Jennifer Lawrence has hit the X-Men set like a bolt from the blue and her fans have been given a glimpse of the 22-year-old star in all her painted glory as she reprises her role as Mystique in the hit franchise.
In a snap shared on Twitter by the film’s director Bryan Singer, Jennifer Lawrence is covered in the bright color to record scenes in the Days of Future Past edition of the motion picture franchise.
Bryan Singer captioned the image: “First look: #JenniferLawrence as a vengeful #Mystique. #XMen #DaysOfFuturePast.”
The material showed off her toned stomach with a cut-out middle section and featured textured pieces to create reptile effect for the Marvels Comics mutant.
Jennifer Lawrence also wore her usually blonde locks slicked back into a flaming orange style while on set in Montreal, Canada.
Her looks were being adjusted by a hair and make-up team member as she stood in front of a green screen.
Jennifer Lawrence is covered in blue to record scenes in the Days of Future Past edition of X-Men franchise
The backdrop is for use in a special effects post-production technique to composition two images or video streams together.
Jennifer Lawrence wore piercing yellow eye contact lenses and even the whites of her eyes seemed to be temporarily dyed to for the eerie look.
The actress also played Mystique/Raven in 2011’s X-Men: First Class and so for the sequel is her only film set for release in 2014.
However, this year Jennifer Lawrence will also reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire alongside Liam Hemsworth.
In 2013 she also is due to appear in American Hustle with Silver Linings Playbook co-star Bradley Cooper, plus Devil You Know and Serena.
Jennifer Lawrence’s ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult appears as Hank McCoy/beast, while Jame McAvoy portrays Charles Xavier and Ellen Page is Kitty Pride/Shadowcat.
At least 51 people have been killed after a huge tornado tore through Oklahoma City suburbs, with the death toll likely to rise.
Worst hit was Moore, south of Oklahoma City, where neighborhoods were flattened and schools were destroyed by winds of up to 200mph.
About 120 people, including 70 children, are being treated in hospitals for their injuries.
Search and rescue efforts are continuing throughout the night.
Monday’s twister hit Moore, a suburb of about 55,000 people, and remained on the ground for about 45 minutes.
The Oklahoma chief medical examiner’s office said children were among the 51 dead.
At least two schools were devastated by the high winds, and there are reports that children are still unaccounted for.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said it was a “tragic” day, and that President Barack Obama had called her to offer assistance.
At least 51 people have been killed after a huge tornado tore through Oklahoma City suburbs
More than 200 Oklahoma National Guardsmen as well as out-of-state personnel have been called in to assist the search-and-rescue effort.
Shocked survivors spoke of the tornado’s power.
“We locked the cellar door once we saw it coming, it got louder and next thing you know is you see the latch coming undone,” survivor Ricky Stover said.
“We couldn’t reach for it and it ripped open the door and just glass and debris started slamming on us and we thought we were dead, to be honest.”
Melissa Newton said: “There’s shingles and pieces of sheet rock and wood in our yard and all across our neighborhood. Some homes are completely gone. It’s devastating.”
James Rushing said he had rushed to the Plaza Towers Elementary School, where his foster son Aiden was a pupil, to see it destroyed by the storm.
“About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said Monday’s tornado had generated winds of up to 200 mph.
“It’s certainly the most powerful tornado that I’ve ever dealt with in my 20 years with the weather service,” said NWS meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman, Oklahoma.
The town of Moore was hit by a severe tornado in May 1999, which had the highest winds ever recorded on Earth.
But Betsy Randolph of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol told local news station Skynews 9 that the damage on Monday appeared to exceed that of the last devastating tornado.
Tornadoes, hail and high winds also hit Iowa and Kansas, part of a storm system stretching from Texas to Minnesota.
On Sunday, a tornado smashed a trailer park on Highway 102 near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Oklahoma’s state medical examiner confirmed on Monday that two people had been killed in the area.
Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founder member of the 1960s rock band The Doors, has died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 74.
He formed the band with lead singer Jim Morrison in 1965 after a chance meeting in Venice Beach, Los Angeles.
Ray Manzarek, who had suffered from bile duct cancer for many years, died in a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, with his wife and brothers at his bedside.
Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founder member of the 1960s rock band The Doors, has died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 74
The Doors found fame in the 1960s with hits such as The End, Break on Through to the Other Side and Hello I Love You.
They sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and Ray Manzarek became one of the best-known keyboardists of his era, his artistry coloring tracks like Riders on the Storm and Light my Fire.
The death of Jim Morrison of heart failure in a bath in Paris on 3 July 1971 effectively spelled the end for the band, although Chicago-born Ray Manzarek took on singing duty.
The front man had moved to the city to write. A doctor’s report stated the cause of his death was heart failure aggravated by heavy drinking.
In his latter years, Ray Manzarek played in other bands and, in 1998, wrote a best-selling memoir, Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors.
Actress Christine White, who played a calming wife on a classic 1963 Twilight Zone episode that featured a young William Shatner, has died at age 86.
Christine White portrayed Julia Wilson in Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in which her husband Bob, portrayed by William Shatner, becomes unnerved after seeing a gremlin on the wing of the mid-flight plane.
The tension mounts throughout the episode as Bob has just returned from a sanitarium following a nervous breakdown six months prior that also occurred on a plane.
