Sage Stallone’s body laid undiscovered for at least three to four days before being found Friday in his Los Angeles home, according to new reports.
Coroner’s officials are still investigating the death of Sage Stallone who is understood to have overdosed on prescription pills found at the scene.
According to TMZ, the 36-year-old filmmaker “lived like Howard Hughes” in a room “littered with junk” – and his body could have laid cold for as long as a week.
A source told TMZ Sage Stallone was living like a recluse at his Studio City home, and had not spoken to his family for a week before his body was discovered.
Sage Stallone’s body laid undiscovered for at least three to four days before being found Friday in his Los Angeles home
A housekeeper who is believed to have been at the residence earlier in the week was reported to have been instructed never to enter his room, which a law enforcement source described as “disgusting” and foul-smelling.
Sage Stallone’s mother, Sasha Czack, is said to have called the housekeeper on Friday to check on him after she was unable to reach her son. That is when the body was discovered, according to TMZ.
A friend of Sage Stallone has meanwhile disputed reports Sylvester Stallone’ son committed suicide, saying he was “healthy and upbeat” just two weeks before his sudden death.
As coroner’s officials investigate if the death was accidental, a friend of the young filmmaker says he is baffled by the news because he “never knew him to do drugs”.
The friend, who was not identified by RadarOnline, told the website: “I saw him two weeks ago and he seemed great. He was healthy and upbeat and didn’t seem depressed at all.
“I never knew him to do drugs, not even weed, so for him to die from an overdose is kind of shocking to me. I am totally stunned.”
RadarOnline reports an autopsy will be performed as early as Sunday, however, toxicology tests will be needed to determine cause of death.
The results of such tests could take weeks.
Sylvester Stallone on Friday said he is “devastated” and “grief-stricken” over the death of his son.
A source told Radar that medics arrived on the scene at 3:05 p.m. Friday afternoon and spent around 25 minutes trying to revive Sage Stallone before his death was pronounced at the scene.
A Russian hacker has discovered an easy way to get in-app purchases on the iPhone and iPad for free.
The process is potentially damaging for Apple’s iOS developers whose main revenue comes from the paid upgrades.
Users just have to download security certificates from the hacker’s website and change a setting on your device’s wi-fi connection.
The hacker, who calls himself ZonD80, also posted a video on YouTube announcing his method and explaining how to do it.
But the clip had been removed today and instead displayed a message saying it was no longer available “due to a copyright claim by Apple, Inc”.
According to the Huffington Post, the Apple blog 9to5Mac has confirmed that the hack does work on several of its devices which run systems iOS3 to the up-coming iOS6.
For the time being, Apple will have some respite as Zon80’s says his website will be unavailable for “two or three days” because his servers are down.
The hacker’s workaround comes days after it emerged that older versions of Apple’s operating system, OS X, was being attacked by Java-based malware.
Despite security warnings a shocking number of internet users continue to use some of the most blatant letter and number combinations.
In the wake of a security breach at Yahoo a Slovakian IT security company has released a list of the most commonly used passwords for hacked accounts.
ESET carried out a study of the almost half a million account details leaked online by an unknown hacker group, as reported by Yahoo News.
Analysts found that almost 1,700 (0.38%) of the hacked accounts were protected with the password “123456”, while 780 users opted for “password”.
In 2011 “password” was the most commonly used password, according to password management application maker SpashID.
Also in the top 10 were “welcome”,“abc123” and “qwerty”. They are easy to remember but also very easy to guess.
In the wake of a security breach at Yahoo a Slovakian IT security company has released a list of the most commonly used passwords for hacked accounts
ESET advised in a statement: “Since all the accounts are in plain-text, anyone with an account present in the leak which also has the same password on other sites (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc), should assume that someone has accessed their account.”
The security breach happened on Wednesday when a hacker group has posted online the details of 450,000 user accounts and passwords it claimed to have stolen from a Yahoo server.
Anyone who is concerned an account was compromised in the Yahoo attack can visit security company Sucuri’s online check at labs.sucuri.net/?yahooleak.
The Ars Technica technology news website reported that the group, which calls itself D33DS Company, hacked into an unidentified subdomain of Yahoo’s website where they retrieved unencrypted account details.
The affected accounts appeared to belong to a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VOIP), service called Yahoo Voices, which runs on Yahoo’s instant messenger.
The Voices service is powered by Jajah, a VOIP platform that was bought by Telefonica Europe BV in 2010.
The hackers’ website where the original claim was made, d33ds.co, was not available later on Thursday.
It was registered in February. Industry website CNET reported the hackers as saying the breach was intended as a ‘wake-up call and not as a threat’ and that Yahoo’s security was lax.
The Voices hack is one of several in recent months.
The business networking service LinkedIn admitted last month that 6.4 million member passwords had been stolen from its website.
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir have met for the first time since a border dispute brought their countries close to conflict in April.
Omar al-Bashir sat down with Salva Kiir during an African Union summit in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
South Sudan only became independent from the north at the end of 2011 and numerous issues remain unresolved between the two countries.
A United Nations deadline for them to settle the dispute is set for 2 August.
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir meet for the first time since border dispute
Among other issues, their border has not been finalized and there are disagreements over oilfields, transport payments and divisions of the national debt.
