Lindsay Lohan prepares to unveil to the world her take on Elizabeth Taylor in the new TV biopic Liz & Dick, as Life magazine releases a series of vintage photos of the star.
Elizabeth Taylor, an American film legend who passed away in 2011 at age 79, appeared on the cover ofLifemagazine 14 times, starting when she was just 15 years old, and already an old pro in the movie business.
During the following decades, many esteemed photographers were eager to capture the smouldering thespian at work, cavorting with her many husbands and paramours and always surrounded by hordes of adoring fans.
Many of the stunning black-and-white shots never made it onto the pages of the magazine, like a picture of the fresh-faced 18-year-old Taylor getting married for the first time in a lily-white princess gown.
Her marriage to Nicky Hilton in 1950 lasted less than a year, and by 1952 the young beauty tied the knot for a second time.
The treasure trove of Life‘s behind-the-scene photos feature images from the set of Cleopatra, where Liz Taylor starred in the larger-than-life title role opposite her two-time husband, Richard Burton as Marc Anthony.
In a note sent in March 1962 from the set of Cleopatra in Rome, a Life reporter wrote that Elizabeth Taylor “looks absolutely relaxed” and visibly enjoying the company of her handsome co-star.
Elizabeth Taylor appeared on the cover of Life magazine 14 times, starting when she was just 15 years old
One candid shot in the series shows Elizabeth Taylor as a 13-year-old girl in 1945 signing autographs for a young sailor during a charity event in Los Angeles. By that point, she had already starred in five films.
In another image, the British-born star is depicted wearing a sweatshirt belonging to her football player boyfriend with the words “All American” emblazoned across the front.
A few years later, a Life photographer caught a glimpse of Elizabeth Taylor chatting with her lifelong friend and co-star in A Place in the Sun, Montgomery Cliff, during a break on the Paramount lot.
The release of the photos depicting the quintessential movie icon set the stage for the highly anticipated premiere of Liz & Dick on Lifetime, which focuses on Taylor’s tempestuous relationship with Richard Burton.
Egypt’s stock market sees a plunge in its shares of almost 10% on Sunday, days after President Mohammed Mursi granted himself sweeping new powers.
Protests against Mohammed Mursi’s decision have continued in Cairo, while the Muslim Brotherhood is planning rallies backing him later.
Trading was suspended for 30 minutes as shares slumped in the first session since the president’s announcement.
But the slide continued as soon as share dealing resumed.
Renewed clashes broke out in Cairo on Sunday morning between protesters and security forces in a street leading to Tahrir Square. Trails of tear gas could be seen in the square itself.
Stones were thrown close to the US embassy, but because concrete blocks had been erected in the area the situation was less tense than before, Mena news agency reported.
The barriers had been put up to secure key Egyptian government and parliamentary buildings, Mena added.
According to President Mohammed Mursi’s decree, announced on Thursday, no authority can revoke presidential decisions.
There is also a bar on judges dissolving the assembly which is drawing up a new constitution.
Mohammed Mursi sacked chief prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, who was first appointed by ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
Maguid Mahmoud’s replacement, Talaat Ibrahim, has been given the job of re-examining all investigations into the deaths of protesters when Hosni Mubarak was in power.
Egypt’s judges denounced the decree on Saturday as an “unprecedented attack” on the judiciary, and the Judges’ Club that represents them called for “the suspension of work in all courts and prosecution administrations”.
Twenty-two rights groups signed an open letter which said the president “has dealt a lethal blow to the Egyptian judiciary” and demanded that the decree should be revoked immediately.
Egypt’s stock market sees a plunge in its shares after President Mohammed Mursi granted himself sweeping new powers
Opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei had earlier complained that the president had “usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh”.
But the president’s measures have also prompted his supporters to come out on to the streets and there were clashes on Saturday as pro-Mursi demonstrators tried to disrupt an emergency Judges Club meeting.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Mohammed Mursi’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) party, has called for further demonstrations in support of the decree after sunset.
The Islamist movement has called for a one-million-man march to be held at Abdin Square on Tuesday.
President Mohammed Mursi’s decree:
All investigations into killing of protesters or use of violence against them to be held again; trials of those accused also to be re-held
All constitutional declarations, laws and decrees made since Mohammed Mursi assumed power cannot be appealed or cancelled
Public prosecutor to be appointed by president for 4-year fixed term and aged at least 40
Constituent assembly’s timeline for drafting new constitution extended by two months
No judicial authority can dissolve constituent assembly or upper house of parliament (Shura Council)
President authorized to take any measures to preserve revolution, national unity or safeguard national security
Catalonia, one of the most important regions of Spain, is holding key regional elections, after a campaign that has focused on the issue of independence.
Catalan nationalists want to hold a referendum on whether the region should break away from the rest of Spain.
Polls suggest Catalan nationalist parties are set to do well.
Catalan President Artur Mas called early elections amid a funding row with the central government; it says he is trying to exploit the economic crisis.
Madrid says Catalan nationalists are looking for excuses having nearly run out of money, and having run up a big debt.
Polls close at 20:00 local time.
Artur Mas says the wealthy and influential north-eastern region gets a raw funding deal from the central government and his centre-right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) will be hoping for a majority in the regional parliament.
His party argues a Catalan state would fare better as a member of the EU than a province of Spain.
The European flag has been prominent at his campaign rallies, and he says an independent Catalonia would quickly gain membership of the 27-member bloc.
Catalonia is holding key regional elections after a campaign that has focused on the issue of independence
The CiU ousted the Socialist party in elections in November 2010.
With 135 parliamentary seats available, Artur Mas knows that if he is to pursue his dream of an independent Catalonia, he will need a clear mandate from voters.
If not, Artur Mas will have to rely on the support of smaller pro-independence parties, our correspondent says.
Even then, the road to independence is far from straightforward.
A referendum would be illegal under the current Spanish constitution, and Spain’s ruling Popular Party is likely to block any attempts for constitutional change.
Other parties, such as the nationalist Ciutadans, the Popular Party of Catalonia the Socialist Party of Catalonia are all opposed to Catalonia’s independence bid.
The Catalan vote comes as the Basque separatist movement Eta indicates it is ready to disarm, disband and enter talks with the French and Spanish governments.
The new series of TV drama Dallas will be rewritten to reflect the death of actor Larry Hagman, who played scheming oil tycoon JR Ewing.
Larry Hagman, whose role as the stetson-wearing villain made him a global star in the 1980s, died on Friday aged 81.
He was on board when a new version of the show appeared earlier this year.
A statement from UK broadcaster Channel 5 said: “Dallas is midway in production on season two and this sad news will be incorporated into the storyline.”
Larry Hagman featured in a promotional video shot on the first day of filming for the new series and posted last month. The next season makes its premiere in the US on the TNT network on January 28th.
Dallas was resurrected in the summer, more than 20 years after the original ended, with Larry Hagman starring alongside other original actors including Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray.
Linda Gray was at Larry Hagman’s side when he passed away on Friday and described him as “my best friend for 35 years”.
“He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously,” she said.
“He was an original and lived life to the full.”
Ken Kercheval, who played Cliff Barnes, said the pair had “a great deal of fun” acting out their on-screen rivalry in the 1980s.
“That sparring back and forth, I think that’s what kept the show going for as long as it did because everybody had to wait and see who was going to win and who was going to lose,” he said on Sunday.