The situation becomes tense as the gremlin starts pulling wires from a wing panel and jumps out of view each time someone else looks out the window.
Show host Rod Serling told viewers early in the episode that Bob’s destination on the flight was the “darkest corner of the Twilight Zone”.
Christine White died on April 14 in a nursing home in Washington, according to a death notice published earlier this month in The Carroll County Times in Maryland, according to a report by The New York Times.
Christine White played a calming wife on a classic 1963 Twilight Zone episode that featured a young William Shatner
She was born in Washington and moved to New York to pursue a career in theatre after graduating in 1947 with a degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Christine White made it to Hollywood by the 1950s and appeared on TV shows and in the movies into the 1970s.
She had acting roles in Bonanza, Perry Mason, The Rifleman, The Untouchables and Father Knows Best during her career.
Her survivors include numerous nieces and nephews.
Christine White in the classic Twilight Zone episode does her best to soothe her increasingly agitated husband as the plane travels in stormy, lightning-filled weather.
Fearing for the safety of the plane’s passengers, Bob lifts a sleeping policeman’s gun and opens the emergency exit.
He’s nearly blown away, but fires and strikes the gremlin.
While Bob is being taken away on a gurney, Rob Serling promises he won’t be confined for long as the viewer sees the wing panel ripped by the gremlin.
William Shatner, who went onto fame as Capt. James T. Kirk on television’s Star Trek, posted a Twitter message on Sunday saying that he was thinking about Christine White’s family.
A video has surfaced from Brazil depicting the hilarious struggle of a man attempting to escape a cheating woman’s bedroom after her husband has come home.
And it’s out a third story window.
As the drama begins, a husband and wife are seen arguing on the third-floor patio of an urban apartment building.
“Who shirt is this,” demands the husband in Portuguese.
The wife angrily flings the shirt into a whooping crowd that has gathered below.
Their fight is juicy enough as is, but just off to the side a man appears in the couple’s window.
The lover attempting to escape the cheating woman’s bedroom after her husband has come home
Shirtless and angry, the man may be an adulterer but he’s awfully quick-thinking.
He tosses out the window an escape rope he’s managed to fashion from knotted t-shirts and bravely begins to climb down.
On a window sill below, he stops. The cackling crowd mocks both him and the woman’s husband.
“Cornudo,” the growing audience yells at the husband, a Portuguese word for a man being cheated on.
As if a Hollywood celebrity had just fallen from the sky, the passersby hoot and ogle and snap photos.
They chant: “JUMP!” as emergency workers arrive to assist the struggling man. And he does just that.
A soft mat is placed below the shirtless man and the crowd cheers as leaps and bounces down to the street.
Barefoot and scowling, the shirtless man gives the woman and her husband a good shake of the fist, then shakes it at the crowd for good measure and marches out of view.
Yesterday, Jodi Arias’ defense attorneys filed a motion for mistrial as one of their character witnesses scheduled to testify during the May 20, 2013, penalty phase on Arias’ behalf as backed out due to receiving death threats.
This isn’t the first time someone who has testified for Jodi Arias received public backlash. Her ex-boyfriend Darryl Brewer testified and requested his face to be hidden from the camera.
Travis Alexander and Jodi Arias before his murder on June 4, 2008
Criminal defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott are expected to argue eight, mitigating factors hoping the jury will spare Jodi Arias’ life and give her either life in prison without the possibility of parole, or life in prison with parole after 25 years. One of the mitigating factors is that Jodi Arias was 27-years-old at the time she stabbed her lover Travis Alexander 29 times, slit his throat from ear to ear and shot him in the head. If Jodi Arias were sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, she could be looking at getting out of prison when she is approximately 52 years old.
Laura Fernee says her good looks are so powerful they are ruining her life – and have forced her to quit her job.
Laura Fernee, 33, is a science graduate and she says her slim figure and pretty face attracted unwanted attention from her male colleagues.
She also claims she has been ostracized by other women in the workplace who are jealous of her beauty.
Laura Fernee now lives off her wealthy parents after quitting her £30,000 ($47,000) job in scientific research two years ago.
She said her appearance meant she was constantly harassed and bullied, and has decided work “just isn’t for her”.
The woman said: “I’m not lazy and I’m no b***o. The truth is my good looks have caused massive problems for me when it comes to employment, so I’ve made the decision that employment just isn’t for me at the moment. It’s not my fault … I can’t help the way I look.
“Male colleagues were only interested in me for how I looked. I wanted them to recognize my achievements and my professionalism but all they saw was my face and body.”
Laura Fernee claims she is too pretty to get a job
Laura Fernee said men left “romantic gifts” on her desk and she was “constantly asked out”, which she found “sleazy”.
“Even when I was in a laboratory in scrubs with no make-up they still came on to me because of my natural attractiveness. There was nothing I could do to stop it,” she added.
Laura Fernee studied science and medical research to doctorate level and began working in a laboratory in 2008. But she said she was forced to quit three years later because of the treatment she received.
She said: “They [other women] assumed because I was pretty, I was stupid, so didn’t take me seriously at first and, because of their own insecurities, were jealous of my looks.
“Then when they realized I was very good at my job, possibly better than them, they hated me even more.”
Laura Fernee’s parents – Catherine, 65, and Alan, 70 – inherited money from Laura’s grandfather, and now pay £2,000 ($3,000) a month in rent and bills for her flat in Notting Hill, London, as well as picking up her credit card payments.
