Richard Collins, a sceenwriter and producer who was blacklisted during the 1940s communist witch-hunts and later “named names” before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), has died in California at the age of 98.
His death in Ventura, California, was confirmed by his son Michael, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Richard Collins was one of 19 Hollywood writers and directors called by HUAC in 1947.
He went on to have a 30-year career as a writer and producer on such TV shows as Bonanza and Matlock.
Richard Collins was not asked to testify in 1947 and was not one of the “Hollywood 10” who were subsequently jailed for refusing to cooperate.
That list included Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the Oscar-winning Stanley Kubrick film Spartacus.
Subpoenaed again in 1951, Richard Collins identified more than 20 colleagues as communist sympathizers – among them Budd Schulberg, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of On the Waterfront, who went on to name names himself.
According to the LA Times, one of those Richard Collins named – his friend Paul Jarrico, with whom he had written the 1944 musical drama Song of Russia – never spoke to him again.
Richard Collins was one of 19 Hollywood writers and directors called by HUAC in 1947
Richard Collins, who would later express regret over his “friendly” testifying, went on to work on such 1950s classics as Riot in Cell Block 11 and Invasion of the Body Snatchers before finding regular employment in television.
He produced 127 episodes of western Bonanza and 108 episodes of legal eagle drama Matlock before retiring in 1992 at age 78.
Between 1939 and 1945 Richard Collins was married to actress Dorothy Comingore – best known for her role as Susan Alexander, the second wife of Orson Welles’s character in Citizen Kane.
Richard Collins married Julie Danson in 1949; she died in 1991.
In addition to his son, Richard Collins is survived by a daughter, two grandsons and a great-granddaughter.
Jesse Jackson Jr., former congressman and son of Chicago civil rights leader the Rev Jesse Jackson, has been charged with spending campaign funds on personal expenses.
Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois is accused of misusing $750,000.
He and his wife Sandi Jackson, who is charged with tax fraud in the matter, intend to plead guilty, media report.
Jesse Jackson, a 47-year-old Democrat, resigned in November after acknowledging he was being treated for bipolar disorder.
“I offer no excuses for my conduct and I fully accept my responsibility for the improper decisions and mistakes I have made,” Jesse Jackson said in a statement.
Jesse Jackson is charged in federal court in Washington DC with conspiracy, fraud, and making false statements. Prosecutors say Sandi Jackson filed false tax forms that underreported how much tax the couple owed.
Jesse Jackson “unlawfully, willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated and agreed” to commit offences against the US, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Prosecutors say that between 2007 and 2009 Jesse Jackson Jr. used funds donated to his re-election campaign to buy a gold-plated Rolex watch worth $43,350, fur capes and parkas worth $5,150, and about $9,588 in children’s furniture.
He is also accused of failing to report $28,500 in gifts and loans to the House of Representatives, where he has served since 1995.
Jesse Jackson Jr., former congressman and son of Chicago civil rights leader the Rev Jesse Jackson, has been charged with spending campaign funds on personal expenses
Jesse Jackson Jr. faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison; his wife faces up to three years, according to federal sentencing guidelines.
But Sandi Jackson’s lawyer said her plea deal “does not contemplate a sentence of that length”.
Other penalties against Jesse Jackson could include a fine of up to $250,000, US media report. In addition, authorities may try to seize more than $60,000 in memorabilia and furs linked to the alleged fraud.
Jesse Jackson has also been under investigation by the House ethics committee over his dealings with imprisoned ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of trying to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama’s former US Senate seat and other corruption charges.
Jesse Jackson resigned from office on November 21, just weeks after winning re-election.
NASA’s Messenger probe to Mercury has shown off a stunning new color map of the planet.
The map comprises thousands of images acquired by the spacecraft during its first year in orbit.
This is not how we would see Mercury, which would look like a dull, brownish-grey globe to our eyes.
Rather, the map represents an exaggerated view of Mercury that is intended to highlight variations in the composition of its rock.
“Messenger’s camera has filters that go from the blue to the near-infrared of the spectrum, and we are able to use computer processing to enhance the very subtle but real colour differences that are present on Mercury’s surface,” explained Dr. David Blewett from theJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.
“The areas that you see that are orange – those are volcanic plains. There are some areas that are deep blue that are richer in an opaque mineral which is somewhat mysterious – we don’t really know what that is yet.
“And then you see beautiful light-blue streaks across Mercury’s surface. Those are crater rays formed in impacts when fresh, ground-up rock is strewn across the surface of the planet,” said David Blewett.
Dr. David Blewett displayed the map here in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
He was giving a sneak preview of the data that is about to be deposited in NASA’s planetary archive.
This will include a black-and-white, or monochrome, map of the entire surface of Mercury at a resolution of 200 m per pixel (the color map has a resolution of 1 km per pixel and is just short of 100% coverage).
NASA’s Messenger probe to Mercury has shown off a stunning new color map of the planet
The mission so far has been a triumph, which ought to make the current request to NASA management for an operational extension a very easy case to make.
Messenger’s observations have thrown up many surprises and challenged a lot of assumptions.
The probe has revealed Mercury’s rich volcanic history. It has confirmed the existence of great lava plains, but also uncovered evidence for explosive volcanism.
We know now, too, that the planet has ice in shadowed craters.
“It’s got polar ice caps. Who’d have thought that?” said Dr. David Blewett.
In addition, the probe’s instruments have detected relatively high abundances of sulphur and potassium in surface materials.
These are volatile elements that should not really be present on such a scale on a planet that orbits so close to the Sun with its searing heat.
But these elements may help explain many puzzles, like the nature of those opaque terrains. These could get their dark hue from the presence of sulphides.
The compounds could also lie behind the intriguing “hollows” that pockmark great swathes of Mercury’s surface.
Shallow with irregular shapes, the depressions often have bright halos and bright interiors. When scientists look around the Solar System for similar phenomena, the best comparison would appear to be the depressions that form in the carbon dioxide ice at the poles of Mars.
Those features are thought to arise when the CO2 ice sublimates away – that is, when it transforms directly from a solid state to a gaseous state.
“Well, Mercury’s surface isn’t made of ice – it’s scorching hot next to the Sun. But it seems that there is some sort of sublimation-like loss in the solid, silicate rocks that is causing these hollows to initiate and enlarge.
“It may be that a combination of high temperatures and what’s called severe space weathering destroys sulphide minerals in the rocks, causing them to crumble and open up a depression.”