“JR was not a nice man. He was terrible. He was quite the opposite of Larry. Those characters are always fun to play and he played it to the hilt. Larry was one of a kind, he really was.”
The new series of TV drama Dallas will be rewritten to reflect the death of Larry Hagman
Michael Preece, who directed more than 60 episodes of Dallas and was a friend of Larry Hagman, said the actor was always a pleasure to work with.
“Well, he was perfect,” he said.
“Between Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray… they were all like directors.
“Larry did direct a lot of episodes, and you’d stage a scene, they would just stage it for you, he was terrific. And you try to get most of his work before lunch, because he was better in the morning – but he was great to be around, it was like a family.”
Another original cast member, Victoria Principal, who played Pam Ewing, said Larry Hagman had been “bigger than life, on-screen and off”.
“He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him,” she said.
During its original incarnation between 1978-91, Dallas was one of the CBS network’s top-rated programmes and was watched by an estimated 300 million people in 57 countries.
Larry Hagman’s forthright biography Hello Darlin’ detailed his youthful drug-taking exploits and revealed the extent of his 50-year battle with alcoholism.
Even on the hardworking set of Dallas, he consumed five bottles of champagne a day for years and was finally diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in 1992.
Three years later he had a liver transplant and kept a photo of the organ donor above his mirror.
Despite this, Larry Hagman continued to drink secretly until a further life-saving operation in 2003 forced him to stop.
Gangnam Style, the dance track by South Korean pop phenomenon Psy, has become YouTube’s most-watched video of all time.
Gangnam Style has notched up more than 808 million views since it was posted in July.
The video pokes fun at the consumerism of Gangnam, an affluent suburb of the South Korean capital Seoul.
In the video, the portly Psy, 34, dances as though he is trotting on a horse, holding the reins and spinning a lasso in a manner that has sparked a global dance craze.
The video also features Psy reclining on a sun lounger in tight pink shorts, gazing longingly at a girl dancing on an underground train in tight shorts and gesticulating at a woman working out on a beach – in tight shorts.
Gangnam Style dance has sparked numerous copycat versions, being performed by a diverse fan-base including Filipino prison inmates, prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a Chinese robot.
Gangnam Style, the dance track by South Korean pop phenomenon Psy, has become YouTube’s most-watched video of all time
Popular parodies include one performed by Eton College schoolboys and another in the Star Trek language Klingon.
Gangnam Style, which won best video at this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards, has also been number one in 28 countries.
It holds the Guinness World Record for the most “liked” song ever – currently with a little under 5.4 million likes on YouTube.
Previously, Justin Bieber’s 2010 teenybopper hit Baby held the record for the most YouTube views.
Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun was the first person in the US to tweet a link to the Gangnam Style video.
At least 100 people have died in a fire that swept through a clothes factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, local officials say.
The blaze broke out late on Saturday in the multi-floor Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.
Some people died after jumping from the building to escape the flames.
It is unclear what caused the fire, which started on the ground floor trapping many victims in the factory.
Officials suspect an electrical short circuit might have caused the disaster.
Firefighters managed to contain the blaze on Sunday morning.
Fatal fires are common in Bangladesh’s large garment manufacturing sector and Western companies are likely to renew pressure on the local businesses to improve safety.
In a separate development, at least 13 people died when a flyover under construction collapsed late on Saturday in the south-eastern city of Chittagong, police said.
The authorities are investigating both accidents.
Initial reports said eight people had been killed in the factory fire, but the scale of the disaster became clear when rescue workers entered the building on Sunday.
“We resumed our search this morning and found the bodies lying on different floors of the factory building,” Brigadier General Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah of the Dhaka fire brigade told AFP news agency.
At least 100 people have died in a fire that swept through a clothes factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Later reports said that 120 people had died, but the number of fatalities was then lowered to at least 112. A number of people are believed to be missing.
The fire started on the ground floor – which was reportedly used as a warehouse – and quickly spread through the building.
Senior fire department official Mohammad Mahbub told the Associated Press news agency that the factory had no fire exit on the outside of the building.
“Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower,” he said.
The factory owner denied the allegations that the building was unsafe to work in.
“It is a huge loss for my staff and my factory. This is the first time we have ever had a fire at one of my seven factories,” Delwar Hossain told AFP.
Police and soldiers were deployed to keep the situation under control as thousands of anxious relatives of factory employees gathered at the scene.
“Where’s my son?” cried Sabina Yasmine. She said she saw the body of her daughter-in-law, who died in the fire, but her son was missing, AP reports.
She expressed fury at the factory owners, who she blamed for the fire.
Fatal fires are common in Bangladesh’s large garment manufacturing sector.
Lax safety standards, poor wiring and overcrowding are blamed for causing several deadly factory fires every year.
In December 2010, a wiring problem led to a fire in another clothes factory in the same industrial zone, leaving at least 25 people dead.
There are around 4,500 factories in Bangladesh, employing more than two million people.
Clothes account for up to 80% of Bangladesh’s $24 billion annual exports.
Mattel has released two commemorative Elizabeth Taylor dolls, the faces of which were reviewed and approved by the star herself after consenting to a Barbie made in her likeness ten years before her death in 2011.
Named after the late icon’s best-selling fragrance, the glamorous Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds Barbie doll sits alongside the more vixen-looking Elizabeth Taylor Violet Eyes Barbie doll.
Along with her signature black bob, the White Diamonds, $125, doll stands clad in a glamorous white dress with a red satin ribbon pinned on the lapel to represent the extensive work Elizabeth Taylor did for HIV and AIDS.
Meanwhile, the Violet Eyes doll, $150, wears a black satin dress with matching opera gloves and pumps, rhinestone jewels, black sunglasses and a mini “perfume” bottle. She also has a tiny red ribbon near her shoulder to represent her commitment to battling HIV and AIDS.
Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds Barbie doll
The two dolls are the fourth and fifth Elizabeth Taylor Barbies ever to be created, the previous three released together in 2000.
Her Father of the Bride Barbie doll featured the screen legend as a beautiful bride in the classic film by the same name.
A re-creation of the satin and lace wedding gown from the movie was made especially for the doll.
Elizabeth Taylor Violet Eyes Barbie doll
Elizabeth Taylor Barbie as Cleopatra was also released in 2000, her magnificent golden costume re-created complete with the dramatic “feather” cloak.
The late actress’ distinct features are captured with great detail in the doll’s sculpting – down to the exact shade of violet of her eyes.
The two Barbies have been released in the lead up to the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton biopic, Liz & Dick, premiering this Sunday.
Based on the true story of the couple’s tumultuous love affair, Lindsay Lohan stars as the legendary Elizabeth Taylor alongside Grant Bowler who plays actor Richard Burton in the Lifetime Original Movie.
For nearly a quarter of a century, Elizabeth Taylor and Burton were Hollywood royalty and their fiery romance was the most notorious, publicized and celebrated love affair of its day.
Liz & Dick premieres on Sunday, November 25, on Lifetime at 9 p.m. EST
With a month to go before Christmas, there is still time to make sure you look and feel fabulous this festive season.
See experts’ recommendations here:
GOAL: Radiant, glowing skin
Expert: Sarah Chapman, whose High Definition Facial is almost as famous as her client list, which includes Queen Rania of Jordan, Naomi Watts and Jemma Kidd.
Recommendation: Facial massage every other day is unbeatable for getting an instant glow. Use your knuckles (held in loose fists) and finger tips to roll, knead and drum life back into your skin.