They also shell out £1,500 ($2,300) a month for her designer clothes, shoes and handbags, and £700 ($1,000) on haircuts.
Laura Fernee pays £80 ($125) a week to work out at the gym and spends £1,000 ($1,500) a month on socializing.
The woman said her critics were “underestimating just what a curse good looks can be in the workplace”.
New research shows that spring cleaning can burn off even more calories than running a marathon.
Houseproud homeowners typically burn up 3,655 calories each year just by cleaning and tidying their homes in time for the summer.
That’s about the same as 30 large glasses of white wine or 20 chocolate eclairs – or a little more than one marathon run.
Over a lifetime this amounts to almost a quarter of a million calories or 783 bacon sandwiches.
The study was carried out with a group of home owners who were asked to monitor the amount of time they spent spring cleaning and the tasks carried out.
Popular tasks included dusting and vacuuming, emptying and cleaning cupboards, scrubbing floors, cleaning windows and moving furniture.
Cleaning cupboards burnt the most calories with those taking part spending on average four hours on this task alone, using up 952 calories. This involved emptying, cleaning out and repacking the cupboards.
Dusting was the least strenuous task burning off just 170 calories per hour. Those being monitored spent two hours doing this gentle task.
The average spring clean took the home owners 16 hours and 20 minutes spread over four days.
At 3,655 calories it was well ahead of a marathon run which typically burns between 2,500 and 3,500 calories depending on the runner’s height, weight and build.
One woman who took part said: “I’m surprised at how many calories I use just by giving the house a thorough clean. There is a lot of stretching and lifting involved so great for the upper body, and walking up and down the stairs and the ladder to get into the loft are great for my legs.
New research shows that spring cleaning can burn off even more calories than running a marathon
“I’m almost tempted to clean up more often now I know how beneficial it is!”
Another added: “I often ache after spring cleaning – now I know why! It is incredibly rewarding to see the house de-cluttered and gleaming, even better when I know I can indulge in a few of my favorite treats without feeling guilty afterwards.”
A spokesperson for PromotionalCodes.org.uk, who conducted the study said: “Housework is a great way to exercise and knowing how many calories it burns makes it much less of a chore. After all, as well as a lovely clean house, we’re also toning, firming and making ourselves much fitter.
“There are lots of time saving devices now which means our spring clean takes less time than it did years ago. But regardless of the help we have, we’re still stretching, lifting, walking and bending – all great for getting our hearts pumping and body working hard.”
Face Trainer, the latest product to hit the market promising a youthful complexion, may leave even the most dedicated beauty disciple at a loss for words.
In the same way that you can lift weights to tone up your sagging arms, you can now exercise your facial muscles using a “Face Trainer”.
Claiming to offer “resistance training” for facial muscles, the Face Trainer resembles a futuristic-looking balaclava that covers the head and neck.
Ten minutes a day of wearing the contraption while completing a range of “exercises” including The Puppy Dog and The Frog is supposedly enough to tighten sagging skin and ease the signs of ageing.
Face Trainer is the latest product to hit the market promising a youthful complexion
Made by the company No!No!, the Face Trainer fits firmly against the skin to provide resistance and helps muscles build and tone to all 44 bilaterally symmetrical muscles of the face and neck.
The Face Trainer is the only FDA registered product of its kind, and the idea is that as the facial muscles become stronger and build they become larger, filling out under the skin and giving a fuller look to the face.
In clinical trials, 71% of users saw a reduction in sagging while 91% of participants said they would recommend the product to a friend.
Just under half of participants (42%) also reported a reduction in both fine and course lines.
Macaulay Culkin is said to be smoking a whopping 60 cigarettes a day, leading to new health fears for the troubled former child star.
“He’s put his nicotine addiction into overdrive,” a source told the National Enquirer.
“Almost every time I see him, he has a cigarette dangling from his lips and is puffing furiously.”
The effects of his unhealthy habit are starting to show, said another source.
“He’s coughing a lot, his teeth are yellowing, and friends and family are worried he’s killing himself.”
Experts tell the publication that Macaulay Culkin ‘s addiction puts him at serious risk of contracting lung cancer.
Macaulay Culkin is said to be smoking a whopping 60 cigarettes a day, leading to new health fears
Jerome Spunberg, a radiation oncologist in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, (who has not treated the star) told the National Enquirer that Macaulay Culkin has “30 times the risk” of dying from the disease than someone who doesn’t smoke.
Another doctor, Herman Kattlove, former spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, said Macaulay Culkin’s lung cancer risk will “eventually exceed 100 times that of a nonsmoker”.
Macaulay Culkin, 32, is also chugging cognac, beer and energy drinks, say insiders.
Sources say his recent troubles are as a result of a recent breakup with a girlfriend, and he also had a run-in with a photographer outside a nightclub in Brighton, UK.
“All of this has Mac very stressed out, and that causes him to smoke more,” said a friend.
Macaulay Culkin is best known for his roles as cheeky Kevin McCallister in the 1990 film Home Alone and the 1992 sequel, Home Alone: Lost In New York.
He also starred in the likes of Uncle Buck, My Girl and Richie Rich.
But his adult career has failed to match the blockbuster success of his childhood days.