Messenger is in great shape should NASA management agree to a mission extension. The probe is thought to have enough fuel to operate until 2015.
And by then, new spacecraft will be on their way to Mercury. Under a joint venture known as BepiColombo, Europe and Japan are sending two satellites that should arrive at the innermost world in 2022.
North Korea has commemorated late leader Kim Jong-il’s 70th birthday with a military parade, pledges of loyalty to his son, Kim Jong-un, and thousands of red “kimjongilia” begonias.
Kim Jong-un, wearing a dark Mao suit and a solemn expression, bowed deeply before a large portrait of his smiling father. Hundreds of senior officials, military leaders and citizens followed to pay their respects.
Outside the palace, thousands of North Korean soldiers lined up in neat rows on a sunny but cold day, listening to speeches praising the Kim family. Later, Kim Jong-un and other officials watched as a parade of goose-stepping soldiers marched by followed by military jeeps and trucks carrying artillery guns and rocket launchers. Fireworks exploded, military music boomed and people waved artificial pink and red flowers.
Events on Wednesday included an international skating show and synchronized swimming. Both opened with mournful odes to Kim Jong-il and ended with a new song for his son: “We Will Defend General Kim Jong-un at the Risk of Our Lives.”
Kim Jong-il ruled for 17 years, a period that included a famine in the 1990s, which killed hundreds of thousands of people, and protracted tensions over the nation’s drive to build nuclear weapons. Food shortages persist in North Korea and relations with South Korea are at their lowest point in years. But since Kim Jong-il’s death, expressions of mourning and adoration have been common in Pyongyang.
North Korea has commemorated late leader Kim Jong-il’s 70th birthday with a military parade, pledges of loyalty to his son, Kim Jong-un, and thousands of red “kimjongilia” begonias
Composers have crafted new odes to Kim Jong-il, while sculptors have chiseled slogans honoring him into the sides of mountains. His birthday was renamed “Day of the Shining Star,” and this week he was accorded a new title: Generalissimo.
At Kim Il-sung Square, the main plaza in the capital, North Koreans bowed and laid flowers, including red “kimjongilia” begonias, at a portrait of Kim Jong-il hanging on the Grand People’s Study House. Among them was Paek Won-chol, who described himself as a “soldier and disciple” of Kim Jong-il.
“I will devote my all for the building of a powerful and prosperous nation” under Kim Jong-un, Paek Won-chol said.
Thursday’s parade could serve as closure to North Korea’s mourning as the country prepares for important nuclear talks next week with the United States, said John Delury, an assistant professor at Yonsei University’s graduate school of international studies in South Korea.
Kim Jong-il’s death halted discussions between Pyongyang and Washington on much-needed food aid in exchange for nuclear disarmament. A US envoy will hold talks with North Korea on its nuclear programme in Beijing next week, the first such negotiations since Kim Jong-il’s death.
One girlfriend used Valentine’s Day to break up with her boyfriend – with a cold-hearted message on a petrol station’s advertising board.
“Laura” paid to display the message at an Esso garage in Manchester because she knew her boyfriend went there every day for his lunch so he would see it.
Not only did she announce that she was breaking up with her partner, she also informed him that she was leaving him for another man.
The cowardly message reads: “I’m leaving you for Gary. Your clothes are at your mum’s. I’ve change the locks.
“Sorry to do this on Valentine’s Day. Laura.”
The ad, which has become a social media hit, was spotted by Jordan Wilson who posted it on Twitter with the caption: “This has to be the meanest dump ever.
“Not such a great Valentine’s day for the man in question here.
“To get dumped is bad enough, but the humiliation of seeing it displayed at your local petrol station is just one step too far.”
Laura paid to display the message at an Esso garage in Manchester because she knew her boyfriend went there every day for his lunch so he would see it
The Amscreen board, upon which the cruel message was displayed, usually advertises snack deals.
But could this Valentine’s break-up just be an elaborate hoax?
It transpires that Amscreen is a company that specializes in selling advertising space on digital signage screens and is run by none other than entrepreneur Lord Alan Sugar and his son Simon.
Lord Alan Sugar tweeted a snap of the ad out to his 2.7 million followers with the caption: “Have a look at the advert someone took out on one of our screens today… Poor bloke! #Valentines #Amscreen.”
Simon Sugar then added: “The world’s media seemed to have loved Laura’s ad. You can rent out a screen via…”
Jordan Wilson, who first posted the photo spurring the internet frenzy, is a digital account manager at PushON.
After posting the photo, Jordan Wilson added: “It seems the #amscreen pic has reached Australia judging by the recent RT’s…”
Nigerian pop singer Susan Oluwabimpe “Goldie” Harvey, has died after a sudden illness, her manager says.
Her record label said Goldie Harvey, 31, had complained of a severe headache shortly after returning to Nigeria from the US where she had attended the music industry’s Grammy Awards.
Goldie Harvey was rushed to a hospital in Lagos, where she was pronounced dead.
The singer had won several industry awards and appeared in last year’s celebrity Big Brother Africa TV show.
The programme stirred controversy with some Nigerians who said Goldie Harvey did not portray the country’s culture in a positive light as she came across as too Western.
Others criticized the singer for her on-off romance with a fellow housemate, the Kenyan rapper Prezzo – but she remained hugely popular with young audiences.
Nigerian pop singer Susan Oluwabimpe “Goldie” Harvey, has died after a sudden illness
A message posted on her Facebook page on Thursday evening said: “It is with heavy heart that I have to inform you all that Goldie passed this night shortly after arriving Lagos from LA. May her soul rest in the eternal peace of the Lord – Amin.”
Kenny Ogungbe, the head of her music label, Kennis Music, said she had “an abundance of talent” and it was a “gloomy moment” for Nigeria’s music industry.
Goldie Harvey was also enjoying popularity across Africa, he said in a statement.
Her three latest singles from a forthcoming album, African Invasion, were “presently enjoying heavy rotations on radio and TV stations across the continent”, Kenny Ogungbe said.
Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper reports that Prezzo was already on his way to Nigeria to visit Goldie Harvey on Thursday.
Oscar Pistorius has strongly rejected a charge that he murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, was shot dead at South African Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius’s home near Pretoria on Thursday.
Appearing in court in Pretoria, Oscar Pistorius, 26, wept as prosecutors vowed to pursue a charge of premeditated murder.
An application for bail was postponed until next Tuesday and the athlete will remain in police custody.
Dubbed “blade runner”, he made history last summer by becoming the first double-amputee track athlete to run in an Olympic Games.
