A recent Louisiana poll shows that 41% of the state’s voters don’t think Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson should run for Congress, a week after news emerged that party officials were trying to woo him into the race.
Moreover, Louisianans ranked Willie Robertson’s Uncle Si as their most favorite family member.
The poll conducted by Conservative Intelligence Briefing mainly included questions about state politicians Bobby Jindal, David Vitter and Mary Landrieu.
But the company inquired if voters would actually consider Willie Robertson, 41, for the open seat left by retiring Rep. Rodney Alexander.
Almost half of Louisiana voters don’t want Willie Robertson to run for Congress
It appears they would not.
Even more surprising though is that Willie Robertson, the self-described “Boss Hog” of the West Monroe clan, isn’t even the show favorite.
Willie Robertson lost out to his tea-drinking Uncle Si.
Twenty five percent of responders listed Uncle Si as the most lovable Robertson while only 24% rooted for Willie.
Though the Washington Examiner floated Willie Robertson as a possible candidate, the CEO of Duck Commander told Fox News he was pretty busy managing his business and starring in his family’s hit show.
Duck Dynasty Season 4 premiere on A&E TV attracted a mind-blowing 11.8 million viewers last week – a record for the cable network.
US scientists have found that a lifetime of too much copper in our diets may be contributing to Alzheimer’s disease.
However, research is divided, with other studies suggesting copper may actually protect the brain.
The latest study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed high levels of copper left the brain struggling to get rid of a protein thought to cause the dementia.
Copper is a vital part of our diet and necessary for a healthy body.
Tap water coming through copper pipes, red meat and shellfish as well as fruit and vegetables are all sources of dietary copper.
The study on mice, by a team at the University of Rochester in New York, suggested that copper interfered with the brain’s shielding – the blood brain barrier.
Mice that were fed more copper in their water had a greater build-up of the metal in the blood vessels in the brain.
A lifetime of too much copper in our diets may be contributing to Alzheimer’s disease
The team said this interfered with the way the barrier functioned and made it harder for the brain to get rid of a protein called beta amyloid.
One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of plaques of amyloid in the dying brain.
Lead researcher Dr. Rashid Deane said: “It is clear that, over time, copper’s cumulative effect is to impair the systems by which amyloid beta is removed from the brain.”
He said that copper also led to more protein being produced: “It’s a double whammy of increased production and decreased clearance of amyloid protein.
“Copper is a very essential metal ion and you don’t want a deficiency and many nutritious foods also contain copper.”
However, he said taking supplements may be “going overboard a bit”.
Commenting on the latest findings, Chris Exley, professor of bioinorganic chemistry at Keele University in the UK, said there was “no true consensus” on the role of copper in Alzheimer’s disease.
His research on human brains reached the opposite conclusion: “In our most recent work we found evidence of lower total brain copper with ageing and Alzheimer’s. We also found that lower brain copper correlated with higher deposition of beta amyloid in brain tissue.
“He said at the moment we would expect copper to be protective and beneficial in neurodegeneration, not the instigator, but we don’t know.
“The exposure levels used mean that if copper is acting in the way they think it does in this study then it must be doing so in everyone.”
Former Disney child star Lee Thompson Young has been found dead at his Hollywood home aged 29.
Police in North Hollywood have not given an official cause of death, but Lee Thompson Young’s manager, Paul Baruch, said the actor “tragically took his own life”.
Lee Thompson Young rose to fame in the Disney series The Famous Jett Jackson, where he played a teenage secret agent.
More recently Lee Thompson Young portrayed a Boston police detective in the series Rizzoli & Isles.
“Lee was more than just a brilliant young actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed,” Paul Baruch said.
“We ask that you please respect the privacy of his family and friends as this very difficult time.”
Lee Thompson Young’s body was found at his home by police on Monday morning after he failed to show up for work on Rizzoli & Isles, where he played Barry Frost, a bright but squeamish police detective.
Former Disney child star Lee Thompson Young has been found dead at his Hollywood home
The show, which also stars The Sopranos actress Lorraine Bracco, has just been commissioned for another series.
“We are beyond heartbroken at the loss of this sweet, gentle, good-hearted, intelligent man,” series producer Janet Tamaro said in a joint statement with the TNT network and Warner Bros.
“Lee will be cherished and remembered by all who knew and loved him, both on and off screen, for his positive energy, infectious smile and soulful grace.”
Lee Thompson Young was born in South Carolina in 1984 and moved to New York aged 12, where he landed the lead role in The Famous Jett Jackson.
The Disney series, which ran for three series and was turned into a movie, was eventually cancelled in 2001.
Lee Thompson Young went on to start opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the sports movie Friday Night Lights and Jamie Foxx in the made-for-TV movie Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story.
In 2009, he guest-starred in the TV series Scrubs and he played a sensitive FBI agent in FlashForward.
Lee Thompson Young also starred in the music video for the Sugababes single About A Girl.
Tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil went on sale today, with fans able to apply on FIFA’s website.
FIFA is expecting a similar demand to Germany 2006, when there were about seven applicants for every ticket of the 64-match tournament.
Around 3.3 million tickets will be available for the tournament.
Tickets will range in price from $90)for first-round matches to $990 for the final at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian citizens over 60, local students and members of some social programs can purchase tickets for $23.
Tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil went on sale with fans able to apply on FIFA’s website
“It’s always difficult to predict,” said FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil.
“But I truly believe that it will be more toward to what happened in Germany than in South Africa in 2010.”
According to FIFA, the 2006 World Cup was attended by more than 3.3 million fans. Almost two million tickets were sold to the general public in South Africa, although the number of applications during the first ticketing phase was significantly lower.
All applications made before 10 October 2013 will enter a random selection draw if there are not enough tickets available to fulfill all requests.
The sales of the leftover tickets will begin on November 5 on a first-come, first-served basis. Another phase will begin on December 8 after the draw is made.