No information has been released about what the two presidents spoke about during their meeting in Addis Ababa, but they shook hands publicly for the first time at the end of it.
The last official talks between Presidents Salva Kiir and Omar al-Bashir were at the previous AU summit in January.
At this summit, AU delegates urged the governments in Khartoum and Juba to settle their differences on oil and border demarcation before the UN’s deadline.
The UN introduced its three-month deadline after cross-border clashes centred on the oil-rich region of Heglig brought Sudan and South Sudan close to all-out war in April.
South Sudan’s independence in July 2011 was supposed to herald the end of more than 50 years of bitter conflict between the two Sudans, but tensions have lingered.
Saturday’s meeting between the two leaders is unlikely to yield any immediate results, but it at least shows the two countries are feeling the pressure to resolve their dispute.
Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M carrying a three-man crew has blasted off for the International Space Station (ISS).
The Soyuz rocket set off from Kazakhstan at 02:40 GMT on Sunday with Russian, Japanese and American astronauts on board.
They are set to dock with the ISS, a $100 billion research complex orbiting around 385 km (240 miles) above Earth, early on Tuesday.
NASA said the Soyuz TMA-05M rocket had a “smooth ride into space”.
Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M carrying a three-man crew has blasted off for the International Space Station
The astronauts on board, veteran Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, NASA’s Sunitia Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will join three others on board the ISS.
NASA flight engineer Joseph Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin are already living aboard the space station, which is set to receive an unprecedented level of traffic over the next few weeks.
According to the Associated Press news agency, a Japanese cargo ship will dock with the station next week, followed by a further eight craft making contact with the orbiting satellite.
NASA ended its space shuttle programme in July 2011, and since then US astronauts have depended on Russian Soyuz flights for transport to reach the International Space Station.
Roger Roberts, one of the oldest people to graduate from Aberystwyth University in UK, has died just three days after picking up his degree.
Roger Roberts, 82, from Aberystwyth, graduated in economic and social studies in international politics on Tuesday.
It is understood that Roger Roberts died on Friday morning, and had been unwell during his studies.
On the day of his graduation ceremony, the university released a statement about the mature student’s achievement.
It said Roger Roberts had taken longer to complete his degree because he was ill for the last couple of years of his course.
In the statement, Roger Roberts, who suffered from chronic asthma, said he had “thoroughly enjoyed” his time at the university.
Roger Roberts, 82, from Aberystwyth, graduated in economic and social studies in international politics on Tuesday
Roger Roberts spent his career in the health service, and Tuesday’s graduation was his second degree after reading American studies in 2005.
Prof. Michael Foley, the head of the university’s international politics department, said Roger Roberts “warmed hearts and raised spirits”.
He added: “He impressed his peers and teachers with a combination of fierce determination mixed with a sparkling sense of mischief.
“He proved decisively that age need be no stranger to success or new experience.
“This triumph of the human spirit was reflected in the thunderous applause that greeted his appearance on stage at graduation. There could no better epitaph to his time here.”
The university’s vice-chancellor Prof. April McMahon said: “We are saddened at the news of Mr. Roberts’ passing, and honored that he chose to make Aberystwyth University part of his very long and full life.
“Given his frail health it was a great achievement for him to make it to graduation on Tuesday and one which was greatly appreciated by everyone present.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has held her first meeting with new Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi.
After the talks, Hillary Clinton reaffirmed Washington’s support for a “full transition to civilian rule” in Egypt.
President Mohammed Mursi has become embroiled in a constitutional crisis after trying to reinstate a parliament dissolved by the judiciary and the military.
Hillary Clinton has backed Mohammed Mursi, saying Egyptians should get the government they voted for.
Mohammed Mursi, of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, was elected in June in the country’s first ever freely contested leadership vote.
Hillary Clinton has held her first meeting with new Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi
After the meeting in Cairo, Hillary Clinton told reporters: “I have come to Cairo to reaffirm the strong support of the United States for the Egyptian people and their democratic transition.
“We want to be a good partner and we want to support the democracy that has been achieved by the courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian people.”
Not many years ago, one US secretary of state declared that Washington did not speak with the Muslim Brotherhood, and never would.
But the administration of Barack Obama has been quick to engage with the new president – a case of accepting the inevitable and trying to make the best of it.
The US government wants to see Egyptian democracy and human rights being protected.
The Muslim Brotherhood has repeatedly stressed it does not want to be isolated internationally, not least because the country depends so heavily on international trade and tourism.
Mohammed Mursi has tried to defuse the row over parliament – a body he tried to reinstate by decree last weekend.
The chamber was dominated by Mohammed Mursi’s Islamist allies, and was shut down by the military before he took power.
The Supreme Constitutional Court has said the dissolution is final.
Mohammed Mursi has said he is “committed to the rulings of Egyptian judges and very keen to manage state powers and prevent any confrontation”.
Hillary Clinton said she would meet the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, on Sunday.
He became the country’s interim ruler after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in February last year.
Asked what she would tell Field Marshal Tantawi, Hillary Clinton said she would make clear the US supports the return of the armed forced “to a purely military role”.
Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton said Egyptians should “get what they protested for and what they voted for, which is a fully-elected government making the decisions for the country going forward”.