“The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms,” said a statement released by Oscar Pistorius’s family and management company after the court hearing.
“Our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family – regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy,” it said.
They were the first words released on behalf of Oscar Pistorius since Reeva Steenkamp was found fatally wounded at his home in the gated Silver Woods development outside the South African capital.
But they gave no explanation of what had happened.
Hours earlier, Oscar Pistorius sobbed audibly during his initial appearance at Pretoria Magistrates Court.
Dozens of reporters witnessed the hearing, where chief magistrate Desmond Nair was presiding.
The defendant cut a lonely figure in a crowded court, with his hands clenched and his neck muscles twitching, before he held his head forward, breathing heavily through tears.
When Prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued for the graver charge of “premeditated murder”, Oscar Pistorius slumped forward at the mention of the words.
If convicted of premeditated murder, Oscar Pistorius will face a life term in prison. But his defence is seeking a lesser charge, possibly culpable homicide, which is defined in South African law as unlawful, negligent killing.
Oscar Pistorius has strongly rejected a charge that he murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp
Media access was discussed at the 40-minute session and the magistrate ruled that there should be no live recording of the bail hearings.
Oscar Pistorius’s team had argued against such coverage and cited his “extremely traumatized state of mind”.
Both prosecution and defence agreed Oscar Pistorius could remain in custody at a police station and not in prison.
Members of Oscar Pistorius’s family, including sister Aimee, brother Carl and father Henke, were in the courtroom.
His brother and father, sitting behind the athlete, reached forward to touch his shoulder during the proceedings.
Oscar Pistorius had earlier arrived at court in the back of a police vehicle, hiding his face with a jacket and notebook.
Forensic scientists are expected to continue examining the house in the Silver Lakes area on the outskirts of South Africa’s administrative capital where Reeva Steenkamp died.
Correspondents say the athlete’s arrest has stunned the country where he is considered a national hero.
Oscar Pistorius is known as “blade runner” because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he races in. He was born without a fibula in both legs and had his legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday.
Police were called to his home in the early hours of Thursday morning.
They found paramedics treating a 29-year-old woman with four gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. She died at the scene, and officers recovered a 9mm pistol.
A post-mortem examination was carried out on Friday but the results would not be made public, police said.
Reeva Steenkamp’s body is due to be flown home to Port Elizabeth for a memorial service next Tuesday, South African media report – the same day that Oscar Pistorius is next expected in court.
They had reportedly been dating since November.
Model Reeva Steenkamp was already well known in South Africa but was seen as being on the verge of a new career, with her appearance in a pre-recorded reality TV show set to start on Saturday.
The producers of Tropika Island of Treasure said they were going ahead with the programme, filmed in Jamaica, after “much deliberation“.
“Every episode that she is in, every frame that she so ably dominates – shines with her light and her laughter echoes in every conversation, and we want to share these special memories with the rest of South Africa,” the programme said.
Meanwhile, world athletics figures spoke of their shock at what had happened.
His training partner, UK 400 m runner Martyn Rooney, released a statement saying his “thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those involved”.
“I’ve not heard what he has to say. I wouldn’t want to be in his situation, but I hope that, at the end of it all, justice will prevail,” said Jamaica’s Olympic women’s 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Oscar Pistorius dominated in his category at successive Paralympic Games, but in 2008 he won a legal battle over his blades – which critics said gave him an unfair advantage – with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the right to compete in able-bodied competitions.
He reached the 40 0m semi-finals in the London 2012 Olympics. At the Paralympics he won silver in the T44 200 m, gold in the 4×100 m relay and gold in the T44 400 m, setting a Paralympic record.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of crime in the world and many residents keep weapons to protect themselves against intruders.
But gun ownership is strictly regulated and it is not easy to obtain a licence.
The meteor crashing in Russia’s Ural Mountains has injured at least 985 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings.
Most of those hurt, in the Chelyabinsk region where the meteor fell, suffered cuts and bruises but at least 46 remain in hospital.
A fireball streaked through the clear morning sky, followed by loud bangs.
President Vladimir Putin said he thanked God no big fragments had fallen in populated areas.
A large meteor fragment landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in Chelyabinsk region.
The meteor’s dramatic passing was witnessed in Yekaterinburg, 200 km (125 miles) to the north, and in Kazakhstan, to the south.
Officials say a large meteor partially burned up in the lower atmosphere, resulting in fragments falling earthwards.
Thousands of rescue workers have been dispatched to the area to provide help to the injured, the emergencies ministry said.
The Chelyabinsk region, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Moscow, is home to many factories, a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre.
One Russian politician said the event was not a meteor shower but a US weapons test, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
The meteor crashing in Russia’s Ural Mountains has injured at least 985 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, was quoted as saying: “Meteors are falling. Those are not meteors, it is Americans testing their new weapon.”
Chelyabinsk’s health department said 985 people had sought medical treatment, including 204 children, Interfax reported. Two people in the town of Kopeysk were in a serious condition, it added.
The governor of Chelyabinsk region, Mikhail Yurevich, was quoted elsewhere as saying 950 people had been hurt, two seriously.
Vladimir Putin promised “immediate” aid for people affected, saying kindergartens and schools had been damaged, and work disrupted at industrial enterprises.
Many children were at lessons when the meteor fell at around 09:20.
Video posted online showed frightened, screaming youngsters at one Chelyabinsk school, where corridors were littered with broken glass.
The Russian Academy of Sciences estimates that the meteor weighed about 10 tonnes and entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000 km/h (33,000mph).
It would have shattered about 30-50km (18-32 miles) above ground, with most of the meteor burning up.
Scientists have played down suggestions that there is any link between the event in the Urals and 2012 DA14, an asteroid expected to race past the Earth on Friday at a distance of just 27,700 km (17,200 miles) – the closest ever predicted for an object of that size.
Prof. Alan Fitzsimmons, of the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, said there was “almost definitely” no connection.
“One reason is that 2012 DA14 is approaching Earth from the south, and this object hit in the northern hemisphere,” he said.
“This is literally a cosmic coincidence, although a spectacular one.”
Such meteor strikes are rare in Russia but one is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 m) in Siberia in 1908.
The first images of President Hugo Chavez after cancer surgery have been broadcast by the Venezuelan government.
Hugo Chavez, 58, is shown smiling as he lies in bed reading a newspaper, with his two daughters at his side.
He has not been seen in public since he went to Havana for surgery last year, on 11 December.
