Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi has said country’s new draft constitution will be put to a referendum on December 15th.
Mohammed Morsi made the announcement before the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly, which rushed to approve the document earlier in the week.
Both the draft constitution and a recent decree giving Mohammed Morsi sweeping new powers have prompted widespread protests by opponents of the president.
However, his Islamist supporters held their own demonstrations on Saturday.
After receiving a copy of the document, Mohammed Morsi called “all Egyptians to a referendum on the draft constitution on Saturday 15 December”.
If approved, the new text will overwrite all constitutional declarations – including Mohammed Morsi’s decree issued on the 22 November – and a new parliament should be elected within 60 days.
The constituent assembly voted on and passed all 234 articles during a marathon session that began on Thursday and continued through the night.
Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi has said country’s new draft constitution will be put to a referendum on December 15th
Liberals, secularists and Christians walked out of the assembly saying the changes were being forced through.
“Morsi put to referendum a draft constitution that undermines basic freedoms and violates universal values. The struggle will continue,” key opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei tweeted on Saturday.
Among the historic changes to Egypt’s system of government, the draft limits a president to two four-year terms. It also introduces some civilian oversight of the military.
The draft keeps in place an article defining “principles of Sharia”, or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation.
Earlier, tens of thousands of Islamist supporters of the president gathered outside Cairo University.
“The people support the president’s decision!” they chanted, while a banner read: “The people want the implementation of God’s law.”
Kansas City Chiefs American football player Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins early Saturday, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager after first thanking them for everything they had done for him, police said.
Authorities did not immediately release a possible motive for the murder-suicide, which stunned the team and came one day before a home game against the Carolina Panthers. The NFL said the game would go on as scheduled.
It has yet to be officially confirmed, but his dead girlfriend is believed to be Kasandra Perkins. On Facebook, a profile for Kasandra Perkins includes pictures of her with Jovan Belcher, whom she refers to as her boyfriend.
Jovan Belcher, 25, and his girlfriend had a baby less than three months ago on September 11.
The club confirmed that “an incident” had occurred at Arrowhead on Saturday.
“We are co-operating with authorities in their investigation,” it added.
Kansas City police spokesman Darin Snapp told AP news agency that authorities were told early on Saturday that a woman had been shot five miles away from the Arrowhead complex.
The victim was later identified as Belcher’s girlfriend.
Police were then called to the training facility, where they saw the player in a car holding a handgun to his head, talking to two Chiefs officials.
They then heard a gunshot.
Jovan Belcher pictured with his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins
Jovan Belcher was a native of West Babylon, N.Y., on Long Island, played college ball at Maine. He had played all four of his NFL seasons for the Chiefs and played in every game each year, including the 11 so far this season.
Before turning the gun on himself, Jovan Belcher thanked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel for all they had done for him, police spokesman Darin Snapp said.
Authorities received a call Saturday morning from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a residence about five miles away from the Arrowhead complex.
“When we arrived, a lady informed us that her daughter had been shot multiple times by her boyfriend, by the daughter’s boyfriend,” Darin Snapp said.
“She identified him as a Chiefs player.”
Darin Snapp told KCTV5 that a call was then received from the Chiefs’ practice facility.
“The description matched the suspect description from that other address. We kind of knew what we were dealing with,” he said.
The player was “holding a gun to his head” as he stood in front of the front doors of the practice facility.
“And there were Pioli and Crennel and another coach or employee was standing outside and appeared to be talking to him. It appeared they were talking to the suspect,” Darin Snapp said.
“The suspect began to walk in the opposite direction of the coaches and the officers and that’s when they heard the gunshot. It appears he took his own life.”
The coaches told police they never felt in any danger, Darin Snapp said.
“They said the player was actually thanking them for everything they’d done for him,” he said.
“They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything. That’s when he walked away and shot himself.”
Darin Snapp described the girlfriend as in her early 20s and that she and the player had a child together. He said the woman’s mother told police they had recently been arguing.
Jovan Belcher is the second Kansas City Chiefs employee to be involved in a murder-suicide in the last four months.
On Labor Day, Luis Angel Roberson Rodriquez, who worked in the Chiefs stadium operations department, killed himself after shooting his girlfriend Jamie Kristine Kimble near the Tampa International Airport.
Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexico’s new president, has been inaugurated amid tight security in the capital Mexico City.
He wants to boost economic growth and cut drug-related violence, but analysts say it is not clear how he will do so.
Some 60,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence during the rule of his predecessor, Felipe Calderon.
As Enrique Pena Nieto’s motorcade approached Congress, petrol bomb-wielding protesters clashed with riot police who fired tear gas outside the building.
One protester was gravely injured after being hit with a tear gas canister.
The demonstrators are angry at what they say was vote-buying by the president’s campaign.
They were also protesting more generally against the return to power of Enrique Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after a 12-year absence.
Amid a cacophonic trumpet fanfare, outgoing President Felipe Calderon handed a sash with the colors of the Mexican flag to Enrique Pena Nieto, who was expected to address the nation from the presidential palace later on Saturday.
Enrique Pena Nieto has been inaugurated as Mexico’s new president
All week in Mexico City, a ring of steel had been in place around the Congress building ahead of the ceremonial presidential inauguration.
It had created massive traffic jams in the already congested city as authorities tried to prevent protesters from gaining access to parliament.
Earlier, the new president, who is 46, named a 20-member cabinet.
His foreign minister will be Jose Antonio Meade, who was treasury minister in Felipe Calderon’s outgoing government.
Enrique Pena Nieto spent his final days as president-elect in talks with leaders in the US and Canada, Mexico’s partners in the regional trade organisation, Nafta.
The PRI governed without interruption for 71 years until 2000, and its opponents often accused it of being authoritarian and corrupt, and of having links to the drug cartels.
But during his election campaign Enrique Pena Nieto was adamant the party had evolved.
“I can say categorically that in my government, there won’t be any form of pact or agreement with organized crime,” he said.
“It’s not the path nor the route to greater security for the Mexican people.”
Earlier this month, he denied the PRI’s return to power would be a return to the past.
“It is not, because this is a different country,” he said.
Enrique Pena Nieto has indicated he will focus on tackling extortion, kidnapping and murder, and he has drafted in support from Colombia’s former top policeman.
The outgoing president is due to take up a position at Harvard University and maintains he has made Mexico safer.
But for many Mexicans, Felipe Calderon’s legacy as president is of an estimated 10,000 drug-related killings a year for the past six years.
Yahoo group has been ordered to pay $2.7 billion by a Mexican court following a lawsuit stemming from allegations of breach of contract and lost profits related to a yellow pages listing service.
Yahoo said it “believes the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit and will vigorously pursue all appeals”.
The lawsuit had been brought by Worldwide Directories SA de CV and Ideas Interactivas SA de CV.
Yahoo has been ordered to pay $2.7 billion by a Mexican court following a lawsuit stemming from allegations of breach of contract and lost profits related to a yellow pages listing service
In a statement on its website Yahoo said the 49th Civil Court of the Federal District of Mexico City had “entered a non-final judgment of US $2.7 billion against Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo de Mexico” in the case.