The tournament begins on June 12, with Brazil playing the opener in Sao Paulo.
Bo Guagua, the son of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, says he hopes his father will be allowed to defend himself “without constraints” at his upcoming trial.
In a statement to the New York Times, Bo Guagua said he had been denied contact with his parents for 18 months.
Bo Xilai – a former party high-flier – goes on trial on Thursday charged with bribery, corruption and abuse of power.
He was expelled from the Communist Party amid a scandal over the murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood.
Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, was jailed in August 2012 for the killing of Neil Heywood, reportedly over a deal gone wrong.
The scandal led to a shake-up at the very top of China’s political elite in the months preceding a once-in-a-decade leadership handover.
Bo Guagua, who was studying in the US when the scandal unfolded, has since kept a low profile.
“It has been 18 months since I have been denied contact with either my father or my mother. I can only surmise the conditions of their clandestine detention and the adversity they each endure in solitude,” he said in a statement to the New York Times.
Bo Guagua hopes his father Bo Xilai will be allowed to defend himself at his upcoming trial
“I hope that in my father’s upcoming trial, he is granted the opportunity to answer his critics and defend himself without constraints of any kind.”
“However, if my well-being has been bartered for my father’s acquiescence or my mother’s further co-operation, then the verdict will clearly carry no moral weight.”
Some reports have suggested that Gu Kailai may testify against her husband at the trial.
There has been speculation that both the parents agreed to demands from Chinese officials in return for a guarantee that their son would not be pursued.
Bo Guagua also spoke out in defense of his mother, describing her as “silenced and defenseless” and voicing concern about her state of health.
“She has already overcome unimaginable tribulation after the sudden collapse of her physical health in 2006 and subsequent seclusion,” he said.
State media, in reports of Gu Kailai’s trial, said she attributed her actions to a breakdown.
Bo Guagua last released a statement in September, saying he found the allegations against his father hard to believe.
He is soon to begin studying law in New York, he confirmed to the New York Times.
The scandal emerged after Bo Xilai’s police chief, Wang Lijun, fled to the US consulate in February 2012.
A month later, Bo Xilai was removed from his post as party chief in Chongqing and then stripped of his Communist Party posts as his wife was investigated for the murder of Neil Heywood.
Gu Kailai was subsequently convicted of poisoning the businessman to death and is in prison, as is the police chief, Wang Lijun, for abuse of power related to the subsequent cover-up.
Bo Xilai, meanwhile, has not been seen in public since March 2012.
He goes on trial on Thursday in the city of Jinan accused of taking advantage of his office to accept money and property, as well as embezzling public money.
Most political analysts believe that the outcome of the trial has already been decided and that Bo Xilai will almost certainly be found guilty.
General Guide Mohammed Badie, the spiritual leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, has been arrested in Cairo, officials say.
Reports said Mohammed Badie was detained at a residential flat in Nasr City.
A state of emergency is in force in Egypt amid turmoil following a crackdown on Islamists in which hundreds have died.
Three days of mourning are being held for 25 police killed in Sinai by suspected Islamist militant extremists.
Almost 900 people, including more than 100 police and soldiers, are reported to have been killed in Egypt since Wednesday, when the army cleared protest camps set up by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi, many of them members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
On Sunday, 36 Islamist protesters died in a prison van in the capital, Cairo.
Hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been detained over recent days.
Mohammed Badie had been on the run as the military-backed interim authorities in Egypt try to suppress protests at the ousting of Mohamed Morsi.
He is facing charges of inciting violence and murder over the killing of eight anti-Brotherhood protesters outside the movement’s headquarters in Cairo last June.
Officials and state media said Mohammed Badie was detained in a flat in Nasr City in north-east Cairo, near the site of one of the protest camps bloodily broken up last week.
Images of Mohammed Badie shortly after his arrest were shown on the private channel ON TV.
Mohammed Badie, the spiritual leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, has been arrested in Cairo
The arrest comes days after Mohammed Badie’s 38-year-old son, Ammar, was shot dead during protests in the capital’s Ramses Square.
Mohammed Badie’s deputy, Khairat al-Shatir, was arrested in the days following Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow.
Correspondents say his detention will further ratchet up tensions in the country, where an indefinite dusk till dawn curfew is in place, a leaves a power vacuum at the top of the Brotherhood movement.
The attack on the Sinai police convoy, close to the town of Rafah on the Gaza border, was one of the deadliest on security forces in several years.
It is not clear who carried out the attack. Sinai is home to a range of militant groups, some of which have links to al-Qaeda.
The off-duty police officers were reportedly ordered to leave the buses before being shot in the back of the head.
State television showed their flag-draped coffins arriving by plane in Cairo.
Egypt’s official media has not connected the killings to the Muslim Brotherhood, but the deaths add to the sense of crisis.
In a separate incident, another police officer was killed in the north Sinai town of el-Arish.
Attacks by Islamist militants on the Egyptian security forces have surged in northern Sinai since 2011 – they have been close to daily in recent weeks.
European Union foreign ministers will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to cut some of the billions of euros in aid pledged to Egypt.
Meanwhile, Egyptian prosecutors have added a further 15 days to ousted President Mohamed Morsi’s detention while they investigate fresh allegations against him.
Mohamed Morsi has reportedly been accused of complicity in acts of violence against protesters outside the presidential palace last December. His detention had already been extended by 30 days in a separate case on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for another former leader, Hosni Mubarak, has said he hopes his client could be released from prison within the next two days.
Lawyer Fareed al-Dib said Hosni Mubarak had been cleared of one corruption charge and they were waiting for the court to check whether he still had to be held in custody on other counts.
Hosni Mubarak is facing a retrial for corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising which ended in his removal from power after 30 years.
While it is still no more than a rumor, analysts say his release would be seen by many Egyptians as a signal that the military is rolling back the changes that flowed from the uprising of 2011.