It was his fourth operation in an 18-month period for cancer first diagnosed in mid-2011.
Hugo Chavez is shown looking at Thursday’s issue of the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma in some of the photos, broadcast on television by his son-in-law, Science Minister Jorge Arreaza.
The government said the photos were taken on Thursday night.
Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said that as the Venezuelan leader was breathing through a tracheal tube, it was difficult for him to speak.
However, he said he was writing down orders.
The first images of President Hugo Chavez after cancer surgery have been broadcast by the Venezuelan government
There has been widespread speculation in Venezuela about Hugo Chavez’s condition, with some students holding protests outside the Cuban embassy in Caracas, demanding to know his state of health.
Hugo Chavez has been at the helm for 14 years and was re-elected for another six-year term in October 2011.
Shortly before making his most recent journey to Havana, Hugo Chavez suggested that his supporters should consider naming his Vice President, Nicolas Maduro, as his successor.
Nicolas Maduro has made frequent visits to Havana to see Hugo Chavez.
The Venezuelan leader is reported to have had tumors removed from his pelvic region, and has also undergone prior rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Though there have been few details about Hugo Chavez’s exact treatment, Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday that they had been “extremely complex and tough”.
Chris Brown and Rihanna’s romance appears to have soured just days later after they looked happy at the Grammys.
It appears that the couple refused to acknowledge one another after both arriving at the Playhouse Nightclub in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Rihanna didn’t know that Chris Brown was expected at the same event, revealed the source.
When VIP hosts asked Rihanna if she would like to be seated with her boyfriend, she declined and demanded to be put somewhere else.
“Rihanna refused to sit with or even near Chris – and when Chris noticed she was there, he made a huge show of rubbing his presence in her face,” said a source.
“He promptly ordered three more bottles of ace of spades which came out with in a procession of sparklers and scantily clad cocktail waitresses, causing a spectacle, which he clearly wanted Rihanna to see.”
Rihanna and Chris Brown had arrived separately at the Popular Demand’s 1 Year Anniversary event, and left without each other at the end of the night.
Chris Brown arrived at the celebrity hotspot around midnight, armed with a crew of around 20 people.
Rihanna entered the club half an hour later, accompanied by her group of bodyguards.
The singers never once communicated with each other during the course of the evening as they sat across the room from one another, said the source.
Rihanna and Chris Brown refused to acknowledge one another after both arriving at the Playhouse Nightclub in Los Angeles
Chris Brown left the club around 2.15 a.m. in a metallic grey Lamborghini, wearing his hoodie over his baseball cap.
Rihanna made it a late night, leaving closer to 3 a.m.
The chilly atmosphere between the stars is a far cry from their loved-up appearance as they sat side by side in the front row at the Grammys.
Then the two snuggled up to each other, smiling and laughing together as they took in the show.
Rihanna also wore a diamond ring on her left ring finger during her performance onstage, fueling speculation that the pair plan to tie the knot.
But their reconciliation has not been without drama.
Rihanna’s former best friend Katy Perry has reportedly stopped speaking to her following her reconciliation with Chris Brown, who is still on probation for beating her in 2009.
It didn’t look like Britney Spears was too lonely for Valentine’s Day after her recent split from fiancé Jason Trawick as she was spotted dining out with a mystery man in Calabasas on Thursday night.
Dressed in a cream blouse, black blazer and jeans, Britney Spears was spotted arriving at Banzai Sushi for dinner with an unidentified male.
Although it could have been her bodyguard, her decision to dine out with a man on Valentine’s Day will prompt speculation there could be something more going on.
Ahead of her dinner date, Britney Spears was seen shopping with her mother Lynne at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Malibu.
Also on Thursday, Britney Spears responded to an accusation she didn’t sing on her Will.i.am duet Scream And Shout.
The claims came as the remix video for the single was released online 24 hours earlier than planned.
It didn’t look like Britney Spears was too lonely for Valentine’s Day after her recent split from fiancé Jason Trawick as she was spotted dining out with a mystery man in Calabasas
Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 liquid soap is a cheap beauty weapon used by stars like Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore.
The product promises to clean your body, your mouth and teeth with the curious product – you can even use it to wash your fruit and vegetables, toilet, clothes and even your pets.
Formulated with pure, high potency organic oils, the soap comes in nine main varieties, and the most famous is the original Peppermint offering.
Lady Gaga was snapped by legendary photographer Terry Richardson bathing in Dr. Bronner’s Magic Organic Almond Liquid Soap following a cupping session.
As the number one selling organic soap brand in the U.S., Dr. Bronner’s also counts Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore, make-up artist Bobbi Brown and Kristin Bell as fans.
Proving that it’s not just for girls, Eminem swears by the product too.
The intriguing soap has a rich history so it comes as no surprise that activist Lady Gaga is a fan.
The soap was created by philosopher and activist Dr. Emanuel Bronner.
Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 liquid soap is a cheap beauty weapon used by stars like Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore
Born in 1908 to a Jewish family that had been making soap since 1858, Emanuel Bronner was the third generation certified as a master-soapmaker under the guild system of the time.
In 1929, he brought his formulas for high-quality liquid and bar soaps to America, starting Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps in its current form in 1948.
Emanuel Bronner was a self-styled philosopher, alarmed by the rise of the Nazis and his strong views on hate and war landed him in a mental asylum in Chicago in 1948.
But, eight months later, Emanuel Bronner escaped and continued spreading his message of peace around California whilst making the peppermint liquid soap.
To preach his message, he started writing his philosophy on the bottles of his soaps in a tiny script, which is still used on Dr. Bronner’s packaging today.
Apple has announced a software update for its latest mobile operating system iOS 6.1 after hackers published a video showing how to unlock any iPhone running it.
The YouTube video and an accompanying explanation details a relatively simple combination of button presses which can quickly bypass the phone’s password screen.
Once entered, it opens the main phone screen where any thief or snoop would be able to make calls, read and send messages, edit contacts, and go through stored data like photos and apps.
In a response to tech siteAllThingsD, Apple spokesman Trudy Miller aknowledged the vulnerability and said the company was working on a quick fix.
“Apple takes user security very seriously. We are aware of this issue, and will deliver a fix in a future software update,” she said.
It is the latest embarrassment for the Silicon Valley tech company after another recent bug in the same operating system, iOS 6.1, was found to overload corporate email servers.
Business users trying to sync their contacts, mail and other content found themselves kicked off their company’s Microsoft Exchange servers, and Apple is yet to publish a fix for the problem.