These movements stimulate lymphatic drainage on puffy complexions and boost the vital supply of oxygen and nutrients to the skin. Massage used in combination with your skincare products increases their performance.
Once a week, try a mask (Skinesis Instant Miracle Mask, SpaceNK) to brighten, clarify and lift skin.
Layering a serum underneath a face mask packs an added punch.
You can make your own nourishing mask using a mixture of honey, a dash of olive oil and natural yogurt or avocado.
Or mix together some yogurt and large oatmeal flakes for an exfoliating at-home peel.
Best tip: For a cooling, de-puffing and revitalizing treatment straight from your kitchen, pour a small amount of water into a balloon, leave in your freezer and simply wrap in a cloth and roll all over the face before you apply your make-up.
It ends up looking like a giant ice cube sausage. This mini treatment will de-puff and bring an instant rosy glow.
GOAL: Shiny, healthy hair
Expert: Daniel Galvin Junior, an award-winning colorist whose clients include Kelly Brook, Holly Valance and Amanda Holden.
Recommendation: The most important things to focus on are detoxifying and nourishing the hair.
You can do an at-home hair detox treatment by mixing a quarter of a tablespoon of vitamin C powder, the same amount of cider vinegar and half a cup of hot water to freshly washed hair for a deep cleanse.
You can also deep condition your hair at home with a detox mask (try Daniel Galvin Junior Organics Hair Repair & Gloss, dgjorganics.com).
When applying a hair mask at home, gently warm a hand towel in the microwave and wrap it around the hair for 20 minutes – the heat intensifies the treatment, helping it last around three weeks.
Remember, if you’re planning a haircut or color before Christmas, book appointments now before salons get booked up.
Best tip: If you are going to try an up-do over the party season, start practicing a week before and go through “dry runs” to figure out how long it will take and to avoid any pitfalls.
With a month to go before Christmas, there is still time to make sure you look and feel fabulous this festive season
GOAL: A smoother décolletage
Expert: Skincare specialist Nichola Joss, whose A-list clients include Zoe Ball, Elle Macpherson and Tilda Swinton.
Recommendation: The skin on your décolletage is really delicate, so be gentle with it. You don’t need special products for that area; use the same ones you use on your face.
Cleanse, tone and moisturize your face twice a day and include your neck and chest.
Using facial toner on the area really helps tighten the skin. Always apply plenty of moisturizer with an SPF during the day – even in the winter months.
Before bedtime, substitute facial oil for moisturizer, which will hydrate more deeply (try The Sanctuary Active Reverse Lipid Recovery Facial Oil, Boots).
Skin in this area is too sensitive for exfoliation, but to make skin look plumper and more radiant, apply a firming mask twice a week.
Best tip: Disguising crepey skin with deep lines on your chest area is difficult.
Don’t apply foundation to the area – it will simply sit in the grooves, which can be ageing. Instead, try using an illuminator (St Tropez Gold Skin Illuminator, johnlewis.com) mixed in with your day cream. It gives the impression of more radiant skin.
GOAL: Fewer wrinkles
Expert: Cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Veronique Simon, whose clients include actresses Charlotte Rampling and Catherine Deneuve.
Recommendation: If you are considering Botox (where small injections are applied locally to facial muscles and temporarily paralyze them to reduce fine lines and wrinkles) or fillers (where substances like hyaluronic acid are injected into deeper lines to plump them out) before Christmas, this is the best time to have them, as you may need at least a one-week healing period after these treatments.
To aid healing, I recommend Arnica Cream – try Nelsons Arnica Cream, (Holland & Barrett), which minimizes any light bruising.
As a rejuvenating treatment, I recommend mesotherapy. This involves several small injections to the face that contain a cocktail of youth-boosting vitamins and plumping hyaluronic acid to improve the quality of the skin.
The effects can be seen after one treatment, but have a couple of sessions two to three weeks apart for best results.
Best tip: I always recommend my clients follow three rules: peel – I prefer micropeel, which is deep peeling to eliminate dead skin and promote collagen production (Simontherapie Gold Acid Free Micropeel, simontherapie.com); hydrate – choose something extremely hydrating such as Nivea Creme (Superdrug); and protect – guard the skin against free radicals with a good dose of antioxidants from a diet rich in fruit and vegetables.
The annual Sidewalk Santa Parade is another post-Thanksgiving tradition with a huge serving of ho-ho-ho along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The 110th annual Sidewalk Santa Parade has been around since 1902. Fifty fully suited, bell-ringing Sidewalk Santas were part of the Friday festivities.
After their jolly old stroll, the Volunteers of America Santas were whisked away – not by sleigh, but by bus. The donations they raise will be used for a holiday food voucher program for needy residents.
Sidewalk Santa Parade 2012
“Our sidewalk Santas are marching and parading, as they have done for 110 years, to remind New Yorkers that now’s the time to remember our neighbors in need who are hungry,” Rachel Weinstein of Volunteers for America told NY 1.
The unique parade’s route stretched from 50th to 59th Streets down Manhattan’s glitziest Avenue.
The Saint Nicks, Kris Kringles and Father Christmases spread the holiday cheer as fir trees began cropping up on street corners around New York and stores started to play Christmas carols to get shoppers ready for the festive season.
A new study has found that people who consume tofu and other plant-based foods might enjoy a better sex life than meat-eaters.
It’s thought that certain plant products can influence hormone levels and heighten sexual activity.
The research, published in the journal Hormones and Behavior, is the first to observe the connection between the so called sex hormones phytoestrogens, found in plants, and behavior in wild primates.
In this case, it was a group of red colobus monkeys in Uganda, but as primates, experts say we humans would likely experience similar effects from the compounds.
The research was carried out by Michael Wasserman, while he was a graduate student at UC Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.
Over 11 months, Michael Wasserman and his team followed a group of red colobus monkeys in Uganda’s Kibale National Park and recorded what the primates ate.
The researchers focused on aggression, which they measured by the number of chases and fights, the frequency of mating and time spent grooming, and the scientists also collected fecal samples to assess changes in hormone levels.
A new study has found that people who consume tofu and other plant-based foods might enjoy a better sex life than meat-eaters
The researchers found that the more male red colobus monkeys dined on the leaves of Millettia dura, a tropical tree containing estrogen-like compounds, and closely linked to soy, the higher their levels of estradiol, the “sex hormone” and cortisol the “stress hormone”.
They found that with the altered hormone levels the monkeys spent more time having sex, and less time grooming.
Michael Wasserman told Sciencelive: “By altering hormone levels and social behaviors important to reproduction and health, plants may have played a large role in the evolution of primate, including human, biology in ways that have been underappreciated.”
In a separate study Researchers from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, have found that men believe eating meat makes them more manly.
Professor Hank Rothgerber , who has published his research in the journal Men and Masculinity, said that meat eating was linked with “manhood, power, and virility”.
The research comes after the animal rights charity PETA has also insisted that fruit and veg are the key to virility.
The charity maintains that cholesterol in meat, eggs and dairy products can clog our arteries and slow the flow of blood to all the body’s organs – including those that are vital in the bedroom.
Vegan meals, on the other hand, contain none of the animal fat or cholesterol found in meat, eggs and dairy products.
Vegans are also, on average, fitter and slimmer than meat-eaters and less prone to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity and cancer, the charity claims.
