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Neil Coulon, the father of premature twins born at the same hospital as Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s baby girl says the singer security kept him from seeing his newborns.
Beyonce’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, arrived via scheduled Caesarean section at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Saturday night.
Neil Coulon, 39, from Brooklyn, said the stress of his wife Rosalyn delivering two premature girls was tripled when Beyoncé’s towering bodyguards allegedly barred him from the sixth-floor neonatal intensive care unit.
The father told the New York Daily News that security also cleared a waiting room of his relatives – some who drove four and a half hours to the Manhattan hospital to see his newborn twin girls – and described Beyonce as treating the hospital like “an exclusive nightclub”.
![Neil Coulon, 39, from Brooklyn, said the stress of his wife Rosalyn delivering two premature girls was tripled when Beyoncé's towering bodyguards allegedly barred him from the sixth-floor neonatal intensive care unit Neil Coulon, 39, from Brooklyn, said the stress of his wife Rosalyn delivering two premature girls was tripled when Beyoncé's towering bodyguards allegedly barred him from the sixth-floor neonatal intensive care unit](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Neil-Coulon-39-from-Brooklyn-said-the-stress-of-his-wife-Rosalyn-delivering-two-premature-girls-was-tripled-when-Beyoncés-towering-bodyguards-allegedly-barred-him-from-the-sixth-floor-neonatal-intensive-care-unit.jpg)
Neil Coulon, 39, from Brooklyn, said the stress of his wife Rosalyn delivering two premature girls was tripled when Beyoncé's towering bodyguards allegedly barred him from the sixth-floor neonatal intensive care unit
Neil Coulon said: “Three times they stopped me from entering or exiting the NICU and it happened once on Friday – just because they wanted to use the hallway.
“They should have been more strategic about it. These are children with problems in intensive care and you’re just going to take over the hospital like you own it? All I want is an apology.”
It has been reported that Beyonce and Jay-Z spent $1.3 million to seal off and redecorate a wing, complete with bulletproof glass and ultra-tight security measures.
Neil Coulson, from the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn (where Jay-Z hails from) said he was appalled at the double standard.
“I know they spent $1.3million and I’m just a contractor from Bed-Stuy but the treatment we received was not okay.
“My wife is just terribly upset. She had a C-section. She gave birth to twins. She is sore. Nobody needs this.
“This is the NICU. Nobody cares if you’re a celebrity. Nobody is star-gazing. They just want to see their children. To have that circus roll into town and ruin our parade was unpleasant.”
A source at the hospital told the paper: “Some people were upset. I heard a gentleman say he couldn’t go upstairs to see his baby.”
However, hospital spokeswoman Anne Silverman said she had not personally heard of the complaints.
“We take patient satisfaction very seriously. This is the first time I’m hearing about it.”
Seven Qantas passengers flying from London to Sydney have been injured today when the A380 superjet struck severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.
Four of them, who received cuts and bruises, were taken to hospital in Singapore for treatment, while the other three were treated at the medical centre in Changi airport.
According to Qantas, the turbulence was the result of severe thunderstorms over the Indian Ocean, in Indian air space, three hours before the jet was due to land in Singapore for refueling.
A Qantas spokeswoman said the seatbelt sign went on immediately the aircraft hit the turbulence but some passengers were still standing or making their way back to their seats.
“Striking bad weather is not unusual,” Qantas spokeswoman said.
“The aircraft diverted around most of it but it was the initial part of the storm that had the impact.”
She described the injuries as minor cuts and bruises.
Engineers carried out a thorough inspection of the jet, named after Australian aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith, and declared that no damage had been caused and it was fit to return to the skies.
Qantas jet was due to arrive in Sydney late on Sunday.
Qantas has received 12 of the 20 A380 “double decker” supersets it has ordered.
Just last week the airline reassured passengers there was no risk to safety after cracks were found on the wings of several A380 jets owned by a number of airlines around the world.
Qantas said that minuscule cracking had been found in the wing ribs on one of its A380s but no immediate action was required because it presented no risk to flight safety.
George magazine, founded by John F. Kennedy Jr., famously featured on its covers Cindy Crawford as George Washington and Drew Barrymore as Marilyn Monroe.
Now is said that JFK’s late son asked Madonna to pose for the cover of his political lifestyle magazine in 1996, as his conservative mother Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
But, Madonna flirtatiously declined his offer, insisting she could “never do [Jackie O.] justice”.
As the New York Post reports, JFK Jr. told his assistant RoseMarie Terenzio about his idea for a photo shoot that would see Madonna portraying the former First Lady for the September “Women in Politics” issue.
RoseMarie Terenzio recalls in her upcoming book, “Fairy Tale Interrupted”, suggesting instead then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton shoot for the issue.
![RoseMarie Terenzio, JFK Jr.’s former assistant, recalls in her upcoming book, “Fairy Tale Interrupted”, how he asked Madonna to pose as Jackie Kennedy for the George magazine cover RoseMarie Terenzio, JFK Jr.’s former assistant, recalls in her upcoming book, “Fairy Tale Interrupted”, how he asked Madonna to pose as Jackie Kennedy for the George magazine cover](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/RoseMarie-Terenzio-JFK-Jr.’s-former-assistant-recalls-in-her-upcoming-book-“Fairy-Tale-Interrupted”-how-he-asked-Madonna-to-pose-as-Jackie-Kennedy-for-the-George-magazine-cover.jpg)
RoseMarie Terenzio, JFK Jr.’s former assistant, recalls in her upcoming book, “Fairy Tale Interrupted”, how he asked Madonna to pose as Jackie Kennedy for the George magazine cover
But JFK Jr., who founded George with Michael J. Berman in 1995, had more sensational ideas.
“We’ll have her in a pillbox hat, sitting on a stack of books,” RoseMarie Terenzio recalls her then-boss saying.
RoseMarie Terenzio says she was hesitant to support the idea, warning her then-boss he would create a “media s***storm” putting Madonna on the cover, given the pair’s once-rumored romance.
They drafted a letter to the Madonna anyway, asking the singer to pose as America’s beloved Jackie O.
But the photo shoot never came to fruition. The next day, RoseMarie Terenzio said, they received a handwritten reply from the star via fax declining the offer.
According to a letter published by the Post, addressed with a wink to “Johnny Boy”, Madonna quipped: “My eyebrows aren’t thick enough, for one.
“When you want me to portray Eva Braun or Pamela Harriman, I might say yes!” Madonna wrote, referring to Hitler’s mistress and the British socialite.
Drew Barrymore took Madonna’s slot for that issue, portraying another blonde bombshell – JFK Jr.’s father’s rumored lover, Marilyn Monroe.
“Fairy Tale Interrupted”, which chronicles RoseMarie Terenzio’s five years as JFK Jr’s publicist, is due out later this month.
RoseMarie Terenzio said she worked for him until JFK Jr. died in 1999 at the age of 38.
George magazine closed in 2001.
Kathy Porter, the wife of Atlanta Braves head trainer Jeff Porter died in a tragic New Year’s Eve collision between the SUV he was driving and a police car in Loganville, Georgia.
Kathy Porter, 54, was on her way to the annual college football Chick-fil-A-Bowl game with her husband, son and a friend.
Their son David Porter, 19, and friend Courtney Ann Williams, 18, were taken to hospital but were released last night along with Jeff Porter.
“The Braves family is deeply saddened and shocked to learn about the tragic accident,” a spokesman for the baseball team said last night.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff and Kathy’s family, their son David and all their friends and loved ones.”