Shares in Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, fell by 1.4% in after-the-bell trading following the news.
US Congress is kicking around the idea of replacing the dollar bill with dollar coins, as federal auditors have determined that the move could save taxpayers roughly $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.
Experts say that while it would be expensive to replace machines, the fact that coins can stay in circulation for up to 30 years, while paper bills only have 4 to 5 year lifespans, outweigh the initial costs.
“We’ve never bitten the bullet to remove the $1 bill as every other Western economy has done,” said former director of the U.S. Mint Philip Diehl said.
“If you did, it would have the same success the Canadians have had.”
Supporters of the idea frequently point our northern neighbor as an example of switchover than went well. Canada introduced its now popular $1 piece, affectionately nicknamed the “Loonie”, and found it so popular that the country also went to a $2 coin called the “Toonie”.
“I don’t know anyone who would go back to the $1 and $2 bills,” Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan said at a House subcommittee exploring ways to change how money is produced in this country.
Meanwhile, vending machine operators have long championed the use of $1 coins because they don’t jam the machines, cutting down on repair costs and lost sales.
Still, at a time when cost-cutting measures seem to be something of a necessity, few Americans seem to be behind the idea of replacing lightweight paper bills with heavier coins.
US Congress is kicking around the idea of replacing the dollar bill with dollar coins
In the past five years, the U.S. Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presidential $1 coins, but most are stored by the Federal Reserve, and production was suspended about a year ago.
Strong opposition to the change has been seen in Congress as well. Rep. Lacy Clay of Missouri, another member of the subcommittee, said men don’t like carrying a bunch of coins around in their pocket or in their suits. And Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York said that $1 coins have proved too hard to distinguish from quarters.
“If the people don’t want it and they don’t want to use it,why in the world are we even talking about changing it?,” she said.
But the Government Accountability Office’s Lorelai St. James say the benefits of the switchover are hard to argue against and that they would only come through if the dollar bill is completely eliminated and the public educated about the benefits of the switch.
“We continue to believe that replacing the note with a coin is likely to provide a financial benefit to the government,” she said.
It seems, however, that the more likely option is that production methods of existing coins will be changed. As it stands, it take more than 2 cents to make a penny and more than 11 cents to make a nickel, thanks to rising prices of copper and nickel.
The subcommittee also heard suggestions to replace these more expensive metals with a combination of steel, aluminum and zinc, which would cost considerably less. Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio put that number at nearly $200 million a year.
Congress approved a similar measure nearly 50 years when they took precious silver out of dimes and quarters as well as cut down production of 50-cent coins by half.
The U.S. Mint is expected to present a report in mid-December that will detail the results of nearly 18 months of work exploring a variety of new metal compositions and evaluating test coins for attributes as hardness, resistance to wear, availability of raw materials and costs.
Richard Peterson, the Mint’s acting director, noted that “several promising alternatives” were found.
Hundreds of fans of Hector “Macho” Camacho turned out on Friday for the public wake in the neighborhood where the former boxing world champion grew up in New York.
A carriage drawn by white horses carried Hector Camacho’s body around the streets of Spanish Harlem, taking the casket cover with a Puerto Rican flag to St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church.
On a cold afternoon, people waited patiently on the crowded sidewalks around the church. They chanted “Macho time!” – the phrase Hector Camacho regularly used before his fights.
“Thank you, Nueva York,” said Hector Camacho’s mother, Maria Matias.
The boxer’s son, Hector Camacho Jr., had similar feelings.
“I was feeling down, feeling down, but these people definitely woke me up and lifted my spirits up,” he said.
A carriage drawn by white horses carried Hector Camacho’s body around the streets of Spanish Harlem, taking the casket cover with a Puerto Rican flag to St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church
Hector Camacho, a native of Puerto Rico, was shot in the face on November 20th while sitting in a parked car with a friend outside a bar in Bayamon, his hometown in the U.S. territory. The friend, Adrian Mojica Moreno, died at the scene and the boxer was declared dead three days later after doctors removed him from life support.
Police have said they have suspects but have not yet arrested anyone for the shooting.
Hector Camacho, who was 50 when he died, moved to New York as a child.
Known for his flamboyant displays in the ring, he won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard. He had a career record of 79-6-3.
Leaving the church, people showed off pictures of Hector Camacho’s body that they took with smartphones and tablets. T-shirts with Hector Camacho’s images were being sold for $10.
“The scene inside was peaceful. Everybody is here supporting. He come out of Spanish Harlem and make something out of himself,” said Christian Camacho, one of Hector Camacho’s four sons.
“All his people are here supporting him, showing that they love him.”
“He didn’t deserve to die in such manner,” said Minerva Martinez, a 60-year-old from East Harlem who showed a photo of Hector Camacho with a Puerto Rican flag.
“He was a great fighter and a wonderful person, always happy.”
After a Mass at the church on Saturday, Hector Camacho is to be buried at the St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx.
North Korea plans to launch a long-range rocket between 10 and 22 December, KCNA news agency says.
The KCNA agency said the aim was to launch a satellite.
Previous – unsuccessful – launches have been criticized as breaches of a UN ban on North Korean ballistic missile tests.
The announcement is likely to increase tensions with North Korea’s neighbors, with South Korea expressing concern over Pyongyang’s announcement.
South Korean officials called the move a “grave provocation” and a “challenge to the international community”.
The atmosphere in South Korea is especially tense as the country prepares for a presidential election scheduled for 19 December.
North Korea’s most recent rocket launch, in April, was a failure.
The US, Japan and South Korea said the rocket flew only for a short time before breaking up and crashing into waters off the Korean peninsula.
North Korea plans a second long-range rocket launch between 10 and 22 December
Earlier this week South Korea halted a satellite launch minutes before take-off after problems were found during the final checks.
North Korean scientists and technicians had now “analyzed the mistakes” of the April launch, the Korean Committee for Space Technology said, via KCNA.
The rocket will be of the same Unha-3 variety as was used in the April test. It will be launched “southward” from the Sohae base near the Chinese border, KCNA said, implying it would be directed over the East China Sea.
The flight path had been chosen to avoid debris falling on neighboring countries, the agency said.
“Unha” is Korean for “galaxy”, and is the name given by North Korea to the space launcher version of its Taepodong-2 missile, which has an estimated range of 2,200km. The missile has not yet been successfully tested.
There had been recent speculation that North Korea would attempt another launch soon, with a UN Security Council committee on Thursday warning the country against such a move.
Saturday’s statement insisted the forthcoming launch would be for “peaceful purposes”.
The test will be the second to take place under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, who took over leadership of the country after the death of his father Kim Jong-il almost a year ago.
North Korean historians claim they have unearthed a unicorn lair.
A report released by the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences claims that archaeologists discovered the lair of the mythical animal just outside a temple in the capital Pyongyang.
And, unsurprisingly, the lair – according to the report – means that Pyongyang was the focal point of an ancient, united Korea.
In what appears to be a suggestion of superiority over nearby enemies South Korea, the report says: “The discovery of the unicorn lair, associated with legend about King Tongmyong, proves that Pyongyang was a capital city of Ancient Korea as well as Koguryo Kingdom.”