Boxing world champion Hector “Macho” Camacho, known for skill and flamboyance in the ring as well as for a messy personal life and run-ins with the police, was declared dead on Saturday, four days after being shot in the face.
Hector Camacho was 50.
Shot while sitting in a parked car outside a bar Tuesday with a friend in the city of Bayamon, Hector Camacho was declared dead at the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The friend, 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, died at the scene of the shooting. Police said Adrian Mojica Moreno had nine small bags of cocaine in his pocket and a 10th bag was found open in the car.
Originally from Bayamon, just outside San Juan, Hector Camacho was long regarded as a flashy if volatile talent, a skilled boxer who was perhaps overshadowed by his longtime foil, Mexican superstar Julio Cesar Chavez, who would beat him in a long-awaited showdown in Las Vegas in 1992.
Hector Camacho fought professionally for three decades, from his humble debut against David Brown at New York’s Felt Forum in 1980 to an equally forgettable swansong against Sal Duran in Kissimmee, Florida, in 2010.
In between, he fought some of the biggest stars spanning two eras, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Roberto Duran.
“This is something I’ve done all my life, you know?” Hector Camacho told The Associated Press after a workout in 2010.
“A couple years back, when I was doing it, I was still enjoying it. The competition, to see myself perform. I know I’m at the age that some people can’t do this no more.”
Hector Camacho’s family moved to New York when he was young and he grew up in Spanish Harlem, which at the time was rife with crime. He landed in jail as a teenager before turning to boxing, which for many kids in his neighborhood provided an outlet for their aggression.
Former featherweight champion Juan Laporte, a friend since childhood, described Camacho as “like a little brother who was always getting into trouble”, but otherwise combined a friendly nature with a powerful jab.
“He’s a good human being, a good hearted person,” Juan Laporte said as he waited with other friends and members of the boxer’s family outside the hospital in San Juan after the shooting.
“A lot of people think of him as a cocky person but that was his motto … inside he was just a kid looking for something.”
Juan Laporte lamented that Camacho never found a mentor outside the boxing ring.
“The people around him didn’t have the guts or strength to lead him in the right direction,” Juan Laporte said.
“There was no one strong enough to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him how to do it.”
Hector Macho Camacho was declared dead on Saturday, four days after being shot in the face
Drug, alcohol and other problems trailed Hector Camacho after the prime of his boxing career. He was sentenced in 2007 to seven years in prison for the burglary of a computer store in Mississippi. While arresting him on the burglary charge in January 2005, police also found the drug ecstasy.
A judge eventually suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. He wound up serving two weeks in jail, though, after violating that probation.
Hector Camacho’s former wife, Amy, obtained a restraining order against him in 1998, alleging he threatened her and one of their children. The couple, who had two children at the time, later divorced.
He divided his time between Puerto Rico and Florida in recent years, appearing on Spanish-language television as well as on a reality show called Es Macho Time! on YouTube.
Inside the boxing ring, Hector Camacho flourished. He won three Golden Gloves titles as an amateur, and after turning pro, he quickly became a contender with an all-action style reminiscent of other Puerto Rican fighters.
Long promoted by Don King, Hector Camacho won his first world title by beating Rafael Limon in a super-featherweight bout in Puerto Rico on August 7, 1983. He moved up in weight two years later to capture a lightweight title by defeating Jose Luis Ramirez, and successfully defended the belt against fellow countryman Edwin Rosario.
The Rosario fight, in which the victorious Hector Camacho still took a savage beating, persuaded him to scale back his ultra-aggressive style in favor of a more cerebral, defensive approach.
The change in style was a big reason that Hector Camacho, at the time 38-0, lost a close split decision to Greg Haugen at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in 1991.
Hector Camacho won the rematch to set up his signature fight against Chavez, this time at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Camacho was roundly criticized for his lack of action, and the Mexican champion won a lopsided unanimous decision to retain the lightweight title.
It was at that point that Hector Camacho became the name opponent for other rising contenders, rather than the headliner fighting for his own glory.
He lost a unanimous decision to another young Puerto Rican fighter, Trinidad, and was soundly defeated by De La Hoya. In 1997, Hector Camacho ended Leonard’s final comeback with a fifth-round knockout. It was Hector Camacho’s last big victory even though he boxed for another decade.
“Hector was a fighter who brought a lot of excitement to boxing,” said Ed Brophy, executive director of International the Boxing Hall of Fame.
“He was a good champion. Roberto Duran is kind of in a class of his own, but Hector surely was an exciting fighter that gave his all to the sport.”
The fighter’s last title bout came in 1997 against welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya, who won by unanimous decision. Hector Camacho’s last fight was his defeat by Duran in May 2010.
Philosophy: A free gift set with spends of over $75, including a tote and a selection of Philosophy’s most popular products. Use the discount code DELIGHT on checkout.
Sephora: A free Buxom Sidekicks Trio (a full size mascara and two mini lip polishes) with any online purchase over $25. Use the discount code FBCYBER on checkout.
Shu Uemura: 20% off everything, plus free shipping on spends of over $50. Valid until Tuesday with the discount code WISH2012 on checkout.
J.Crew Factory: 40% off everything. Use the discount code GIVEANDGET on checkout.
Cyber Monday 2012 Fashion Deals Guide
Madewell: With the discount code TREAT, you’ll get 25% off your entire purchase.
Piperlime: 20% off the entire site between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Shopbop: With the discount code BIGEVENT12, you’ll get 20% off spends of over $250, 25% off sends of over $500, 30% off if you spend over $1,000 and 35% off on orders over $1,500.
Revolve: Sale items have markdowns of up to 95% off for the whole weekend. The site is also offering free shipping.
Vince Camuto: 30% off everything. Use the discount code HOLIDAY on checkout.
Yoox: 40% off selected fall collections, plus a further 15% off with the discount code YOOXTHANKS on checkout.
If you don’t want to face the Black Friday crowds, there’s no reason to miss out on the holiday bargains. Cyber Monday, the lazy person’s answer to the seasonal sales, is almost upon us.
In fact, with 97% of online retailers getting in on the action, some might argue that Cyber Monday deals are even better than those on Black Friday.
Of course, with the wealth of options available, it can be difficult to know where to get started, let alone navigating the minefield of discount codes and special Twitter and Facebook offers.
If you do your research, though, and log on early, you can secure the bargains you want, without the risk of sustaining any injuries.
With that in mind, we bring you some of the best deals so far – whether you’re chasing the latest tablet or the perfect party dress.
Amazon: The online retail giant is celebrating Cyber Monday with a whole week of bargains.
Among the best discounts are 80% off thousands of Kindle books; up to 70% off selected headphones (10% off Beats by Dr Dre and Bose headphones) and $25 off spends of over $60 on selected Fisher-Price toys.
Among the best buys will be a Panasonic VIERA 55-Inch TV at 60% off, a Samsung 11.6 in Chromebook for $249, a Dyson DC25 Ball All-Floors Upright Vacuum Cleaner at $299 and DVDs such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 for just $1.96.
Follow @AmazonDeals on Twitter for flash “Lightening Deals”. There will also be special offers on the Amazon Facebook page.
Best Buy:The chain’s Cyber Monday deals will run until January 2, with free shipping for the duration.
Highlights include cameras from $40 and the HTC Titan Windows phone and HTC Wildfire S Android are both free with a new two-year contract. Selected laptops will also be reduced to as little as $279.99.