Prior to that, a third bug in the .1 update to iOS 6 was found to cause problems with 3G network performance on the iPhone 4S. That was quickly fixed with a 6.1.1 update released exclusively to users of the 4S.
Apple has announced a software update for its latest mobile operating system iOS 6.1 after hackers published a video showing how to unlock any iPhone running it
The video detailing the iPhone 5 passcode hack was published onto YouTube by videosdebarraquito at the end of January and has already been viewed nearly 350,000 times.
It tells how a rapid combination of emergency call, keypad, power button and cancel button taps will bypass the phone’s security, leaving it accessible to anyone.
In text accompanying the video, the user describes it as an “[e]asy trick that allows bypass an iPhone’s passcode and get full access (see and edit) to contacts list, list of recent calls, favorite contacts, and even make a call to any phone number on the hacked device and erase the log”.
The text details the precise combination of actions to carry out to exploit the vulnerability.
The user adds that you can use it “[f]or prank your friends. For a magic show… Use it as you want, at your own risk, but… please… do not use this trick to do evil !!!”.
It is not the first time Apple’s devices have been found to be vulnerable to such a trick. A similar bug allowed the same kind of access in gadgets running iOS 4.1, Gizmodo reported.
It took a month for Apple to release the .2 update to that operating system which removed the vulnerability.
All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power.
The Carnival Triumph docked in Mobile, Alabama, at 21:15 on Thursday.
Disembarking the passengers took more than four hours and many still face a long bus journey home or to the port of departure, Galveston.
Passengers had reported sewage on the floors, poor sanitation and access to toilets, and lengthy queues for food.
Some lined the decks as the 900-ft ship docked, waving and cheering at people on shore.
Chants of “Let me off, let me off!” could be heard coming from the ship as they waited to disembark.
One homemade sign read: “Sweet Home Alabama!” and another: “The ship’s afloat, so is the sewage.”
Disembarking passenger Brittany Ferguson said: “I’m feeling awesome just to see land and buildings. The scariest part was just not knowing when we’d get back.”
Carnival Corp which operates the ship, was also the owner of Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground off the Italian coast and sank last year, killing 32 people.
The Carnival Triumph took six hours to be towed through the 30-mile channel to the docks at Mobile – the largest ship ever to dock there.
The passengers are being taken by bus either to Galveston in Texas, which is about seven hours away, or to New Orleans, where the firm said it had booked 1,500 hotel rooms. New Orleans is two hours away.
All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill apologized again for the “very poor” conditions on board.
“We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case,” he said.
Hospitality staff will be sent on early holiday with full pay or transferred to other ships, depending on the length remaining in their contracts, senior vice-president Terry Thornton said.
Passenger Janie Baker told NBC by phone on Thursday that conditions on the ship were “extremely terrible”. There was no electricity and few working toilets, she said.
Janie Baker described using plastic bags to go to the toilet and that she had seen a woman pass out while waiting for food.
The stench from overflowing toilets and drainpipes made some cabins uninhabitable and many people slept in corridors, while others took bedding out into the open to escape the heat and foul smell.
Passengers will be offered a full refund and discounts on future cruises. Carnival announced on Wednesday passengers would each get an additional $500 in compensation.
But the firm has disputed the accounts describing the ship as filthy, saying employees were doing everything they could to ensure people were comfortable.
Carnival has cancelled more than a dozen planned voyages aboard the Triumph, while acknowledging that the crippled ship had other mechanical problems in the weeks before the fire.
Spokesman Vance Gulliksen said Triumph had an earlier electrical problem with the ship’s alternator but that repairs were completed by February 2. He said there was no evidence linking the previous problem to Sunday’s fire.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the fire.
No-one was injured in the blaze, but one passenger with a pre-existing medical condition was taken off the ship as a precaution.
EU food safety experts are due to meet in Brussels to address the scandal over mislabelled horsemeat.
The EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain will draw up plans for large-scale testing of beef products to check if they contain horse DNA.
On Thursday the French government suspended the licence of processing firm Spanghero, saying it had “knowingly” sold horsemeat as beef.
In the UK three people were arrested for suspected fraud in meat sales.
The widening scandal has affected at least 12 countries and raised questions about the complexity of the food industry’s supply chains across Europe.
The previously little-known committee is suddenly the focus of attention, and the plans it comes up with could eventually have a huge impact on consumer confidence in the food being eaten in Europe.
The experts from all 27 EU countries will try to devise accurate random tests to determine the scale of the mislabelling of horsemeat.
They will also draw up plans for separate tests to assess the scale of contamination with phenylbutazone or “bute” – a veterinary medicine considered potentially harmful to humans.
Their proposals will still have to be approved by EU ministers.
EU food safety experts are due to meet in Brussels to address the scandal over mislabelled horsemeat
The scale of the crisis was underlined on Thursday in France, where ministers said they believed the sale of horsemeat labelled as beef went on for six months and involved about 750 tonnes of meat.
The French government accused meat processing firm Spanghero of knowingly mislabelling horsemeat as beef and suspended its licence pending further investigation.
The company has strongly denied the allegation, saying it only ever dealt in meat it believed to be beef.
Spanghero imported meat from Romania, which was correctly labeled, and sold it on to another company, Comigel, which made frozen ready meals at its factory in Luxembourg for further distribution.
Millions of processed meat products have been withdrawn from supermarket shelves across the EU.
The UK has asked the European investigative agency Europol to co-ordinate a continent-wide investigation into an alleged international conspiracy to pass horsemeat off as beef.
Oscar Pistorius is appearing in court to face a murder charge after his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, was shot at his mansion near Pretoria.
South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius held his head in his hands and was in tears as the murder charge was formally read out in the magistrates’ court.
A decision will be taken on whether the athlete should be granted bail.
Prosecutors will argue that Oscar Pistorius should remain in custody.
Dozens of photographers are in the courtroom in Pretoria, where chief magistrate Desmond Nair is hearing the bail application.
The defendant cut a lonely figure, with his head forward and breathing heavily through tears.
It is likely that some details of both the case against the 26-year-old, and his defence, will be revealed.
Television cameras have been allowed in court for the hearing and media access is now being discussed. Members of Oscar Pistorius’s family, including his sister and father, are in the courtroom.
Oscar Pistorius has undergone medical and DNA tests. His lawyer, Kenny Oldwage, earlier said that his client was “very well, obviously emotional, but fine”.