Prince George’s first official photographs have been released.
Prince George – who is third in line to the British throne – is pictured with his parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The pictures were taken by the Duchess of Cambridge’s father, Michael Middleton, in the garden of their family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
Taken earlier this month, they show the royal couple, Prince George and their black cocker spaniel, Lupo.
Tilly, a golden retriever belonging to the Middleton family, can be seen lying down behind them.
The photographs of Prince George, who was born on July 22, were released by Kensington Palace.
Kate Middleton with Prince William and baby George joined by retriever Tilly and cocker spaniel Lupo
On Monday Prince William, giving his first interview since becoming a father, told CNN: “He’s a little bit of a rascal, I’ll put it that way.
“He either reminds me of my brother or me when I was younger, I’m not sure – but he’s doing very well at the moment.”
Renowned photographer Terry O’Neill said he thought the pictures were “absolutely charming”.
“It reminded me when I first started photography for myself – I just went for the light, and it was really interesting lighting. As a matter of fact when I heard about these pictures, I thought <<Who have they got to do these pictures>> – and the thought crossed my mind they might have asked the Queen because she’s quite a good photographer – I thought that would be one up to the paparazzi.”
The cultural and education manager of Magnum Photos, Fiona Rogers, told Radio 4’s Today programme the photograph of the couple and Prince George with the family’s dogs was “technically not the most accomplished photograph”.
“It’s a photograph that any one of us could have in our family albums,” she said.
Pervez Musharraf has been indicted in Pakistan on three charges over the 2007 assassination of opposition leader and former PM Benazir Bhutto.
Prosecutors said the Pakistani ex-President was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder.
Pervez Musharraf made no public remarks at the hearing but denies the charges. The case was adjourned until 27 August.
Benazir Bhutto was killed at an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi in December 2007.
Pervez Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile earlier this year, is currently under house arrest.
But he appeared in court in Rawalpindi amid tight security. Six others were indicted along with Pervez Musharraf, including four suspected militants and two senior police officials. The court set the next hearing for 27 August.
Pervez Musharraf has been indicted in Pakistan on three charges over the 2007 assassination of opposition leader and former PM Benazir Bhutto
Pervez Musharraf’s legal team dismissed the indictment: “These charges are baseless. We are not afraid of the proceedings. We will follow legal procedures in the court,” his lawyer, Syeda Afshan Adil, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Correspondents say although many expected Pervez Musharraf to be charged, the move is unprecedented. In a country which has been ruled by the army for more than half of its existence, no serving or past military chief has ever been indicted for a crime.
Pervez Musharraf has consistently maintained that all charges against him are politically motivated.
He first came to power in 1999 when he ousted Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup. Pervez Musharraf ruled the country for nine years before being voted out and then he left Pakistan to live in self-imposed exile in Dubai and London.
The former military ruler returned to Pakistan earlier this year in the hope that he could lead his party into elections, but was disqualified from standing and found himself under house arrest fighting a series of charges relating to his time in power.
These include charges relating to the murder of a Baloch tribal leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti, in 2006 and his attempt to sack the entire higher judiciary in November 2007.
Nawaz Sharif is now back in power having emphatically won elections earlier this year. His government has said that it also plans to put Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason.
Benazir Bhutto’s assassination at an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007 was blamed by Pervez Musharraf’s government on the Taliban.
A 2010 UN report said Benazir Bhutto’s death could have been prevented and that Pervez Musharraf’s government failed to provide enough protection – at the time his aides dismissed the report as a “pack of lies”.
In the latest episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kris Jenner and Bruce’s mother Esther finally put their differences to one side but not without a bit of drama first.
Bruce Jenner decided to fly his 87-year-old mother to Los Angeles after her third husband died.
“It’s kind of lonely around here,” the pensioner confessed on the phone after 95-year-old Frank passed away.
Bruce Jenner, who admitted his relationship with his mother has had its “ups and downs”, hatched a plan to bring her from rural Idaho to see her grandchildren, and mark her birthday.
But the plan didn’t initially inspire his wife.
“Your mum doesn’t really like me,” Kris Jenner told her husband.
“You’ve had no relationship with her for the last 15 or 18 years,” Bruce Jenner shot back.
“I’ve seen her four times in my life. She yelled at me,” said Kris Jenner, who said she was saddened at the way Esther treated her.
“Last time she came to my home I made her feel like a princess. Why would I go and visit someone who can’t stand me?”
“Just have her see you as you are,” said Bruce Jenner, who wanted the pair to mend their relationship.
“It’s important to me. It would be a big treat for her.”
Bruce Jenner later complained to step-daughter Khloe Kardashian, saying Kris could hold a grudge for 20 years.
“My home is open to her,” said Kris Jenner, who insisted she was extremely busy.
“I’ll do my best to be around. In 23 years [of marriage] I think you’ve mentioned her name maybe a dozen times.”
“I don’t think she’s really crazy about me,” Kris Jenner later confided to pal Rhonda over drinks, telling her it was “f*cked up” that Esther hadn’t wished to see her grandchildren grow up.
Kris Jenner and Bruce’s mother Esther finally put their differences to one side but not without a bit of drama first
“Why am I crying?” asked Kris Jenner.
“This is a great thing,” Rhonda advised her.
Bruce Jenner later asked his mother to try and make amends with Kris.
“I have never felt that I could reach out to Kris,” Esther admitted.
But Kris Jenner made the first move saying: “I’m hopeful we can find a way to be family.”
“It’s kind of awkward,” said Kris Jenner, who was reluctant to greet her guest, who again complained that she hadn’t ever got approval from Esther.
“I hope that she can find a way not to judge me anymore,” Kris Jenner said.
During a special dinner, the family began to warm to the outspoken pensioner as she told Kendall Jenner she was too skinny – like her – and needed to put on weight.