Hillary Clinton arrived in Egypt from a week-long trip to Asia, and will later visit Israel.
The Kazakh Olympic team is hoping to boost its chances of sporting success at London 2012 with horsemeat sausages.
Sports officials in Kazakhstan say that the traditional dish may help the athletes’ performance.
But it is unclear whether the sausages will be allowed into the UK, because of strict import controls on meat.
Kazakhstan is fielding 114 athletes at the London games, which begin in two weeks.
The Kazakh Olympic team is hoping to boost its chances of sporting success at London 2012 with horsemeat sausages
Horsemeat is an indispensable part of the traditional Kazakh diet, and a dried horsemeat sausage known as “kazy” is particularly cherished.
The Kazakh team is made up mainly of boxers, wrestlers and weightlifters, all sports associated with a protein-rich diet.
“We’ll bring horse meat and caviar for each team,” sports official Elsiyar Kanagatov said, adding that athletes could achieve “outstanding results” if fed properly.
Oil-rich Kazakhstan is fiercely ambitious and there is also the promise of hard cash should athletes succeed – $200,000 for a gold medal, $150,000 for silver and $75,000 for bronze, our correspondent says.
The team has won 39 medals including nine gold since its debut at the Olympics in 1996.
Gemini, a kitten who was born with two faces on Wednesday, has died after 48 hours.
Gemini had four eyes, two noses, two mouths, two ears and 24 toes – seven on each front paw and five each on the back.
His owners in Providence say he had two tracheas going into one throat. The women fed him milk by bottle because he ate very slowly.
Gemini had four eyes, two noses, two mouths, two ears and 24 toes
Part of a litter of five kittens the owners told NBC that they were “very, very surprised” by the two-faced kitten.
“We think he’s beautiful…adorable,” the proud owners told the news station on Thursday as they stroked the tiny black kitten.
Veterinarian Ernest Finocchio, president of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says he’d never seen such a kitten.
He believes Gemini could have been conjoined twins that didn’t separate properly.
The owners hoped Ernesto Finocchio could carry out an ultrasonic examination on Gemini to determine his life expectancy and advise them on how to look after him.
However, the kitten died before an examination could happen. Two-faced kittens are very rare and seldom survive.
The other kittens in the litter are healthy and feeding from their mother, the owners said.
Contrary to Tom Cruise child support rumors circulating around the Internet, the actor did not pay Katie Holmes a $50 million lump sum payment for the care of little Suri, Newsday reports.
A pre-nuptial agreement Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes signed means there will be no alimony for the actress. Tom Cruise will be paying approximately $10 million over the course of the next 12 years to Katie Holmes to take care of Suri in a manner in which she has become accustomed, according to information a “source” revealed to TMZ.
Tom Cruise will be paying approximately $10 million over the course of the next 12 years to Katie Holmes to take care of Suri
The quick and quiet divorce and child custody agreement between Tom Cruise and Katie Homes does grant Cruise “significant custodial time” with little Suri, but Holmes has primary physical custody. TMZ reports that previous media articles claiming that Suri Cruise must be in the presence of Katie Holmes’ nanny and bodyguards when she is in Tom Cruise’s care a “absolutely 100% false.” There are however “extremely detailed” custodial provisions about what Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes can discuss with Suri on several topics, one of which being religion. The restrictions on the discussions of Scientology and religion are reportedly “eased” as Suri ages.
“Tom was always most interested in his child,” Tom Cruise’s attorney Bert Fields told People magazine.
“He will have a meaningful relationship with Suri.”
Bert Fields was not able to give a specific time or date for the first visitation dates between Tom Cruise and Suri.
“I don’t know the details of his schedule, so I can’t comment. My guess is he’ll be seeing Suri very soon.”
Bert Fields also told People that there were no Scientologists present during the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorce and child custody negotiations.
Tom Cruise’s attorney also maintains that Scientologists were not “directing the negotiations” and calls such claims “hogwash.”
Bert Fields told People that both Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes “dealt rationally” with the custody and divorce issues, hashing out the important matters over several days until both parties were satisfied.
More than 250,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to avoid floods caused by torrential rainfall in south-west Japan, officials say.
Flooding and landslides on the southern island of Kyushu have left at least 20 people dead in the past three days.
TV footage showed muddy waters sweeping through homes and streets as rivers burst their banks in the north of the island.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of further rain and landslides.
At least seven people were said to be missing on Friday, Japanese media said. Japan’s Self-Defence Forces have been brought in to help search for the missing.
More than 250,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to avoid floods caused by torrential rainfall in south-west Japan
More than 75 cm (30 in) of rain fell in 72 hours in the city of Aso, in Kumamoto prefecture, according to weather officials quoted by the French news agency AFP.
The evacuation orders affect 85,000 households in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto and Oita, the Kyodo news agency reported.
In Fukuoka prefecture alone, around 190,000 people from 65,000 households were issued the order, with the entire area of the cities of Yanagawa, Yame and Miyama to be evacuated.
Another 140,000 have been advised to vacate their homes as well, AFP quoted local officials as saying.
Those being asked to leave their homes have been told to go to designated shelters such as schools and other facilities, according to the agency.
