheduled to appear in court again in February.
Trey Songz’s album Studio V debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released in August, and has spawned a series of hits including Two Reasons in which he brags about partying with ladies in clubs.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Newtown, Connecticut tonight to meet the families of victims killed in Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the White House announced.
Barack Obama is expected to meet with families and first responders at a 7:00 p.m. interfaith vigil.
According to the Hartford Courant, Barack Obama will not make any public appearances during his visit.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton tweeted helicopters could be over nearby Danbury, Connecticut, today were an advance team setting up for his visit.
Barack Obama will also appear on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, and tweeted out links to a website named Demand a Plan, which launched after the July shooting in Colorado and asks voters to pressure Congress and the White House into changing the law.
In his weekly radio and Internet address earlier on Saturday, Barack Obama said it was time to “take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this”.
Barack Obama stopped short of calling for tighter gun-control laws.
In the wake of the deadly shooting the pressure’s on the president, who promised during a debate two months ago that he would “keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill”.
Families in the small community of Newtown, Connecticut, were shattered by the loss of 18 children as young as five years old when gunman Adam Lanza burst into the school and began firing at random.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Newtown, Connecticut tonight to meet the families of victims killed in Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Some lawmakers have targeted President Barack Obama to do something about gun control, which is exactly what the president pledged to do on the campaign trail.
Barack Obama’s remarks came at the second presidential debate against Republican rival Mitt Romney at New York’s Hofstra University on October 16, when he invoked the memory of the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater massacre from several months earlier.
He said: “So my belief is that… we have to enforce the laws we’ve already got, make sure that we’re keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill.
“We’ve done a much better job in terms of background checks, but we’ve got more to do when it comes to enforcement.”
Wiping away tears as he spoke on Friday, President Barack Obama today signaled he would push for tight gun control in the wake of the massacre of 26 at an elementary school in Connecticut, saying there had been “too many” mass shootings in America.
During a moving appearance, he said the time had come to “take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics”.
Barack Obama struggled for words, pausing several times as he wept and described the “beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old” slaughtered in the school massacre in Connecticut.
Seldom has a head of state expressed greater public emotion in modern times, White House aides held hands and also wept as they sat in the briefing room named after James Brady, the press aide wounded in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan was shot and who later became the nation’s leading gun control advocate.
Barack Obama was not the only one who showed deep emotion over the shooting. Parents lined up at schools across the country to pick up their children and make sure they made it home safely.
School administrators from Washington D.C. to Boston and Iowa issued statements assuring parents that they had stepped up security and that their schools were still safe.
Anne Hathaway’s dedication to realism in the film Les Miserables was hair-raising, according to co-star Hugh Jackman.
Anne Hathaway plays Fantine in the movie adaptation of the hit musical and brought in her own hairdresser for the emotional scene where her character becomes destitute and has her long hair chopped off.
Hugh Jackman, who takes the part of Jean Valjean, said: “They were in the make-up trailer discussing how they were going to do it because they had to cut it live on camera and she said, <<If you cut my head while you are doing it that would be great – to get the blood in the scene>>.”
He revealed the hairdresser is also featured.
“He had to wear a dress to pretend to be a woman.
“You don’t see his face, but if you look closely you can see these man hands holding the scissors.”
Anne Hathaway, who plays Fantine in Les Miserables, brought in her own hairdresser for the emotional scene where her character becomes destitute and has her long hair chopped off
Meanwhile ten-year-old Les Miserables star Isabelle Allen is treasuring a special gift from Hugh Jackman.
“He sent me a glass plaque – it was yellow to match my room,’ said an excited Isabelle, who plays young Cosette.
“It had my face engraved on it and three lines from Suddenly, the film’s original song. I’m going to keep it for ever.”
Isabelle Allen has now attracted interest in Hollywood, although her father Nigel admits: “It’s still early days.”
Kim Kardashian ex-husband Kris Humphries can do a lot of things, but comedy is not one of them.
Kris Humphries appears in a “secret” new Funny or Die video clip that shows him tackling some of the world’s biggest issues.
The video, which is meant to reveal the “genius” side of Kris Humphries, shows him appearing as a chess wizard, a master at Battleship, and a spelling guru, among other things.
He also takes on some bigger issues including the Greek debt crisis and the world’s massive global warming problem, but none of it is exactly funny.
“I hope no one sees this and realizes I’m more than just a basketball player,” Kris Humphries boasts during the unfortunate clip.
Unfortunately, the video was posted on-line for the world to see and it doesn’t do him any favors.
Kris Humphries appears in a secret new Funny or Die video clip that shows him tackling some of the world’s biggest issues
Kris Humphries, who was married to Kim Kardashian for 72 days, is no stranger to Funny or Die.
In May he appeared in another clip that mocked Kim Kardashian’s latest love, Kanye West.
The profanity-laden skit showed Kris Humphries wearing shutter shades identical to the ones Kanye West has sported on stage.
It also showed Kris Humphries listening to marketers pitch ideas to help monetize his unpopular image.
They throw ideas at him like selling toilet paper with his face on it, urinal cakes, punching bags and cheesy clothing.
Dita Von Teese arrived late at her new fragrance Rouge launch event at Fred Segal.