And after a whisky cocktail Esther begins to talk about how she won’t wed again – and how any prospective husbands probably won’t be able to “get it up”.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” Kris Jenner told Esther – before saying she had to leave early to look after Kim.
“If I’m that sassy at 87, I’m going to be really happy,” she added.
However, Bruce Jenner still wanted the women to iron out their differences – and brought her to the house the following day.
“I really wanted a little time with you,” Esther said.
“We haven’t been too close in any way.
“I’m so sorry for that. I wish I could have been closer.”
“It was very complicated, a lot of personalities in the mix,” Kris Jenner said.
“I felt like I should stay away, and I have. But it’s not right. You’re Bruce’s wife. And the longest marriage he’s had,” Esther added.
“You’ve been good for him.”
“Wow, I’ve waited 23 years for this,” Kris Jenner said, before the pair hugged and kissed.
“Better late than never.”
“I’ll go home singing,” Esther said.
Meanwhile in Sunday night’s episode, Kim Kardashian fears she may be losing her clothes sense as she meets with Khloe and Kourtney about their fashion line.
Kim Kardashian was mocked by sister Khloe, who accused her of Tumblr-stalking her in a bid to regain her “cool”, as Kim wondered how she could get the-then fifteen-year-old to post more images of her online.
Meghan Cook, a Pennsylvania camouflage-clad bride, and her groom, Charlie Miller, got a little advice from a bewhiskered witness on their wedding day: Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson.
WTAE-TV reports Willie Robertson told the couple to always love and forgive one another as they were wed Saturday morning at a Field & Stream store near Pittsburgh.
Willie Robertson popped in for the nuptials of Mehgan Cook, who sported a camouflage sash on her dress, and Charlie Miller, who was completely clad in camo gear.
The two hadn’t planned on marrying at the store but Mehgan Cook said they were eager to meet Willie Robertson.
Willie Robertson told Mehgan Cook and Charlie Miller to always love and forgive one another as they were wed at a Field & Stream store near Pittsburgh
“I was going to cancel the wedding ’cause I heard Willie was coming,” Mehgan Cook told KDKA-TV.
Instead, Mehgan Cook said, her mother came up with the idea of a wedding at the store – and they got a surprise when Willie Robertson appeared during the ceremony.
“That’s a first for me, it’s good to be a part of that,” Willie Robertson said.
“They look like my kind of folks with the camouflage. That was cool.”
On the Duck Dynasty Season 4 premiere, which aired last week, family members threw a surprise wedding for patriarch Phil Robertson, wearing a black jacket over camouflage garb, and his wife, Miss Kay. They could only afford a justice of the peace when they married 48 years ago.
The show drew 11.8 million viewers on the A&E channel, making it the No. 1 non-fiction series telecast in U.S. cable television history in total viewers as well as all key demographic groups.
Mehgan Cook said she had been engaged to another man, but he died in a car crash four years ago. But she met Charlie Miller at the scene and eventually the two started dating.
“I never thought it would happen again,” Mehgan Cook said, tearing up.
Switzerland has decided to block a deal to sell ski lifts to North Korea in the latest setback for leader Kim Jong-un’s pet ski resort project.
The Swiss government cited expanded sanctions on luxury exports to North Korea.
Heavy rains and landslides have already delayed the project, viewed as a response to South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Kim Jong-un has ordered the army to complete the resort by year’s end.
Switzerland has decided to block a deal to sell ski lifts to North Korea in the latest setback for leader Kim Jong-un’s pet ski resort project
The North Korean leader has repeatedly visited the Masik ski resort site and promoted it as an attempt to enhance the lifestyle of the nation’s citizens.
But Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) labelled the resort a “prestigious propaganda project for the regime”.
“It is inconceivable that this resort will be used by the general public,” Seco spokeswoman Marie Avet said.
It is thought Kim Jong-un learned to ski in Bern, where he attended secondary school without revealing his true identity.
The ski lift deal with Swiss company Bartholet Maschinenbau, valued at more than $7 million, is reportedly the third to fall through due to sanctions.
Austrian and French manufacturers also turned down deals, citing political reasons.
The Butler, a star-studded drama inspired by African-American Eugene Allen who served as a White House butler to eight presidents, was the top draw at North American cinemas this weekend.
Lee Daniels’ new movie, which stars Forest Whitaker, took an estimated $25 million in the US and Canada between Friday and Sunday.
“We did not expect it to do this well,” said a spokesman for its distributor.
In contrast, comic book sequel Kick-Ass 2 could only manage fourth place with a first weekend haul of $13.5 million.
That was less than the $19.8 million its predecessor made in its first weekend in the US and Canada in April 2010.
Kick-Ass 2‘s takings were swelled, however, by the $6.3 million it made in ticket sales outside North America.
According to The Weinstein Company’s Erik Lomis, the involvement of Oprah Winfrey was “a significant factor” in The Butler‘s success.
“Her publicity machine really kicked into high gear,” he said of the talk show queen, whose appearance as Forest Whitaker’s wife marks her first starring role since 1998’s Beloved.
“An Oprah Winfrey endorsement virtually guarantees you a hit,” agreed Paul Dergarabedian of box office analysts Hollywood.com.
The Butler was the top draw at North American cinemas this weekend
According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Butler appealed strongly to black church-goers, a demographic specifically courted in its promotional materials.
Starring Forest Whitaker as the fictional manservant Cecil Gaines, Lee Daniels’ The Butler co-stars Robin Williams, John Cusack, Mariah Carey and Jane Fonda.
The film’s slightly tortuous nomenclature came about after the Weinstein Company lost a legal battle with Warner Brothers over the right to use the title The Butler.
Warner Bros comedy We’re the Millers held onto second place in this week’s chart, making $17.8 million in its second week in US and Canadian cinemas.
Last week’s top film, Matt Damon’s sci-fi thriller Elysium, dropped to third place after making an estimated $13.6 million between Friday and Sunday.
Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher as the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was the third new entry in this week’s Top 10, claiming seventh place with a first weekend tally of $6.7 million.
That was almost twice as much made by Paranoia, a corporate espionage thriller starring Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford that made its debut in 13th spot with a $3.5 million haul.
The Butler, which is based on the story of long-time White House butler Eugene Allen, hit theaters on Friday.
It’s not surprising that some broad creative license was taken with Eugene Allen’s life.
However, some of the most remarkable episodes are true.
Eugene Allen spent 34 years in the White House watching as eight presidents filed in and out and witnessing the country change from within the walls that were changing it.
The Butler is based on the story of long-time White House butler Eugene Allen
The life of Eugene Allen is the basis for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, which debuted in theaters this weekend. The film was inspired by a 2008 Washington Post story titled A Butler Well Served by This Election, which first brought Eugene Allen’s story to the mainstream: a butler who served every president from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan and weathered the worst of the country’s brutal racial history was about to see the first black president of the US sworn into office.
Eugene Allen was “a black man unknown to the headlines”, Will Haygood wrote in that Post article.
Now, however, Eugene Allen’s story is playing out on the big screen in an Oscar-baiting film with a sprawling cast including Robin Williams, Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Liev Schrieber, Oprah Winfrey, and, in the role inspired by Allen, Forest Whitaker.
In The Butler, Forest Whitaker’s Cecil Gaines is a slightly fictionalized version of Eugene Allen, one whose story – though very close to Allen’s own – plays better as the stylistic, sweeping melodrama the film sets out to be.
A man has reportedly shot himself dead at Olivia Newton-John’s Florida home.
Police responded to a possible suicide at the $5.6 million house in Jupiter at 12.15 p.m. on Monday and Tequesta Fire Rescue confirmed they found a man’s body at the scene.
Sgt. Scott Pascarella from the Jupiter Police Department said the man is not related to the homeowners and does not live there, the Palm Beach Postreported.
Olivia Newton-John, 64, and her husband, businessman John Easterling, 61, were out of town at the time of the shooting, officials said.
Contractors were at the house carrying out repairs and one contractor was seen crying there this afternoon, the Palm Beach Post reported.
A man has shot himself dead at Olivia Newton-John’s Florida home
Neighbors said they have not seen Olivia Newton-John at the home, which is being sold, in a while.
Police have released few details about the call and have not released an identity of the man, who is believed to have shot himself in the head.
While officials said it appears to be a suicide, Scott Pascarella said police are treating it as a death investigation. The medical examiner and Jupiter Inlet Colony Police remain at the scene.
Comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who sold her own Miami mansion for $16.5 million in June, is reportedly under contract to buy the home. One website said the sale was worth $5.6 million.
Jupiter Inlet Colony is a coastal community in Palm Beach with around 360 residents and 240 homes.
Nigerian Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau may have been killed by the security forces during a shoot-out, an army spokesman has said.
An “intelligence report” showed that Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram group, may have died between July 25 and August 3, Lt-Col Sagir Musa said.
Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009, has not commented on the statement.
The US had put a bounty of $7 million on Abubakar Shekau’s head.
The intelligence report suggested that Abubakar Shekau was shot on June 30, when soldiers raided a Boko Haram base at Sambisa Forest in north-eastern Nigeria.
“Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide – a border community in Cameroon for treatment… It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August 2013,” Sagir Musa said.
Nigerian Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau may have been killed by the security forces during a shoot-out
A video of Abubakar Shekau released on August 13 was “dramatized by an imposter to hoodwink the sect members to continue with the terrorism”, he added.
On August 14, the military said it had killed Boko Haram’s second-in-command, Momodu Bama, also known by his alias “Abu Saad”.
Correspondents say there is no independent confirmation of Abubakar Shekau’s or Momodu Bama’s death.
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began its insurgency in 2009.
A claim in 2009 that Abubakar Shekau had been killed turned out to be untrue, they add.
He became leader of Boko Haram after its founder, Muhammad Yusuf, died in police custody in the same year.
The insurgency became far more brutal under Abubakar Shekau’s leadership, with Boko Haram carrying out a wave of bombings and abductions, including that of foreigners, in its campaign to create an Islamic state across Nigeria, correspondents say.
In May, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan declared an emergency in three north-eastern states, saying the group threatened the country’s existence.
Southern African Development Community leaders have called for the European Union and US to lift all sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe after endorsing President Robert Mugabe’s win in disputed elections last month.
Malawian President Joyce Banda said Zimbabweans had “suffered enough”.
The EU and US imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 after accusing Robert Mugabe of brutally cracking down on his opponents – a charge he rejected.
Robert Mugabe, 89, is due to be inaugurated for a seventh term on Thursday.
The EU has a travel ban in place against Robert Mugabe and nine other of officials of his Zanu-PF party and has sanctions imposed on two companies.
The US also has a travel ban on Robert Mugabe and other top Zanu-PF officials, and has blacklisted companies linked to them from doing business with US companies.
Robert Mugabe won with 61% of the presidential vote against 34% for Morgan Tsvangirai, the outgoing prime minister and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
On Friday, the MDC dropped plans to challenge Robert Mugabe’s victory in court, alleging it would not get a fair hearing.
SADC leaders called for the EU and US to lift Zimbabwe sanctions after endorsing Robert Mugabe’s win
The MDC had alleged that the poll was marred by widespread fraud, a view rejected by African Union (AU) and other international observers.
Ending a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, on Sunday, regional leaders said in a statement that “all forms of sanctions” imposed on Zimbabwe should be lifted following the holding of “free and peaceful” elections.
“I believe Zimbabwe deserves better, Zimbabweans have suffered enough,” said Joyce Banda, Malawi’s leader and incoming chairperson of the 15-nation regional body.
In a further display of support for Robert Mugabe, regional leaders appointed him as the next SADC chairman and said the group’s next annual summit would be held in Zimbabwe, AFP news agency reports.