Agency news in Seoul reported that a mystery woman was sitting next to the young North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a concert this week.
The question of who she was, and what she was doing sitting next to Kim Jong-Un, buzzed through South Korea’s news media.
North Korean media gave no details, but showed her accompanying Kim Jong-Un to various state occasions: bowing with him in front of his grandfather’s portrait to mark the 18th anniversary of Kim Il-Sung’s death, walking with him in a fitted black skirt suit and heels, and sitting next to him during the concert performances.
The Hankyoreh newspaper in South Korea said one picture taken during the performances showed the mystery woman with her hand on the armrest of Kim Jong-Un’s chair.
The normal posture for those in Kim Jong-Un’s entourage is to keep their elbows tucked respectfully in.
This, said the paper, indicated that she was either his wife, or his younger sister.
One picture taken during the performances showed the mystery woman with her hand on the armrest of Kim Jong-Un's chair
A similar discussion erupted six months ago, when an unnamed woman appeared beside Kim Jong-Un during his father’s funeral commemorations.
It is not known whether Kim Jong-Un – believed to be in his late 20’ – has married.
But North Korea’s two previous rulers did not routinely include their partners in public events, leading many to conclude that the new mystery woman is a family member.
Not South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo newspaper, though. Its headline this week asked: “Is Hyon the new first lady of NK?”
The paper identified Kim Jong-Un’s companion as Hyon Song-Wol, a former singer with North Korea’s Bochonbo Electronic Music Band, whose popularity, it says, peaked in 1995 with her hit song Excellent Horse-Like Lady.
She reappeared to perform for the new North Korean leader in March this year, says the paper, after six years away from the limelight, during which time she reportedly married and had a child.
An unnamed South Korean intelligence official was quoted as saying that “the two have known each other since they were in their teens, and… rumors about the two having an affair have been circulating among Pyongyang’s top elite”.
If true, Seoul’s rumor mill goes, what does that say about the workings of North Korea’s new leadership – and more particularly, about the mind of its young leader?
Has Kim Jong-Un chosen this smart young woman in western dress as his partner? Is he bucking hoary old tradition by appearing with her – perhaps still married – in public?
As usual, windows into North Korea throw up more questions than answers.
For now, ”mystery woman” she may remain.
But then, let us not forget, after six months in power, the man next to her – the heir to North Korea’s closed “Communist Monarchy” – is only slightly less of a mystery than she.
Newly elected French President Francois Hollande celebrated his first-ever National Day (known outside of France as Bastille Day) as head of state on Saturday with usual pomp, military parade and flight show.
At 10:00 a.m. local time, Francois Hollande presided the military parade down the Champs Elysees Avenue, which involved some 4,950 soldiers, 368 armored vehicles, 241 horses and 98 jets and helicopters.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault hailed a “national unity,” adding that the Bastille Day represented “an opportunity for the French to come together around the values of France.”
The president’s girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler, who had been keeping a low profile after tweeting her support for a rival of Francois Hollande’s ex-companion Segolene Royal in legislative elections last month, made her first public appearance on Saturday.
French President Francois Hollande celebrated his first-ever National Day
The two-hour parade was closed by a paratroop air show near the Concorde Square. After the parade, Francois Hollande was scheduled to join injured soldiers in Afghanistan to lunch.
Francois Hollande promised to withdraw French combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, two years ahead of the alliance’s plan.
However, the president said France would continue to support Afghanistan in civilian fields including health, education, culture and agriculture and also assist its defense and interior ministries in training.
“This July 14th is the last one of our combat units in Kapisa to pass in Afghanistan. Two thousand soldiers will return to their homes at the end of the year,” the president said when addressing a group of ministers and military figures on the eve of the National Day.
“It is an act of sovereignty that France has posed freely. I took this decision, in harmony with our allies, and with the agreement of the Afghan authorities,” he noted.
Francois Hollande also unveiled a new white paper on defense and national security, the fourth document of its kind for the country, which aims to “define our defense strategy and capabilities of our forces for the next 15 years,” he said.
“The objective is to ensure the long term performance, efficiency and balance of our forces,” he stressed.
In a televised interview later in the afternoon, the head of state will review his first two months of presidency, which has been overshadowed by eurozone crisis and jumping unemployment rate following a wave of job cuts in the country’s leading companies.
Wet summer weather is unlikely to dampen the enthusiasm of Parisians and visitors who turned out in large numbers to witness the annual celebration.
Gardens of the Elysee Palace will be open to visitors throughout the afternoon. Huge crowds are expected to enjoy fireworks display centered on the Eiffel Tower and across the country.
Bastille Day marks July 14, 1789, when French citizens stormed the Bastille prison in Paris, which helped spark the French Revolution.
Every year, the 14th of July marks a very special occasion in French history. This is Bastille Day: the day when, in 1789, the infamous Bastille Prison was stormed by angry mobs agitating against the King’s heavy-handed rule. The 14th of July is thus synonymous with the idea of the modern French republic.
Given the party atmosphere that permeates the whole country come Bastille Day, it’s certainly worth planning your travels to be in France on the anointed day. Here’s a quick rundown of the very best places in France for Bastille Day bombast.