When she was about to put on her vintage Thierry Mugler suit-dress on Saturday, Dita Von Teese found her cat Aleister contentedly napping on the designer dress.
“Slightly late to my perfume event at Fred Segal because this happened to my freshly pressed vintage Mugler suit,” the gorgeous 40-year-old tweeted to her 1.2 million followers.
The candid snap revealed the fashion culprit – her seven-year-old feline – but thankfully Devon Rexes are known for shedding less of their Poodle-style fur than regular cats.
The real-life pin-up, born Heather Renée Sweet, turned up to Fred Segal looking polished and did not appear to show any sign of the furry incident.
Dita Von Teese was her usual flawless self, impeccably dressed in the retro LBD with sheer Victorian-style ruffled neckline.
Her black-dotted sheer bodice matched perfectly with her pantyhose and she accessorized her perfume launch look with a small clutch and matching Louboutins.
Dita Von Teese’s raven hair was side-parted with big barrel curls and she sported the usual cat-eye make-up and scarlet lips on her pale complexion.
Dita Von Teese arrived late at her new fragrance Rouge launch event at Fred Segal
Rouge is her second fragrance after her self-titled debut, and it includes “accords of orange, bergamot, pink pepper, smoked Lapsang Souchong tea, magnolia, woody tones, and raw amber”.
The Queen of Burlesque, who once performed wearing nothing but $5 million worth of diamonds, kept her famous curves were kept under wrap.
However, Dita Von Teese tweeted her plans for performing more of her Strip Strip Hooray Shows in New York and Los Angeles soon.
In order to stay in shape, the gorgeous brunette reportedly uses her vegetarian diet and daily sessions of Pilates and sex.
The daring designer also recently launched a vintage-inspired dress and a lingerie collection called Von Follies in Australia and America.
The dancer told Refinery 29: “The dress collection is comprised of pieces that are all based on the things in my vintage collection that I believe are timeless.
“Some of the dresses are based on favorite vintage pieces that I’ve worn over and over for 12 years, and that’s a testament to a dress that transcends trends.”
Dita Von Teese, who used to be married to singer Marilyn Manson, has also dated actor Peter Sarsgaard and Mike Ness of the punk band Social Distortion.
Not seen Saturday was her last known boyfriend of three years, Count Louis-Marie De Castelbajac, a French actor and fashion designer.
Stepping out from her New York hotel on Saturday, Lady Gaga donned a cage like headpiece that was reminiscent of the one worn by famous Hollywood cannibal Hannibal Lecter.
Lady Gaga is known for her outlandish costumes but even this one seemed to be pushing her own boundaries.
The black cage enclosed the whole of the singer’s newly blonded head and was accessorized by a golden cherub and chains.
Lady Gaga seemed sheepish at first as she walked out of the hotel but then quickly got into character and flashed a peace sign at fans and photographers.
The singer’s creative director Nicola Formichetti said this week he “regrets some of Gaga’s looks. But she works it… mostly”.
Surprising, the rest of her outfit was tame by her standards.
Lady Gaga, 26, wore a black leather jacket over a lace frilled-sleeve shirt and clack horse riding-inspired pants.
Stepping out from her New York hotel on Saturday, Lady Gaga donned a cage like headpiece that was reminiscent of the one worn by famous Hollywood cannibal Hannibal Lecter
Staying true to her impossible art meets fashion form, the Mother Monster donned a pair of her favorite platform velvet lace-up boots, meaning for a slow walk to her waiting car.
Despite her ridiculous headwear, Lady Gaga managed to lean out of her car to sign an autograph for one lucky fan.
She was leaving New York temporarily to head to New Jersey where she is performing with the Rolling Stones at their 50th anniversary concert.
Lady Gaga practiced with the Rolling Stones on Friday and while what she will sing is supposed to be a secret, the Poker Face songstress let it slip that the powerful duet Gimme Shelter is the most likely.
“Gimme Shelter. It just two nights away!! 🙂 Can’t wait to sing with the Rolling Stones on Saturday Night. In 2007 I was stripping to them,” Lady Gaga tweeted on Thursday, making reference to the period she was a go-go dancer.
Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after the royal hoax phone call, left a note telling the two Australian DJs behind the prank they were responsible for her death, according to sources close to the family.
In one of three apparent suicide notes, Jacintha Saldanha wrote a short letter in which she expressed her deep anger at radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian and blamed them for her tragic death.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanged with a scarf at her accommodation at the King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, where Kate Middleton was being treated for severe morning sickness.
It was revealed that one of the DJs telephoned the hospital back within an hour of the call and spoke to Jacintha Saldanha again, telling her they had played a prank which they were about to broadcast.
The revelation is believed to have left Jacintha Saldanha, who had no experience of dealing with the media, feeling confused and agitated.
DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian – who are believed to be at safe addresses following death threats – have apologized for the tragic repercussions of their prank. They pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles seeking information about Kate Middleton’s condition.
In another, one-page letter, Jacintha Saldanha criticized “aspects of the hospital staff”, and singled out two individuals for blame.