![The state patrol trooper collided with a Ford Expedition driven by Jeff Porter at an intersection with Capitol Avenue and Memorial Drive The state patrol trooper collided with a Ford Expedition driven by Jeff Porter at an intersection with Capitol Avenue and Memorial Drive](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/The-state-patrol-trooper-collided-with-a-Ford-Expedition-driven-by-Jeff-Porter-at-an-intersection-with-Capitol-Avenue-and-Memorial-Drive.jpg)
The state patrol trooper collided with a Ford Expedition driven by Jeff Porter at an intersection with Capitol Avenue and Memorial Drive
The patrol cruiser was travelling with the lights and siren activated on Saturday at 4:40 p.m. when it crashed with the SUV driven by Jeff Porter.
The state patrol trooper collided with a Ford Expedition driven by Jeff Porter at an intersection with Capitol Avenue and Memorial Drive.
The trooper, travelling westbound on Memorial Drive, was en route to help another trooper who was attempting to stop a motorcyclist.
The rider was located on nearby Interstate 20, west of the Downtown Connector, and had failed to give way, a state patrol spokesman said.
The patrol car collided with the Ford Expedition that was northbound on Capitol Avenue, hitting the SUV on the passenger’s side.
The SUV then struck a utility pole, killing Kathy Porter. Jeff Porter, his son David and Courtney Ann Williams were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The unidentified trooper was examined at the same hospital and released and placed on administrative leave as authorities investigate.
Jeff Porter has been on the Atlanta Braves’ training staff for nearly three decades and the head athletic trainer for nine years.
Scientists from John Hopkins University in Baltimore have designed a new, leap-year-free calendar, which makes birthdays, holidays and Christmas to fall on the same day every year.
The new calendar proposed by mathematicians and economists is different from the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Christian calendar, that is used by the western world.
The Gregorian calendar, which is a reform of the old Julian calendar, was first introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
In the leap-year-free calendar, each year would be 364 days long, and every 5 or 6 years there would be a week-long “mini-month” to keep the calendar in tune with the solar cycle, instead of using leap years.
The sheer predictability would save the economy billions – and could save money for individuals, too, as interest calculations couldn’t be “rounded up” by lenders.
Unlike previous ideas for “calendar reform”, this one does keep the seven-day working week intact.
Under the Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar, if Christmas fell on a Sunday in 2012 it would also fall on a Sunday in 2013, 2014 and beyond.
In addition, under the new calendar September would have 31 days as would March, June and December. All the rest would have 30.
Dr. Richard Henry said: “Our plan offers a stable calendar that is absolutely identical from year to year and which allows the permanent, rational planning of annual activities, from school to work holidays.”
“Think about how much time and effort are expended each year in redesigning the calendar of every single organization in the world and it becomes obvious our calendar would make life much simpler and would have noteworthy benefits.”
Among the practical advantages would be the convenience afforded by birthdays and holidays falling on the same day of the week every year.
But the economic benefits are even more profound, according to co-researcher Dr. Steve Hanke, an applied economist – including monetary policy.
Dr. Steve Hanke said: “Our calendar would simplify financial calculations and eliminate what we call the <<rip off>> factor.
“Determining how much interest accrues on mortgages, bonds, forward rate agreements, swaps and others, day counts are required.
“Our current calendar is full of anomalies that have led to the establishment of a wide range of conventions that attempt to simplify interest calculations.
“Our proposed permanent calendar has a predictable 91-day quarterly pattern of two months of 30 days and a third month of 31 days, which does away with the need for artificial day count conventions.”
The researchers say their calendar is an improvement on the dozens of rival reform calendars proffered by individuals and institutions over the last century.
Dr. Richard Henry said: “Attempts at reform have failed in the past because all of the major ones have involved breaking the seven-day cycle of the week, which is not acceptable to many people because it violates the Fourth Commandment about keeping the Sabbath Day.
“Our version never breaks that cycle.”
Dr. Richard Henry claims his team’s version is far more convenient, sensible and easier to use than the current Gregorian calendar which has been in place for four centuries – ever since 1582, when Pope Gregory altered a calendar that was instituted in 46 BC by Julius Caesar.
The calendars used around the world:
• The Gregorian calendar serves as the most common international method by which time is organized in the west. It regulates the ceremonial cycle of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, although its original purpose was ecclesiastical.
• The Hebrew calendar is the official calendar for Israel and the Jewish faith. The beginning of each month is determined by a new moon (molad). By tradition, days of the week marked from sunset to sunset are designated by number, with only the seventh day, Sabbath, having a specific name. The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday. Each year consists of twelve or thirteen months, with months consisting of 29 or 30 days.
• The Islamic calendar is entirely lunar and consists of twelve alternating months of 30 and 29 days, with the final 29 day-month extended to 30 days during leap years. Leap years follow a 30 year cycle. The calendar begins on Friday, July 16th, 622 C.E. marking the day of the Prophet Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina, with sunset on the preceding day reckoned as the first day of the first month of year 1 – A.H.—’Anno Hegiræ’—the Arabic word for ‘separate’.
• The Chinese calendar is lunisolar and so based on calculations of the positions of the sun and moon. Months of 29 or 30 days begin on days of astronomical new moons, with an extra month added every two or three years. Although the Gregorian calendar is used in the Peoples’ Republic of China, for administrative purposes, the traditional one is used for setting festival dates and timing agricultural activities in the countryside.
• The modern Persian calendar was adopted in 1925, taking over a traditional calendar dating from the eleventh century. The calendar consists of 12 months, the first six of which are 31 days, the next five 30 days, and the final month 29 days in a normal year and 30 days in a leap year. Each year begins on the day in which the March equinox occurs. Days begin at midnight in the standard time zone.
![Property records show Madonna Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront Victorian home for $1.7 million last year Property records show Madonna Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront Victorian home for $1.7 million last year](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Property-records-show-Madonna-Badger-bought-the-five-bedroom-waterfront-Victorian-home-for-1.7-million-last-year.jpg)
Property records show Madonna Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront Victorian home for $1.7 million last year
Madonna Badger, from Stamford, Connecticut, climbed onto the roof of her burning house and tried to smash the windows of her daughters’ bedrooms in a bid to save them from the flames ravaging her home.
Madonna Badger, a 47-yea-old former Calvin Klein art director, and friend Michael Borcina survived the horrific Christmas day fire at her home that claimed the lives of her three daughters and their grandparents.
The girls, Lily, 10, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, perished in the 5 a.m. fire with Madonna Badger’s parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, who were to celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary today.
Firefighters desperately tried to reach the family members who were trapped on the second floor of the $1,725,000 house by the raging flames.
According to witnesses, Madonna Badger, who runs Badger and Winters fashion branding consulting firm and created the Mark Wahlberg underwear adverts for Calvin Klein, was dazed as rescue workers helped her. She was heard saying: “My whole life is in there.”
The woman was seen being led away from the flames with acquaintance Michael Borcina, who was barefoot and wearing boxers and a t-shirt.
Michael Borcina is the president of New York City construction firm Tiberias Construction Inc., believed to be the company renovating the five-bedroom home.
The grandparents moved to the New York area from Kentucky five years ago to be near their grandchildren, according to the New York Times.
The day before he died, Lomer Johnson, 71, worked at his “dream job” as Santa Claus at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, New York, the family member said. Pauline Johnson, 69, watched on as he handed out candy canes and posed for pictures.
“That’s all he ever wanted to be,” a family member told the New York Times. “He stopped shaving the day he retired.”
Madonna Badger was reported to be a “fair condition” at Stamford Hospital on Sunday afternoon. A supervisor at the hospital said she was treated and discharged by the evening.
Michael Borcina was also hospitalized but his condition was not released.
Police officers drove Madonna Badger’s husband, Matthew Badger, from New York City to Stamford on Sunday morning.
The couple had separated three years ago. She filed for divorce in October.
Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said desperate attempts by firefighters to rescue the family were thwarted by the intense flames and heat.
A total of 46 firefighters attended the scene.
All five victims were removed from the second floor of the burnt-out building this evening.
Antonio Conte said fire officials do not yet know the cause of the blaze and will not likely get clues for a few days until fire marshals can enter the house, which has been completely destroyed.