These days Macaulay Culkin earns a living deejaying at clubs around New York.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has ordered an inquiry into why his country gave Russia “nul points” at Eurovision Song Contest 2013.
Voters and the official Azerbaijan jury in fact gave strong backing to the Russian entry, according to officials.
Azerbaijan’s state broadcaster suggested there may have been voting violations.
Russia gave the maximum 12 points to Azerbaijan’s entry – a ballad by Farid Mammadov.
Farid Mammadov came second behind winner Emmelie de Forest from Denmark.
Russia’s Dina Garipova came fifth at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmo
Russia’s Dina Garipova came fifth at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmo.
Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu, disclosed that President Ilham Aliyev had ordered an investigation and votes were being recounted.
He said that a large number of voters in Azerbaijan, submitting votes by text message, had supported the Russian Federation.
“According to this data, Russia should have received 10 points from Azerbaijan. An announcement will be made about this tonight on Azeri Public Television.”
Camil Guliyev, head of the country’s state broadcaster, said the failure to give Russia any points was of serious concern.
“We sincerely hope that this incident, possibly initiated by certain interest groups, will not cast a shadow over the brotherly relations of the Russian and Azerbaijani peoples,” he said, without elaborating.
Azerbaijan, which hosted last year’s contest, has traditionally tried to maintain good relations with Moscow though there have been tensions over energy in the past.
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius will not compete again this year as he awaits trial for murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius, 26, is on bail after being charged with the murder of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp but can compete before his court case is heard.
His agent, Peet van Zyl, said the six-time Paralympic champion was not mentally ready to return to the track.
“There was never any pressure from me or his coach (Ampie Louw) to return, it’s his decision,” said Peet van Zyl.
It means Oscar Pistorius will not compete in the IPC World Championships in Lyon in July.
Oscar Pistorius was arrested after shooting Reeva Steenkamp dead on February 14 and has not competed since.
Oscar Pistorius will not compete again this year as he awaits trial for murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
The double amputee, known as Blade Runner because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he races in, claimed he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for a burglar and has denied murder.
On February 22, Oscar Pistorius was granted bail and had certain conditions lifted which meant he could compete in events outside his homeland.
Coach Ampie Louw was quoted by Eye Witness News in South Africa as saying his athlete was “nowhere close” to being in a position to train.
Oscar Pistorius had not been invited to compete in July’s London Anniversary Games, with UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner saying he did not want the meeting to turn into a “media circus”.
However, Oscar Pistorius’s agent said plenty of meeting organisers had been in touch to invite athlete to compete in their events.
“[There] were a good number, enough to keep him busy through the year,” added Peet van Zyl.
At London 2012, Oscar Pistorius became the first double amputee to run at an Olympics, taking part in both the 400 m and 4×400 m relay.
He then won gold medals in the T44 400 m and T42-46 4×100 m at the Paralympics, as well as silver in the T44 200 m.
Oscar Pistorius is next due in court on June 4 and a trial is expected to take place before the end of this year.
Kate Middleton was left red-faced after the gusts lifted up her polka-dot dress, drawing attention to her thighs.
The Duchess of Cambridge was caught out by the wind as she arrived at the wedding of friends William van Cutsem and Rosie Ruck Keene, in south Oxfordshire, just over a week ago.
Seemingly unaware that her skirt had blown up, revealing her shapely legs, Kate Middleton, 32, gripped her black and white fascinator rather than her hem, laughing as she did so.
It happened as she walked towards St Mary the Virgin Church, in the village of Ewelme in the Chiltern Hills, on Saturday, May 11.
Kate Middleton appeared not to have learned her lesson from the last time she wore the Topshop dress, when she suffered a similar wardrobe malfunction.
The duchess was forced to hold down the back of the black and cream outfit as she arrived at the Hertfordshire-based Warner Bros Studios with Princes William and Harry, last month.
The High Street bargain sold out within hours of her wearing it, but the dress may not get a third showing after proving unsuitable for the gusty British weather once again.
Kate Middleton attended the wedding with Prince William, who arrived separately and was believed to have been an usher, wearing the same morning suit, blue striped shirt, and dark red tie as the groom.
Kate Middleton was left red-faced after the gusts lifted up her polka-dot dress
The couple have known the van Cutsem family for many years and the groom’s niece, Grace, was a flower girl at the royal wedding.
Kate Middleton’s embarrassing moment, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in film The Seven Year Itch, was one of several for the duchess.
In July 2011, during a North American tour, her cream and navy cable-knit Alexander McQueen dress was whipped up by the wind as she met wellwishers in Charlottetown, in Canada.
On that occasion Kate Middleton was wearing a cream slip, which protected her modesty. She was not so lucky four days later as her yellow Jenny Packham dress flew up on the tarmac at Calgary airport, briefly revealing her underwear.
But Kate Middleton, who is expected to give birth on July 13, handled all the mishaps with her usual poise.
The exact due date had been shrouded in secrecy, but close friends of the royal couple discussed at a barbecue hosted by a family friend that Kate Middleton expects to go into labor on July 13 – during the Queen’s Coronation Festival.
For the first time, 50% said Charles would be a fitting monarch in the YouGov poll, up 13% from May last year. The Prince of Wales was seen as making a positive contribution to the monarchy by 60% of voters.
The poll showed, for the first time, a majority believe the Queen should abdicate if she becomes too ill to fulfill her duties.