Although the hospital has repeatedly said no senior member of staff blamed Jacintha Saldanha for falling victim to the prank and provided her with support, it is understood she may have been reprimanded by colleagues by email.
Asked if Jacintha Saldanha received a “ticking-off” by senior colleagues, a family friend yesterday replied: “What do you think?”
The hospital has declined to comment on the notes, saying senior staff have not seen copies. It is believed the original notes are now in the possession of Scotland Yard, which has produced transcripts for the family.
Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after the royal hoax phone call, left a note telling the two Australian DJs behind the prank they were responsible for her death
Sources close to the family said their relationship with the hospital was strained as senior managers had not provided “facts” they have requested.
The hospital has so far not replied to several written questions the family handed to chief executive John Lofthouse at a meeting last Tuesday organized by senior Labour MP Keith Vaz. As a prominent Asian parliamentarian, Keith Vaz was approached by the family for help.
John Lofthouse was given the questions by Jacintha Saldanha’s husband Benedict Barboza, 49, an NHS accountant, their son Junal, 17, and daughter Lisha, 14. Yesterday, John Lofthouse attended a mass at Westminster Cathedral where prayers were said for Jacintha Saldanha. He was accompanied by other members of the hospital’s staff, many of whom were in tears.
One attendee said he overheard a hospital staff member tell the family: “I hope you get to the truth.”
Meanwhile, another friend of the family has revealed that Jacintha Saldanha may have tried to commit suicide more than once in the 72 hours between the prank and the moment her body was discovered by a colleague.
She may have attempted to slash her wrists before she died as a result of hanging herself with a scarf. The friend said: “She may have tried to kill herself more than once – that’s why there are three notes.”
An inquest on Friday was told police found marks on Jacintha Saldanha’s wrists.
Jacintha Saldanha usually called her family in Bristol every evening. But on the Thursday night following the hoax call in the early hours of Tuesday morning, she did not call or text her husband, leaving him concerned.
Benedict Barboza called the hospital early on Friday morning and asked a colleague to check on her. But apparently, the nurse failed to do that. Another colleague went to her room at 9:30 a.m. and found her body.
The news was broken to Benedict Barboza by police. At no point that day or subsequently did any member of the hospital staff visit the family to express their condolences, according to a family friend.
“They could have gone to break the news to the family but they didn’t do it,” the source added.
In her final letter, Jacintha Saldanha is believed to have asked to be buried in her home village of Shirwa, near Mangalore, in southern India.
The funeral will be held there on Monday. In a statement, the hospital said: “No one at the hospital has seen these notes so we cannot comment. However, we reiterate that Jacintha was an outstanding nurse… Hospital management offered her their support and told her they considered her the victim of a cruel hoax.
“They stood by her actions and made it clear there was no criticism of her and that there would be no disciplinary action of any kind.”
Demi Moore’s daughters with Bruce Willis, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, have reportedly cut off contact with her once again.
Demi Moore, 50, is allegedly being given the cold shoulder by Rumer, 24, Scout, 21, and Tallulah, 18, just months after they reconciled following a bitter fallout.
The girls have allegedly tired of Demi Moore’s constant partying and erratic behavior.
They initially fell out over the actress’ split from Ashton Kutcher, 34, last year and subsequent stint in rehab.
A source told the New York Daily News: “Rumer is really the one making the decision to do this as the oldest.
“Around the time Bruce’s wife Emma had the baby, it was this scary sense of, <<Demi went off her rocker again>>.
“Bruce is now very much out of the spotlight and the kids were very happy about that.
“They started feeling that Demi needs to stay home and be more of a mother. She checked into rehab and they’d always been pushing for her to do that. [But] After Art Basel, she came out partying and dancing on tables again.
“The kids are old enough to band together, Rumer being the ringleader. The family is very much divided.”
Demi Moore’s daughters have allegedly tired of her constant partying and erratic behavior
Just this week Demi Moore was seen partying with Lenny Kravitz, seemingly oblivious to the cameras as she danced around in Miami.
Her daughters initially supported their mother following her divorce from Ashton Kutcher because they believed she was “distraught” but were allegedly “mortified” when she started going out with one of Rumer’s friends Vito Schnabel, 26, recently.
But Demi Moore was dumped by Vito Schnabel last week after she enjoyed a week of partying at Art Basil in Miami because he thought she was too distracting from his career.
A source said: “Vito has worked very hard to be taken seriously in the art business and doesn’t want to be seen as somebody who dates celebrities.
“He hated having photographers follow him around after work got out about him and Demi.”
Vito Schnabel was also said to be unhappy that Demi Moore just wanted to party at the prestigious art fair as he was trying to work.
The body of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who apparently killed herself after a hoax phone call about Kate Middleton, is due to arrive in India for burial.
Jacintha Saldanha’s remains are being escorted by her husband and two children from the UK to Mangalore on Sunday.
The nurse was found dead on 7 December near the London hospital where the duchess had been treated for morning sickness.
Days earlier Jacintha Saldanha had answered a hoax call from Australia about Kate Middleton.
Her husband, Benedict Barboza, and their daughter Lisha, 14, and son Junal, 16, are flying to southern India to attend the funeral on Monday.
Jacintha Saldanha’s funeral will take place at Our Lady of Health Church in the town of Shirva, Karnataka.