The dubious report, released by the state news agency, says the lair clearly belonged to King Tongmyong, founder of the ancient Korean kingdom Koguryo.
It goes on to say: “A rectangular rock carved with words <<Unicorn Lair>> stands in front of the lair.
“The carved words are believed to date back to the period of Koryo Kingdom (918-1392).
“The temple served as a relief palace for King Tongmyong, in which there is the lair of his unicorn.”
Jo Hui Sung, director of the Institute, told KCNA, the state news agency, that the findings is in keeping with the country’s history.
He said: “Korea’s history books deal with the unicorn, considered to be ridden by King Tongmyong, and its lair.
“The Sogyong [Pyongyang] chapter of the old book <<Koryo History>>,” said Ulmil Pavilion is on the top of Mt. Kumsu, with Yongmyong Temple, one of Pyongyang’s eight scenic spots, beneath it.
“The temple served as a relief palace for King Tongmyong, in which there is the lair of his unicorn.”
A report released by the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences claims that archaeologists discovered a unicorn lair outside a temple in the capital Pyongyang
The legend of unicorns is thought to have stemmed from European folklore, in which the animal resembles a white horse with a single horn.
Until the 19th century the beast, considered a symbol of purity and grace, was still thought to exist – even by academics and theologians.
But since then there has been little to suggest that there are lairs elsewhere in the world.
The unbelievable news does however follow a number of bizarre claims to come out of the country.
It has been suggested, however, that the release of the story could be in retaliation against a spoof North Korea related story which tricked a newspaper in China.
Written by satirical website The Onion, China’s Communist party newspaper, The People’s Daily, fell for claims that Kim Jong-un was named as the sexiest man alive.
OTHER UNUSUAL CLAIMS TO COME OUT OF NORTH KOREA
At the women’s World Cup of football in 2011 the North Koreans put their poor performance down to being struck by lightning. Five of their players later tested positive for steroids.
Most of the more unusual claims stem from former leader Kim Jong-il and his biographer.
According to the book he reportedly warned the public in North Korea that he could control the weather with his mood.
He also claimed his birth had been prophesied and was heralded with a double rainbow and a new star in the heavens.
Years late Kim Jong-il was apparently very busy during university writing no fewer than 1,500 books in three years and composing six operas.
But it wasn’t just the arts he took a keen interest in. Apparently, in his first and only ever round of golf he shot 38-under with 11 holes in one.
Satisfied with his performance, he reportedly immediately declared his retirement from the sport.
Marks and Spencer claims to have come up with the perfect solution to bingo wings – Flatter Me Armwear – a crop top dubbed as “Spanx for the arms”.
Available as a body or a crop top – and following on from the Flatter Me bra and knicker – Flatter Me Armwear is a long- or three-quarter-sleeved solution to strappy party dresses.
Worn beneath the outfit but over the bra, the light-control fabric promises to gently sculpt arms and “give a smooth and firm silhouette while the intricate lace adds a touch of glamour”.
Soozie Jenkinson, Head of Design for Lingerie at M&S says: “Sleeveless dresses can be tricky to wear for many women who are conscious of bearing their upper arms.
Marks and Spencer claims to have come up with the perfect solution to bingo wings, Flatter Me Armwear, a crop top dubbed as Spanx for the arms
“Now you don’t have to restrict your dress choice as our Flatter Me Armwear, the newest item in our shaping solutions wardrobe, allows women to wear sleeveless dresses with style and confidence.”
Paschal Little, Head of Lingerie Innovation at M&S says: “Our Flatter Me Armwear is designed with a beautifully delicate lace which has light shaping properties that will gently smooth and shape your arms for a sleek look with a bra fastening under the bust for a secure and snug fit.”
The Flatter Me Armwear is £22.50 ($34.50) while the body, which comes with a flattening tummy panel, is priced at £27.99 ($43), and both are available online.
Surveillance footage taken at a gas station in Prince George’s County, Maryland, reportedly shows the moment a Powerball player discovered he had one of the two winning tickets in the $588 million jackpot.
The video shows a construction or highway worker walking into an Exxon in Prince George’s County and checking his ticket, before punching his fists in celebration.
Two tickets bore the winning numbers in Wednesday night’s draw and while Mark and Cindy Hill, from Dearborn, Missouri, have been identified as the winners of one, the other winner has not yet stepped forward.
Lottery officials announced the ticket was bought at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
The man in the Maryland store footage told fellow customers that he had bought the ticket 2,500 away in Arizona, ABC 7 reported.
Surveillance footage taken at a gas station in Prince George’s County, Maryland, reportedly shows the moment a Powerball player discovered he had one of the two winning tickets in the $588 million jackpot
After walking nonchalantly into the store, he is seen digging into his pockets and pulling out his tickets, which he then checks by the register.
The man, who is dressed in a neon yellow jacket, shakes the paper in disbelief as he matches up the numbers before handing the ticket to the clerk, who tells him the numbers are correct.
He rushes over to other customers to ask them to check and they, too, say he has won.
“And then he said, <<I got to get out of here>>,” employee Freddie Lopez told WJLA.
Witnesses told the channels that the man lives in Maryland, and one customer told WJLA that he heard the man may be in the military.
If he is the lucky ticket holder, he has 180 days to return to Arizona to collect the prize.
Karen Bach, the director of budget, product and communication for the Arizona Lottery, said she is not surprised that the winner has not come forward yet.
“I think that it is important for the winner to be thoughtful and make some plans and then come in and celebrate,” she said.
“So I think it usually takes a little time but you never know.”
So you just won $500 million in the Powerball lottery. What would you spend it on?
4,166 Hermes Matte Crocodile Birkin Bags with price tag of $120,000
2,150 2012 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speeds at $232,290 each
2,080 2012 Aston Martin Virage cars at $240,357 each
377 Diamond Crypto Smartphone covered with 50 diamonds at $1.3 million
333 world’s most expensive 124-day luxury cruise packages onboard Silversea Cruises’ Silver Whisper at $1.5 million per couple
166 Harry Winston Ruby Slippers encrusted with 1,350 carats of rubies and 50 carats of diamonds at $3 million a pair
28 Gulfstream jets at $17.5 million each
Fleur de Lys Mansion in Los Angeles at listing price of $125 million, with enough money to spare for CitySpire Penthouse in New York City at $100 million
You can buy 4,166 Hermes Matte Crocodile Birkin Bags with price tag of $120,000 if you won $500 million in the Powerball lottery
Cindy and Mark Hill, the grandparents from Missouri who won a staggering $293,750,000 of the Powerball jackpot, have revealed they plan to keep the same pickup truck and visit their local cafe for breakfast – all after taking a nap.
Speaking at a press conference at the school where they met as teenagers, Cindy Hill, 51, and her mechanic husband Mark, 52, added they have no plans to leave their home in Dearborn, where they plan to bring up their adopted 6-year-old daughter Jaiden.
The couple, who also have three grown sons, added that they may now consider adopting again in light of their win – one of two winning tickets and a record amount for the state of Missouri.
They added that while their daughter has asked for a pony, it would be “a while” before they made any big purchases.
“I just want to go home and be back to normal,” Cindy Hill said.