The defence is expected to argue that Oscar Pistorius is not a flight risk and should be given bail.
Forensic experts are expected to continue examining the house in the upmarket Silver Woods gated community on the outskirts of South Africa’s administrative capital where Reeva Steenkamp, 29, died.
Correspondents say the athlete’s arrest has stunned the country where Oscar Pistorius is considered a national hero.
Oscar Pistorius is appearing in court to face a murder charge after his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, was shot at his mansion near Pretoria
Oscar Pistorius made history in London last year when he became the first double-amputee track athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.
He is known as the “blade runner” because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he races in. He was born without a fibula in both legs and had his legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday.
Police were called to Oscar Pistorius’ home in the early hours of Thursday morning.
They found paramedics treating a 29-year-old woman with four gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. She died at the scene, and officers recovered a 9mm pistol.
Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp had reportedly been dating since November.
The athelete dominated in his category at successive Paralympic Games, but in 2008 he won a legal battle over his blades – which critics said gave him an unfair advantage – with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the right to compete in able-bodied competitions.
Oscar Pistorius reached the 400m semi-finals in the London 2012 Olympics. At the Paralympics he won silver in the T44 200m, gold in the 4×100 relay and gold in the T44 400m, setting a Paralympic record.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of crime in the world and many residents keep weapons to protect themselves against intruders.
But gun ownership is strictly regulated and it is not easy to obtain a licence.
A Good Day to Die Hard, the latest installment in Bruce Willis’s Die Hard action franchise, has received a largely frosty response from critics.
“Last is least,” bemoaned the Hollywood Reporter, while The Scotsman called it a “limp parody” of the 1988 original.
“The sense of exhilaration and fun that marked the best of the series has gone unaccountably AWOL,” opined Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times.
A Good Day to Die Hard, the plot of which sees Bruce Willis’s John McClane travel to Russia, is out now in the US and UK.
Reviews were not published until the day of release at the request of 20th Century Fox, the film’s distributor.
Bruce Willis has reprised his signature character, a wise-cracking New York cop with a talent for foiling complex criminal schemes, on four occasions since his introduction in the original Die Hard movie.
His latest outing, directed by Ireland’s John Moore, sees him join forces with his adult son Jack (Jai Courtney) to protect a Russian whistleblower with links to a nuclear conspiracy.
According to USA Today’s Claudia Puig, the “obnoxious, over the top and often dull” result constitutes “a feeble attempt to rehash action-hero glories”.
“Opening this bullet-riddled snoozefest on Valentine’s Day [14 February] seems particularly wrong-headed,” the reviewer continued.
“A trip outside the US does the franchise few favors,” wrote Empire‘s Kim Newman, saying the film’s “few reasonable action sequences are mired in family soap”.
A Good Day to Die Hard, the latest installment in Bruce Willis’s Die Hard action franchise, has received a largely frosty response from critics
Yet the film did get a kinder reception from the Daily Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, who singled out “a roaringly silly car chase which lasts around 15 minutes” for qualified praise.
“The special effects sequences are put together with some ingenuity,” agreed The New York Times‘ A O Scott.
“But everything that made the first Die Hard memorable – the nuances of character, the political subtext, the cowboy wit – has been dumbed down or scrubbed away entirely.”
While promoting the film in London last week, Willis confirmed he would be back for a sixth installment but would not be drawn on plot details.
“I heard there is a group of bad guys that hang out in the Seychelles,” he joked to reporters.
“So we should go there and just get a tan.”
Die Hard films to date:
Die Hard (1988), directed by John McTiernan, with Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990), directed by Renny Harlin, with Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler
Die Hard: With A Vengeance (1995), directed by John McTiernan, with Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson, Jeremy Irons
Die Hard 4.0, aka Live Free Or Die Hard (2007), directed by Len Wiseman, with Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), directed by John Moore, with Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch
Pope Benedict XVI has hinted he will withdraw into seclusion after stepping down at the end of this month.
“Even if I am withdrawing into prayer, I will always be close to all of you… even if I remain hidden to the world,” he told a meeting of Roman priests.
Pope Benedict XVI, 85, shocked the world’s biggest Christian Church on Monday when he announced his resignation.
The pontiff cited his advanced age as the reason for resigning.
According to the Vatican’s semi-official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, the Pope took the decision to resign after his trip to Mexico and Cuba in 2012.
The Vatican confirmed on Thursday that Pope Benedict had hit his head during the March trip to Mexico, but denied the accident had any role in his decision.
According to a report in Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, the Pope was lightly injured after getting up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bedroom during the trip, with blood staining his hair and sheets.
Earlier this week, the Vatican said for the first time that Pope Benedict had a pacemaker, and that he had undergone surgery to replace the batteries three months ago.
The Pope appears to be planning a complete retreat from the public eye.
Pope Benedict XVI has hinted he will withdraw into seclusion after stepping down at the end of this month
However, the pontiff is expected to spend his retirement in a monastery at the Vatican and his relationship with his successor as pope is bound to be an endless source of speculation.
A new pope is expected to be elected by cardinals before Catholic Easter, which falls on March 31 this year.
Pope Benedict made his remarks at the Vatican in what amounted to a farewell address to hundreds of priests who serve in the Diocese of Rome, our correspondent says.
He appealed to the spirit of the reformist Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.
“We must work for the realization of the real council and for a real renewal of the Church,” he said.
Speaking earlier, some of the unnamed priests gave their reaction to the pontiff’s decision to resign.
“People are divided, some say that he was right in doing so, since he did not feel able to continue any longer, others on the contrary feel dejected,” said one.
“As for me, I am grieved and I hope and I pray for Benedict XVI, hoping that the Church again finds strength.”
“It was certainly a surprise for everybody,” said another.
“Maybe in this moment we cannot easily understand it since all of us are feeling shocked but it is a sign that our pontiff wanted to act for the good of the Church.
“He steps aside not because he abandons Peter’s boat, but because he wants this boat to be led with the help of the Holy Spirit through a person who is strong.”
Next week Pope Benedict will carry out no public engagements after which he will hold one more public audience on February 27, in St Peter’s Square.
On February 28, the Pope will fly off to the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, where he will stay while Church leaders go through the complicated ritual of choosing a successor.
Michael Le Vell has been charged with a string of sex offences, including raping a child.
Greater Manchester Police said Coronation Street actor is also accused of indecently assaulting a child and sexual activity with a child.
Michael Le Vell, 48, who plays Kevin Webster in the ITV1 soap, faces a total of 19 charges relating to crimes allegedly committed between 2001 and 2010.