Rev. William Menezes, spokesman for the Diocese of Mangalore, told AFP news agency that the funeral would take place at 16:00 local time (10:30 GMT).
Police said as many as 5,000 people were expected to attend, according to AFP, and security around the village has been tightened.
Jacintha Saldanha’s death has been closely followed in India, especially where she grew up.
The body of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who apparently killed herself after a hoax phone call about Kate Middleton, is due to arrive in India for burial
A candlelight vigil was held last week and her friends and family have been outspoken in their grief, some even demanding that a separate investigation be held to determine the cause of her death.
The hospital in Mangalore where she studied nursing has said it will create an award in her memory.
Her husband and children attended Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Sunday, where they paid tribute to Jacintha Saldahna.
In a joint tribute the children said: “We are shattered and there’s an unfillable void in our lives.”
“The house is an empty dwelling without your presence,” they added.
Benedict Barboza said: “Nineteen years of togetherness with a strong bond of affection and understanding will be cherished forever in my life. Your loss is a very painful one and nobody can take that place in my life ever again. I love you and miss you forever.”
On Thursday an inquest at Westminster’s Coroner Court heard that Jacintha Saldanha was found hanged. She left three suicide notes.
The hospital has said that senior managers tried to reassure Jacintha Saldanha “on a number of occasions” that no blame was attached to her for putting the hoax call from two Australian DJs through to the duchess’ ward.
People are voting in a general election in Japan, where former leader Shinzo Abe is challenging the current prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda.
Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to oust Yoshihiko Noda’s Democratic Party (DPJ) after just three years in office.
Shinzo Abe promises more public spending and a more assertive foreign policy as tensions with China run high.
Many voters remain undecided, amid disillusionment in Japan over politics.
Shinzo Abe’s centre-right LDP was swept from office by the DPJ in 2009, ending more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule.
The DPJ promised more welfare spending and a better social safety net, but struggled to deliver amid the economic downturn and 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
It has also seen several leadership changes – Yoshihiko Noda is the third DPJ prime minister since 2009.
Shinzo Abe, 58, served as prime minister from 2006-2007 before stepping aside amid plummeting poll numbers, citing illness.
He says he will now use public spending in an effort to end 20 years of economic stagnation, and that nuclear energy has a role to play in resource-poor Japan’s future despite last year’s nuclear disaster at Fukushima.
People are voting in a general election in Japan, where former leader Shinzo Abe is challenging the current prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda
Shinzo Abe has also called for a tough stance on the territorial row with China over East China Sea islands that both countries claim.
Now Japan looks like it is about to take a dramatic turn to the right.
Relations between Japan and China, which are already poor, could be about to get worse, he says.
Yoshihiko Noda lost public support over the move to double sales tax, something he said was necessary to tackle Japan’s massive debt.
The debate over nuclear energy, restarting suspended reactors and his perceived flip-flopping on the issue have also affected his popularity.
Latest figures indicate that the LDP will win a clear majority, together with its traditional ally, the New Komeito Party.
All 480 lower house seats are up for grabs in the election.
Polls opened at 07:00 and are due to close at 20:00.
Japan election: Key parties
Democratic Party of Japan, in power since 2009 but seen as inexperienced
Liberal Democratic Party, the giant that ruled Japan for half a century before being ousted by the DPJ
Japan Restoration Party, led by two right-wing leaders who say Japan needs a “third force”
Tomorrow Party, led by the Shiga governor who is campaigning on an anti-nuclear platform
All 20 children, 12 boys and 8 girls, who died in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, were aged between six and seven, according to an official list of the dead.
The state’s chief medical examiner said the gunman used a rifle as his main weapon, and all the victims appeared to have been shot several times.
The gunman, named in media reports as Adam Lanza, killed his mother Nancy before driving to the school and opening fire.
Six adults, all women, were also killed before the gunman shot himself dead.
The head teacher at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Dawn Hochsprung, is listed among the dead, along with adults Rachel DaVino, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Russo, Mary Sherlach and Victoria Soto.
The youngest child to be killed was Noah Pozner, who celebrated his sixth birthday only last month.
Most of the children who died on Friday were girls and nearly all were aged six.
Earlier on Saturday, Lt Paul Vance of Connecticut state police said the gunman had forced his way into the school, and had not been let in “voluntarily”.
He said investigators had gathered “good evidence” in the search for a motive.
President Barack Obama is to visit Newtown on Sunday to meet families and speak at a vigil.
After the attack, he urged “meaningful action” against gun crime in the US.
“As a country we have been through this too many times,” he said in an emotional White House address.
The gunman killed his mother at the home they shared before driving to the school in her car and opening fire. Reports say the guns used in the attacks were registered to her.
There are conflicting reports about whether she had worked at the school in the past.
Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H Wayne Carver said the gunman shot all the victims at the school were shot with a rifle, at least some of them from close range.
Initial reports suggested that the killer had used two handguns which he also had with him.
The suspected gunman’s father, Peter Lanza, said his family was “struggling to make sense of what has transpired”.
“Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy,” he said in a statement.