The house was being renovated but fire officials do not believe that was the cause of the blaze.
Property records show Madonna Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront Victorian home for $1.7 million last year.
The house is situated in Shippan Point, a wealthy neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.
Stamford is a city of 117,000 residents about 25 miles northeast of New York City.
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Kim Kardashian’s declining popularity looks set to receive a further blow after animal rights group PETA launched a billboard campaign slating the star’s love of fur coats.
Kim Kardashian, 31, has regularly been spotted wearing such jackets this year, despite already being chastened by PETA, who named her their worst dressed person of 2010.
In the emotive ad PETA has a cute picture of two fox cubs, with the statement: “Kim: These babies miss their mother. Is she on your back?”
In addition to the adverts, the animal rights organization has also blasted Kim Kardashian on their website.
PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said: “Kim knows that animals on fur farms are beaten, electrocuted, and often skinned alive.
“We’ve explained it to her, and she’s watched a video expose that was filmed inside fur farms.
“When Kim is ready to put an end to her relationship with fur, PETA will be happy to take her discards and donate them to the homeless.”
![Kim Kardashian, 31, has regularly been spotted wearing such jackets this year, despite already being chastened by PETA, who named her their worst dressed person of 2010 Kim Kardashian, 31, has regularly been spotted wearing such jackets this year, despite already being chastened by PETA, who named her their worst dressed person of 2010](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Kim-Kardashian-31-has-regularly-been-spotted-wearing-such-jackets-this-year-despite-already-being-chastened-by-PETA-who-named-her-their-worst-dressed-person-of-2010.jpg)
Kim Kardashian, 31, has regularly been spotted wearing such jackets this year, despite already being chastened by PETA, who named her their worst dressed person of 2010
Ironically Kim Kardashian turned out to support a PETA campaign poster AGAINST fur which featured her sister Khloe earlier this year.
Kim Kardashian posed with Khloe next to the 2008 “Fur? I’d Rather Go Naked” picture, after her younger sibling stripped off for the charity.
It is the second time in recent days the Kardashians have been involved in a fashion flare-up.
It was claimed the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights had criticized the Kardashians for using Chinese sweatshop labor to produce their fashion lines.
However the group’s executive director Charles Kernaghan later spoke out to say the allegations could not be proved, that he had been speaking about conditions in the country in general, and that his words had been twisted.
Charles Kernaghan did speak out again last night to say: “If Ms. Kardashian has found a way to overcome the iron-fisted repression under which the Chinese workers are forced to toil, then that would be huge news and worthy of tremendous applause.
“But unfortunately, based on our concrete experiences investigating factories in China and elsewhere, the chances are about one in a million that Ms. Kardashian has found a way to push back against the Chinese authorities and guarantee that her employees will be afforded their most basic, internationally recognized workers’ rights.”
As her family was struggling financially and was unable to afford a big Christmas celebration, all that 5-year-old Helen Berence Cardenas de Reyes wanted, when she wrote a Christmas message to Santa, was a doll, some clothes and a pair of shoes.
Helen Berence Cardenas de Reyes from Auburn, Washington, attached her frugal Christmas list to two balloons and set it off hoping it would somehow reach Santa in the North Pole.
Julie Sanders and her son discovered the scrap of paper while they were out on their quad bikes near their home in Laytonville, California.
Although Helen’s letter was written in Spanish they could tell it was a Christmas list and could make out a few words.
So Julie Sanders asked a ranch hand to translate the rest of note.
Julie Sanders told ABC news: “The fact that she asked for a doll, some pants, boots and nothing materialistic, I just knew it was a family in need.
“I thought if I we can get a hold of them we can make sure there is something for her under the tree for Christmas.”
Julie Sanders decided to get on the phone and called up the family.
She found out that Helen’s mother is injured and her father had struggled to find any work at all this year.
Little Helen sent her letter on December 2, which is a particularly emotional date for Julie Sanders as it is the birthday of her brother, who passed away a few years ago.
So kind-hearted Julie Sanders headed to the shops and bought little Helen a few outfits and toys.
Julie Sanders addressed the package from Santa and sent it special delivery so it could be under the girl’s tree in time for Christmas.
Dennis Dodds, a family friend of the Sanders was also there when they found the balloon message.
He told ABC: “Laytonville is a small timber industry town that has lost its mill. People here know what it is like to struggle around the holidays. It is always good to pay it forward.
“We’ve been in that situation ourselves, I know what it feels like,’ said Sanderson ‘but now we are in the position to help so it really felt good to help this little girl.”
Helen’s mother, Rosa Cardenas de Reyes, said she helped send the note.
The mother said: “I didn’t know what to do.
“So I always told her we would send a balloon to Santa because that was a tradition when I was little.”
Kim Jong-Un is the heir poised to become the next leader of rogue state North Korea, but a probe into the school days of the youngest son of Dictator Kim Jong-Il proves he is little more than an academic failure who squandered his education playing computer games and basketball.
The baby-faced Kim Jong-Un, 28, first stepped out of his father’s shadow in September last year to appear in public in the capital Pyongyang as thousands of goose-stepping troops marched by to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party.
Kim Jong-Un looked the part, dressed up in the uniform of a four-star general, and trained in the operation of the torture camps and punishment gulags which fill his blighted land.
The world will have to see whether his prolonged exposure to the west and its values during his school days in Switzerland have imbued him with any democratic values that might bring his decrepit and starving country back into the international fold after years of isolation.
But the signs are not good. Despite having lot of money spent on his education at a top private school in Switzerland, he didn’t leave with even the equivalent of a single GCSE.
When Kim Jong-Un was just 15, his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now cost around $25,000 a year. He moved him to a nearby state school to save money but he was quickly put in the lower tier in class.
Wearing Nike trainers, a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt and jeans, Kim Jong-Un was introduced to Class 6A by the headmistress of Liebefeld-Steinholzi School near Berne. She lied: “Boys and girls, this is Un Pak. He comes from North Korea and he is the son of a diplomat.”
Kim Jong-Un took the empty seat next to Portuguese diplomat’s son Joao Micaelo and the pair became friends. Joao Micaelo, who now works as a chef, said: “We weren’t the dimmest kids in class but neither were we the cleverest. We were always in the second tier.
“Un tried hard to express himself but he was not very good at German and became flustered when asked to give the answers to a problem. The teachers would see him struggling ashamedly and then move on. They left him in peace.
“He left without getting any exam results at all. He was much more interested in football and basketball than lessons.”
![When Kim Jong-Un was just 15, his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now cost around $25,000 a year When Kim Jong-Un was just 15, his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now cost around $25,000 a year](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/When-Kim-Jong-Un-was-just-15-his-father-took-him-out-of-the-costly-International-School-Of-Berne-where-fees-now-cost-around-25000-a-year.jpg)
When Kim Jong-Un was just 15, his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now cost around $25,000 a year
A big fan of star Michael Jordan, Kim Jong-Un – who was once caught with a bondage pornographic magazine in his school bag – proved to be a good player on the basketball court.
Kim Jong-Un did shine at maths but nothing else in class, and schoolmates remember that he needed a lot of extra tuition.
One colleague who was with Kim Jong-Un at the International School said: “It must have been 1993 when he came to the school. His English was bad at first. He had a strong accent and he was given extra lessons.
“He also learned German and was OK in the basics of both – but just OK. His English got better but not his German.
“He was good in maths. That sounds like he was a nerd – but he wasn’t. He wasn’t so hot in other subjects. I suppose in hindsight we could have nicknamed him Dim Jong-un. One day he just disappeared.”
According to school sources, Kim Jong-Il got fed up paying for an education that he thought was going nowhere. But there may have been another reason – his son’s taboo love affair with American culture.
The North Korean Embassy in Berne sent back reports on his son’s friendships and influences to his father and intelligence chiefs back in North Korea.