The EU described last month’s election in Zimbabwe as generally peaceful, but said it was concerned about alleged irregularities.
In March, the EU suspended sanctions against 81 individuals and eight entities in Zimbabwe after hailing a referendum to approve a new constitution expanding civil liberties as credible and peaceful.
However, it kept sanctions in place against two firms and 10 top officials, including Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe did not invite the EU and the US to monitor the elections, with Zanu-PF accusing them of bias.
The US described the vote on July 31 as “deeply flawed” and did not regard the results as a credible expression of the will of Zimbabweans.
The MDC has said that more than a million voters were prevented from casting their ballots – mainly in urban areas considered to be its strongholds, allegations backed up a 7,000-strong group of local observers, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network.
Allies of President Robert Mugabe have dismissed the allegations of voting fraud and accused Morgan Tsvangirai of being a bad loser.
Robert Mugabe’s victory heralded the end of the power-sharing government he formed with Morgan Tsvangirai in 2009 under pressure from regional leaders following elections marred by violence and allegations of rigging.
Robert Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe, a former British colony until 1964, from independence in 1980.
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Cissy Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown’s relationship soured after the publication of a tell-all memoir about Whitney Houston’s life, career and personal struggles.
However, Cissy Houston, 79, has attempted to build bridges with granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown by penning a candid letter in which she offers her opinion on the 20-year-old’s current relationship, their shared grief and the controversial book that originally drove a wedge between them.
Cissy Houston published Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss and the Night Music Stopped in February, but intimate details about her daughter’s marriage to Bobby Brown, her long battle with cocaine addiction, a rumored gay affair and her eventual, untimely death at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2012, aged 48, enraged her granddaughter.
Writing on Twitter at the time, Bobbi Kristina Brown furiously dismissed her grandmother’s memoir as lies with the tweet: “I KNOW THE TRUTH.”
She added: “I haven’t read and won’t … I find it to be disrespectful to my mother and me being her daughter won’t tolerate it.”
Cissy Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown’s relationship soured after the publication of a tell-all memoir about Whitney Houston’s life, career and personal struggles
Whitney Houston’s only child with Bobby Brown is currently engaged to long-term boyfriend Nick Gordon – something Cissy Houston was quick to address in her open letter, which has been published online.
Cissy Houston writes: “Do I want you to get married in the near future? No, I don’t. I think you’re too young and I wish you’d wait. But that’s because I’m Grandma.
“I’m supposed to worry about you. I’m supposed to wonder if Nick or ANY man is good enough for you, My Baby’s Baby.
“I’m not angry with Nick and I don’t think, nor did I ever say anything hurtful about him to anyone. I have NEVER publicly commented on your personal life and I don’t intend to.
“So in the future when you read or hear that Cissy Houston said this or said that, be confident in the knowledge that it isn’t true.”
Former gospel star Cissy Houston – who provided backing vocals for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Elvis Presley during the sixties and seventies – also touched on her book, conceding that she understand why Bobbi Kristina Brown would feel so angry about it.
She adds: “…but I hope one day you’ll read it and understand that I just wanted to let the world see some of My Nippy – the sweet, friendly, loving little girl with the extraordinary beauty and boundless talent, who grew into the superstar and musical icon the world saw.
“I want people to know – fans and critics and ordinary people alike – Nippy was a whole person, and like all of us, she was good and bad AND she was my joy!!”
A rep speaking on behalf of Cissy Houston later confirmed there was no ulterior motive behind the 550 word letter.
It appears Bobbi Kristina Brown has dropped out of Celebrity Big Brother.
According to The Sun, Bobbi Kristina Brown, 20, had withdrawn from the program after receiving online abuse after the news broke that she was going in the house.
The paper also quoted a Channel Five insider as saying that despite having a large budget, they are having problems attracting the big US names they need to get the big ratings.
The source said: “They knew there were guaranteed fireworks with her in the house and hoped they’d also get some revelations about Whitney.”
Bobbi Kristina Brown has withdrawn from Celebrity Big Brother after receiving online abuse
Adding: “But she did a massive U-turn and sent the bosses into a panic. As it stands they’ve got loads of money to spend but they’re struggling to find anyone to give it to.”
Whitney Houston’s only daughter last month shocked fans when she announced her engagement to Nick Gordon, the boy Whitney raised as her own son, making him a brother of sorts to Bobbi Kristina Brown.
Their relationship has been the subject of much controversy and scrutiny given that the couple essentially grew up as siblings.
Bobbi Kristina’s father Bobby Brown stated that he was not happy with the news and berated Nick Gordon for not asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
So far, other names that have been linked with this year’s Celebrity Big Brother includes ’90s RnB star Mark Morrison and Dustin Diamond, who played Screech in 90s TV show Saved By The Bell.
And whilst they were both big stars in their heyday, they’ve largely faded into obscurity ever since.
Celebrity Big Brother is due to air on Thursday and is rumored to also be featuring disgraced former football commentator Ron Atkinson, model Sophie Anderton and Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby.
Caroline Kennedy has revealed her financial information in order to be considered as the next American ambassador to Japan, and it is believed she may be worth up to $500 million.
Caroline Kennedy’s wealth has been a closely-guarded secret for decades, but now that President Barack Obama has nominated her to represent the US abroad, she has to list the sources of her massive income.
“She’s very rich, probably worth between $250 million and $500 million,” said one legal expert who had seen the financial disclosure forms.
Caroline Kennedy, who is the sole surviving member of former President John F. Kennedy’s immediate family, has avoided calls to publicly release her financial statements in the past, but as the Senate must now approve her appointment to be an Ambassador, she has no choice.
The closest she came to revealing her millions came in 2008 when she asked then-New York Governor David Patterson to suggest she take over Hillary Clinton’s empty Senate seat.
At the time, Caroline Kennedy said she would reveal what board positions make her how many millions and exactly how much her family trusts earn in interest, but only if her takeover of the Senate seat was going to happen.