Newtown residents have been holding candlelit vigils for Sandy Hook shooting victims
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy made a television address saying the children were “taken from their families far too soon”.
“What’s important right now is love, courage and compassion,” he said.
Friday’s killings took place in two rooms within a single section of the school, police have said. The shooting lasted just a few minutes.
As they heard the shots, teachers in other parts of the building tried to protect children by locking doors and ushering them into closets.
“I told them we had to be absolutely quiet, because I was just so afraid if he did come in, then he would hear us and just start shooting the door,” said teacher Kaitlin Roig.
“I said to them, <<I need you to know that I love you all very much and that it’s going to be okay>>, because I thought that was the last thing they were ever going to hear.”
Library clerk Maryann Jacob described telling 18 children to crawl into a storage room, before barricading the door with a filing cabinet.
“We set them up with paper and crayons,” she said.
All 20 children, 12 boys and 8 girls, who died in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, were aged between six and seven
Dr. Jeannie Pasacreta, a nurse practitioner and psychologist who has been advising parents on how to talk to their children, says neighbors have been cancelling Christmas parties and taking down decorations.
Early reports named 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, of Hoboken, New Jersey, as the gunman, but unnamed officials later said his brother Adam was the suspect.
Ryan Lanza was questioned by police, US media reported, but has not been named as a suspect.
In a separate development, police in Oklahoma have arrested a teenager for allegedly plotting to shoot and bomb students at his school in Bartlesville. Sammie Eaglebear Chavez, 18, is said to have tried to convince other students to help him carry out an attack.
The attack at Newtown is the second deadliest shooting attack at a US school or university.
In 2007, a student at Virginia Tech university killed 32 people and injured many more.
Prepare the sprouts, removing the outer leaves. Trim the base, and cut a cross in the bottom of each, if you wish.
Cook in boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes until just cooked – don’t overcook! Drain, then stir-fry with some lardons of bacon until the bacon is crisp. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Variations: Toss the boiled sprouts in butter with chopped herbs such as chives and parsley; serve boiled sprouts with toasted almonds or chopped chestnuts; or serve boiled sprouts with a little grated orange zest.
The office party during the holidays or any other time of the year is a key professional opportunity to mingle casually with coworkers, impress bosses, and get to know people you don’t see every day.
Unfortunately, the office party is also a prime opportunity to ruin your professional reputation, alienate coworkers, and fail to capitalize on networking opportunities.
These are seven common office party blunders. Heed them. Some are missed opportunities, but some may cost you your career.
1. Drink too much at the office party
Drinking too much at the office party is the most egregious offense. It’s not just the drinking, though anything excessive is inappropriate at an office party, but the actions that result from over imbibing. With normal inhibition affected, drunken office party attendees have been known to make passes at coworkers, harass partners on the dance floor, and touch coworkers in inappropriate and unwanted ways.
The actions of employees who drink too much at the office party aren’t always aimed at coworkers. One executive, after drinking too many martinis, stripped naked and climbed his city’s water tower. Another ran into a pole while driving a company car that was only supposed to be used for business. Not sure what happened to the executive but the second employee was fired.
If you drink too much at the office party, make amends by apologizing to anyone you may have offended. Don’t ignore your behavior and hope people didn’t notice or that coworkers will have short memories. They did and they won’t. Your behavior will be that talk of the office until something more interesting happens. At best, coworkers will accept your apology and life moves on. At worst, you are charged in a sexual harassment complaint.
2. Dress suggestively at the office party
At a recent office party, I sat across the dinner table from a significant other with a dress that was cut half-way to her navel. Her clothing was distracting to every employee who interacted with her. In fact, I can imagine the conversations held in employee cars as couples discussed the evening. Is this how you want your significant other or yourself remembered after the office party? I think not.
Errors in clothing selection for the office party affect coworkers’ opinion of your judgment, credibility and competence. No matter how festive, the office party is a business occasion; professional, not sexy or suggestive, attire should rule the night. Does this mean you can’t dress up in your favorite party dress or pant suit? Not at all. Just use tasteful discretion in your selection of attire for your office party.
The office party during the holidays or any other time of the year is a key professional opportunity to mingle casually with coworkers, impress bosses, and get to know people you don’t see every day
3. Fail to attend the office party without a good reason
Your company schedules an office party to reward and recognize employees, to provide an opportunity for team building among coworkers, and to promote coworkers getting to know each other informally. The most common reasons involve the office party infringing on their personal family time; a dislike of small-talk and social events, in general; and a genuine family or personal event scheduled at the same time.
A couple of hours a year is barely worth a complaint. Let the boss know when a personal commitment precludes your attendance.
4. Flirt with coworkers or their significant others at the office party
Flirting, especially mixed with alcohol, is unwanted at a business event. It is unwelcome, unexpected, and usually unwanted. Flirting that involves touching can result in a sexual harassment complaint in a worst case scenario. At best, it annoys coworkers at an event that is supposed to draw people together and create a stronger team.
5. Bring children or uninvited guests to the office party
Bringing uninvited guests, or your children to an adult party, distracts you from the mission of the office party, adds to your employer’s expense, and may make legitimate attendees miss out on their share of the food, drink, employee gifts and company swag.