At least 54 people have been killed and many others injured in a series of car bomb attacks in Iraqi cities Baghdad, Basra and Samarra, officials say.
Baghdad was worst hit, with nine explosions at bus stations and markets in the mainly Shia Muslim districts.
Two bombs went off earlier in the day in the southern city of Basra, and a blast in Samarra killed three people.
The attacks are part of the recent rise in violence in Iraq linked to growing political and sectarian tension.
Police said nearly 200 people were injured in Monday’s violence in Iraq. Eight Iranian pilgrims are reported to be among the dead.
One of the bloodiest attacks in Baghdad happened in the northern Shia neighborhood of Shaab, when a car bomb exploded near a crowded market place killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 20.
The bombs in Basra, a mainly Shia Muslim city, killed at least 14 outside a restaurant and the main bus station.
“We were sitting here waiting for work and as usual we gathered near a street food cart and the place was very crowded,” Basra resident Mohammed Ali, who was near one of the blasts, told Reuters news agency.
“I crossed the street to the other side when all of a sudden it turned dark, dust filled the area. I was showered with metal wreckage and wounded in my legs.”
At least 54 people have been killed and many others injured in a series of car bomb attacks in Iraqi cities Baghdad, Basra and Samarra
A further three people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb attack in Samarra, a city some 70 miles north of Baghdad. The blast reportedly happened near a gathering of members of the pro-government Sunni militia, the Awakening Council.
In a separate incident, 10 policemen kidnapped on Saturday in western Anbar province have been found dead.
No group has said it carried out Monday’s bomb attacks, but tension between the Shia Muslim majority, which leads the government, and minority Sunnis has been growing since last year.
Sunni demonstrators have accused the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of discriminating against them – something the government denies.
Iraqis have not witnessed violence on the scale of the last few weeks for nearly five years.
The Shia-Sunni fault line, with Syria currently at its epicentre, is certainly contributing.
But Iraqis do not see their own politicians doing enough to unite people on both sides of the sectarian divide, and they do not see the international community showing the urgency they think it should in averting further chaos.
Violence has increased since more than 50 people died in clashes between security forces and Sunni Arabs in April, when an anti-government protest camp was raided in Nawija near Kirkuk.
At least 60 people died in three bombings in Sunni Muslim areas in and around Baghdad on Friday. Those bombings followed deadly attacks on Shia targets across Iraq.
On Sunday, at least 10 policemen were reported killed in north-western Iraq in attacks blamed by the authorities on Sunni militants.
Basra had been seen as relatively peaceful, but there too, violence has risen in recent months.
In March, a car bomb in the city killed 10 and wounded many others. On Saturday gunmen there shot and killed a Sunni Muslim cleric.
The increasing number of incidents has raised fears that Iraq could return to the worst of the sectarian conflict seen in 2006 and 2007.
Recent reports revealed that Philadelphia police last year recommended bringing charges of witness intimidation against former officer Richard DeCoatsworth, once hailed as a hero for his work on the force and charged over the weekend with rape, a high-ranking police official said Sunday.
Captain John Gallagher, a former commander of East Detectives now assigned to the department’s Counter-Terrorism Operations, said the recommendation stemmed from allegations that Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, had kidnapped, assaulted, and robbed a Port Richmond man who lived two blocks from him over an unpaid debt.
Detectives who investigated said they believed the debt was over drugs, said John Gallagher, who led the investigation.
John Gallagher gave the following account:
“The Port Richmond man told investigators in January 2012 that DeCoatsworth had kidnapped him at gunpoint and driven him around the city, including to a barbershop, in an effort to collect on the debt. DeCoatsworth slammed the man’s head against a wall and yanked a gold chain from his neck before eventually letting him go,” he told police.
“He took the chain, and said, <<I’m going to hold on to this until I get my money>>, ” John Gallagher said the man alleged.
Then Richard DeCoatsworth, who had retired from the force in December 2011, reached into his alleged captive’s pocket and stole $218, the man told police.
“We believe the man didn’t try to run because he was fearful DeCoatsworth would shoot him,” John Gallagher said.
John Gallagher said investigators from the Private Criminal Complaint Unit of the District Attorney’s Office told the man they needed Richard DeCoatsworth’s home address before they could pursue the investigation. In an effort to get it, the man’s mother drove past Richard DeCoatsworth’s Salmon Street house, and DeCoatsworth spotted her, John Gallagher said.
The woman told police investigators Richard DeCoatsworth configured his fingers in the shape of a gun, pointed at her, and said: “I’ve got something for you and your son.”
Philadelphia police last year recommended bringing charges of witness intimidation against former officer Richard DeCoatsworth
District Attorney’s Office investigators recommended charging Richard DeCoatsworth with simple assault and harassment in the alleged attack on the man, while leaving the investigation into the alleged threats against his mother to police detectives, John Gallagher said.
In the latter case, investigators filed an arrest affidavit for Richard DeCoatsworth in February 2012 on charges of threats and intimidation of a witness, John Gallagher said. The District Attorney’s Office declined to bring charges in the case involving the man’s mother, he said.
John Gallagher did not know whether prosecutors pursued charges related to Richard DeCoatsworth’s alleged attack on the woman’s son.
“We believed that he was reluctant to tell us that the debt owed to DeCoatsworth involved drugs,” John Gallagher said.