JoaoMicaelo said: “We spent nearly every afternoon with each other. He often invited me back to eat. He had a private chef who cooked whatever he wanted.
“Much of it wasn’t to my taste. Lots of chicken in strange sweet-and-sour sauces. He didn’t live at the embassy but in a flat in a nice residential area near the school.”
Kim Jong-Un in fact lived in a large flat at No 10 Kirchstrasse, a sedate suburban street with two pizza cafes, a bank and a Co-Op supermarket.
Joao Micaelo added: “He was surrounded by the best gadgets that the rest of us kids couldn’t afford – TVs, video recorder, a Sony PlayStation. He had a cook, a driver, a private teacher.
“But, curiously, I never saw his room. We were mostly in the communal living room. We watched a lot of kung-fu films – especially Jackie Chan movies. He loved them. He had everything which we never saw coming close to our own cinema.
“After school we met at the basketball court and threw a few baskets, with both of us pretending to be Michael Jordan. We were all envious of his genuine NBA basketball, which must have cost more than $150.
“We spoke about girls and about our grand plans. At weekends there were parties and a lot of under-age drinking. But I never once saw a drop of alcohol pass his lips and he wasn’t interested in girls.
“He only spoke about his life in the <<homeland>> rarely. But I knew he had a certain homesickness. On his stereo he only played North Korean songs. Western music didn’t do it for him.
“Most of all he listened to the North Korean national anthem, which we must have heard 1,000 times together. I only knew him in his alibi mode until one Sunday afternoon, shortly before he left for North Korea in 2000.
“He pulled out a photo of him alongside his father and said <<I am not the ambassador’s son. I am the son of the North Korean President.>>”
One member of staff at the school, identifying himself only as Joerg, said: “We had these after-school discussion groups. I remember I was outside the school having a smoke when this black, armoured Mercedes with smoked glass pulled up.
“Out stepped <<Un Pak>>. He was surrounded by these dwarf ninjas. They scanned the street and then led him up the path.
“That night we talked about the responsibilities of democracy – you know, the right to vote, the right to a common voice, the importance of speaking out.
“He never joined in. He looked down at his shoes all the time and fidgeted, never seemed easy. He was dipping into a bag from Loeb – that’s the fanciest delicatessen in Berne, the kind of place where you can spend 100 euros on a couple of salads.
“And at that moment I thought of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm where, truly, some are more equal than others.”
DeAngelo Rashard Mitchell, a young man from South Carolina, who persuaded his brother to eat an ounce of cocaine after they were arrested is to be charged with causing his death.
Wayne Joshua Mitchell, 20, collapsed and died an hour after ingesting the drug as he sat in the back of a police car.
DeAngelo Rashard Mitchell, 23, who was captured on a police video cameras urging his brother to eat the drug, has been charged with his death.
The man is heard on the police film telling his younger brother that if he is caught with the drug he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
At his urging his younger brother swallows the drug.
“I love you, bro,” Wayne Joshua Mitchell says.
An hour later he was dead.
A toxicology test revealed the cause of death was from ingesting cocaine.
The brothers were pulled over while driving in North Charleston, South Carolina, after a patrol car noticed one of their headlights wasn’t working.
Officers put the brothers in the back of a police cruiser while they searched the car.
![A video camera recorded what happened next as DeAngelo Mitchell told his brother he couldn't afford another strike against him and that he needed his brother to eat the cocaine he had in his possession A video camera recorded what happened next as DeAngelo Mitchell told his brother he couldn't afford another strike against him and that he needed his brother to eat the cocaine he had in his possession](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/A-video-camera-recorded-what-happened-next-as-DeAngelo-Mitchell-told-his-brother-he-couldnt-afford-another-strike-against-him-and-that-he-needed-his-brother-to-eat-the-cocaine-he-had-in-his-possession.jpg)
A video camera recorded what happened next as DeAngelo Mitchell told his brother he couldn't afford another strike against him and that he needed his brother to eat the cocaine he had in his possession
A video camera recorded what happened next as DeAngelo Mitchell told his brother he couldn’t afford another strike against him and that he needed his brother to eat the cocaine he had in his possession.
“You gonna eat it, you gonna chew it,” DeAngelo Mitchell tells his brother.
“You ain’t got no strike… I can get you out… I can’t afford another strike.”
DeAngelo Mitchell then appears to hand off the cocaine, which was stuffed in his buttocks, to his brother.
“One of us gotta do it,” he said.
“You the only one that don’t have no strikes… You my lil’ brother… I’m gonna get life… You gonna unwrap it? Want me to hand you it?”
According to police, Wayne Mitchell then ate the cocaine.
Minutes later the younger brother began having trouble breathing and holding his head up. DeAngelo Mitchell told police his 20-year-old brother had swallowed cocaine, but did not mention where it came from.
Despite being rushed to hospital doctors were unable to save Wayne Mitchell.
“It’s sickening,” said North Charleston police chief Jon Zumwalt.
“I got upset when I saw the thing, I’m pretty shocked about it.
“For me, an older brother is supposed to love his little brother, have his back and take good care of him. That’s not what was happening in this car.”
DeAngelo Mitchell has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Police records show he has numerous convictions for drug arrests.
The incident happened on November 30th but police waited for the toxicology results before charging DeAngelo Mitchell with involuntary manslaughter.
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Linda Gipson, a mother-of-five from Ypsilanti, Michigan, who mistakenly loaded her children’s Christmas presents into the trunk of the wrong car, is counting on the kindness of its owner to return the missing items this season.
Linda Gipson was overloaded with $700 worth of merchandise during her shopping trip to Twelve Oaks Mall in nearby Novi, so she put her bags in what she thought was her daughter’s car before returning inside.
When Linda Gipson finished shopping an hour later, she returned to the parking lot to find the car she had filled up with gifts was gone.
Linda Gipson told Detroit Free Press: “The first thing I thought was, <<Please, don’t tell me I put my things in the wrong car>>.”
But when she realized what had happened that Thursday afternoon, she broke down.
“I just started crying,” Linda Gipson said.
![Linda Gipson, who described herself as an in-home health aide who currently has no clients, estimated the value of the missing items at $700 Linda Gipson, who described herself as an in-home health aide who currently has no clients, estimated the value of the missing items at $700](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Linda-Gipson-who-described-herself-as-an-in-home-health-aide-who-currently-has-no-clients-estimated-the-value-of-the-missing-items-at-700.jpg)
Linda Gipson, who described herself as an in-home health aide who currently has no clients, estimated the value of the missing items at $700
Linda Gipson said a similar silver 2003 Focus parked nearby opened with the same key as her car.
She told ABC News she and her husband reported the incident to mall security, who in turn called police.
But until the stranger behind the wheel of the other car comes forward, several items will be missing from under the family tree, including a pair of boots, perfume, sweaters, a hat and a scarf – and two gifts her husband had bought for Linda Gipson.
Linda Gipson, who described herself as an in-home health aide who currently has no clients, estimated the value of the missing items at $700.
Assistant Police Chief Tom Lindberg of the Novi, Michigan Police Department, told ABC surveillance cameras did not capture Linda Gipson leaving the mall with the packages.
A Ford spokesman was unaware of any other instance where someone was able to unlock a vehicle using the key to a different car.
The company is said to be investigating the incident.
But Linda Gipson is meanwhile pleading for anyone who may have parked at the shopping mall driving a similar car on the same day to check their trunk and come forward if her purchases are found.
“I’m hoping that whoever has the gifts.. is going to have a heart and return everything back,” Linda Gipson said.
A group of Italian scientists say that the Shroud of Turin could actually be Christ’s burial robe despite years of tests proving the contrary.
Using a series of advanced experiments, Italian researchers say that the technology available when it was created was simply not available to likely “fakers”- and that marks on the shroud were created by a blinding flash of light at short wavelengths.