Most companies specify the expected attendees, the recommended attire, and the schedule of events in advance of the office party. You usually have all the information you need to comfortably attend your office party if you just read the invitation. Some may even specify that additional guests are welcome – but, most don’t – at significant annual office parties.
6. Forget that the office party is still a company business function
The office party is not the time to complain about your boss or your company. It is a time to get to know your coworkers more personally so you can work together more effectively in the future. It is also a chance to chat informally with the bosses and members of departments with whom you don’t work every day. With these goals in mind, watch that you listen as much as you talk; draw out your coworkers.
Leave your company complaints, grievances, off-color jokes, and negativity at home.
In fact, don’t talk about work at all. Talking about work leaves significant others out of the conversation. Know the goals of the function and cooperate to achieve them at the office party.
7. Be the last to leave the office party
No matter how much fun you’re having or how much you’re enjoying the band, when you stay too long at the office party, you may have over stayed your welcome. The possibility of drinking too much and committing other gaffes increases with the passing of time. Stay a couple of hours, talk to each coworker and the bosses, then graciously and gracefully excuse yourself. Let your reputation live to attend another office party.
These are your best opportunities to commit career suicide. Avoid them.
Jacintha Saldanha’s children have described at a Mass at Westminster Cathedral the “unfillable void” she has left.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanged days after answering a hoax call about Kate Middleton in accommodation attached to King Edward VII hospital last week.
Her husband, Benedict, daughter Lisha, 14, and son Junal, 16, attended a Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
In a joint tribute the children said: “We are shattered and there’s an unfillable void in our lives.”
“The house is an empty dwelling without your presence,” they added.
Catholics can request that a Mass be offered in the name of a dead person.
Memorial services have already been held at the hospital and in Bristol where her husband and children live.
Jacintha Saldanha’s funeral will take place at Our Lady of Health Church in the town of Shirva in Karnataka, India, on Monday.
In a tribute read out at the service, the children described their mother as “kind-hearted, generous and well-respected”.
They said: “You were the core of the family that kept us together. In times of difficulty, you showed us the way forward to happiness and success.
“Your priority for us was a good education and a bright future. You taught us right from wrong which we appreciate. You worked tirelessly to give us everything that we have today.”
Lisha Saldanha read out the following tribute after the service: “We love you Mum, sleep in peace and please watch over us until we meet again in Heaven. We will always love you and keep you close to our hearts.”
Jacintha Saldanha’s funeral will take place at Our Lady of Health Church in the town of Shirva in Karnataka, India, on Monday
Jacintha Saldanha was found dead eight days ago in London.
She had answered a call on 4 December from two Australian DJs pretending to be the Queen and the Prince of Wales wanting to speak to the pregnant duchess who was being treated for acute morning sickness.
Her husband, Benedict Barboza, said in his tribute: “My wife, you were the light in my darkness, who always showed me the way forward. From the day we met, you always stood by me in times of hardship and happiness. I feel a part of me has been ripped out.
“Without your beautiful smile and sparkling personality, the house is an empty place to live. Nineteen years of togetherness with a strong bond of affection and understanding will be cherished forever in my life. Your loss is a very painful one and nobody can take that place in my life ever again. I love you and miss you forever.”
Benedict Barboza thanked everybody who had offered support and comfort, including Prime Minister David Cameron, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and MPs Keith Vaz and Charlotte Leslie.
On Thursday an inquest at Westminster’s Coroner Court heard that Jacintha Saldanha was found hanged. She left three suicide notes.
The hospital has said that senior managers tried to reassure Jacintha Saldanha “on a number of occasions” that no blame was attached to her for putting the hoax call through to the duchess’ ward.
In a letter to MP Keith Vaz, which was released by the hospital on Friday evening, chief executive John Lofthouse explained the protocol in place for dealing with calls to “high-profile” patients.
“Part of our procedure is to take the name and number of the individual and call them back. This is in order to verify that the call is genuine. We also empower our staff to use their judgement.
“On this particular occasion, Jacintha believed that the call was genuine, and she felt it appropriate to put the call through. We stand by her judgement.”
The hospital has insisted that Jacintha Saldanha was not facing disciplinary proceedings – “because she had been the victim of a cruel trick.”
The letter also said she had been offered time off but she said she would prefer to continue working.
“Neither ourselves, her friends or family noticed anything to give cause for concern,” John Lofthouse said.
Reports have emerged that Adam Lanza had visited Sandy Hook Elementary the day before Friday’s massacre during which he was involved in an altercation with four teachers – three of whom are now dead.
The fourth teacher – and only survivor of the altercation – wasn’t at school on Friday and is currently being interviewed by investigators. It hasn’t been revealed what the argument was over or if it was reported to authorities.
The staff member’s testimony might be an “important piece of information” for discerning motive in this case, reports NBC.
While initial reports had suggested school principal Dawn Hochsprung buzzed Adam Lanza into the building – bypassing the newly-installed security system – police have confirmed that the shooter forced his way in.
Adam Lanza opened fire on Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which teaches children aged 5 to 10. He murdered 26 people at the school before turning the gun on himself, as well as killing one other person – his mother – at another nearby site.