Paris Bastille Day Celebrations
The capital of France is, fittingly, also the center of Bastille Day celebrations. The party begins on the 13th with a handful of balls and galas around the city. Then the 14th arrives, and Paris descends into a fever of joviality, with more balls and galas, plus military parades, fireworks, and humongous picnics (it’s customary to spend the second half of the day lounging around while consuming more food and wine than you could possible imagine). To be at the very heart of celebrations, the Champs-Elysees is the place to be.
July 14 is the day when the French celebrate the Bastille Day throughout France
Avignon
Celebrations for Bastille Day in Avignon start late and end even later. Things don’t truly get going here until around 7:00 p.m. on the 14th; however, the party keeps on kicking well into the morning hours of the next day. Enjoy the live music on offer at the town hall (Place d’Horloge), dance at a ball, and end the night by watching a splendiferous fireworks display.
La Rochelle
Fireworks are again the order of the day here, with a magnificent display going up over the city’s port area. However, you’ll only get there if you’ve managed to pace yourself throughout the day, as La Rochelle becomes buried under an avalanche of food and drink every Bastille Day. This is certainly a place that knows how to celebrate the 14th of July!
Poitiers
As with Paris, Poitiers celebrates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille with a military Parade. Generally speaking, crowds attend this parade in the Place du Maréchel Leclerc during the day. Once the parade has past, the square becomes one large outdoor ball; festivities end with a great fireworks display that goes up from the Parc des Expositions.
Carcassone
Visually impressive Carcassonne hosts a fun-filled day of celebration every year, which is always attended by hundreds of thousands of happy revelers. Carcassone is particularly known for its fireworks celebration. Considered to be one of the very best in the world, it typically lasts for just under half an hour, which means Bastille Day certainly ends with a bang.
William Martin LaFever, an autistic man from Colorado, who survived for three weeks in a remote Utah desert is said to be in a stable condition.
William Martin LaFever, 28, travelled an estimated 40 miles (64 km) in the Escalante Desert in southern Utah, in an attempt to walk to Page, Arizona.
He told his family that his hiking gear had been stolen, and his father had wired money to Page.
To survive, he scavenged food, including frogs, and drank water from the Escalante river.
Autistic William Martin LaFever travelled an estimated 40 miles in the Escalante Desert in southern Utah, in an attempt to walk to Page
Deputy Ray Gardner, who was aboard the helicopter that spotted William Martin LaFever, said the 28-year-old was emaciated and could not stand when he was found.
“I could not believe that he was alive, and feel certain that in another 24 hours he would not have been alive,” Ray Gardner said in a statement.
A sheriff’s office said that William Martin LaFever had called his father in early June to say he was hiking in the area with his dog, but that some of his hiking gear had been stolen and he was out of money.
John LaFever, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, told his son to catch a ride to Page to get the money.
Instead William Martin LaFever apparently decided to hike along the Escalante river and then hitch a boat ride along Lake Powell to the Arizona town, according to the sheriff’s department.
Garfield County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Becki Bronson told the Associated Press that the desert is “some of the most rugged, unforgiving terrain you will find anywhere on Earth”, including “jagged cliffs, stone ledges”.
“Where William was hiking, there just isn’t anyone out there,” she said.
“There are no people. There are no towns.”
William Martin LaFever was flown to Garfield Memorial Hospital, and Becki Bronson said he is in stable condition.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney has hit back on attacks about his record as CEO of Bain Capital in interviews with US broadcasters.
“I had no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after 1999,” Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney was responding to reports suggesting he was still listed on Bain’s regulatory filings several years after he said he left the company.
He called on Barack Obama to apologize, after the president said Mitt Romney’s time at Bain should be scrutinized.
The timing is key because between 1999 – when Mitt Romney said he left the company he founded – and 2001, Bain was responsible for closing down American firms and shipping jobs overseas.
Speaking to WJLA-TV a few hours before Mitt Romney’s own media appearances, President Barack Obama said the Republican candidate would have to answer questions about when he stepped down from Bain Capital.
Mitt Romney has hit back on attacks about his record as CEO of Bain Capital
“Ultimately, I think Mr. Romney is going to have to answer those questions because if he aspires to being president, one of the things you learn is you’re ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations,” Barack Obama said.
But Mitt Romney said attacks on his record at Bain, an investment company he co-founded in 1984, were “simply beneath the dignity of the presidency of the United States”.
“He [Obama] sure as heck ought to say that he’s sorry for the kinds of attacks that are coming from his team,” he told ABC News on Friday night.
With November’s election now less than four months away, the Obama and Romney campaigns have spent much of the week trading accusations of dishonesty over Mitt Romney’s time at Bain.
In a series of television and web advertisements, the Obama campaign argued that Mitt Romney had “pioneered” outsourcing US jobs during his time at Bain. The Romney campaign responded with their own ad, calling Barack Obama the “outsourcer-in-chief”.
The Boston Globe reported on Thursday that documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission conflicted with Mitt Romney’s statements that he gave up control of the firm in 1999.
The filings list him as “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president” from 1999 to 2001.
That period covers a time when Bain ran companies that fell into bankruptcy, as well as moved jobs abroad – issues highlighted by Obama campaign advertisements.