Cyber Monday 2012 Best Deals
Kmart: Buy-one-get-one-half-off on footwear; Jaclyn Smith and Sofía Vergara comforter sets at $49.99 (from $79.99-$109.99); 75% off all diamond earrings; 50% off selected outdoor Christmas decorations.
Specific offers include 12-in-1 game table for $89 ($60 off), a 19-inch LED Proscan TV/DVD set for $119 and a Pulse Charger electric scooter at $71.99 (40% off).
Kohl’s: The Kohl’s Cyber Monday deals kick off tomorrow, and will run until Tuesday November 27.
Online shoppers can enjoy 20% off their entire purchase, along with free shipping.
There is one perk to shopping in-store though. Kohl’s is picking up the tab for one shopper in every store, every day until Christmas Eve.
Macy’s: Buy-one-get-one-free on selected women’s sweaters and boots; 50per cent off selected handbags; up to 70% off comforters.
Specific offers include a Cuisinart 8-cup food processor for $69.99 and a Travel pro Highlite three-piece luggages set at $139.99.
Free shipping on all orders over $75 with the discount code CYBER on checkout (offer excludes furniture, mattresses and rugs).
Sears: The Sears sale goes on until Thursday November 27.Highlighted deals include a $430 discount on a Maytag washer and dryer, each priced at $399.99, when purchased together.
A NordicTrack elliptical is down by $400 to $499.99 and there is an $80 discount on a Kenmore Elite® 5-qt. stand mixer, down to $169.99.
Target: A number of the retail giant’s Cyber Monday deals will last for the whole week, though most of the bargains won’t be released until the day itself.
Among the deals announced so far are: Buy-one-get-one-half price on selected video games, 25% on all Dyson Vacuums and an Acer Aspire One 10.1″ Netbook for $199.99 (Monday only).
There will also be $50 Target gift card giveaways on purchases including a Motorola Digital Baby Monitor and a KitchenAid Professional 6-Qt Stand Mixer.
Walmart: You can take advantage of Cyber Monday offers from tomorrow until December 2.
Many deals are yet to be announced, but bargain-hunters can already expect to pick up an Xbox 360 Skylanders Family Fun Bundle for $159, a Samsung 55-inch 1080p Class LED television for $1,498 (a saving of up to $1,000) and a Little Tikes Kitchen for $50.
Egypt’s top judges have accused President Mohammed Mursi of staging an “unprecedented attack” on the judiciary.
Mohammed Mursi passed a decree earlier this week granting himself extensive new powers.
It includes a bar on any court dissolving the constituent assembly, which is drawing up a new constitution.
Thursday’s decree has sparked angry demonstrations, with attacks on offices of Mohammed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood party.
The president has said he is acting to protect the revolution.
In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council called on Mohammed Mursi to “this decree from everything that violates the judicial authority,” Mena state news agency reported.
There had been reports that the council was about to disband the constituent assembly for a second time.
Egypt’s top judges have accused President Mohammed Mursi of staging an unprecedented attack on the judiciary
That could seriously derail the transition to democracy, says our correspondent, further delaying new parliamentary elections, which could deter Egypt’s political leaders from taking tough decisions while they wait for the vote.
Mohammed Mursi also sacked his prosecutor general on Thursday and gave himself the sole power to appoint a new one.
His replacement moved quickly to reopen criminal investigations into ousted President Hosni Mubarak, his family, and former regime officials.
It is likely to be a popular move, as although Mubarak is serving a long jail term for ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising, many officials were acquitted, creating deep resentments.
The ruling also bans any challenging of the president’s decisions and laws.
Both critics and supporters of Mohammed Mursi have staged rallies since the decree. Overnight, crowds gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, vowing to stage a sit-in.
A large opposition rally is also planned for Tuesday.
The US said earlier that Mohammed Mursi’s move had raised concerns in the international community.
Thai police have used tear gas against thousands of protesters calling for the overthrow of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok.
At least 10,000 protesters gathered, demonstrating against the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of the deposed former prime minister.
The rally was organized by a group who accuse Yingluck Shinawatra of being a puppet of her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.
At least seven police officers were reported wounded in clashes.
Anti-riot police carrying plastic shields fired tear gas at protesters who tried to climb over concrete and barbed wire barriers blocking entry to the rally site, Bangkok’s Royal Plaza, near the parliament.
The rally was not banned but police blocked demonstrators from accessing some streets near government buildings.
“We used tear gas because protesters were blocking police and did not comply with the security measures we put in place,” police spokesman Piya Uthaya told a local TV station, according to Reuters.
Police said they had seized various weapons, including knives and bullets, as protesters arrived.
Thai police have used tear gas against thousands of protesters calling for the overthrow of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok
The demonstration was organized by a new group calling itself Pitak Siam – or Protect Thailand.
Led by a retired army general, the group accuses Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration of corruption and ignoring insults to the revered monarchy.
“I promise that Pitak Siam will succeed in driving this government out,” former General Boonlert Kaewprasit said in his address to the rally.
“The world will see this corrupted and cruel government. The world can see the government under a puppet,” he said later.
The group has attracted the support of various royalist groups including “yellow shirt” members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) who helped destabilize governments either led or backed by Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006 and 2008.
He remains a deeply divisive figure in Thailand. Ousted in a 2006 military-backed coup, he fled the country in 2008 shortly before being found guilty of abuse of power.
Earlier this week, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was democratically elected in 2011 with a large majority, ordered nearly 17,000 police to be deployed during the rally and invoked a special security law.
“They [the government] like to claim they got 15 million votes. I’m here to show I was not one of them. So don’t count me in. I didn’t choose you,” one unnamed protester told the Associated Press.
The body of Yasser Arafat is to be exhumed on Tuesday, Palestinian officials say.
Former Palestinian leader’s body is to undergo tests to find out whether his death in Paris in 2004 was caused by poisoning.
Yasser Arafat’s medical records say he had a stroke resulting from a blood disorder.
However, France began a murder inquiry in August after Swiss experts hired by a documentary crew found radioactive polonium-210 on Yasser Arafat’s personal effects.
His tomb, in Ramallah in the West Bank, was sealed off earlier this month.
Once the body is removed from the tomb inside the stone-clad tomb mausoleum, scientists from France, Switzerland and Russia will each take samples, former Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi told reporters.
Each team will conduct its own independent analysis of the sample, he said, and then body will be reburied the same day with military honors.
Yasser Arafat, who led the Palestine Liberation Organization for 35 years and became the first president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996, fell violently ill in October 2004 at his compound.
Yasser Arafat’s body is to undergo tests to find out whether his death in Paris in 2004 was caused by poisoning
Two weeks later he was flown to a French military hospital in Paris, where he died on 11 November 2004, aged 75.
His widow, Suha, objected to a post-mortem examination at the time, but later appealed to the Palestinian Authority to permit the exhumation “to reveal the truth”.
Many Palestinians continue to believe that Israel poisoned him. Israel has denied any involvement. Others allege that he had Aids.
In 2005, the New York Times obtained a copy of Yasser Arafat’s medical records, which it said showed he died of a massive hemorrhagic stroke that resulted from a bleeding disorder caused by an unknown infection.
Independent experts who reviewed the records told the paper that it was highly unlikely that he had died of AIDS or had been poisoned.
A murder inquiry was launched by French prosecutors in August after an investigation by al-Jazeera TV, working with scientists at the Institute of Radiation Physics (IRA) at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, found “significant” traces of polonium-210 present in samples taken from Yasser Arafat’s personal effects, including his trademark keffiyeh headdress.