Carbon dating tests carried out in 1988 in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona suggested that the shroud was created some time between 1260 and 1390.
That research was disputed, however, because there was a possibility of contamination from patches of cloth that had been sewn on following a fire in Chambery, France, in 1532.
Burn marks sustained during the fire are visible along the edges of the shroud where molten silver dripped onto the cloth and in a series of triangular patches on both sides of the piece.
Theologians have suggested that the shroud, which is stored in the royal chapel at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Turin, was created when Jesus was resurrected.
Scientists from the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development tried to recreate the piece, but found that they could only do so with advanced machinery, according to the Daily Telegraph.
![According to Italian scientists, the kind of technology needed to create the Shroud of Turin simply wasn't around at the time that it was created According to Italian scientists, the kind of technology needed to create the Shroud of Turin simply wasn't around at the time that it was created](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/According-to-Italian-scientists-the-kind-of-technology-needed-to-create-the-Shroud-of-Turin-simply-wasnt-around-at-the-time-that-it-was-created-.jpg)
According to Italian scientists, the kind of technology needed to create the Shroud of Turin simply wasn't around at the time that it was created
Intense beams of UV light were fired at a piece of cloth but when they were unable to recreate the marks on the shroud they concluded that “some form of electromagnetic energy (such as a flash of light at short wavelength)” must have created the image.
Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro said: “When one talks about a flash of light being able to colour a piece of linen in the same way as the shroud, discussion inevitably touches on things like miracles and resurrection.”
Professor’s report states that: “The double image (front and back) of a scourged and crucified man, barely visible on the linen cloth of the Shroud of Turin, has many physical and chemical characteristics that are so particular that the staining… is impossible to obtain in a laboratory.”
Rather than offering a non-scientific explanation, however, Prof. Paolo Di Lazzaro continued: “We hope our results can open up a philosophical and theological debate but we will leave the conclusions to the experts, and ultimately to the conscience of individuals.”
In 2009 it was claimed that Leonardo da Vinci had created the image and it could even have been a self-portrait.
Lillian Schwartz, a graphic consultant at the School of Visual Arts in New York, claims that the image is a self-portrait, which was made using a crude photographic technique.
Using computer scans she found that the face on the Turin Shroud and a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci share the same dimensions.
Earlier this year an Italin art expert Luciano Buso suggested that the 14 ft length of fabric was made by medieval artist Giotto.
What is the Turin Shroud?
The Vatican owns the Turin Shroud, and hails the relic as an exploration of the “darkest mystery of faith”.
But the church has shied away from any definitive statement over whether the shroud – which is supposed to have formed Christ’s burial robe – is real.
The Shroud is thought to have travelled widely before it was brought to France in the 14th century by a Crusader.
The Shroud was kept in a French convent for years – by nuns who patched it, and where it was damaged by fire.
It was given to the Turin Archbishop in 1578 by the Duke of Savoy and has been kept in the Cathedral ever since.
Carbon dating tests in 1988 dated it from between 1260 and 1390 – implying it was a fake.
Scientists have since claimed that contamination over the ages from patches, water damage and fire, was not taken sufficiently into account.
In 1999, two Israeli scientists said plant pollen found on the Shroud supported the view that it comes from the Holy Land.
There have been numerous calls for further testing but the Vatican has always refused.
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Fred Zajonczloski is going to miss his father’s funeral because Continental Airlines was charging him almost $675 to change his flight – on top of the $1,200 he had already paid.
The grieving son Fred Zajonczloski flew from his home in San Antonio, Texas, to Rochester, New York, as soon as he found out his father Walter, 85, was dying.
Fred Zajonczloski was scheduled to return on Saturday December 17 but when he found out his father’s funeral was being changed to tomorrow, he tried to change his flight and his fiancee’s.
Continental Airlines informed him that the changes would cost a total of $675.
Fred Zajonczloski’s sister Julie Knapp told News10 they are “just a normal family” and could not afford that kind of money.
Julie Knapp said: “All we wanted was some compassion.”
Now, Fred Zajonczloski is going to miss his father’s burial tomorrow as he has already flown back on the original ticket.
Julie Knapp said: “I understand that people have jobs and people have things to do, but have a heart. Have a heart. I mean there’s somebody there that could have said yes, it’s okay to switch this flight.
“It’s frustrating and it’s very disappointing when I put my brother on that airplane and I said goodbye to him and knew he wasn’t going to be here.”
Julie Knapp also revealed that it was her father’s last wish to be buried beside his son Dale, who was just three when he died.
“That’s why it is so important that Freddie was here. To have that closure to be able to see his dad be buried with his son.
“He should be here with his family so he can say goodbye.”
Continental Airlines believe that a simple mistake has been made as their highest charge fee for changing flights is $200 – and that is for international flights.
A Continental Airlines spokesman said they are looking into the story.
He said: “Continental customer care will contact the customers directly. We certainly offer them our deepest condolences.”
Teenage model Gabrielle Joseph from UK killed herself under a train after a text from a boy cancelling a date at the cinema, an inquest heard today.
16-year-old Gabrielle Joseph told friends on Facebook: “I am going to kill myself tonight” after being upset when the date fell through.
Gabrielle Joseph, known as Gabby when she modelled for top fashion chain Hollister – was left “distressed” after receiving a message cancelling the date at 8:15 p.m.
The inquest heard Gabby Joseph died just 75 minutes later from multiple injuries after she was hit by the 75 mph Milford Haven to Cardiff train near her home on Easter Monday.
![Teenage model Gabrielle Joseph killed herself under a train after a text from a boy cancelling a date at the cinema Teenage model Gabrielle Joseph killed herself under a train after a text from a boy cancelling a date at the cinema](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Teenage-model-Gabrielle-Joseph-killed-herself-under-a-train-after-a-text-from-a-boy-cancelling-a-date-at-the-cinema.jpg)
Teenage model Gabrielle Joseph killed herself under a train after a text from a boy cancelling a date at the cinema
Gabrielle Joseph told friends on Facebook that she was upset that the boy had cancelled their trip to the cinema the following night.
The teenager, who was studying for her A-levels, lived with mother Julie Joseph, a hairdresser, and father Terry.
Weeks before Gabrielle Joseph’s death, her portrait had been chosen as an image of the week by Digital Photographer magazine.
Gabby Joseph wrote a three-page message on Facebook to her friends just before she died in April.
Coroner Philip Rogers gave copies of the message to the jury but he did not read it aloud.
Philip Rogers said: “The last part of the message is a clear indication on Gabby’s part that she is going to take her own life.”
Gabrielle Joseph was described as “bubbly” and “outgoing” with a busy life attending college along with two part-time jobs – including with one fashion retailer Hollister at its store in Cardiff.
The teenager dreamed of being a top fashion model – and on her own modelling website, she wrote: “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”
But her father Terry Joseph described her as being “groggy and pale” on the day of her death near her home in Briton Ferry, South Wales.
A jury in Swansea returned a verdict of suicide.
A statement from her family after the inquest said they were “devastated by the loss of our precious Gabrielle”.
The statement added: “We have received an overwhelming amount of support from family and friends, to whom we will always be extremely grateful.
“We are trying to move forward positively by attempting to increase awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding youth suicide and the impact it has on those left behind.
“We would like to take this opportunity to urge young people to share their problems by talking to someone they trust.
“No problem is insurmountable and there is always help available.”
Gabrielle Joseph’s mother said in April following the death: “She was the most beautiful girl in the world, both inside and out. Nothing will take away the pain and devastation this has brought to us as a family. We wouldn’t want anyone to go through this.”
On April 12, Gabrielle Joseph had written on her Twitter account: “So much to look forward to this summer.”
Author, essayist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens, who waged verbal and occasional physical battle on behalf of causes left and right, died last night, after a long battle with cancer, at 62.