The Obama campaign has accused Mitt Romney of lying in his official campaign disclosure forms. Barack Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter suggested that Mitt Romney had broken federal law by doing so – an accusation the Romney camp firmly denied.
Mitt Romney and his aides say he left Bain in 1999 to run the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
In a statement, the company said Mitt Romney “remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999”.
Independent website FactCheck.org said on Thursday it had found no evidence that Mitt Romney actively managed Bain after leaving in February 1999, describing him as “a passive, absentee owner”.
The site had previously said that Mitt Romney would open himself up to felony charges if he had actively managed Bain after 1999 but said otherwise on his disclosure form.
Hollywood producer Richard Zanuck has died aged 77 after suffering a heart attack at his Beverley Hills home.
Dick Zanuck, as most people called him, was best known for his work on films such as The Sound of Music, Driving Miss Daisy and Jaws.
Son of Hollywood royalty, he became the youngest studio head in history when he took over 20th Century Fox aged 28.
His friend Steven Spielberg called him a “cornerstone of the film industry”.
Dick Zanuck’s parents were the legendary movie mogul Darryl Zanuck and actress Virginia Fox.
After his father made him 20th Century Fox’s head of production, the younger Zanuck went on to oversee the release of some of the era’s classics, including The Sound of Music and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Richard Zanuck has died aged 77 after suffering a heart attack at his Beverley Hills home
Richard Zanuck went on to run his own production company after several big-screen musicals for Fox flopped and his father fired him, spending most of his career as an independent producer.
He collaborated with Steven Spielberg on the blockbuster jaws and several other films.
“He taught me everything I know about producing. He was one of the most honorable and loyal men of our profession and he fought tooth and nail for his directors,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement.
His 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy won four Oscars, including best picture for Richard Zanuck and his wife and collaborator Lili Fini Zanuck.
In his later years, Dick Zanuck collaborated closely with director Tim Burton on a number of fillms, including Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.
Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard and major US banks have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement to retailers over card fees.
The case, which has been going on for seven years, is over firms colluding to fix the fees that stores pay to process credit and debt card payments.
The settlement is thought to be the largest of its kind in US history.
It involves a $6 billion payment to stores and an agreement to reduce swipe fees for eight months, valued at $1.2 billion.
Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard and major US banks have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement to retailers over card fees
An additional $525 million has been set aside to pay to the stores which sued individually, including grocery chains Kroger and Safeway and the Rite Aid pharmacy chain.
The settlement involves credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, as well as major US banks which issue their cards including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citibank.
Craig Wildfang, the lead lawyer representing the merchants, told AFP: “Over time, the reforms induced by this case and in this settlement should help reduce card-acceptance costs to merchants, which in turn, will result in lower prices for all consumers.”
Visa and Mastercard already paid a combined $3 billion to settle a lawsuit over their “honor all cards” policies, which tied acceptance of credit to debit cards.
The US Department of Justice also brought and settled a civil suit against the two firms in 2010 over policies that prevented stores from offering their customers cheaper forms of payments.
However, that settlement left in place credit card company rules that stop stores from charging customers more when they use certain payment cards.
Lawyers representing the credit card companies said Friday’s settlement was in the best interests of all involved.
Visa and Mastercard stock both climbed in after-hours trading following the announcement of the deal.
Holly Willoughby was left disgusted during a segment on This Morning show yesterday after she and her co-host Phillip Schofield were tasked with guessing what a number of obscure items were.
It was revealed that an object Holly Willoughby put in her mouth was in fact a travel bidet.
When Holly Willoughby, 31, was handed the strange device, she made a number of guesses after examining it.
She thought it could be a flask and put it into her mouth but was left aghast when it was revealed to be an intimate personal hygiene system.
Holly Willoughby at first thought bidet actually meant toilet which caused her horror, much to the amusement of her co-star Phillip Schofield.
Holly Willoughby at first thought bidet actually meant toilet which caused her horror
It was an unfortunate incident upon Holly Willoughby’s return to the show after she was forced to take yesterday off because she was believed to have contracted food poisoning after treating her dad to a fancy birthday lunch on Wednesday.
The blonde’s co-host, wrote on Twitter: “No @hollywills today, she may be suffering from food poisoning! Which is a worry cos I recommended the restaurant!!! @k8_thornton is here (sic).”
Stand-in presenter Kate Thornton sent Holly a get well tweet, saying: “Get better @hollywills – hope you’re ok. Take yourself to bed with Christian Grey x (sic).”
Holly Willoughby – who has presented This Morning since 2009 – showed no signs of illness on Wednesday when she shared a picture of her dad at his fancy birthday feast.
She added in a caption: “Pappa Willoughby and I at his birthday lunch, champs, steak, red wine, pud! Perfect! X (sic).”
Holly Willoughby later tweeted: “So after today’s excitement I’m now tucked up in bed… Night x (sic).”
The popular presenter – who has three-year-old son Harry and 15-month-old daughter Belle with husband Dan Baldwin – spent yesterday recovering at home.
Disc jockey Connor Cruise was spinning the tunes at the Expendables 2 party during Comic-Con in San Diego Thursday night.
Tom Cruise’s adopted son “didn’t appear to pay any attention to the scantily-clad dancers near him on the stage,” US Weekly reports.