In some cases, the elevated levels were 10 times higher than those on control subjects, and most of the polonium could not have come from natural sources, the scientists said.
Halle Berry received a police escort on Friday as she took daughter Nahla to the theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.
Halle Berry, 46, and her 4-year-old were driven to the Nokia Theatre in a black SUV, surrounded by four police on motorcycles following Thursday’s incident between Halle’s boyfriend Olivier Martinez and ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry.
She looked calm as she escorted Nahla into the theatre and then carried her out accompanied by a bodyguard.
Looking low key in jeans, a black top and sandals, Halle Berry held Nahla’s hand as they made their way inside to watch a concert by children’s entertainers Yo Gabba Gabba.
Nahla looked pretty in a pink polka dot dress and purple flip flops and listened to music on bright pink headphones, while her mother held her cuddly toy.
There was no sign of Halle Berry’s French beau Olivier Martinez who had earlier been seen in a liquor store brandishing a swollen hand from Thursday’s altercation.
Olivier Martinez, 46, opted for a half-hearted disguise by wearing a cap, but was nevertheless prepared to face the photographers on his “victory walk” – after apparently coming off better than Gabriel Aubry in yesterday’s fight.
Still, Olivier Martinez’s hand appeared to have swelled some more overnight – and looked bloated and painful as he stopped by Gil Turner’s Fine Wine & Spirits in Los Angeles on Friday.
Gabriel Aubry, 37, meanwhile, was pictured being whisked out of LAPD’s Downtown jail in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
He had a contingency plan in place for the photographers, though, cowering from the flashbulbs under a blanket in the back seat of an SUV as he was driven away.
Bail Bondsman David Perez of David Perez Bail Bonds paid Gabriel Aubry’s $20,000 bail – before picking him up at around 6 p.m.
Halle Berry received a police escort on Friday as she took daughter Nahla to the theatre in Downtown Los Angeles
Gabriel Aubry – father of Halle Berry’s daughter Nahla – was charged with battery and taken into custody upon his discharge from hospital at around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday – where he was treated for a broken rib and bruises to the face.
His booking sheets lists him as 6ft2 and weighing 180lbs.
The pictures emerged as fresh details of the horrific fight between Gabriel Aubry and Olivier Martinez, which was reportedly captured on security cameras, continued to unravel.
Nahla was apparently saved from witnessing the full brutality of the fight – after Halle rushed her inside the house as the two men started to face off, TMZ reports.
However, it is unclear if she did witness some of the fight.
It was initially reported the brawl happened inside Halle Berry’s house – but it is now claimed the altercation played out in the large driveway, according to the website.
After Olivier Martinez said to Gabriel Aubry: “We have to move on,” the Canadian model is said to have retaliated and pushed the French actor and tried to punch him before a full blown fight broke out.
Gabriel Aubry and Halle Berry – who split in 2010 – have been at odds ever since she tried to convince a judge to allow her to move to France with Nahla, a move which was recently blocked by the courts.
On Thursday a judge issued an emergency protective order in the wake of the melee – meaning Gabriel Aubry must stay 100 yards away from Halle, Olivier and Nahla.
Onlookers told TMZ the fight was “brutal”, with the website describing a blow-by-blow account of the melee.
A source said: “Olivier blocked [Gabriel Aubry’s punch] and the punch struck him in the shoulder instead.
“Gabriel then pushed Olivier to the ground, a struggle ensued, ending when Olivier pinned Gabriel to the ground.”
Olivier Martinez performed a citizen’s arrest on his love rival, before police were called to the scene and arrested Gabriel Aubry for battery.
Meanwhile, Olivier Martinez also required hospital treatment – and arrived at the Cedars Sinai Hospital around an hour after Gabriel Aubry.
The model-turned-actor was later pictured leaving the hospital, with Halle Berry and Nahla in tow, and took the wheel of the car despite sporting a swollen hand, which he may have fractured during the fight.
Meanwhile, Halle Berry was joined by a slew of other celebrity parents and their children at Friday’s show.
Pope Benedict XVI is about to create six cardinals from non-European countries, at a Vatican ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica.
The cardinals, the closest aides of the Pope, come from the Philippines, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Colombia and the US.
Analysts say it is unusual for the Pope to select only non-Europeans.
The Pope has said his choices aim to show “the Church is a Church of all peoples, [and] speaks in all languages”.
All six cardinal-designates are younger than 80 and therefore likely to be eligible to vote for a new Pope when the current pontiff dies.
Cardinals wear red hats, known as birettas, and vestments to symbolize their readiness to shed their blood to defend their Christian faith.
The new cardinals who will be presented with red birettas and gold rings at Saturday’s consistory, or cardinal-making ceremony, are:
US Archbishop James Harvey, 63, prefect of the papal household
Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, 72
Indian Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
Nigerian Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, 68
Colombian Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, 70
Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle of Manila, 55
Pope Benedict XVI is about to create six cardinals from non-European countries, at a Vatican ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica
Pope Benedict XVI has previously faced criticism for appointing mainly Europeans as cardinals.
It is the second consistory of the year.
In February he created 22 new cardinals including 16 Europeans, seven of whom were Italian.
By adding six non-Europeans to the number of 114 cardinal electors, the Pope has slightly shifted the geographical demographic of cardinal-electors.
Europeans will still make up the majority, but down from 55% to 51%.
The Church estimates less than a quarter of the world’s Catholics live in Europe.
In order better to reflect the international character of Catholic Church leadership, the Pope decided to give red hats to Catholic archbishops from three countries with large Muslim populations – India, Lebanon and Nigeria.
Cardinal-designate John Onaiyekan is the archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria, where Christians and Muslims each make up about half the population, and dialogue between the two faiths is increasingly important.
He says the Pope’s elevation of Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al Rahi, the head of the Maronite Church – an ancient Lebanese Christian Church in communion with Rome – is seen as a sign of Vatican support for religious diversity in Lebanon.
During a visit to Beirut in September, the Pope said Lebanon was a model for the region.
He has called on Christians to remain in the Middle East despite rising Islamism.
Before Saturday’s ceremony, Pope Benedict met Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.
A representative of the Shia militant group Hezbollah will attend Saturday’s ceremony.
Jennifer Aniston’s first boyfriend, Adonis Tsilimparis, has spoken out about his fleeting high school relationship with the Hollywood star.
Jennifer Aniston might have dated a string of the world’s most desirable men, including Brad Pitt and John Mayer, but musician Adonis Tsilimparis was the first man to pucker up with the A-list actress.
It might have been over 30 years ago, but the seventh grade romance between the 12-year-olds is still fresh in his memory, and he even has a Valentine’s Day card to prove it.
“Dear Adonis,” Jennifer Aniston had written.
“Love & Friendship Always. Jennifer A.”
Now working as an author of musical scores for TV and film, the New Yorker told theNew York Daily News that the two youngsters used to sneak behind a school staircase to “make-out”.
“She was very open, very, very sweet. She was very, very loving, and she had a very big heart,” Adonis Tsilimparis told the paper.
Jennifer Aniston’s first boyfriend, Adonis Tsilimparis, has spoken out about his fleeting high school relationship with the Hollywood star
Adonis Tsilimparis went on to claim that, although he had tried, he hadn’t got any further than kissing with the now superstar: “I tried. But she didn’t let me…We used to go to the back stairs at school at lunchtime and make out.”