Michael Le Vell, whose real name is Michael Robert Turner, is due before magistrates in Manchester on February 27.
Alison Levitt QC, principal legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions, said she had reviewed a decision not to prosecute Michael Le Vell following allegations made against him in 2011.
Michael Le Vell has been charged with a string of sex offences, including raping a child
She said: “I have very carefully reviewed the evidence in this case and I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to charge Michael Robert Turner with a number of sexual offences.
“I have authorized Greater Manchester Police to charge Mr. Turner with 19 offences, including rape of a child.
“Mr. Turner has now been charged with criminal offences and has a right to a fair trial.”
Michael Le Vell, from Hale in Greater Manchester, has played the role of garage mechanic Kevin Webster for 30 years, making him one of the longest-serving performers in Coronation Street.
A meteor shower has exploded over Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions, central Russia, injuring dozens and shattering windows.
Brightly burning rocks could be seen for hundreds of kilometres as they crashed into the Ural region.
Chelyabinsk residents reported shaking ground, windows being shattered and car alarms being set off during the shower.
The traces from falling objects could be seen in Yekaterinburg, about 125 miles south-east of Chelyabinsk, a witness told the Reuters news agency.
At least 100 people – many injured by broken glass – have been taken to hospital for treatment, medical officials in the city have said.
A witness in Chelyabinsk told Reuters that a huge blast was heard early on Friday morning and that shockwaves were felt in a 19-storey building in the town centre.
The Interfax news agency said that preliminary reports indicated that four people were injured by flying glass.
People in the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions reported seeing “burning objects” in the sky, which also fell on the cities of Yekaterinburg and Tyumen – a sparsely populated area of about 310 miles.
A meteor shower has exploded over Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions, central Russia, injuring dozens and shattering windows
About 600 sq m (6,000 sq ft) of a roof at a zinc factory collapsed, the Associated Press quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying.
The Chelyabinsk region is Russia’s industrial heartland, an area that has many factories, a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre.
The emergencies ministry said that thousands of rescue workers had been dispatched to the area to provide help to the injured.
Officials say that the shower began after a large meteorite disintegrated above the Urals mountain range and partially burned up in the lower atmosphere – resulting in fragments falling earthwards throughout the Chelyabinsk region.
Warren Buffett is set to buy food giant Heinz in a deal worth $28 billion.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company and private equity firm 3G have agreed to take over Heinz, famous for its ketchup and baked beans.
In a statement, Heinz called the deal “historic”, and the largest to date in the food industry.
Shares in Heinz soared nearly 20% in New York to hit the $72.50 price being offered.
And Class A shares in Berkshire Hathaway rose 1% to $149,240 a share – a record closing high.
The takeover has been approved by the company’s board, but still needs to be voted on by shareholders.
“The Heinz brand is one of the most respected brands in the global food industry and this historic transaction provides tremendous value to Heinz shareholders,” said Heinz chairman, president and chief executive William Johnson.
“We look forward to partnering with Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, both greatly respected investors, in what will be an exciting new chapter in the history of Heinz.”
The deal will marry one of the best-known brands in the food industry with one of the US’s most famous businessmen.
Warren Buffett is one of the richest men in the world, having amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune over decades of investing. His investment expertise has earned him the nickname “the sage of Omaha”.
“It is our kind of company,” Warren Buffett told CNBC.
“I’ve sampled it many times.”
“Anytime we see a deal is attractive and it’s our kind of business and we’ve got the money, I’m ready to go,” he said.
Warren Buffett is set to buy food giant Heinz in a deal worth $28 billion
3G Capital also owns the fast-food chain Burger King.
The deal will offer shareholders $72.50 a share, a 20% premium on the company’s previous all-time high share price.
Berkshire Hathaway will contribute $12-$13 billion in cash to the deal. In total around $23 billion of the deal will be in cash, with the rest in debt.
Heinz has been operating in the US market since it was founded in Pittsburgh in the late 19th Century.
Heinz says it sells 650 million bottles of its ketchup worldwide every year.
Emerging markets make up around a quarter of its global sales, Heinz said.
At a press conference following the announcement of the deal, 3G Capital’s co-founder Alex Behring assured Heinz employees the 144-year-old business would continue to be headquartered in Pittsburgh. But he said it was too soon to discuss potential cost-cutting measures.
If agreed, the deal would be the latest in a string of big deals announced recently, after merger activity suffered during the global financial crisis.
Earlier American Airlines and US Airways confirmed plans to merge, in an $11 billion deal to create the world’s biggest airline, and last week computer maker Dell announced a planned $24 billion takeover by its founder Michael Dell.
The UK’s Virgin Media is also set to be bought by Liberty Global for $23.3 billion.
US experts say North Korea appears to be upgrading one of its two rocket launch sites, perhaps in a move to test bigger rockets.
“Important progress” had been made at Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground since October 2012, the analysis from the 38 North website said.
Activities around the new launch pad also revealed possible evidence of assistance from Iran, it said.
Pyongyang used a three-stage rocket to put a satellite into space last year.
That launch – condemned by the UN as a banned test of missile technology – took place at the Sohae launch site.
But previous unsuccessful attempts in 2006 and 2009 took place at the Tonghae site, which is also known as Musudan-ri.
The analysis from 38 North, the website of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Baltimore, was based on satellite imagery.
Construction of the new launch pad was continuing, it said, with images showing Pyongyang would be able to test rockets “perhaps three to four times the size of the Unha [launched in December 2012] when construction is completed, possibly in 2016”.
Two new design features were similar to those used at the Semnan Launch Complex in Iran, it said.
The images also confirmed activity at the old launch pad.
US experts say North Korea appears to be upgrading one of its two rocket launch sites, perhaps in a move to test bigger rockets
“That activity may be related to another round of modifications intended to support future launches of the Unha rocket or possibly another liquid-fuelled missile,” 38 North said, while cautioning that more information was needed.
North Korea last week conducted its third nuclear test, claiming to have successfully detonated a smaller but more powerful device than in previous tests.
The move drew immediate condemnation from the UN Security Council.
Observers fear North Korea is working towards creating a nuclear device small enough to fit on a long-range missile.
Asteroid 2012 DA14, which is as large as an Olympic swimming pool, will race past the Earth on Friday at a distance of just 27,700 km (17,200 miles) – the closest ever predicted for an object of that size.
It will pass closer even than the geosynchronous satellites that orbit the Earth, but there is no risk of impacts or collisions.