Christopher Hitchens‘ death was announced in a statement from Conde Nast, publisher of Vanity Fair magazine.
The statement says Christopher Hitchens died last night at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of his oesophageal cancer.
A most engaged, prolific and public intellectual who enjoyed his drink (enough “to kill or stun the average mule”) and cigarettes, Christopher Hitchens announced in June 2010 that he was being treated for cancer of the oesophagus and cancelled a tour for his memoir Hitch-22.
![Author, essayist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens, died last night, after a long battle with cancer, at 62 Author, essayist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens, died last night, after a long battle with cancer, at 62](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Author-essayist-and-polemicist-Christopher-Hitchens-died-last-night-after-a-long-battle-with-cancer-at-62.jpg)
Author, essayist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens died last night, after a long battle with cancer, at 62
Christopher Hitchens, a frequent television commentator and a contributor to Vanity Fair, Slate and other publications, had become a popular author in 2007 thanks to his provocative best-seller, “God Is Not Great”, a manifesto for atheists that defied a recent trend of religious works.
His cancer humbled, but did not mellow him. Even after his diagnosis, his columns appeared weekly, savaging the royal family or reveling in the death of Osama Bin Laden.
“I love the imagery of struggle,” Christopher Hitchens wrote about his illness in an August 2010 essay in Vanity Fair.
“I sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risking my life for the good of others, instead of just being a gravely endangered patient.”
Eloquent and intemperate, bawdy and urbane, Christopher Hitchens was an acknowledged contrarian and contradiction – half-Christian, half-Jewish and fully non-believing; a native of England who settled in America; a former Trotskyite who backed the Iraq war and supported George W. Bush.
However, his passions remained constant and enemies of his youth, from Henry Kissinger to Mother Teresa, remained hated.
Christopher Hitchens was a militant humanist who believed in pluralism and racial justice and freedom of speech, big cities and fine art and the willingness to stand the consequences.
He was smacked in the rear by then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and beaten up in Beirut. He once submitted to waterboarding to prove that it was indeed torture.
Christopher Hitchens was an old-fashioned sensualist who abstained from clean living as if it were just another kind of church.
An emphatic ally and inspired foe, Christopher Hitchens stood by friends in trouble (Satanic Verses novelist Salman Rushdie) and against enemies in power (Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini).
His heroes included George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Gore Vidal (pre-September 11).
Among those on the Christopher Hitchens list of shame: Michael Moore, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong il, Sarah Palin, Gore Vidal (post September 11) and Prince Charles.
Christopher Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949. His father, Eric, was a “purse-lipped” Navy veteran known as The Commander; his mother, Yvonne, a romantic who later killed herself during an extra-marital rendezvous in Greece.
Young Christopher would have rather read a book. He was “a mere weed and weakling and kick-bag” who discovered that “words could function as weapons” and so stockpiled them.
In college, Oxford, Christopher Hitchens met such longtime friends as authors Martin Amis and Ian McEwan and claimed to be nearby when visiting Rhodes scholar Bill Clinton did or did not inhale marijuana.
Radicalized by the 1960s, Christopher Hitchens was often arrested at political rallies, was kicked out of Britain’s Labour Party over his opposition to the Vietnam War and became a correspondent for the radical magazine International Socialism. His reputation broadened in the 1970s through his writings for the New Statesman.
Christopher Hitchens advocated intervention in Bosnia and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
No Democrat angered him more than Bill Clinton, whose presidency led to the bitter end of Christopher Hitchens’ friendship with White House aide Sidney Blumenthal and other Clinton backers.
As Christopher Hitchens wrote in his memoir, he found Bill Clinton “hateful in his behavior to women, pathological as a liar, and deeply suspect when it came to money in politics”.
Christopher Hitchens wrote the anti-Clinton book, “No One Left To Lie To”, at a time when most liberals were supporting the president as he faced impeachment over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
He also loathed Hillary Rodham Clinton and switched his affiliation from independent to Democrat in 2008 just so he could vote against her in the presidential primary.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, completed his exit. He fought with Vidal, Noam Chomsky and others who either suggested that U.S. foreign policy had helped caused the tragedy or that the Bush administration had advanced knowledge.
Christopher Hitchens supported the Iraq war, quit The Nation, backed Bush for re-election in 2004 and repeatedly chastised those whom he believed worried unduly about the feelings of Muslims.
He also wrote short biographies/appreciations of Paine and Thomas Jefferson, a tribute to Orwell and Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring), in which he advised that “Only an open conflict of ideas and principles can produce any clarity”.
A collection of essays, “Arguably”, came out in September 2011 and he was planning a “book-length meditation on malady and mortality”. He appeared in a 2010 documentary about the topical singer Phil Ochs.
Survived by his second wife, author Carol Blue, and by his three children (Alexander, Sophia and Antonia), Christopher Hitchens had well-crafted ideas about posterity, clarified years ago when he saw himself referred to as “the late” Christopher Hitchens in print.
For the May 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, before his illness, Christopher Hitchens submitted answers for the Proust Questionnaire, a probing and personal survey for which the famous have revealed everything from their favorite color to their greatest fear.
What you should know about daily contact lenses
Contact lenses have become an everyday convenience for a lot of people in modern life. For those with impaired eyesight, there aren’t a great many options: the traditional glasses, innovative contact lenses and now the even more radical alternative, laser eye surgery. Lenses are certainly the most flexible and affordable option, and almost anyone can use them. Yet there are also several different types of cheap contact lenses to choose from. These are distinguished by the length of time for which they can be worn: dailies, weeklies, fortnightlies and monthlies. Each duration of lenses is slightly different, but the most comfortable and easy to wear type is the daily contact lens.
![Daily contact lenses Daily contact lenses](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/daily-contact-lenses.jpg)
Daily contact lenses
Daily contact lenses are perfect for people who are on the go
Daily lenses are great for people who don’t want to wear their lenses all the time, every day – for example if your eyesight is only slightly bad, or if you like to wear your glasses some of the time. Daily lenses are very thin and easy to insert and remove, and you can just throw them away after every use without having to worry about keeping them safe and well-preserved. They are perfect for people who are on the go and don’t have time to carefully put away their lenses at the end of the day. They are also some of the safest lenses because they are so thin if they do break in your eye or you happen to wear them accidentally overnight whilst you sleep, they are unlikely to do any serious damage.
Daily contact lenses are great for people on the go who want to wear contact lenses on an occasional basis. They are also relatively cheap, and work out very cost effective if bought in bulk and worn every now and again. For more frequent use, fortnightly or monthly lenses are probably a better option. Be sure to choose the best type of contact lens for your particular situation and needs.
A 15-year-old girl has been bitten by a police dog during a gun safety presentation at Nogales High School in Arizona on Thursday.
The dog’s handler and two other officers were putting on the gun safety presentation when the dog got out, police Capt. Heriberto Zuniga told the Nogales International.
Students suddenly ran into the classroom to tell them the dog was on the loose.
The dog’s handler ran out and secured his German shepherd, the Associated Press reports.
The 15-year-old girl student who was injured was taken to hospital with bites and scratches but wasn’t seriously hurt.
Heriberto Zuniga believes “somebody opened the door allowing the dog out of the vehicle”, a 2011 Ford Expedition specially outfitted as a canine unit.
The SUV was parked about 15 feet away from the classroom. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
The doors on the SUV are normally locked and officers were perplexed how a door could be opened from outside the vehicle, Heriberto Zuniga said.
The Ford Expedition was sent to a company in Tucson for inspection, and technicians discovered a fuse in the spring-loaded electronically controlled door had failed. It was replaced.
“Our first concern is the girl,” Heriberto Zuniga said.
The girl had bites to the arms and scratches on the lower back, but both Heriberto Zuniga and Principal Judith Mendoza-Jimenez said the teen was “OK”.