She added: “Maybe take a nap.”
“I think we’re going to have a pretty good Christmas,” she said.
Mark and Cindy Hill, who are taking the money in one lump sum, said they hoped to return to Jaiden’s home country of China, but first of all wanted to take her to the beach, as she has never been.
Cindy Hill added: “My husband’s keeping his same old pickup. He did ask for a red Camaro though.”
She added they will set up college funds for their grandchildren, nieces and nephews. They also hope to launch a scholarship fund, and will donate to charity, particularly those supporting adoption.
Cindy and Mark Hill, who won a staggering $293,750,000 of the Powerball jackpot, have revealed they plan to keep the same pickup truck and visit their local cafe for breakfast
“How much does a person need?” asked Cindy Hill, who was laid off in June 2010.
“We are pretty grounded and we’ve worked really hard all our lives. And we know the value of a dollar.
“We’ll still be going down to the corner cafe for breakfast. It’s just us. We’re as common as anybody – we just have a little bit more money.”
Mark Hill said that he was already struggling to adjust to their new life and, when the Lottery put them up in a hotel on Thursday night, he ran to get toothpaste – and caught himself checking prices.
“Old habits are hard to break,” he said, laughing.
Mark Hill, a mechanic at a hot dog and deli packaging factory, had given his wife $10 to buy tickets. She bought five after picking her daughter up from school, chose numbers at random and left the tickets in the car overnight.
The next morning, she checked the numbers and on discovering they had a winning ticket, she called her husband and said: “I think I’m having a heart attack!”
Cindy Hill drove to her mother’s home to verify the numbers and was later met by her husband, who had refused to believe her. They later called their sons at their workplaces, but told them to keep it quiet.
But their anonymity didn’t last long – especially after Mark Hill posted about their luck on Facebook.
“We are truly blessed … we were lucky winners of the powerball!” he wrote, explaining on Friday that he had just wanted to put an end to the chatter circulating their small town.
Their son Jason Hill, 26, added at the press conference: “I hope we stay grounded and I hope we stay the good people we were yesterday.”
Jared Hill, 31, agreed: “It was pretty surreal. I was excited for them and then I got nervous for them.”
Cindy Hill said she shares their concerns.
“Obviously when it’s that big of a Powerball you’re going to get people coming out of the woodwork and some of them might not be too sane and we have to protect our family,” she said.
“This isn’t what I thought it’d be like. I am grateful but I think there’s going to be a lot of not good stuff that comes along with it too.”
Cindy Hill had worked as an office manager but was laid off in June 2010. She took off a year to spend time with their daughter, who has just started first grade, and had hoped to return to work.
The Hills will share the total $588 jackpot with another winner who bought a ticket in Arizona.
While the Arizona winner’s identity has not yet been revealed, surveillance footage from a gas station in Maryland reportedly shows a construction worker discovering he has the winning ticket.
The video shows the man walking into an Exxon in Prince George’s County and checking his ticket, which he said he brought 2,500 miles away in Arizona, ABC 7 reported.
The man, dressed in a neon yellow jacket, then fist pumps as he checks again before handing the ticket to the clerk, who told the news channel it bore the winning numbers.
The father of a 9-year-old girl accused of illegally downloading music in Finland has paid a 300 euros ($390) fine to a Finnish anti-piracy group.
He had refused to pay the original settlement of 600 euros and sign a non-disclosure agreement.
A police warrant was then issued to confiscate the laptop of the girl, who was aged nine at the time.
The anti-piracy group said it was acting “within the boundaries of Finnish legislation”.
The girl had searched blocked torrent site The Pirate Bay for an album by Finnish popstar Chisu.
Her father claims they were unable to download the album and purchased it legitimately the following day.
The action was taken by the country’s Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC), known locally as TTVK, which contacted the father after it discovered his ISP account had connected with The Pirate Bay.
“We have now reached a settlement in the matter. The police investigation has stopped and the rights holders have been compensated. All parties involved are satisfied with the settlement,” said a spokesperson.
“We agree that individual lawsuits against file-sharers are a slow and ineffective process. We can only act within the boundaries of current Finnish legislation which does not permit rights holders to tackle piracy in softer and more efficient ways.”
The father of a 9-year-old girl accused of illegally downloading music in Finland has paid a 300 euros fine to a Finnish anti-piracy group
The girl’s father described the situation as “the pinnacle of absurdity” when speaking to website Torrentfreak.
“I can see artists are in a position, but this requires education and information, not resource-consuming lawsuits,” he said.
Chisu herself suggested in a statement that her fans should listen to her music for free on Spotify.
“I hope that the matter will be resolved soon and sorry to my nine-year-old girls,” she said.
According to its website, several national film and music groups are members of the CIAPC, including the Finnish Musicians’ Union and the Finnish Film Distributors Association.
“A joint anti-piracy association benefits all parties involved by reducing costs, co-ordinating more efficient anti-piracy strategies and giving authorities an effective point of contact,” CIAPC says online.
Gerard Depardieu emerged from a police station in Paris on Friday morning, where he was held overnight after getting arrested for driving the scooter while drunk, according to reports.
Dressed in a sleeveless white shirt, Gerard Depardieu, 63, was well enough to jump back onto the vehicle and drive himself home following the overnight stay at the police station.
Reuters reports that Gerard Depardieu was held for questioning after he fell from his scooter mid-afternoon, slightly injuring his elbow.
No-one else was hurt in the accident.
Agence France-Presse is reporting that when police arrived at the scene and tested Gerard Depardieu, he showed a blood alcohol level of 1.8 grams per litre, well above the French limit for driving of 0.5.
Gerard Depardieu was detained and brought to a police station where he could face misdemeanor charges “after a period of sobering up”, the source told the French news agency.
Gerard Depardieu emerged from a police station in Paris on Friday morning, where he was held overnight after getting arrested for driving the scooter while drunk
And it’s not the first motor incident for the beloved French star this year.
One of France’s best-known actors for roles in more than a hundred films, Gerard Depardieu recently grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons again.
Just a few months ago a car driver filed a legal complaint for assault and battery against Gerard Depardieu following an altercation in Paris.
The motorist filed a complaint with the local prosecutor’s office in August accusing the star of assault and battery following the alleged incident in the capital’s Sixth Arrondissement, near the Saint Sulpice Church.
After Gerard Depardieu’s scooter allegedly collided with the unnamed driver, an argument ensued.
The motorist claimed Gerard Depardieu punched him in the face, leaving him injured.
An official from the prosecutor’s office said: “There was a confrontation and the driver filed a complaint.”
Sacha Baron Cohen is as zany and unpredictable in real life as he is on screen, says his long-suffering wife, actress Isla Fisher.
“I cannot tell you how embarrassing he is in social situations,” says Isla Fisher.
“To him, there’s no difference between the awkward gaffes he deliberately makes as a comic, and the terrible faux pas he innocently commits as my husband.
“One problem is that he doesn’t always recognize stars when they are not in character.
“He once told Diane Keaton at a dinner party that she should have won an Oscar for her performance in The Kids Are All Right because he thought she was Annette Benning.
“Another time he asked Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett: <<So what do you do for a living?>>.”