“However, the majority of his story appeared to be credible. We didn’t have any credibility issues with the mother.”
Tasha Jamerson, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office, said neither she nor District Attorney Seth Williams could comment without reviewing the case file.
Richard DeCoatsworth remains in jail with bail set at $60 million on charges of rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats, and related offenses in connection with his arrest early Saturday morning.
Officers raided Richard DeCoatsworth’s house, where they found guns and drugs, according to police sources. It was unclear what the drugs were. They were still being analyzed over the weekend, sources said.
The fall was dramatic for Richard DeCoatsworth, who as a 21-year-old rookie endured a shotgun blast to the face while on duty. Bleeding heavily and returning fire, he pursued his attacker for several blocks before collapsing and radioing for help.
The gunman, Antonio Coulter, was caught and later pleaded guilty in the shooting. Richard DeCoatsworth underwent extensive surgery and returned to duty in June 2008. His heroism attracted national attention, earning him a seat next to Michelle Obama in 2009 during the president’s State of the Union address.
“Shocked,” said retired Philadelphia Police Officer Tony Santiago, owner of Tony’s Way Sports Bar at Front and Berks Streets, to whom Richard DeCoatsworth went for advice.
“It’s crazy how you go from hero to jail,” Tony Santiago said.
“You wonder if that had anything to do with the trauma he had from the shotgun incident, like what soldiers go through in war.”
Law enforcement sources said two weeks ago, Richard DeCoatsworth went to that bar, where he met a woman. He forced her into prostitution at a hotel on Roosevelt Boulevard, the sources said.
On Thursday, according to the sources, Richard DeCoatsworth forced her and another woman to perform sexual acts at gunpoint at a house on Howard Street. He is also charged with assaulting a live-in girlfriend on May 9.
Sources said there were a number of Internal Affairs complaints against Richard DeCoatsworth before he retired at age 25, reportedly because of injuries from the 2007 shooting.
All Duck Dynasty’s lovable, sweet tea-swilling couples are anchored by long-standing, rock-solid marriages.
The Robertson couples – from patriarch and matriarch Phil and Kay on down to their sons and daughters-in-law – are definitely having and holding, for richer and for poorer , in sickness and in health, for as long as they both shall live.
Check out how these happily married couples met, long before they were featured on hit A&E reality series Duck Dynasty.
Jep Robertson and Jessica
Jep and Jessica Robertson
There’s not much info out there about how Jep and Jessica Robertson met (though is thought it was high school). They have four kids: Lily, Merritt, Priscilla, and River.
Jessica Robertson is an avid Twitter user and often tweets about her hubby Jep (and vice versa).
All Duck Dynasty’s lovable, sweet tea-swilling couples are anchored by long-standing, rock-solid marriages.
The Robertson couples – from patriarch and matriarch Phil and Kay on down to their sons and daughters-in-law – are definitely having and holding, for richer and for poorer , in sickness and in health, for as long as they both shall live.
Check out how these happily married couples met, long before they were featured on hit A&E reality series Duck Dynasty.
Jase Robertson and Missy
Jase and Missy Robertson’s meet-cute story sounds like it comes straight out of a movie: They met in high school on a fake date to make Jase’s ex-girlfriend jealous! Now, they’ve been married over 20 years and have three kids – Reed, Cole, and Mia.
Jase Robertson and his wife Missy
Jase Robertson told Game & Fish magazine that the question the bearded Robertson men get asked most by viewers is how they managed to snag such beautiful wives.
“You hear people say <<Oh these women married these guys for their money>>, because we’re successful now, but what they don’t realize is that when they met us, we didn’t have any money. We were all poor, and we’ve all been married for lots of years,” Jase Robertson explained.
“I always think that’s comical. We really came from humble beginnings. It’s just been the American dream lived out, we do what we love to do, and it just worked out. But you know our wives are with us because of our spiritual qualities, which flies in the face of what most people think.”
On his Facebook page, Jase Robertson said “I am HAPPILY married” while responding to various fan questions.
All Duck Dynasty’s lovable, sweet tea-swilling couples are anchored by long-standing, rock-solid marriages.
The Robertson couples – from patriarch and matriarch Phil and Kay on down to their sons and daughters-in-law – are definitely having and holding, for richer and for poorer , in sickness and in health, for as long as they both shall live.
Check out how these happily married couples met, long before they were featured on hit A&E reality series Duck Dynasty.
Willie Robertson and Korie
Willie and Korie met at summer camp when they were in fourth and third grade, respectively.
Willie and Korie Robertson
“We were on a hike and I asked her to hold hands,” Willie Robertson told AskMen.
“We went to different schools – I was in public and she was in private – but we’d see each other in the Christian youth group during the year.”
They married a year after high school, and Willie Robertson doesn’t regret tying the knot at such a young age.
“That way you don’t have all the baggage. All our memories are together. Everything we have, we built together.”
Perhaps their five kids – three biological, two adopted – will take his advice. The eldest two, John Luke and Sadie, are high schoolers who are dating.
Now married for more than 21 years, Willie Robertson credits his wife for the family business’s success.
“In the early days, it was her encouragement that got me to start thinking about how to expand the business,” Willie Robertson said.
“Had I not been married to her, I never would have done anything that I’ve done today.”
All Duck Dynasty’s lovable, sweet tea-swilling couples are anchored by long-standing, rock-solid marriages.