“We were extremely lucky. The dog is trained to bite and pull,” Heriberto Zunigo said.
“That didn’t happen. It appears in this case the dog realized the girl did not pose a threat.”
Judith Mendoza-Jimenez said: “It was an isolated incident. The dog got out of the car. We don’t know how.
“The girl saw the dog coming and she started running so the dog attacked her. Once she was on the ground the dog let her go.”
So far, nobody is confessing to having opened the door, “but we’re hoping that through interviews, the sheriff’s investigators will get some leads,” Heriberto Zuniga said.
Ross Truett Ashley, a Radford University student, has been identified as the gunman who shot a Virginia Tech police officer and then turned the gun on himself.
Ross Truett Ashley, 22, killed Deriek Crouse on Thursday after he had stolen a car the day before from a real estate office in Radford, which was found on the Virginia Tech campus after the attack, officials says.
Police have managed to piece together his last movements but not his motive.
![Ross Truett Ashley, a Radford University student, has been identified as the gunman who shot a Virginia Tech police officer and then turned the gun on himself Ross Truett Ashley, a Radford University student, has been identified as the gunman who shot a Virginia Tech police officer and then turned the gun on himself](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Ross-Truett-Ashley-a-Radford-University-student-has-been-identified-as-the-gunman-who-shot-a-Virginia-Tech-police-officer-and-then-turned-the-gun-on-himself.jpg)
Ross Truett Ashley, a Radford University student, has been identified as the gunman who shot a Virginia Tech police officer and then turned the gun on himself
According to police, Ross Truett Ashley, who was enrolled part-time at Radford, entered a real estate office with a handgun and demanded the keys to an employee’s vehicle.
The vehicle, a Mercedes SUV, was found the next day on Virginia Tech’s campus following the shooting.
According to police, Ross Truett Ashley shot Deriek Crouse while the officer was sitting in his car at about 12:15 EST on Thursday, before fleeing on foot.
Ross Truett Ashley’s body was found in a nearby car park by a police officer. He had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators have so far found no link between the gunman and Deriek Crouse, a married father of five and 39-year-old army veteran.
Virginia Tech was the site of the deadliest US school shooting in the country’s history, in 2007, when a gunman killed 32 people and himself.
About 150 students gathered in a candlelight vigil on Thursday evening at the campus memorial for the shootings of four years ago.
“Our hearts are broken again,” the university president, Charles W. Steger, said.
An official vigil was planned on Friday night.
Deriek Crouse was one of about 50 officers on the campus force and had served there for four years, joining about six months after the 2007 massacre.
Thirty-two people died in April 2007 when a 23-year-old South Korean, Seung-Hui Cho, went on a gun rampage before killing himself.
Deriek Crouse’s death came on the same day Virginia Tech appealed against a $55,000 fine imposed by the government for not reacting quickly enough to the 2007 massacre.
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Ford has decided to recall 128,616 of its Mercury Milan and top-selling Ford Fusion amid concerns their 17-inch steel wheels may fall off – while the vehicle is moving.
In some vehicles from model years 2010 and 2011, the wheel studs may fracture and make the car shake.
If ignored, the wheels may fall off a moving car, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its website.
Ford, the No. 2 U.S. carmaker, said the issue may stem from wheel mounting pads or rear brake discs that have been incorrectly built and cannot support the wheel.
![Ford has decided to recall 128,616 of its Mercury Milan and top-selling Ford Fusion amid concerns their 17-inch steel wheels may fall off - while the vehicle is moving Ford has decided to recall 128,616 of its Mercury Milan and top-selling Ford Fusion amid concerns their 17-inch steel wheels may fall off - while the vehicle is moving](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Ford-has-decided-to-recall-128616-of-its-Mercury-Milan-and-top-selling-Ford-Fusion-amid-concerns-their-17-inch-steel-wheels-may-fall-off-while-the-vehicle-is-moving.jpg)
Ford has decided to recall 128,616 of its Mercury Milan and top-selling Ford Fusion amid concerns their 17-inch steel wheels may fall off - while the vehicle is moving
The sedans were built at Ford’s Hermosillo stamping and assembly plant in Mexico in April 2009 and from December 2009 through November 13, 2010, reports Reuters.
One front wheel was affected and the other five incidents involved a rear wheel.
Cars with alloy wheels are not affected.
Ford said that 128,616 cars were affected by the recall.
Ford’s sales have rebounded partly because of the improved quality of its lineup, according to Reuters.
Ford Fusion sales were up about 15 percent for the first 11 months of 2011.
The sedan competes against Honda Motor Co’s Accord and Toyota Motor Co’s Camry.
Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos, Rita Hayworth’s grandson died after an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment on Sunday.
Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos had been battling a long and difficult drug addiction and had previously attempted suicide.
According to a friend, he had been in and out of drug rehab over the past few years though seemed in good spirits in the days leading up to his death.
Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos was found lying on his bed in his apartment after apparently suffocating himself with a plastic bag. An investigation is under way.
According to The New York Post, Andrew Embiricos’ friend Aaron Edwards found his body around 9:00 p.m. when he went to check on him Sunday because Andrew had missed several appointments.
It was reported that no note was found in Andrew Embiricos’ apartment at 270 West 17th Street, and his mother, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan rushed to the scene when she heard the news.
Andrew Embiricos, 25, was the son of Rita Hayworth’s daughter Princess Yasmin, 61, who was a product of Hayworth’s third husband, Prince Aly Aga Khan.
![Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos, Rita Hayworth’s grandson died after an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment on Sunday (pictured with his mother, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan) Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos, Rita Hayworth’s grandson died after an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment on Sunday (pictured with his mother, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan)](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Andrew-Ali-Aga-Khan-Embiricos-Rita-Hayworth’s-grandson-died-after-an-apparent-suicide-in-his-Manhattan-apartment-on-Sunday-pictured-with-his-mother-Princess-Yasmin-Aga-Khan.jpg)
Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos, Rita Hayworth’s grandson died after an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment on Sunday (pictured with his mother, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan)
A graduate of Fordham University with a degree in psychology, Andrew Embiricos founded a Facebook charity group that provided clothing to homeless people and was also said to have worked with HIV/AIDS advocacy groups and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Village Voice reporter Michael Musto, who knew Andrew Embiricos, wrote of his death: “I’m deeply saddened by the loss of someone with such radioactive charisma. He was a strikingly handsome, personable guy who radiated charm no matter what crisis he was weathering.”
Michael Musto also said that Andrew Embiricos had been in and out of drug rehab and had attempted suicide before, though revealed he had sounded cheerful in recent Facebook comments and was planning a trip to London with a friend.
In 2007, The Daily News’ Gatecrasher column revealed Andrew Embiricos led a double life as an amateur porn enthusiast who had posted porn videos on XTube under an alias.
Andrew Embiricos is both spiritual and Hollywood royalty, as his grandfather is Prince Aly Khan who was the leader of a sect of Islam.
Though there was no specific land that Prince Aly Khan resided over, he was considered the head of the Ismaili Muslims which are a branch of Shia Islam.
Prince Aly’s father was Aga Khan III, and in a very unusual move, he skipped a generation in the line of succession and passed his leadership role onto Prince Aly’s son, Prince Karim, (Andrew’s uncle).
While Aga Khan III officially said that the reason for the move was in order for the Ismaili people to have a younger ruler, many speculate that it was Prince Aly’s playboy lifestyle that put his father over the edge.
The marriage between Rita Hayworth and the Muslim prince was the second for Prince Aly and the third for Hayworth, who had just recently divorced the director Orson Welles when she met the Prince.
Prince Aly made headlines when he married screen siren Rita Hayworth in a lavish ceremony in Cannes, France in 1949, when the movie star was already two months pregnant with Andrew Embiricos’ mother Yasmin.
Yasmin was Rita Hayworth’s second child- and her only child from her marriage to the Pakistani prince, and she was an item of debate during the couple’s acrimonious divorce.