But perhaps his worst gaffe was at a screening of a Jack Black movie, when a buxom woman made a very long speech, followed by a very short address by Jack.
Isla Fisher explains: “After the film, Sacha said to Jack: <<Why did you make such a short speech? You should have shut up the woman with the big bosoms and said more yourself>>.”
Jack Black said through gritted teeth: “That was my mother.”
“Although even that didn’t silence Sacha. He told Jack: <<Well, at least your mother has a fabulous bosom>>.
“And he turned to me and said: <<You’ve always wanted larger breasts, haven’t you, Isla?>>.
“I wanted the floor to swallow me up. I would like to think Sacha is putting in rehearsal time for all those hilarious gaffes his characters make in movies.
“But I’m by no means certain that’s why he does it. I don’t think he can help himself!”
But Sacha Baron Cohen’s lack of tact can sometimes have its uses, admits his wife.
“I was working all hours in the studio in California on the film The Rise Of The Guardians. I was feeling down and lonely, but I had to find a way to lighten up to bring a comedic touch for my portrayal of the Tooth Fairy in the movie.
“All of a sudden I thought of the times Sacha has put his foot in it, with me standing right beside him. Cringe-making moments, yes – but as I relived them, I began to laugh, and that was all I needed to get myself in the mood for the film.”
Sacha Baron Cohen is as zany and unpredictable in real life as he is on screen, says his wife, Isla Fisher
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher, who met at a party in Sydney in 2002, married in 2010 and are parents to daughters Olive, 5, and Elula, 2.
They make a contrasting couple – and not only because he stands 13 inches above his 5ft 2in tall wife.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s brand of entertainment is dangerously cutting edge, whereas hers tends to be a little more middle of the road.
Raised in Australia by Scottish parents, Isla Fisher started her career playing Shannon Reed in Home & Away before going on to appear in Hollywood movies Scooby-Doo, Wedding Crashers, and Confessions Of A Shopaholic.
Now Isla Fisher is starring in the $135 million Rise Of The Guardians, in which the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, Jack Frost and the Easter Bunny join forces with Father Christmas to see off the malevolent Bogeyman.
It’s a sweet contrast to the jaw-dropping and controversial comedies of her husband, who put on medallions and a shell suit to play the unspeakable Ali G.
“Sacha and I have entirely separate careers and while the movies he makes are not suitable for family viewing, I’ve hardly specialized in that genre of movie either!
“Not even The Rise Of The Guardians will be suitable for my girls, especially not my little two-year-old. ‘With a PG certificate, of course there are plenty of youngsters who will enjoy it but the character of the Bogeyman – brilliantly voiced by Jude Law – is just a little too scary for my munchkins, especially in the parts where he turns dreams into nightmares.
“When Olive and Elula are a little older they can see Rise Of The Guardians, but not yet.”
But Isla Fisher isn’t in the process of building up a huge canon of work on which her daughters can feast in later years.
She deliberately turns down parts in order to be a mother, explaining: “I just don’t want to miss anything in the lives of my children while they are still young. It’s why I don’t audition for leading roles at all, and why I say no to some of the supporting roles that I do get offered.
“I’m happy with the idea of being a mum first and an actress second – I’m perfectly content for people to think of me as a stay-at-home mum, rather than an actress, if that is their perception.
“That may change in future years but, for the moment, the place in which I want to spend most of my time is my home with my family.”
With Sacha Baron Cohen only making one movie every three years, it’s a place in which both parents are normally in residence. It’s also, admits Isla Fisher, a home which is more than a little out of the ordinary.
“Sacha does fully embrace the people he plays and you don’t know the half of it when it comes to him getting into character for a movie,” she laughs.
“I’ve lived with Borat’s handlebar moustache, Bruno’s Justin Bieber flick and The Dictator’s accusing finger.
“At the moment, I’m having it easy! Sacha is writing so he isn’t in character. But watch this space.”
Isla Fisher’s determination to separate the fantasy of her husband’s career from the practicalities of parenthood is clear. She is proud, she says, that life at their seven-bedroom English manor-style mansion in Los Angeles is as down to earth as possible – and honest.
“I’ve yet to tell my children a lie – even a white one. Mind you, discussions about the existence or otherwise of Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny have yet to take place.”
Having converted to Judaism before marrying Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher says: “At Christmas, the children get their gifts from my parents, so it’s all a little foggy on the Santa front!
“As for the Tooth Fairy, I’m sure those conversations about her existence, or otherwise, will occur but as neither of my daughters has lost a tooth yet, she hasn’t really been on the agenda. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it!
“Although I sort of know that I am going to play along with it because that is what happens when you put a tooth under the pillow. You get some money for it, don’t you?!
“But it won’t be anything excessive. I don’t think one should incentivize the losing of teeth.
“I find the idea of a child getting an iPad, or a £20 note, for losing a tooth, utterly abhorrent.
“Fifty pence, or a pound at most, is what my children can expect from the Tooth Fairy.”
Israel has authorized the construction of 3,000 more housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
It is also speeding up the processing of 1,000 planning permissions.
The Palestinian Authority has said it will not return to peace talks without a freeze in settlement building.
The decision comes a day after a vote at the UN General Assembly upgraded the Palestinians’ status at the UN to that of non-member observer state.
According to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, some of the new units will be between Jerusalem and the settlement of Maaleh Adumim.
Plans to build settlements in the area, known as E1, are strongly opposed by Palestinians, who say the development will cut the West Bank in two, preventing the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.
The move is a first indication of Israeli anger, less than 24 hours after the vote on Palestinian status was held at the UN.
The Palestinians may well have been expecting this – or something like it – but it is a reminder that the gulf between the two on the settlement issue remains huge.
Earlier this month, a paper by the Israeli foreign ministry described the Palestinians’ pushing for the vote as “crossing a red line that will require the harshest Israeli response”.
About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
Earlier on Friday, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the UN vote was “negative political theatre” that would “hurt peace”.
The General Assembly voted by 138-9 to recognize the Palestinians as a non-member observer state, with 41 states abstaining.
The Palestinians can now take part in UN debates and potentially join bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was the “last chance to save the two-state solution” with Israel.
Two decades of on-off negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank have failed to produce a permanent settlement, with the latest round of direct negotiations breaking down in 2010.
In January, several months of indirect “proximity talks” ended without any progress.
Palestinian negotiators insist that the building of Jewish settlements on occupied land must stop before they agree to resume direct talks.
Their Israeli counterparts say there can be no preconditions.
Mahmoud Abbas was much criticized by many Palestinians for remaining on the sidelines of the conflict between the militant Hamas movement and Israel earlier this month in Gaza.
Facebook and Zynga have amended an agreement that gave Farmville’s developer strong access to the social network’s one billion users.
Farmville is a game once mostly played on Facebook, which at its peak attracted 82 million players a month.
Zynga now has its own games platform, but players will no longer be able to share their progress on Facebook.
Zynga’s share price fell by 13% in after-hours trading following the news.
It is the latest blow for the company, which last month announced job cuts and studio closures.
The change, which will take place from March 31st, 2013, ends Zynga’s ability to promote its Zynga.com platform on Facebook.