“He was totally consumed by his DJ set.”
In reality, says the magazine, Connor Cruise has been disoriented by the quick break-up of his father, Tom Cruise and the woman who has been raising him for years – Katie Holmes.
“Connor is actually really upset,” US quotes an “insider” as saying.
“Katie was practically his mom. He called her mom, too.”
Disc jockey Connor Cruise was spinning the tunes at the Expendables 2 party during Comic-Con in San Diego
Connor Cruise, 17, and his sister Isabella, 19, were both adopted as babies by Tom Cruise while he was married to former wife, Nicole Kidman.
After their divorce, Nicole Kidman fled to Nashville with new husband, Keith Urban, and largely left the rearing of the couple to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have been together for eight years and have a six-year-old daughter, Suri.
During that time, Katie Holmes also took on the mothering role to the growing Connor and Isabella Cruise and was a regular at their school functions and sports games.
On Monday, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reached a speedy settlement after she blindsided the Mission Impossible star by suddenly filing divorce papers June 28.
Known as DJ C-Squared, it was a stoic Connor Cruise who spun last night from a Mac computer.
“He was very focused on the screen the entire time,” the eyewitness added.
In between sets, he talked to pals sitting with him in the DJ booth.
Connor Cruise’s DJ gig came a day after he visited newly single dad Tom on the Mammoth Lakes, California set of his film, Oblivion.
Father and son seemed very free with one another and smiled easily at one another.
Sage Moonblood Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’ son was found dead yesterday at his Los Angeles apartment.
Fresh reports say prescription pills were found at the scene of the 36-year-old’s apartment where he was discovered.
The filmmaker is understood to have overdosed on pills and coroner’s officials are investigating if it was accidental or suicide, according to TMZ.
A source told RadarOnline that medics arrived on the scene at 3:05 p.m. this afternoon and spent around 25 minutes trying to revive Sage Moonblood Stallone before his death was pronounced at the scene.
His body was taken straight to the coroner’s office – and the insider claims no suicide note was found.
“I suspect he had been dead for quite a while when he was discovered,” the source told the website.
“Usually medics will be at the scene for around forty-five minutes but they were out of there within half an hour.
“There were a number of prescription bottles found at the scene but it did not appear to be suicide and no note was found.”
A 911 call was placed shortly before 3:00 p.m. and the caller said Sage wasn’t breathing and indicated it could be a drug overdose, Radar reports. An autopsy is scheduled to take place in the next 48 hours.
Sage Moonblood Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’ son was found dead yesterday at his Los Angeles apartment
Shortly after news of Sage’s death, a spokesman released a statement on behalf of Sylvester Stallone, 66, who was at the Comic Con film convention in San Diego yesterday.
“Sylvester Stallone is devastated and grief-stricken over the sudden loss of his son,” the actor’s spokesperson Michelle Bega said in the statement.
“His compassion and thoughts are with Sage’s mother, Sasha.”
“He was a very talented and wonderful young man. His loss will be felt forever.”
Police said they found the younger Stallone in the home while responding to a “welfare check”, however Sages’ lawyer George Braunstein said he was found by a housekeeper.
Friends and acquaintances had become concerned because they hadn’t heard from Sage in the past day.
George Braunstein said the death came as a shock, telling the New York Post yesterday afternoon: “He was in good spirits, and working on all kinds of projects.
“He was planning on getting married. I am just devastated. He was an extremely wonderful, loving guy. This is a tragedy.”
Sage Moonblood Stallone was the oldest of Sylvester Stallone’s children and co-starred with his father in two films. He was the first of two sons Sylvester Stallone had with first wife Sasha Czack.
He made his acting debut in 1990’s Rocky V – he played Sylvester Stallone’s onscreen son – and also appeared with his father in 1996’s Daylight.
Also in 1996, Sage Stallone and veteran film editor Bob Murawski co-founded Grindhouse Releasing, a company dedicated to preserving and promoting the B-movies and exploitation films of the 1970s and 80s.
He also directed the 2006 short Vic, which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
George Braunstein said Sage Stallone had frequent requests to work on films.
“He was a full of life filmmaker with his whole future ahead of him,” he said.
“He was just very up and enthusiastic and positive.
“I think it was probably some sort of accident,” he said of the death.
George Braunstein added that Sage Stallone greatly admired his father but was working hard to make his own name in the film industry.
“He was very proud of his father and proud to be his father’s son,” he said.
Sylvester Stallone’s split from Sage’s mother Sasha Czack in 1985 after 11 years together. They also have another son Seargeoh, 32, who is autistic.
He wed model and actress Brigitte Nielsen in the following December in Beverly Hills but they split just two years later in a very public divorce.
He married third wife, Jennifer Flavin, in 1997 after an eight-year on-again, off-again relationship and they have three daughters: Sophia Rose, 15, Sistine Rose, 14, and Scarlet Rose, 10.
Sage Stallone, who was raised by his mother following his parents’ divorce, felt distant from his father growing up, a theme which hit home as they were filming Rocky V together.
“When I was screaming, <<You never spent time with me! You never spent time with my mother!>> – that was true,” he told People magazine in 1996.
“I was looking into my father’s face and really saying that.”