It didn’t, so the curtains surrounding her bank accounts remained closed.
Now there is no such justification for privacy, as she needs to reveal what ties she will be willing to cut in order to take the prestigious position.
“I understand that a heightened prospect of a conflict of interest could exist as to companies that maintain a presence in Japan,” Caroline Kennedy wrote in a letter accompanying her disclosure statements.
According to The New York Post, said conflicts could include a number of board and trustee positions that she olds with Harvard University’s Kennedy school, her husband Edwin Schlossberg’s foundation, and the arts foundation created by her mother and father.
Caroline Kennedy has revealed her financial information in order to be considered as the next American ambassador to Japan
The biggest source of her income is from the extensive trusts that her grandfather Joe established for each of his children and grandchildren.
The untimely deaths in Caroline Kennedy’s family have led to a piling up of respective estates, as her mother Jackie inherited her father’s trusts after he was assassinated in 1963.
After leaving the White House, Jackie Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968, though he died less than seven years later in 1975.
When he passed away, Jackie Kennedy was not entitled to as much as she would have been as a result of Greek estate laws, and after two years she agreed to accept a $26 million settlement from her late-husband’s daughter Christina in return for giving up all claims to the family fortune in the future.
People Magazine reports that Jackie Kennedy’s later relationship with financial planner Maurice Tempelsman helped her build that payout from the Onassis family into an estimated fortune of anywhere between $100 million and $200 million, though it is unclear where that money went exactly as her final estate that was passed on to her children was significantly lower.
Jacqueline Kennedy was diagnosed with cancer in 1994 and died four months later. She left her children an estimated $43.7 million, including several pricey properties including her 15-room apartment on Fifth Avenue which had a view of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as the 366-acre Kennedy estate on Martha’s Vineyard.
In May of this year, Caroline Kennedy listed 90 waterfront acres of the property for sale – with no homes included – for $45 million though it does not appear to have sold yet. She is still holding on to three lots of land for herself and her children, two that pay off the cost of estate expenses, and one that has been designated as open space. The Boston Herald reports that the lots she is keeping for her family include the home that her mother lived in and designed.
This isn’t the first time that Caroline Kennedy has made a parcel off her mother’s property. Jackie Kennedy bought the 15th floor of her Fifth Avenue apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 1964 following the president’s assassination, she paid $250,000. It sold for $9.5 million in 1995 after her death to billionaire David Koch.
“Mrs. Onassis was very conservative financially, and she didn’t spend much on it. We gutted the apartment and redid everything,” he said to The Observer after he decided to sell it for $32 million in 2006.
On top of her own piece of the Kennedy pie, Caroline also inherited her brother John Jr.’s trusts when he died in a plane crash in 1999.
John Kennedy Jr. left his $50 million to his relatives and a few charities, but the Kennedys are also believed to have paid the Bessette family $15 million as a result of the crash. He was the one piloting that fatal flight in his plane with his wife Carolyn and her sister Laura as passengers; investigations into the crash reported that all three died on impact and the cause of the crash was pilot error.
“From the figures, it looks like she earns between $12 million and $30 million a year from her trust and from her investments,” an unidentified legal expert told The Post.
The interest yielded from those funds is hefty, but Caroline Kennedy, 55, has not just been resting on those laurels.
She has stakes in banks like Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, JP Morgan and two oil companies that her family’s assets own.
On top of those eight-figure sums, she also brings in an additional $1 million from paid speeches and book royalties on a yearly basis.
Caroline Kennedy has been a perpetual consideration for a number of political posts over the years, but this one comes at a personal cost as her husband Edwin Schlossberg will not be joining her in Tokyo since his design firm is based in New York.
Their 26-year marriage has been the subject of speculation over the years since they are rarely seen together, but they were seen enjoying a beach vacation in St Bart’s over the girls’ spring break earlier this year.
If the nomination goes through, Caroline Kennedy will become the first woman appointed to the post.
Alex Band of The Calling band was abducted on Sunday morning, beaten and dumped on train tracks, it emerged today.
Alex Band, 32, was walking from his hotel room to a mini mart in Michigan at 4 a.m. when a van pulled up alongside him and snatched him off the street.
The singer was in Lapeer, Michigan, for a local music festival.
Eventually, sources toldTMZ, Alex Band’s abductors dumped him bloodied and beaten on nearby train tracks.
Later that morning, another member of the band noticed he was missing and a search party was sent out.
Alex Band was discovered a short time later.
He is recovering in hospital but his condition is not clear.
Alex Band was abducted of a Michigan street, beaten and dumped on train tracks
An investigation is underway.
The Calling’s biggest hit was Wherever You Will Go in 2001.
They split in 2005 but recently got back together.
They played a gig in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Saturday night before going to Michigan to perform at the music festival.
Prior to the Atlantic City show, Alex Band wrote on his Facebook and Twitter: “So blessed and thankful to be back on stage doing what I love!”
In 2003, when Alex Band was still with the band, he sang on the Carlos Santana single Why Don’t You And I.
The song was extremely successful, charting at number three on the Billboard Top 40 and number eight on the Billboard Top 100.
The band appeared in the movie Coyote Ugly.
The Calling was also recently named the number five song of the decade on the Adult Pop charts by Billboard.
After the band split up Alex Band also set up his own record label and released a five EP album, enjoying some solo success with his songs being used on a number of TV shows and movies.
He is believed to currently be single but was married and divorced twice.
Alex’s father Charles Band is a horror film director and has made dozens of movies spanning back to the seventies.
Prince William has described his newborn son, Prince George, as a “little bit of a rascal”.
In his first interview since the birth of Prince George on July 22, the Duke of Cambridge said he and Kate Middleton were enjoying their new role as parents.
“He either reminds me of my brother or me when I was younger, I’m not sure, but he’s doing very well at the moment,” he told CNN.