Investigators said they have found “some very good evidence” to explain what drove gunman Adam Lanza, 20, to slaughter 20 children, including Ana Marquez-Greene and Jesse Lewis, and six adults at the Connecticut elementary school.
Adam Lanza had visited Sandy Hook Elementary the day before Friday’s massacre during which he was involved in an altercation with four teachers
“Our investigators at the crime scene … did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in, hopefully, painting the complete picture as to how – and more importantly why – this occurred,” Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance told a news conference Saturday morning.
“We’re hopeful it will paint a complete picture,” he said.
All the bodies were removed from the school overnight and a medical examiner is expected to release the names of the victims on Saturday.
Police have assigned a trooper to support each victim’s family in the days ahead. Paul Vance asked reporters to respect the families’ grief and privacy.
“This is an extremely heartbreaking thing for them to endure,” said Paul Vance.
It is expected that investigators will take another two days to process the school crime scene where it is believed Adam Lanza fired as many as 100 rounds from his guns.
“It’s going to be a slow, painstaking process,” said Paul Vance.
The adult woman found at the secondary crime scene is believed to be the shooter’s mother, Nancy Lanza.
Nancy Lanza legally owned a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns of models commonly used by police, and a military-style Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, according to law enforcement officials who also believe Adam Lanza used at least some of those weapons.
Nancy Lanza was an avid gun collector who once showed him a “really nice, high-end rifle” that she had purchased, said Dan Holmes, owner of a landscaping business who recently decorated her yard with Christmas garlands and lights.
“She said she would often go target shooting with her kids.”
Grief-stricken members of the community tied white balloons to the sign for Sandy Hook school today in honor of all those who lost their lives.
Outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, mourners left teddy bears, flowers and lit candles for victims.
Newtown was ranked the fifth safest city in America by the website NeighborhoodScout.com based on 2011 crime statistics.
“This wonderful town that we all love for its peace, beauty, the great schools – all of that – has become Columbine,” said Julie Maxwell Shull, a sixth-grade teacher at Reed Intermediate School, referring to the high school that was site of a 1999 shooting in Colorado.
Many people who live in the wealthy, wooded town commute to New York City, about 80 miles away.
Victoria Soto, a young teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed her life saving as many children in her first grade class as she could after she came face-to-face with gunman Adam Lanza.
Victoria Soto, 27, had worked at for five years at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Her final moments were spent ushering her students into a closet when Adam Lanza entered her classroom and she tried her best to shield the children from the evil gunman.
She was a highly regarded young teacher who was popular with her pupils. One young student, Jacob Riley, said that Victoria Soto was known for chewing gum in class – something not usually allowed for teachers. He said he had often teased her about her habit and she had playfully teased him back.
“She took her kids, put them in the closet and by doing so she lost her life protecting those little ones,” Victoria Soto’s cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News.
“She was found huddled over her children, her students, doing instinctively what she knew was the right thing. I’m just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm,” he continued.
“It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes she’s a hero,” he added.
Victoria Soto displayed astonishing bravery and sacrificed her life saving as many children in her first grade class at Sandy Hook Elementary School
A deeply distraught 10-year-old boy who is a former student of Victoria Soto described her as “really nice and funny”.
Three teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School trying to save their students from gunman Adam Lanza, the son of Nancy Lanza, who worked at the school.
The other two teachers have been identified as principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56.
Twenty-eight people died in the shooting rampage, including 20 young children between the ages of five and ten, alleged gunman Adam Lanza, who took his own life, and his mother, who was shot before the school massacre.
Dana Martin, a New Mexico inmate, an ex-convict on probation and his nephew are under investigation for plotting to castrate and murder pop singer Justin Bieber, police said.
Their unsuccessful scheme called for targeting Justin Bieber and his bodyguard while in New York City in mid-November, and their motive grew from the inmate’s quest for notoriety and his infatuation with Justin Bieber, said a New Mexico State Police affidavit.
The inmate, Dana Martin, who is serving two life sentences for a 2000 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Vermont, has a tattoo of Justin Bieber on his leg and had attempted to correspond with Bieber, who never responded, the affidavit said.
“This perceived slight made Mr. Martin upset and that, coupled with Mr. Martin’s perception of being a <<nobody>> in prison, led him to begin plotting the kidnap and murder of [Justin Bieber],” the affidavit said, adding that Dana Martin gave statements to investigators.
With Dana Martin serving as the mastermind, the plan called for the uncle and nephew to first kill two other people, in Vermont, the affidavit said.
But the entire scheme to kill a total of four people, including Justin Bieber, unraveled when the uncle and nephew missed their turn on a Vermont road and ended up heading toward the Canadian border on November 19, authorities said.
There, a U.S. Border Patrol agent at the Highgate Springs crossing arrested the uncle, Mark Aaron Staake, 41, because he was found to have an outstanding warrant for a felony parole violation out of New Mexico, authorities said.
The nephew, Tanner Ruane, 23, was released with their 1983 BMW, but he then spilled the beans about the murder plots when he called Dana Martin in prison the same day, New Mexico authorities said.
Prison guards were recording the phone call, and Ruane was later arrested in New York by state police, authorities said.