The Robertson couples – from patriarch and matriarch Phil and Kay on down to their sons and daughters-in-law – are definitely having and holding, for richer and for poorer , in sickness and in health, for as long as they both shall live.
Check out how these happily married couples met, long before they were featured on hit A&E reality series Duck Dynasty.
Uncle Si and Christine
Women everywhere shed a tear last December when Uncle Si Robertson, the infinitely quotable war veteran, revealed he was actually married. His wife of 43 years, Christine, is not featured on the show.
Si Robertson and his wife Christine
The inadvertent heartthrob had seemingly been getting so much fan mail that he finally posted a picture of himself with Christine on his Facebook fan page, with the caption: “Everyone’s been asking so here ya go…This is me and my wife Christine, we have been married 43 years…Loved her then, Love her still, always have, always will…and you can take that to the bank, JACK!!”
Uncle Si’s niece-in-law, Jessica Robertson, also posted a picture of the elusive Christine:
On Duck Dynasty, Si Robertson talked about his marriage for the first time just weeks ago. His grandnephew John Luke needed advice about breaking up with his girlfriend, and Si Robertson proudly declared he’d been married for over four decades.
All Duck Dynasty’s lovable, sweet tea-swilling couples are anchored by long-standing, rock-solid marriages.
The Robertson couples – from patriarch and matriarch Phil and Kay on down to their sons and daughters-in-law – are definitely having and holding, for richer and for poorer , in sickness and in health, for as long as they both shall live.
Check out how these happily married couples met, long before they were featured on hit A&E reality series Duck Dynasty.
Phil Robertson and Miss Kay
The high school sweethearts started dating when Kay was just 14 and got married in 1966 when she was 16. They were practically an old married couple when Phil Robertson attended Louisiana Tech on a football scholarship; he even started ahead of the now-legendary Terry Bradshaw and turned down an offer to play in the NFL to concentrate on duck hunting.
“They had me there when they first got to Tech, so he was also a little different than the modern athlete,” their oldest son, Alan Robertson, told ESPN.
Phil Robertson and Miss Kay
(Alan Robertson is a minister who is not on Duck Dynasty)
“He already had a family at that young of an age. I think that hunting, some of it was just providing for us. So I think that changed a bit of his attitude and allowed him to walk away a little bit easier, you know.”
Phil Robertson and Miss Kay’s love story hasn’t always been happy, though. In the ’70s, Phil Robertson was “headed south” – running a bar, drinking, getting into fights.
In his autobiography, The Duck Commander Family, son Willie Robertson recounts how his father Phil kicked out his family in a drunken rage, then begged Miss Kay to come back.
“What kept me there? What made me stay with him? It was words my grandmother said: <<One man, one wife, for one life>>,” Kay Robertson told Sports Spectrum.
Phil Robertson turned to religion to change his life, and Miss Kay forgave him. They’re still together more than 45 years later!
Taylor Swift snagged not one but eight statues at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards stage in Las Vegas on Sunday night.
The awards included Top Female Artist and Top Billboard 200 Artist.
Additionally, Taylor Swift won Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Country Song for We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, and Top Country Album for Red.
During one of her acceptance speeches, 23-year-old Taylor Swift appeared to be making fun of herself, referring to her many much documented and troubled relationships as she thanked her fans.
“You are the longest and best relationship I have ever had!” she exclaimed before strutting off stage.
Taylor Swift snagged not one but eight statues at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards stage in Las Vegas
Earlier Taylor Swift also gave an energetic performance at the annual ceremony.
Bouncing around in a blue T-shirt with a sparkly unicorn and the rainbow thought cloud: “Haters Gonna Hate”, Taylor Swift proved that her talent speaks for itself.
With her angelic blonde locks tied into an innocent ponytail, Taylor Swift sang 22 and pranced about in high-waist shorts that showed off her long, slender legs.
The singer was a finalist in a total of 11 categories for the night, as were Fun. and Maroon 5.
Earlier on the blue carpet, slim Taylor Swift wore a royal blue mini dress that let her legs do the talking.
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez made sure to be seated apart and not seen together throughout the entire 2013 Billboard Music Awards show.
However, backstage it was a completely different story for Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber.
After bumping into one another, Selena Gomez put her arm around Justin Bieber to lean in and give him a tender kiss on the cheek.
Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber’s casual meet up was captured on Billboard’s online backstage video feed after the show.
In the video, Justin Bieber is seen standing with one of his pals, as Selena Gomez and her best friend and fellow singer Taylor Swift walk past.
Selena Gomez stops to talk to Justin and puts her arm around him and pulls him in for a kiss on the side of his face.
In the video it also appears that Justin Bieber tries to pull her in for a kiss on the lips before Selena Gomez seemingly pinches him on the cheek.
Following the smooch, Taylor Swift is seen sticking her tongue out in a gesture of either surprise or disgust over her friend’s actions.
Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber then continue to chat for some time, looking like they are catching up.
While Taylor Swift waits patiently for them to finish their conversation, a red head woman tries to pull Selena Gomez along but she is keen to keep chatting to her former beau.
The pair finally part ways after embracing each other again with Selena Gomez nodding several times.
Selena Gomez kissed former flame Justin Bieber on the cheek backstage at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday night
While the duo affectionately greeted one another, the meeting however appeared more like friends catching up rather than a couple conversing after getting back together.