The move also means it will no longer be required to display Facebook advertising on its own site.
Facebook and Zynga have amended an agreement that gave Farmville’s developer strong access to the social network’s one billion users
“There was plenty of speculation Zynga was getting referrals within the Facebook community that other gaming companies weren’t getting which helped drive web traffic to Zynga games,” Digital World Research chief executive PJ McNealy said.
Facebook said the move would bring its relationship with Zynga in line with other games studios.
“We have streamlined our terms with Zynga so that Zynga.com’s use of Facebook Platform is governed by the same policies as the rest of the ecosystem,” Facebook said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with Zynga, just as we do with developers of all sizes.”
Facebook has not announced plans to build its own games platform.
Recent figures suggest 80% of Zynga’s revenue comes from Facebook users.
In an email to staff in October 2012, Zynga founder Mark Pincus said the company would close its Boston studio and consider closing studios in the UK and Japan as part of an “overall cost reduction plan”.
CIA World Factbook color-coded map reveals the startling difference in life expectancies across 222 of the world’s countries.
The map shows how people are likely to live the longest in developed countries with state-funded healthcare systems like Japan, Canada and the UK, which each have average life expectancies of over 80 years.
The tiny tax haven of Monaco – with its notoriously wealthy inhabitants and compulsory state-funded health service – has the highest life expectancy at an average of 89.68 years, five years higher than anywhere else on earth, according to the CIA World Factbook. The country with the worst life expectancy is the African state of Chad at a shocking 48.69 years.
Life expectancy in America ranks 51st in the CIA’s table at 78.49 years – lower than Canada (81.48), Australia (81.90), New Zealand (80.71), Japan (83.91), the UK (80.17) and much of Europe.
Of the top five longest-living nations the only large country is Japan, with the rest being city states (see box).
Life expectancy levels in South America and generally 10 years lower than those in North America.
People are likely to live the shortest in sub-Saharan Africa, with no country in that vast region having an average life expectancy of over 60.
CIA World Factbook color-coded map reveals the startling difference in life expectancies across 222 of the world’s countries
Only a few Asian countries, including Afghanistan (49.72) and a couple of Caribbean nations, have such similarly short life expectancies compared with Africa.
The worst countries to live in if you want to reach old age are Afghanistan (49.72), Swaziland (49.42), South Africa (49.41) Guinea-Bissau (49.11) and Chad (48.69), whose people are generally expected to die before they even reach middle age.
The figures confirm that women on average live longer than men. Life expectancy for a woman in Monaco is 93.77 years compared with that of a man at 85.74 years.
In Chad life expectancy for men is only 47.61 years while women are expected to live slightly longer to 49.82 years.
While The United States has consistently fallen in the rank of world nations over the last 50 years, the average life expectancy has risen from 69.8 years in 1960 to 78.49 today.
And while Chad’s figure of 48.69 today is shockingly low, in 1960 Afghanistan had the world’s lowest life expectancy at 31.3 years.
Eurozone unemployment rate hit a new record high in October, while consumer price rises slowed sharply.
The jobless rate in the recessionary euro area rose to 11.7%. Inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.2% in November.
The data came as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned the euro would not emerge from its crisis until the second half of next year.
Government spending cuts would continue to hurt growth in the short-term, Mario Draghi said.
The unemployment rate continued its steady rise, reaching 11.7% in October, up from 11.6% the month before and 10.4% a year ago.
A further 173,000 were out of work across the single currency area, bringing the total to 18.7 million.
The respective fortunes of northern and southern Europe diverged further. In Spain, the jobless rate rose to 26.2% from 25.8% the previous month, and in Italy it rose to 11.1% from 10.8%.
In contrast, unemployment in Germany held steady at 5.4% of the labor force, while in Austria it fell from 4.4% to just 4.3%.
Data earlier this month showed that the eurozone had returned to a shallow recession in the three months to September, shrinking 0.1% during the quarter, following a 0.2% contraction the previous quarter.
The less competitive southern European economies, such as Spain and Italy – where governments have had to push through hefty spending cuts to get their borrowing under control, and crisis-struck banks have been cutting back their lending – have been in recession for over a year.
But the economies of Germany and France have also begun to weaken. Growth in the eurozone’s two biggest economies came in at a disappointing 0.2%.
And more recent data suggests that both core eurozone economies have continued to skirt recession during the autumn.
Retail sales in Germany shrank 2.8% in October versus the previous month, down 0.8% from a year earlier, according to data released on Friday. Analysts had expected the country to record unchanged or moderately growing sales.
Meanwhile, separate data showed consumer spending in France shrank 0.2% in October versus the previous month, with spending on cars and other durable goods hardest hit.
The sharp slowdown in the eurozone’s consumer price index, to 2.2% in November, is also symptomatic of the weakness of spending.
However, the inflation data may also open the door to further measures by the ECB to boost the economy, as the index fell much closer to the central bank’s 2% target rate.
“We have not yet emerged from the crisis,” said Mario Draghi, speaking on pan-European radio.
“The recovery of the eurozone will certainly begin in the second half of 2013.
“It’s true that the budgetary consolidation entails a short-term contraction of economic activity, but this budgetary consolidation is inevitable.”
Despite Mario Draghi’s warning, and the generally poor state of the eurozone economy, markets have begun to take a far more sanguine view of the single currency’s future.
Italy’s implicit cost of borrowing in the financial markets has fallen to its lowest level in two years, dropping to an implied interest rate of about 4.5% for 10-year debt.
Spain is able to borrow from markets at a 10-year rate of about 5.5% – far below the 7%-8% rate being demanded over the summer.
Mario Draghi conceded that the announcement of the ECB’s willingness to buy up potentially unlimited amounts of government debt had boosted market confidence, even though no eurozone government had actually taken up the ECB’s offer yet.
However, borrowing costs in southern Europe still remain elevated compared with France and especially Germany. Berlin is currently able to borrow for 10 years at 1.37%, close to an all-time low.
“For now, what the ECB has done is to stop the bleeding,” said Stephen Gallo at RBS.
“The central bank needs to close the gap in loan borrowing costs between the periphery and the core.”
However, Stephen Gallo said in his view the only way to do this was for the eurozone to move ahead with its “banking union” – which includes putting all eurozone banks under a common regulator, and creating a pan-eurozone scheme for guaranteeing bank accounts.
He was echoing the view of Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, who on Friday said that creating a single deposit guarantee system should be Europe’s top priority, more important than getting government budgets under control.
Fears over a possible government default or exit from the eurozone have made it much harder for Spanish and Italian banks to borrow, and put them at risk of a sudden exodus of depositors. This in turn has undermined the banks’ role in supporting their respective national economies.
American company Microzap has developed a technique that it says can make bread stay mould-free for 60 days.
The bread is zapped in a sophisticated microwave array which kills the spores that cause the problem.
Microzap claims it could significantly reduce the amount of wasted bread.
The technique can also be used with a wide range of foods including fresh turkey and many fruits and vegetables.
Food waste is a massive problem in most developed countries. In the US, figures released this year suggest that the average American family throws away 40% of the food they purchase – which adds up to $165 billion annually.