Even though Jennifer Aniston, 43, is now happily engaged to actor Justin Theroux, her first boyfriend still remembers her fondly.
“She was just goofballs…But that’s why I loved her. Total clown, very lovable and that’s why everybody liked her,” Adonis Tsilimparis said of the actress.
While he went on to say that he didn’t remember how the young couple split, classmate Tom Friedner, who also had a brief romance with Jennifer Aniston, said that Adonis Tsilimparis ended it.
Edwarda O’Bara, the world’s longest coma patient, who had been called the “Sleeping Snow White” during the 42 years she remained comatose, has died at the age of 59.
Edwarda O’Bara was a cheery high school student in 1970 when she suddenly fell ill, threw up her medicine and slipped into a diabetic coma.
But before she became comatose Edwarda O’Bara turned to her mother and pleaded with her to “promise … you won’t leave me”.
Her mother stayed true to her word, enduring a grueling schedule to constantly stay near her daughter until the mother died five years ago and the woman’s sister became her primary care giver – until Edwarda O’Bara passed away on Wednesday.
As a popular 16-year-old, Edwarda O’Bara had a bright future ahead of her but then she became ill with a severe bout of pneumonia.
In the early hours of January 3 in 1970, Edwarda O’Bara “woke up shaking and in great pain because the oral form of insulin she had been taking wasn’t reaching her blood stream”, according to her family.
She was rushed to hospital and as she lay in her bed, she turned to her mother, Kaye O’Bara, and pleaded with her to stay near.
“Promise me you won’t leave me,” the teen begged her mother, according to the Miami Herald.
Terrified, Kaye O’Bara assured daughter: “Of course not. I would never leave you, darling,” having no idea of the long ordeal ahead.
The mother kept that promise, taking care of her daughter, until Kaye O’Bara herself died five years ago.
For more than 35 years, Kaye O’Bara remained constantly by Edwarda’s bedside, enduring a grueling schedule to give her daughter around the clock care.
Kaye O’Bara would only sleep for 90 minutes at a time, so she would always be accessible to her daughter.
The devoted mother would not institutionalize Edwarda O’Bara, even though the financial burden became a great challenge to the family.
Though Kaye O’Bara died at the age of 80 on March 7, 2008, she never gave up hope that her daughter would one day wake up from her coma.
Edwarda O’Bara’s father, Joe, had passed away in 1977. He died from a heart attack, believed to have been brought on by the strain of caring for his ailing daughter.
After their mother’s passing, Edwarda O’Bara’s sister Colleen stepped in and continued the tradition to offer constant care to Edwarda at her home in Miami Gardens.
Colleen O’Bara quit her previous job as a horse trainer to care full time for her sister.
“I didn’t give it a second thought. She’s my sister and I love her.” Colleen O’Bara said.
As part of her care, her body was turned every two hours to keep away bedsores, she was given insulin and fed through a tube.
Colleen O’Bara would also lovingly braid her sister’s grey hairs, suck the mucus from Edwarda’s throat to allow her to breath and constantly speak to her sister, assuming Edwarda was soaking up her every word.
She mixes baby food, milk, eggs, orange juice, Mazola oil, brewer’s yeast and a piece of white bread into a blender and then a wire mesh strainer, pouring the concoction into Edwarda’s feeding tube every two hours, day and night.
She suctions mucus from Edwarda’s throat, whispers endearments in her ear and braids her long gray hair.
Edwarda O’Bara, the world’s longest coma patient, who had been called the Sleeping Snow White during the 42 years she remained comatose, has died at the age of 59
Family and friends would also visit her, playing music and reading to the woman.
Kaye O’Bara was a devout Catholic who said she felt the presence of the Virgin Mary in her daughter’s room.
That led Dr. Wayne Dyer to write a book about the family and their unconditional care for Edwarda O’Bara, A Promise Is A Promise: An Almost Unbelievable Story of a Mother’s Unconditional Love and What It Can Teach Us.
The book attracted widespread attention and visitors from around the world would come and visit the ailing woman and encourage her family.
“I had to learn to let strangers in because they aren’t strangers,” Colleen O’Bara said.
Remembering Edwarda as “the best sister in the whole wide world”, Colleen O’Bara said that she learned so much from the experience.
“She taught me so much, and I’m talking about now, after she was in the coma,” Colleen O’Bara said.
“She taught me so much about unconditional love that I couldn’t say I had it before. She taught me about patience, that I didn’t have before. I learned so much from taking care of my sister. It’s like I grew up overnight.”
This April, Colleen O’Bara gathered friends and family to Miami to celebrate Edwarda’s 59th birthday.
“We all had a good time at the party especially Edwarda. Everyone was so amazed at how aware of everything going on she was. It was just a good day,” the sister shared with her friends and supporters on Facebook.
“My mom’s spirit was so strong that we all felt her with us,” Colleen O’Bara added.
Throughout the year, Colleen O’Bara had updated supporters on Facebook on her sister’s condition.
“She is still making different sounds and is so much more aware of her surroundings,” the sister wrote in a posting in October.
“When I am talking to her I have her total attention, I can tell by the look in her eyes. This just really makes me smile.”
“Thank you for all the cards and letters I received. They always make me smile,” she added, expressing gratitude.
Even though Colleen O’Bara was optimistic about her sister’s improvement, she noticed that on Tuesday night, Edwards was having difficulty keeping her food down.
By Wednesday, the woman seemed to be feeling better and her sister told Edwarda O’Bara that she was going to grab a cup of coffee.
“I noticed her looking directly at me and gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen,” her sister said.
When Colleen O’Bara returned with her coffee, Edwarda had already passed away.
“She then closed her eyes and joined my Mom in Heaven,” Colleen O’Bara announced.
Edwarda O’Bara is survived by her sister, nephew Richard O’Bara and great-nephew Joseph Michael O’Bara.
EYES OPEN BUT STILL ASLEEP: COMAS CAN LEAVE PATIENTS UNABLE TO FEEL, SPEAK OR MOVE FOR DECADES
A person is deemed to be comatose, or in a coma, when they are unconscious for more than six hours.
While comatose, a patient cannot be woken up and though they sometimes appear to be awake, they cannot consciously feel, speak, hear, or move.
Around 40% of comas are drug induced while others are caused by a lack of oxygen reaching the brain (25%) or strokes (20%). Trauma to the head, malnutrition or abnormal glucose levels are the catalyst in around 15% of cases.
Comas can last just a few days or span to several weeks or even years.
Elaine Esposito, of Tarpon Springs, Florida, was comatose for 37 years – the second longest recorded period, after Edwarda O’Bara.
Elaine Esposito was a 6-year-old child when she was anesthetized for an appendectomy on August 6, 1941 but she never awoke from the operation.
Her last words to her mother were: “Mommy, I’m not afraid. Don’t worry.”
She died on November 25, 1978 at the age of 43.
Edwarda O’Bara had been in a coma since 1970.
Over the 42 years she was effectively asleep, the woman missed scores of historical events including the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Former senior aides to Mitt Romney have hit back at the “hypocrites” in the Republican party who just days before the election were clamoring for jobs in a Romney administration and are now belittling him.
“I’m sure Governor Romney is finding out now who his real friends are,” said a former adviser.
“There were one or two well-known figures who were late committing to support him, were the most eager to curry favor when it looked like we would win and are now out there trashing the governor.