Its closest approach will be 19:25 GMT.
For regions in darkness around that time, it will be visible using good binoculars or a telescope.
The asteroid orbits the Sun in 368 days – a period similar to Earth’s year – but it does not orbit in the same plane as the Earth.
As it passes – at a blistering 7.8 km/s (17,450 mi/hr) – it will come from “under” the Earth and return back toward the Sun from “above”.
As it does, it will pass over the eastern Indian Ocean, making for the best viewing in Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia.
But keen viewers anywhere can find one of several live streams of the event on the internet, including a feed from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA, available from 19:00 GMT.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 will race past the Earth on Friday at a distance of just 27,700 km, the closest ever predicted for an object of that size
2012 DA14 was first spotted in February 2012 by astronomers at the La Sagra Sky Survey in Spain – once a fairly small-scale, amateur effort to discover and track asteroids that has in recent years become a significant contributor to our knowledge of these “near-Earth objects”.
They caught sight of the asteroid after its last pass, at a far greater distance.
From their observations, they were able to calculate the asteroid’s future and past paths and predict Friday’s near-miss – which will be the closest the object comes for at least 30 years.
Alan Fitzsimmons of Queens University Belfast said that it is a scientific opportunity not to be missed.
“When asteroids come this close, it’s very important to try to learn about them – it’s become so bright, so it’s so easy to study,” he said.
“We get an additional insight into these small objects, which are the most likely impactors on Earth.”
Athlete Oscar Pistorius tweeted how he went into “full combat recon mode” after mistaking his washing machine for an intruder, less than three months before his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in the middle of the night.
Oscar Pistorius, 26, was today preparing to spend the night in jail before appearing in court first thing tomorrow morning after being charged with the murder of 30-year-old FHM model Reeva Steenkamp.
Reeva Steenkamp, who had been dating Oscar Pistorius for two months, was shot four times in the head, chest and arm inside his mansion in Pretoria, South Africa at 4.00 a.m.
In a message posted on Twitter on November 27 last year Oscar Pistorius wrote: “Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking it’s an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry!”
Oscar Pistorius may have killed his girlfriend with a handgun kept next to his bed after a Valentine’s Day surprise went tragically wrong and he thought she was a burglar, sources have said.
Oscar Pistorius tweeted how he went into “full combat recon mode” after mistaking his washing machine for an intruder, less than three months before his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in the middle of the night
But police say Reeva Steenkamp’s death is being treated as murder, adding that officers had been sent to previous incidents of a “domestic nature” at his address on the exclusive Silver Woods gated estate.
Brigadier Denise Beukes said neighbors were woken by “screaming and shouting” at the time of the shooting and police were “very surprised” by the intruder suggestion, telling reporters: “These allegations did not come from us.”
Oscar Pistorius is in custody and was due in court this afternoon but the hearing has now been delayed to 9.00 a.m. tomorrow to allow forensics more time to work in his home.
Beyonce sat down with Oprah Winfrey for Oprah’s Next Chapter, revealing how she’s mended the relationship with her father.
A 30-second clip of the interview released by Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network shows Beyonce and the media mogul smiling as they sit down and appear to share an “Aha!” moment.
Beyonce severed her professional relationship with her father in 2011, while rumors of family tension ravaged headlines.
Two years later, Beyonce is opening up about “letting go” of her father and former manager, Mathew Knowles, in a candid new interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The energy becomes more serious as the television host questions her once fractious relationship with her father.
“Talk some about letting your father go as your manager,” Oprah Winfrey asks, the clip cutting to Beyonce nodding as she contemplates a question.
Mathew Knowles, and Beyonce’s mother Tina, played a pivotal role in the singer’s career.
He quit his job as a medical equipment salesman to manage Beyonce’s early group, Girl’s Tyme, which eventually morphed into Destiny’s Child in 1990.
Twenty-one years later, in 2011, she ended their professional relationship, while relaying that their personal relationship remained full “of love”.
Rumors circulated about more going on behind-the-scenes than Beyonce let on as Mathew and Tina Knowles headed for divorce.
Ties were after all not easy to sever with Mathew Knowles having producer credits on many of his daughter’s projects and serving as the founder of Music World Entertainment, a label that, through Columbia Records, has released albums by Beyoncé, sister Solange Knowles, Sunshine Anderson, and former Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
Beyonce sat down with Oprah Winfrey for Oprah’s Next Chapter, revealing how she’s mended the relationship with her father
Beyoncé has only spoken briefly in the past about the pair’s relationship.
“It took a while for me and my dad to have an understanding,” she once said.
“When I turned 18 and started handling my business more, he went into shock. And we had our issues. I’d say <<No>> to something, and he’d book it anyway.
“Then I’d have to do it because I’d look bad [if I didn’t]. We would fight sometimes, and it took about two years, to when I was 20, for him to realize, <<Oh, she is an adult now, and if she doesn’t wanna do something, I can’t make her do it>>.”
Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey will also apparently touch on the miscarriage the singer kept private for years, her husband, Jay-Z, and their baby daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.
The couple married in 2008 but have been notoriously tight-lipped about their relationship.
Since the birth of their first child in January 2012, Beyonce has slowly opened up about her home life.
In a more light-hearted moment, Oprah Winfrey asks: “When you get to the point when you can say, on camera, <<I’m going to make love to my husband… How big is the Carter family going to expand to?”
Beyonce laughs.
“Lord, I’m gonna have me a time,” she says in another clip as the video cuts to the next question.
They also talked about Beyonce’s new HBO documentary, Life Is But A Dream.
The film, which Beyonce co-directed, is part of a return to performing after a year off since Blue Ivy was born.
The HBO film shows footage of a sonogram, Beyonce’s growing bump and grainy video of herself posing nude as she neared her due date.
She also opens up about the miscarriage kept secret from the public until Jay-Z referred to it in his song Glory, released after their daughter’s birth.
In the documentary, Beyonce touched on the topic briefly, saying: “It was the saddest thing I’ve ever been through.”
“My life is a journey. … I had to go through my miscarriage, I believe I had to go through owning my company and managing myself … ultimately your independence comes from knowing who you are and you being happy with yourself,” she said.
Beyonce has also announced a new album for this year.
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour – Jay-Z’s real name is Shawn Carter – will kick off in April with more than 40 performances in Europe and North America.
Life is But a Dream airs on HBO on Saturday, the same day as Beyonce’s interview with Oprah Winfrey on the OWN cable channel.