Prince William also said his son did not “want to go to sleep that much, which is a little bit of a problem”.
The duke admitted he does not get up in the night to see to the baby as much as Kate Middleton, adding that she is doing a “fantastic job”.
Prince William said he believes fatherhood has changed him already.
“The last few weeks for me have been just a very different emotional experience,” he said.
“Something I never thought I would feel myself… it’s only been a short period, but a lot of things affect me differently now.”
In his first interview since the birth of Prince George, the Duke of Cambridge said he and Kate Middleton were enjoying their new role as parents
Prince George, who is third in line to the throne, was born on Monday 22 July at St Mary’s Hospital in west London.
The world’s media had been camped outside and they got their first glimpse of the new prince the following day when he emerged in the arms of his parents.
Asked about that moment, Prince William said they were “happy to show him off to whoever wanted to see him”.
“I think I was on such a high anyway,” he said.
“As any new parent knows, you’re only too happy to show off your new child and proclaim that he is the best-looking or the best everything.
“It’s nice that people want to see George, so I’m just glad he wasn’t screaming his head off the whole way through.”
After the photo call, Prince William drove his family home to Kensington Palace, and he admitted he had practiced fixing the baby’s car seat into the back of the car.
“I know there’s been speculation about that. I had to practice, I really did. I was terrified that I was going to do some… you know, it was going to fall off or it wasn’t going to close properly,” he said.
“So, I had actually practiced with that seat, but only once before.”
The interview formed part of a full hour-long documentary – Prince William’s Passion: New Father, New Hope – and is to be broadcast on CNN and ITV next month.
At least 24 Egyptian policemen have been killed in an ambush attack in the Sinai peninsula.
Medical sources and officials said the police were in two buses which came under attack from armed men close to the town of Rafah on the Gaza border.
Three policemen were also reported to have been injured in the blast.
The military recently intensified a crackdown against militants in Sinai, where attacks have surged since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Egyptian deployments in the peninsula are subject to the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
There were conflicting reports about how Monday’s attack unfolded.
Security sources quoted by the Associated Press news agency say four armed men stopped the buses and forced the police to get out before shooting them.
But other reports spoke of rocket-propelled grenades being fired at the buses.
The Rafah border post into Gaza was closed in response to the attack and security increased at checkpoints on the peninsula.
Egypt’s interim, military-backed leaders have declared a state of emergency amid the nationwide unrest which has followed the ousting of Islamist Mohamed Morsi as president on 3 July.
A night-time curfew is in place in the capital, Cairo, and many other provinces.
At least 24 Egyptian policemen have been killed in an ambush attack in the Sinai peninsula
More than 830 people, including 70 police and soldiers, are reported to have been killed since Wednesday, when the army cleared protest camps set up by Mohamed Morsi supporters, many of them members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
On Sunday night, 36 Islamists died as they were being transported to a prison outside Cairo.
Government and military officials said they had suffocated in the back of a prison van from the effects of tear gas, which was fired when the prisoners rioted.
But there were other reports of gunfire.
The Brotherhood said the interior ministry had “decided to betray its trust and ignore its role” and had killed the detainees “for their opposition to the bloody military council”.
It said the “heinous crime shows the total disregard of the right to life by these murderous fascist thugs” and raised concerns about the safety of the hundreds of pro-Morsi activists now in detention.
European Union foreign ministers are to hold emergency talks on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Egypt. The date was agreed during preparatory talks by senior diplomats in Brussels on Monday.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy have said the EU “will urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt”.
In a joint statement on Sunday, they expressed regret that international efforts to find a peaceful way forward in Egypt were abandoned and a “course of confrontation” instead pursued.
“The calls for democracy and fundamental freedoms from the Egyptian population cannot be disregarded, much less washed away in blood,” they said.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say the removal of Egypt’s first freely elected president was a coup.
However the interim government says the Muslim Brotherhood has carried out a campaign of terror since he was overthrown.
The head of the armed forces, Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, has warned the military will not tolerate unrest.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Hosni Mubarak has said he expects the former leader to be released from prison within the next two days.
However, the legal situation is unclear.
Hosni Mubarak is facing a retrial for corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising.
The prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius case said the dates of 3 to 20 March had been mutually agreed for the trial at a hearing at Pretoria magistrates’ court.
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is accused of premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The prosecution handed a copy of the indictment to Oscar Pistorius.
Oscar Pistorius denies murdering Reeva Steenkamp. He says he shot her after mistaking her for an intruder.
He was granted bail in February and has since resumed some low-key training.
During Monday’s brief hearing, prosecutor Gerrie Nel also said he planned to transfer case to the high court: “We have prepared the indictment.”
Oscar Pistorius was also indicted on a charge of illegal possession of ammunition.
Oscar Pistorius is accused of premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
The double amputee won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.
His arrest in February stunned many South Africans who saw him as a national sporting hero after his long legal battle to be able to take part in the Olympics.
State prosecutors are arguing that the killing was premeditated, a charge which carries a sentence of life imprisonment. They say Oscar Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp intentionally after a fight.
But the athlete says he shot his girlfriend through the bathroom door of his home in Pretoria after mistaking her for a burglar.
The prosecution handed over details of its case against Oscar Pistorius at Monday’s hearing, including a witness list and forensic reports.
Much depends on ballistic evidence from the bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp was shot.
South African newspapers have reported that at least some of that forensic evidence appears to back up OScar Pistorius’s version of events.
However, the prosecution is expected to call witnesses who will say the Olympic runner was preoccupied with guns, and had been arguing with his girlfriend.
Last week, the police wrapped up their six-month investigation into Reeva Steenkamp’s killing.
“The South African Police Service is hopeful that justice will prevail,” a statement from the office of South Africa’s national police commissioner read.
Oscar Pistorius returned to court on what would have been Reeva Steenkamp’s 30th birthday.