However, after the backstage cameras caught the moment, Justin Bieber noticed he was being filmed and quickly tried to shoo away and cover up the cameras with his hand.
Meanwhile, Selena Gomez later posted the picture on her Instagram account, proudly captioning it: “Vegas hug + kiss.”
The pair’s meeting comes after they managed to avoid being photographed or seen together all night.
Selena Gomez was originally set to be sitting next to Justin Bieber at the awards ceremony on Sunday night.
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez had appeared to had patched things up since their split in the New Year and were expected to go public at the annual music awards in Las Vegas.
According to Us Weekly, a source revealed Selena Gomez would be sitting on the front row at the MGM Grand Garden Arena right next to Justin Bieber, with her close friend Taylor Swift on her other side.
The insider said it was “clearly no accident”, adding: “Their camps must have requested this seating arrangement. No way would it have happened without their go-ahead.”
However, when the awards ceremony commenced, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were not seated together, instead sitting across the aisle from one another.
Rumors had been circulating the pair were back together since they were caught kissing backstage in Norway, and were then seen cuddling in a picture uploaded to Instagram by Justin Bieber last month before he deleted it.
Justin Bieber, 19, and the 20-year-old former Disney starlet arrived in Vegas early, and were apparently spotted at the Cirque du Soleil’s Love show together on Friday night.
The Baby hitmaker tried to enter the Mirage venue incognito, but was rumbled when an onlooker shouted out his name.
Justin Bieber then spent the entire night “nuzzling right into” his former girlfriend Selena Gomez as they snacked on M&M chocolates, People magazine reported.
A senior doctor treating Peru’s ex-President Alberto Fujimori has said that the jailed former leader has severe and worsening health problems.
Dr. Alejandro Aguinaga said the former president had a condition that was eating away his stomach.
Alberto Fujimori, 74, is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses, but his family says he is too frail to be in prison.
They have called for a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds.
The doctor told AFP news agency that “the tests that were done show that the former president has gastroduodenitis”.
He added that the jailed ex-leader was unable to eat because the food he ingested was reaching internally damaged areas.
A senior doctor treating Peru’s ex-President Alberto Fujimori has said that the jailed former leader has severe and worsening health problems
Alberto Fujimori, in office from 1990 to 2000, was admitted to hospital on Friday for intestinal bleeding, but later released.
He was convicted in 2009 of ordering the killings of 25 people by a government-backed death squad during Peru’s internal conflict.
Correspondents say that the doctor’s diagnosis is likely to add more pressure on President Ollanta Humala to issue a pardon.
Last October, his family asked Ollanta Humala to commute his sentence.
Under Peruvian law, he can be pardoned only on health grounds.
But opponents argue that Peruvian jails are crowded with prisoners in worse health and for lesser crimes than those for which Alberto Fujimori was convicted.
China has called on North Korea to secure the release of a fishing boat and its crew seized earlier this month.
Owner Yu Xuejun said the vessel had been in Chinese waters when the 16-man crew were seized on May 5.
Yu Xuejun said the North Korean captors were demanding a 600,000 yuan ($100,000) ransom.
State-run Xinhua news agency said that diplomats in Pyongyang had been asked for help on May 10 and were working on the issue.
“Upon receiving the call, the Chinese embassy promptly made representations to the… DPRK [North Korean] Foreign Ministry, asking the DPRK side to release the boat and the fishermen as soon as possible,” the agency quoted Counsellor Jiang Yaxian of Beijing’s embassy in Pyongyang as saying.
It called for the crews’ “legitimate rights and interests” to be safeguarded, he added.
Boat-owner Yu Xuejun told Global Times newspaper he had received eight calls from the people holding his crew demanding the ransom.
There have been incidents in the past in the Yellow Sea, which lies between China and the Korean peninsula and has rich fishing grounds.
In May 2012, 29 Chinese fishermen and three vessels were seized by unidentified North Koreans.
China has called on North Korea to secure the release of Yu Xuejun’s fishing boat and its crew seized earlier this month
They were freed after two weeks and it was not clear whether a ransom had been paid, nor whether the captors had been the North Korean authorities or autonomous kidnappers.
China has traditionally been North Korea’s closest ally. But in the wake of Pyongyang’s third nuclear test, on February 12, ties between the two have chilled.
Beijing backed expanded sanctions on Pyongyang over the test and some of its banks have suspended transactions with North Korea’s main foreign exchange bank.
Chinese state press has also become more vocal on the issue, openly debating the merits of alliance with Pyongyang.
Since Saturday, North Korea has fired five short-range missiles off its coast: three on Saturday, and one on both Sunday and Monday.
“North Korea again launched what appears to be a KN-02 short-range missile,” a defense ministry official told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency on Monday.
“We are closely watching the movements of the North’s military in case of further launches.”
The tests also prompted a warning from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday.
“I hope that North Korea will refrain from such actions,” Ban ki-moon, who was visiting Moscow, told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
“It is time for them to resume dialogue and lower the tensions.”
North Korea routinely test-fires these kinds of missiles, but such a sustained launch period is unusual.
There is worry in South Korea that, after suspending the joint Korean economic zone Kaesong Industrial Complex, and restarting its mothballed nuclear facility, North Korea is planning further actions that may ignite an international response.