One of the biggest threats to bread is mould. As loaves are usually wrapped in plastic, any water in the bread that evaporates from within is trapped and makes the surface moist. This provides excellent growing conditions for Rhizopus stolonifer, the fungus that leads to mould.
In normal conditions, bread will go mouldy in around 10 days.
But Microzap says it has developed a technique that will keep the bread mould free for two months.
Microzap has developed a technique that it says can make bread stay mould-free for 60 days
At its laboratory on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, chief executive Don Stull showed off the long, metallic microwave device that resembles an industrial production line. Originally designed to kill bacteria such as MRSA and salmonella, the researchers discovered it could kill the mould spores in bread in around 10 seconds.
“We treated a slice of bread in the device, we then checked the mould that was in that bread over time against a control,” he explained.
“And at 60 days it had the same mould content as it had when it came out of the oven.”
The machine the team has built uses much the same technology as found in commercial microwaves – but with some important differences, according to Don Stull.
“We introduce the microwave frequencies in different ways, through a slotted radiator. We get a basically homogeneous signal density in our chamber – in other words, we don’t get the hot and cold spots you get in your home microwave.”
Microzap’s device has attracted plenty of interest from bread manufacturers – but it is worried that it could push up costs in an industry where margins are very tight.
And there is also a concern that consumers might not take to bread that lasts for so long. Don Stull acknowledges it might be difficult to convince some people of the benefits.
“We’ll have to get some consumer acceptance of that,” he said.
“Most people do it by feel and if you still have that quality feel they probably will accept it.”
Don Stull believes that the technology could impact bread in other ways. He said that bread manufacturers added lots of preservatives to try and fight mould, but then must add extra chemicals to mask the taste of the preservatives. If bakers were able to use the microwave technology, they would be able to avoid these additives.
While a wholesale change in the bread industry might be difficult to achieve, there may be more potential with other foods, including ground turkey.
In 2011, food giant Cargill had to recall 16 million kg of the product after a salmonella outbreak. Don Stull believes that using microwaves would be an effective way of treating this and several other products ranging from jalapenos to pet foods.
The only fruit that his device was unable to treat effectively were cantaloupes.
“We’ve used our tumbler machine to treat them, but you can’t tumble cantaloupes because they damage,” he said.
Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon have called time on their romantic relationship, new reports suggest.
The pair announced their engagement last month in a preview for her family’s upcoming reality show The Houstons: On Our Own, but the couple have now called off their relationship.
Nick Gordon, 23, tweeted on November 18: “@REALbkBrown and I are not engaged or dating. Just close like we have always been.”
Bobbi Kristina Brown later wrote: “Spending time together, sunday night football & Playing with our @nickgordon new 3DS’s! Soooooo… Goodbye !!(:(:(: (sic).”
Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon have called time on their romantic relationship
The following week she also posted a number of cryptic tweets suggesting she is all alone.
She wrote: “I’m leaving , this this good ole town and driving to the send of the world . Maybe it’s beautiful there (: Xxxo. Who do I trust in this world? Pfft well that’s easy beezie, #Myself, No1 will kno’s me like ME&They’d rather not take thtchance2knoME, & 2me.”
Another read: “That’s incredibly fine .. Because you’d be missing out on a #REALperson Xxo #armyofme #onmywon #goingtomakeit#determined.”
“I guess it’s time 4me2stop depending on anymore. It’s my time2follow what Mom&The Lord put out on this path for me. #Thankful. Mom xxo (sic).”
At the time of the car crash, Bobbi Kristina Brown described herself as “Partner of @ndgordon” on her Twitter page.
Nick Gordon was informally adopted by Whitney Houston when he was 12 and the pair were raised as brother and sister.
They were “always close” growing up but their relationship changed as they got older and they sought comfort in each other after Whitney Houston’s death in February and started living like a couple.
Whitney Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel room on February 11, 2012.
A newly-released booking photo of Nick Gordon, Bobbi Kristina Brown’s “adopted brother”, shows him smiling following his arrest for reckless driving.
Nick Gordon, 23, who was informally adopted by Bobbi Kristina’s mother Whitney Houston, was booked at Georgia’s Alpharetta City Jail on Wednesday night after he was clocked driving 82 mph in a 35 mph zone.
A police report indicates Nick Gordon has been ordered to appear in court on the charge.
Alpharetta Public Information Officer George Gordon confirms the incident occurred on Wednesday night at approximately 6:39 p.m.
Nick Gordon was driving a Gray Chevrolet Camaro on North Point Parkway, an affluent area known to have a high volume of pedestrian traffic.
He was cited for reckless driving and speeding and transported to the North Fulton Alpharetta jail Annex.
Police say an “acquaintance” of Nick Gordon was allowed to come to the scene and take custody of the vehicle. That person’s identity has not been released.
Nick Gordon’s court appearance is scheduled for February 12, 2013 at 9am.
It is his first reckless driving offense.
His arrest comes hours after Bobbi Kristina Brown totaled her Chevrolet Camaro near their Georgia home.
A newly-released booking photo of Nick Gordon shows him smiling following his arrest for reckless driving
Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, daughter of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, was not injured after wrecking her Chevrolet Camaro while driving in Alpharetta, Georgia on Wednesday.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ a good Samaritan saw the vehicle totaled in an embankment and called 911.
According to the website, Bobbi Kristina Brown was standing next to her car when emergency personnel arrived.
Investigators believe Bobbi Kristina Brown lost control of the vehicle while making a left turn out of her apartment complex, driving over a curb and hitting several small trees before stopping at a local park trail in the city, located about 26 miles north of Atlanta.
She was reportedly issued a traffic citation for “failure to maintain lane”.
Police do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor.
The accident follows two months after she was involved in a car crash with Nick Gordon and just a few weeks after she struck his repaired sports car in a parking lot at their home.
Bobbi Kristina Brown was a passenger in Nick Gordon’s black 2012 Camaro when it was severely damaged on September 26.
According to TMZ, the couple had been arguing at the time of the crash – which destroyed the entire front end of the vehicle.
Nick Gordon’s Camaro was the only car involved. No one was injured.
And earlier this month Bobbi Kristina Brown accidentally struck Nick Gordon’s car with her own vehicle in the parking garage of the apartment complex, causing severe damage to the front of his sports car.
Bobbi Kristina Brown had followed Nick Gordon back to their apartment in her own Camaro and as she tried to back into the parking space next to his, she struck his vehicle.
Neat Freaks, a new TLCspecial, chronicles the weirdest and wackiest sanitation habits that seem perfectly normal to many clean-obsessed people.
The one-hour show features Alfreta, a woman who not only cleans her own bathroom, but all the public bathrooms, and strangers’ houses she visits as well.
“I clean once a day, but once a day is all day,” Alfreta says on the show, premiering Wednesday, December 5th.
She added: “Bathrooms seem to be my thing, a dirty bathroom is disgusting to me. I don’t care where you go, they should always be clean.
“I use my toothbrush to get all the little residue off the fixtures. I use three big bottles of bleach a week. On the sink, the bathtub, behind the shower curtain, but especially on the toilet.”