A New Mexico inmate, an ex-convict on probation and his nephew are under investigation for plotting to castrate and murder pop singer Justin Bieber
In the phone call, Tanner Ruane and Dana Martin spoke in code and referred to the victims as “dogs,” the affidavit said.
“Mr. Martin confirmed that the <<dogs>> would be castrated too, and Mr. Ruane not only agreed, but stated he himself was the one who was going to do the castrating,” the affidavit said.
The instrument for castration would be hand-held hedge clippers used for trimming roses, the court document said. The victims were to be strangled with a paisley tie “because that was what he [Dana Martin] had used previously,” the affidavit said, without elaborating.
“In response to Mr. Staake’s reluctance to follow through with the castrations, Mr. Ruane stated he was going to do it and get <<five large for each one I get>>. Mr. Martin confirmed that Mr. Ruane was going to get $2,500.00 per testicle,” the affidavit said.
The testicles were to be put in bags, to be hidden in a place such as the engine compartment, the document said.
When asked by CNN if that grisly plan would be applied to all victims, including Justin Bieber, Robert McDonald stated: “It would be safe to say they were going to do it for every one of them.”
None of the three men have been charged in the alleged murder plot against Bieber and his bodyguard, but the investigation is continuing, New Mexico State Police Lt. Robert McDonald told CNN.
New Mexico authorities are seeking the extradition of Mark Aaron Staake from Vermont and Tanner Ruane from New York, Robert McDonald said. Both men have Albuquerque addresses, police said.
Mark Aaron Staake and Tanner Ruane are now each facing two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts to commit aggravated battery, and those New Mexico charges relate to their plot to kill two people in Vermont, Robert McDonald said. Authorities weren’t elaborating on that scheme and the two intended victims, Robert McDonald said.
Robert McDonald said: “We got to interview these [two] men and see what they say about this whole thing.”
The affidavit refers to Justin Bieber as “Victim 3” or “J.B.” who was the “ultimate target.”
Robert McDonald told CNN that J.B. refers to Justin Bieber.
A representative for 18-year-old Justin Bieber said: “We take every precaution to protect and ensure the safety of Justin and his fans.”
Justin Bieber rose to fame in 2009 with his hit single One Time. He was named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards in both 2010 and 2012.
Dana Martin and Mark Aaron Staake met while inmates in the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility after Martin was transferred there from a Florida prison in April, the affidavit said. Mark Aaron Staake was released and put on probation on October 22nd. Robert McDonald didn’t know why Dana Martin was in a Florida prison, he said.
“When asked how he was able to convince Mr. Staake to participate, Mr. Martin stated he [Dana Martin] was a very good manipulator,” the court document said.
Dana Martin also promised money and a Vermont farm as a hideout, the affidavit said.
He remains under investigation and is in fact named in the affidavit as a conspirator in the Vermont plot. The affidavit was filed in Dona Ana County for seeking an arrest warrant against Mark Aaron Staake.
But Dana Martin hasn’t been formally charged in any of the plots, Robert McDonald said.
“For us, there’s no rush [for charges] as far as Martin is concerned because he’s serving life sentences anyway,” Robert McDonald said.
Media across the world have been calling Robert McDonald.
“It’s been freaking crazy,” he said.
“But the good thing is we nipped this thing in the bud and we caught it before anyone was hurt.
“We’re definitely thankful – we owe it to the guard at the correctional facility who caught these phone calls and got on it right away. That’s how we were able to catch these guys,” Robert McDonald said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and had a concussion, the AP reports.
The State Department said an ill Hillary Clinton is now recovering at home after the incident, according to the AP.
CBS News’ Margaret Brennen reports Hillary Clinton was dehydrated from a stomach bug.
The US Department of State has released the following statement: “While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion. She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors. At their recommendation, she will continue to work from home next week, staying in regular contact with Department and other officials. She is looking forward to being back in the office soon.”
An aide, Philippe Reines, says Hillary Clinton will work from home next week, where she will be monitored by doctors.
Congressional aides do not expect her to testify as scheduled at congressional hearings on Thursday into the September 11 attack against a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
“Secretary Clinton’s team contacted Senator [John] Kerry this morning to inform them of the Secretary’s concussion,” Jodi Seth, a John Kerry spokesperson, said Saturday.
“Senator Kerry was relieved to hear that the Secretary is on the mend, but he insisted that given her condition, she could not and should not appear on Thursday as previously planned, and that the nation’s best interests are served by the report and hearings proceeding as scheduled with senior officials appearing in her place.”
The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss Hillary Clinton’s status.
Hillary Clinton pulled out of a weeklong trip to North Africa and the Middle East because of a stomach virus this week.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and had a concussion
Only days before, Hillary Clinton had said she was in excellent health during an interview with Barbara Walters.
At 67, detractors have claimed Hillary Clinton’s advancing age and health make her too old to realistically serve as a two-term president were she elected in 2016.
“I am, thankfully, knock on wood, not only healthy, but have incredible stamina and energy,” Hillary Clinton told Barbara Walters.
Hillary Clinton has a history of fainting, having a brief spell in 2005 during an appearance before a women’s group in Buffalo.
In that case, she recovered quickly and immediately resumed all scheduled appearances.