“In politics, when you win you are a genius and when you lose everyone calls you an idiot. But to see the way certain craven hypocrites are acting right now really sticks in the craw.”
Speaking on MSNBC, Dan Senor, a former top foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney, accused some of the former Massachusetts supporters of being fair weather friends.
At a big event in Ohio just days before the election, he said, there were leading figures cozying up to Mitt Romney and trying to land cabinet positions.
“Tens of thousands of people, you could feel the energy, a hundred top-tier Romney surrogates were at the event,” he remembered.
“I’m backstage with some of them – I won’t mention their names – but they’re talking about Romney like he’s Reagan.
“<<His debate performances were the best performances of any Republican nominee in presidential history. He’s iconic>>. They were talking about him because they believed he was going to win in four or five days. And in fact, some of them were already talking to our transition to position themselves for a Romney cabinet.”
Mitt Romney aides blast Republican “hypocrites” like Bobby Jindal and Newt Gingrich
Within days, however, there was a “stunning” turnaround as the same people turned on Romney with a vengeance.
“They were on television, it was unbelievable, it was five, six days later, absolutely eviscerating him,” Dan Senor said.
But the other senior adviser, who declined to be named when criticizing senior Republicans, singled out Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Newt Gingrich as among those who had been quickest to lambast Mitt Romney.
After Mitt Romney told donors on a post-election conference call that many voted had plumped for President Barack Obama because he had offered them “gifts”, Bobby Jindal said Romney’s comments were “absolutely wrong”.
He said: “We have got to stop dividing American voters. We need to go after 100 per cent of the votes, not 53 per cent – we need to go after every single vote.”
That was a reference to Mitt Romney’s notorious “47 per cent” comments in which he said that proportion of voters was dependent on government and would inevitably back a Democrat.
Newt Gingrich called the “gifts” comments “nuts” and “insulting” to voters.
The anonymous adviser said: “Bobby Jindal wanted very, very much to be Vice President. He appeared publicly with Governor Romney after the 47 per cent comments, which the governor himself said were totally wrong.
“Newt Gingrich made it clear to us he wanted to be part of a Romney administration.
“Both these guys – and others – were the governor’s best friend when it seemed he was on the brink of becoming our 45th President. Now they’re calling him a bum. Real profiles in courage.”
Larry Hagman, who played for more than a decade TV villain JR Ewing, has died at the age of 81, his family says.
Larry Hagman, who had suffered from cancer and cirrhosis of the liver, died in hospital on Friday afternoon, according to a family statement.
“Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most,” said the family.
“He was surrounded by loved ones.”
Long-time friend Linda Gray, who played Sue Ellen, was by his bedside.
“Larry Hagman was my best friend for 35 years,” said Linda Gray in a statement released by her agent Jeffrey Lane.
“He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously.
“He was an original and lived life to the full.”
Jeffrey Lane added that Patrick Duffy, who played his brother Bobby in Dallas, was also at Larry Hagman’s bedside at Medical City Dallas Hospital.
“They had been friends for 35 years and they had worked together for many years, so obviously it is devastating,” Jeffrey Lane told The Sun.
During 13 years as the most scheming oil tycoon in Dallas, JR in his Stetson became one of the most distinctive faces on television screens across the world.
It quickly became one of the network’s top-rated programmes – with its 356 episodes being seen by an estimated 300 million people in 57 countries – and was revived this year.
Larry Hagman, who played for more than a decade TV villain JR Ewing, has died at the age of 81
Born in Texas, Larry Hagman later moved to Los Angeles where he was cared for mainly by his grandmother.
After a brief period spent working in the fields, Larry Hagman followed his mother into showbusiness and even toured and played in musicals with her.
Moving into television, he played astronaut Tony Nelson in the 1960s television comedy I Dream of Jeannie.
He first performed as JR Ewing in 1978 and became its highest-paid star, as the programme came to define 1980s excess.
The actor himself owned more than 2,000 cowboy hats.
When Dallas finally finished in 1991, Larry Hagman went on to appear in hit films Nixon and Primary Colors.
His forthright biography, Hello Darlin’, detailed his youthful drug-taking exploits and revealed the extent of his 50-year battle with alcoholism.
Even on the hardworking set of Dallas, he consumed five bottles of champagne a day for years and was finally diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in 1992.
Three years later he had a liver transplant and kept a photo of the organ donor above his mirror.
“I say a prayer for him every morning,” he said.
Despite this, Larry Hagman continued to drink secretly until a further life-saving operation in 2003 forced him to stop.
Larry Hagman announced in October 2011 that he had a “treatable” form of throat cancer and would receive treatment while filming the Dallas reboot.
At the time the star said: “As J.R. I could get away with anything – bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer. I do want everyone to know that it is a very common and treatable form of cancer.
“I will be receiving treatment while working on the new Dallas series. I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love.”
The late actor added: “Besides, as we all know, you can’t keep J.R. down!”
Larry Hagman is survived by wife Maj, who he married in 1952. In 2008, Maj was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
The actor was last seen in public on November 15, when he attended the White Bridle Society’s Da Vinci, Wine and Roses benefit at held at the Lisa Blue Baron Mansion in Dallas.
He always refused to let his wife’s illness get him down and said: “She’s not very well. But those were the cards we were dealt, so we’ll play with them. More than half a century of happy years is a lot to draw on.”
The couple have two children: Heidi Kristina, born in 1958, and Preston, born in 1962.
First Lady Michelle Obama has kicked off the holiday season by welcoming the White House Christmas Tree to her home – a 19-foot Fraser fir from Peak Farms in Jefferson, North Carolina.
Michelle Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha, and the first dog Bo were also in attendance for the presentation of the giant tree, which arrived on a horse-drawn carriage on Friday morning.
As the carriage, driven by two men in dapper top hats and red bow ties, pulled up outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as the Marine Band played Oh Christmas Tree.
With Malia and Sasha smiling and petting Bo, Michelle Obama gave the “thumbs up” after inspecting the tree, which she called “perfect”.
“I think we’ll take it!” Michelle Obama laughed.
“We can have Christmas now.”
Yet the inspection was merely a formality as the tree was selected by White House staffers in early October and harvested this month.
First Lady Michelle Obama has kicked off the holiday season by welcoming the White House Christmas Tree to her home
The tree will be placed on display in the Blue Room, where it will become the centerpiece of the White House Christmas decorations.
It came from Rusty and Beau Estes, this year’s grand champion winners of the National Christmas Tree Association, which has provided the White House tree each year since 1966.
Trees from Cool Springs Nursery in Banner Elk, North Carolina were chosen for the vice president’s home.
“This is the first time the White House tree and vice president’s tree have come from the same state,” said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
“It speaks volumes about the quality of trees available in North Carolina.”
North Carolina ranks second in the nation in Christmas tree production, after Oregon, and more than 5 million trees are harvested there each year.
Last year’s White House tree, an 18-and-a-half-ft balsam fir, came from Neshkoro, Wisconsin.
The official Christmas tree for the Capitol will arrive on Monday and will be lit by House Speaker John A. Boehner on December 4.
The 65-foot Engelmann spruce is stopping in 28 different communities on its journey across the country from the White River National Forest in Colorado to Washington.
It will be decorated with around 5,000 ornaments handcrafted by Coloradans to celebrate this year’s theme, Celebrating Our Great Outdoors.