Alfreta reveals that she uses half a bottle of bleach each time she cleans her toilet, which she pours into the tank, to keep “not only the bowl clean, but the tank clean also”.
In the kitchen, Alfreta admits she is just as bleach-obsessed.
“I bleach again, bleach is your friend people!” she says to the camera.
Alfreta shows on Neat Freaks how she pours a cap-full of bleach into a bowl mixed with water to clean her fruit from its contaminated insecticide
Pouring a cap-full of bleach into a bowl mixed with water, Alfreta adds: “I use this bowl to clean my fruit. Any fruit you eat, from what I learned on the doctor shows, is that it’s all contaminated with insecticide.”
“With the orange, wash it completely,” she demonstrates.
“With the apple, get right down into the core.”
As she takes a bite, Alfreta says: “I have no fear of eating this apple now.”
The show also features Christy, who spends up to ten hours every day scrubbing down every inch of her home, hyperventilating at the thought of anyone stepping inside it.
Meanwhile Michele adopted eight school-age children because she finds the snot and drool of infants repulsive – even from her own grandson.
Afraid of germs, Caleb sprays his home and his body with hydrogen peroxide, and insists on spraying down his dates before being intimate.
Mitt Romney was spotted picking up a snack in a McDonald’s restaurant just ahead of a lunch in the White House with Barack Obama on Thursday.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney meeting has already inspired dozens of internet memes speculating on what exactly went on.
The former governor of Massachusetts was photographed apparently buying a McFlurry milkshake, and the picture was then uploaded to social news website Reddit.
While it may seem strange to see the ultra-healthy 65-year-old chowing down on fast food, the Romney family has long had a strong connection to the McDonald’s franchise.
Mitt Romney’s father George, a businessman who was governor of Michigan, was given a card by McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc entitling him to eat at any of the chain’s restaurants for free for his whole life.
As well as the picture of Mitt Romney in McDonald’s, web users have clearly been amused by a photo of the losing Republican presidential candidate shaking hands with Barack Obama in the Oval Office, as Buzzfeednotes.
Photoshopped versions of the image have spread around the net, with some offering witty guesses about the strained conversation the two men might be enjoying, while others drew attention to the awkward presence of a White House staffer half-hidden behind a door in the background of the picture.
The pair met for lunch at the White House on Thursday, sitting down with an eye on overlapping interests rather than the sharp differences that defined their presidential contest.
In their first meeting since the election, Barack Obama and the Republican nominee met in the White House’s private dining room, fulfilling a promise Obama made in his victory speech the night of November 6.
Mitt Romney congratulated the president for the success of his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years, according to a description of the meeting from the White House.
“The focus of their discussion was on America’s leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future,” according to the description.
“They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future.”
While they talked politics, the former foes munched on white turkey chili and Southwestern grilled chicken salad.
Mitt Romney arrived at the White House early Thursday afternoon in a black SUV. He stepped out of the passenger side and walked into the West Wing alone.
Mitt Romney was spotted picking up a snack in a McDonald’s restaurant just ahead of a lunch in the White House with Barack Obama on Thursday
White House spokesman Jay Carney had earlier said Barack Obama had no specific agenda for the meeting, but he said the president wanted to discuss Mitt Romney’s ideas for making government more efficient. Barack Obama has proposed merging some functions of government related to business and has asked Congress for authority to undertake some executive branch reorganization.
“The president noted that Gov. Romney did a terrific job running the Olympics and that that skills set lends itself to ideas that could make the federal government work better, which is a passion of the president’s,” Jay Carney said.
Barack Obama aides said they reached out to Mitt Romney’s team shortly before Thanksgiving to start working on a date for the meeting. The two men were meeting alone in the White House’s private dining room, with no press coverage expected.
For Mitt Romney, it was a day of closure after a hard-fought campaign.
Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who was his vice presidential running mate, met earlier in the day to talk about the pending fiscal cliff negotiations and other economic challenges facing Washington, a Ryan aide said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to discuss the private discussions.
On a personal level, the pair discussed their families and talked about the harried 12 weeks of the general election campaign.
“I remain grateful to Gov. Romney for the honor of joining his ticket this fall, and I cherish our friendship,” Paul Ryan said in a statement after their meeting.
“I’m proud of the principles and ideas we advanced during the campaign and the commitment we share to expanding opportunity and promoting economic security for American families.”
Much of that debate centers on expiring tax cuts first enacted in the George W. Bush administration. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney differed sharply during the campaign over what to do with the cuts, with the Republican pushing for them to be extended for all income earners and the president running on a pledge to let the cuts expire for families making more than $250,000 a year.
The White House sees Barack Obama’s victory as a signal that Americans support his tax proposals.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney’s sit-down Thursday was expected to be their most extensive private meeting to date. The two men had only a handful of brief exchanges before the 2012 election.
Even after their political fates became intertwined, their interactions were largely confined to the three presidential debates.
Mitt Romney has virtually disappeared from politics following his election loss. He’s spent the past three weeks largely in seclusion at his family’s Southern California home. He has made no public appearances, drawing media attention only after being photographed at Disneyland in addition to stops at the movies and the gym with his wife, Ann.
Barack Obama aides reached out to Mitt Romney shortly before Thanksgiving to start working on a date for the meeting.
“It was a gracious invitation from the president, which Mitt Romney was glad to accept,” a top Mitt Romney aide said.
The timing of Barack Obama’s meeting appears strategic, coming in the same week that he launched an aggressive campaign aimed at forcing Congress to accept his proposals to avert the fiscal cliff, a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that threaten to send the U.S. economy spiraling into a second recession.
The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that if the fiscal cliff is not avoided, the U.S. unemployment rate could rise to 9.1% by the end of next year, compared to 7.9% now.
Barack Obama is proposing that Congress end tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year, but Republicans are opposed to the idea.
While in Washington, Mitt Romney will meet with his former running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who is working on the Republican side of negotiations.
Mitt Romney has kept a low profile since his defeat, deliberately avoiding the political spotlight while many in the party distanced themselves from him in the days and weeks after the election, especially after a conference call with donors in which he said Barack Obama won the election because of ‘gifts’ he bestowed on constituencies like Hispanics, blacks and young people.
Photographs and sightings of Mitt Romney’s post-election lifestyle reveal that he is relishing a ‘normal’ existence after the grueling pace of the campaign.
He was spotted attending the movie Twilight with his wife and dining on pizza afterward. He was also photographed at Disneyland on roller coasters with his sons and grandchildren.
A motorist snapped a photo of Romney pumping gas recently and the former Massachusetts governor posted of photo of himself and Ann enjoying Thanksgiving together. Appearing scruffy and unkempt in a blue T-shirt, Mitt Romney had his arms wrapped around Ann in their kitchen as she appeared to be cooking.
But it was revealed on Wednesday that Mitt Romney might soon be returning to work in the private sector.
Mitt Romney’s former aides confirmed to the Associated Press that he is expected to move into an office at the Boston-area venture capital firm Solamere Capital, which was co-founded by his eldest son, Tagg, and Spencer Zwick, who served as his campaign’s national finance chairman.
He will not be working for Solamere, the Washington Post reports, but simply leasing an office space there.