But it proved a turning point for the father and son, who went on to form a close bond and they acted again together in the 1996 film Daylight.
“Between takes, Sly and Sage would roll around in the dirt like two puppies,” the director Rob Cohen observed at the time.
Sage Stallone certainly felt the pressure of growing up with such a famous father and would worry that he would never match his success.
“I tell him, <<As long as you give it your best, that’s all that matters>>,” his mother Sasha said in that same year.
Sage Stallone went on to pursue a career behind the camera and shunned the wild Hollywood party scene, preferring to watch horror zombie films instead.
“People call me a hermit,” he said while promoting the film.
Pam Behan, a former nanny for the Kardashians, plans to reveal an untold story of America’s most famous family in a tell-all book.
Pam Behan, who spent five years apparently watching over their daughters Kourtney, Kim and Khloe, claims their mother Kris “groomed” the sisters for the spotlight in a desperate bid for fame in her unfinished tome Malibu Nanny: The True Adventures of the Former Kardashian Nanny.
According to RadarOnline, Pam Behan says she worked for the couple from 1991 to 1996.
During that time, she claims to have spent time with the sisters, now stars of the family’s reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and their younger brother, Rob.
Pam Behan, a former nanny for the Kardashians, plans to reveal an untold story of America's most famous family in a tell-all book
Describing the siblings, she said Kourtney Kardashian, around age 12 at the time, was “a serious child” who “spoke her mind”, according to Radar.
Younger sister Kim, aged 10, was “always very sweet and friendly”; and Khloe, 6, was “full of energy”.
And their mother, she claims, was intent on making her girls famous.
“Kris always seemed to be rubbing elbows with people that were <<somebody>>. Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Robert spent time with friends whose parents were celebrities or people in the limelight,” Pam Behan writes.
“I believe she was grooming her children for their current celebrity status their entire lives… I do believe that the success they enjoy now is what she always hoped for and wanted for them and for herself.”
According to Radar, Pam Behan describes their mother-turned-manager Kris as a “brilliant businesswoman” – and a difficult boss.
Remembering on one occasion when she returned with groceries for the family, Pam Behan writes: “When I got home, Kris, who was in the kitchen, looked at the groceries I had just purchased, and let out a torrent of expletives. <<…I can’t believe you forgot the ****ing broccoli!>>.”
She explains Kris apologized the following day, but not before adding of the mix-up: “Broccoli was not on the short list she had given me that day, although it was a regular item on the weekly list. I did not know, shame on me, that keeping broccoli stocked in the refrigerator was so critical.”
Pam Behan also describes one incident in which she claims Bruce Jenner – who has been open about undergoing cosmetic surgery – allegedly urged her to have a nose job when she was 19.
“…The subject of plastic surgery came up one day in an unexpected way. Bruce was looking at me funny,” she writes.
“<<You should probably have a little taken off your nose>>,” she remembers him saying.
Pam Behan says she left the family in early 1995, just after the birth of Bruce and Kris Jenner’ first child, Kendall, to pursue other opportunities but says she hopes she “made a difference in their lives”.
ET reports Pam Behan is still writing the book and is waiting on approval from the family before it will be published.
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has been hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack.
His publicist Joy Fehily says in a brief email statement that Michael Clarke Duncan “suffered a myocardial infarction” early Friday.
Joy Fehily says his heart rate has stabilized and he’s expected to make a full recovery.
She would not confirm a TMZ report that Michael Clarke Duncan’s actress-girlfriend, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, discovered the former bodyguard in distress at about 2:00 a.m. Friday in his Los Angeles area home.
The website reports Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth revived The Green Mile star by performing CPR.
The former The Apprentice star, who has been dating the 54-year-old actor since 2010, is understood to be by his bedside in an intensive care unit.
Her representative Priscilla Clarke confirmed Michael Clarke Duncan was hospitalized today but did not provide any further details regarding his condition or how he was found.
Michael Clarke Duncan has been hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack
Kent Moran, who directed Michael Clarke Duncan in The Challenger, says the actor recently wrapped scenes on the action drama, in which he stars as a trainer helping to revive the career of boxer Jaden Miller.
Kent Moran, who also stars as Miller in the film, described Michael Clarke Duncan as “very healthy” on set and said he coped well with the physicality of the role, adding that news of the actor falling ill was “unexpected”.
He added: “We were very surprised and saddened to here the news. Our film is now in post production and we have finished filming Michael’s scenes. So at this point, we are really just praying for him and wishing him a speedy recovery.”
Michael Clarke Duncan meanwhile hinted at his health issues in a public service announcement released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in May.
The PSA, which promotes vegetarianism as a means to prevent heart disease and stroke, features Michael Clarke Duncan saying he was plagued with several illnesses before making the dietary change approximately three years ago.
He does not elaborate on his health problems in the clip.
The actor says watching film Meet Your Meat, about the process of animal protein production, helped him to decide to stop eating meat.
“I never knew what the process was from that animal to my plate,” he says.
“Once I looked at an animal like that I cleared out my refrigerator of about $5,000 worth of meat.”
Michael Clarke Duncan catapulted to fame after his role in 1999 prison drama The Green Mile. He is also well-known for his roles in the 2003 comic book movie Daredevil and 2005 release Sin City.