When Rita Hayworth found out that the Prince was spotted dancing with fellow actress Joan Fontaine, she threatened to divorce him and moved to Reno, Nevada in order to expedite the process.
The couple fought over how and where Yasmin would be raised, with the Prince insisting that she be raised Muslim and Rita Hayworth fighting for a Catholic upbringing similar to her own.
At one point, Rita Hayworth rejected a $1 million offer to raise Yasmin in accordance with her ex-husband’s Muslim faith. She issued a statement expressing her clear preference for an American upbringings, saying “Nothing will make me give up Yasmin’s chance to live here in America among our precious freedoms and habits”.
Yasmin ended up being raised by her mother in America, and the Prince died in a car accident when she was only 10 years old.
Yasmin married an economist and Greek shipping heir named Basil Embiricos in 1985, and the couple had Andrew. Much of her time was dedicated to her mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for many years before her 1987 death.
Yasmin was the president of Alzheimer’s Disease International and her son took an interest in the charity later in his life.
There has been an official statement from the Khan side of the family, with Andrew’s uncle Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the current leader of the Ismaili Muslims, though it is not clear how close the relatives were.
“We do not know what happened yet, and we would appreciate everyone’s privacy for the family,” said Kris Janowski, Prince Karim’s spokesman.
Andrew Embiricos graduated from Fordham University in New York and worked as a sales executive at Virgin Atlantic.
When he wasn’t working for the jet-setting crew in his role at Virgin Atlantic or previous job in travel sales at Fairmont Raffles-Swissotel, Andrew Embiricos was in New York’s jet set.
He appeared at a number of social events both in Manhattan and in the swanky Hamptons area of Long Island.
Andrew Embiricos was a constant presence at functions dedicated to raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease in honor of Hayworth.
Unsurprisingly, much of his charitable work was dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease, which was the cause of Rita Hayworth’s death in 1987.
The family is organizing Andrew Embiricos’ funeral through the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on the Upper East Side.
Chris Myers, the married Republican mayor of Medford, New Jersey, has quit – two months after he was accused of having sex with a prostitute at a California hotel.
The anonymous allegation against Chris Myers, a father-of-two, was posted on a website and included a photo of a man who appeared to be him, in his Calvin Klein underwear.
The person making the allegation claimed to be a prostitute.
The man said Mayor Chris Myers contacted him through a male escort website and they met at hotel in Newport Beach, California.
The man also complained Chris Myers paid him $500 but didn’t fulfill promises of a car and other gifts. He said on the website that the broken promise was the reason he was taking his story public.
![The anonymous allegation against Chris Myers, a father-of-two, was posted on a website and included a photo of a man who appeared to be him, in his Calvin Klein underwear The anonymous allegation against Chris Myers, a father-of-two, was posted on a website and included a photo of a man who appeared to be him, in his Calvin Klein underwear](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/The-anonymous-allegation-against-Chris-Myers-a-father-of-two-was-posted-on-a-website-and-included-a-photo-of-a-man-who-appeared-to-be-him-in-his-Calvin-Klein-underwear.jpg)
The anonymous allegation against Chris Myers, a father-of-two, was posted on a website and included a photo of a man who appeared to be him, in his Calvin Klein underwear
The website was taken down soon after becoming public.
Chris Myers, in an interview with a reporter for the Courier-Post newspaper in October, refused to comment on the allegations but didn’t deny them.
At a November township council meeting, Chris Myers denied the claims, calling the internet “a murky, anonymous place”.
Chris Myers’ resignation letter submitted to town officials Monday did not mention the scandal.
“My work commitments will not allow me to devote the time that is needed in the months ahead,” he wrote.
Some other council members have complained that the allegations against Chris Myers have gotten in the way of the business of Medford, a town of 23,000 residents about 20 miles east of Philadelphia.
Chris Myers missed one township council meeting and postponed another after the allegations surfaced.
He won the GOP nomination for a congressional seat in 2008 but lost the general election.
Chris Myers has been suspended as a vice president at technology manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp.
The latest episode of Kourtney & Kim Take New York opens with both Kris Humphries and Scott Disick awol, and Kim and Kourtney Kardashian surveying the damage from their Manhattan duplex.
Even Scott Disick’s parents are livid with him, while Kim Kardashian’s best friend Jonathan Cheban expresses his concern that Kris Humphries has fled to Minnesota.
Jonathan Cheban also calms Scott Disick’s father, who calls his son a “mental case” as Kourtney Kardashian sticks to plans to visit them in the Hamptons, even without their son.
Then Khloe Kardashian arrives to stage a double intervention.
“I miss my sisters so much, and it is the last big weekend of the summer and we are going to the Hamptons.”
First up, Khloe Kardashian tries to play peacemaker between Kourtney and Scott Disick, after receiving unprecedented calls from the angry Disick.
The crux of the problem for Kourtney Kardashian is soon pinpointed as Scott Disick’s drinking, and the destruction that habit wrought in Miami.
Khloe Kardashian tells Kourtney that Scott Disick wants to sleep in the same bed as her, and wants to feel like “he’s the man”.
She then turns to Kim, and tells her that she should go to Minnesota, and say: “I find it a little odd as it’s been a few months and usually the first year is when you’re most obsessed with that person.”
Khloe Kardashian also talks about how she scaled down work to focus on her relationship with Lamar Odom.
Kim Kardashian then cancels her Hampstons plans with her sisters and plans to head to Minnesota to spend time with Kris Humphries, vowing: “I will do whatever it takes to make it work.”
![Kim Kardashian cancels her Hampstons plans with her sisters and plans to head to Minnesota to spend time with Kris Humphries Kim Kardashian cancels her Hampstons plans with her sisters and plans to head to Minnesota to spend time with Kris Humphries](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Kim-Kardashian-cancels-her-Hampstons-plans-with-her-sisters-and-plans-to-head-to-Minnesota-to-spend-time-with-Kris-Humphries.jpg)
Kim Kardashian cancels her Hampstons plans with her sisters and plans to head to Minnesota to spend time with Kris Humphries
After a tanning session, a grumpy Kim Kardashian swears at her sisters for disrupting her lie in as they head to Long Beach for their weekend away.
Kim Kardashian rails at Khloe for not being supportive and says: “She doesn’t like Kris so she’s purposefully trying to mess with me.”
She then calls the girls in the car, and continues to vent on speaker-phone… prompting her sisters to say she is acting out of character.
“Think she’s just p***ed as she’s married to a barking dog,” Khloe Kardashian quips to Kourtney’s guffaws.
Kim Kardashian then sends Khloe messages over Blackberry messenger calling her sister an “evil troll” and “spiteful”.
Jonathan Cheban persuades Scott Disick to go to his parents’ home to see Kourtney Kardashian and their son, Mason.
Meanwhile Kim Kardashian arrives in Minnesota and initially the reunion is sweet.
But Kris Humphries said he missed his wife but not the chaos of their New York living arrangement and Kim Kardashian admits she is hurt that he is so comfortable with sleeping separately.
And the romantic tone is somewhat sullied when Kris Humphries tells Kim Kardashian he can tell she had been travelling because her armpits smelled of: “Uncooked fish and hot garbage.”
Back in the Hamptons, Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian are offered some alone time by Aunty Khloe, but Kourtney remains frosty to Scott.
“All she cares about is her role as a mom, but she has to remember that she has another boy, and that’s me,” Scott Disick complains.
Khloe Kardashian stages an intervention and negotiates “alone time” for Scott Disick with her sister Kourtney.
Meanwhile Kris Humphries is being told by his trainer that marriage “adds 50 pounds to you”, and Kris 6ft9 quips “and takes off inches”, before asking his trainer if he will come to New York.
Kim Kardashian attempts to be domestic, and prepares a homecooked meal after Kris Humphries “manfully” brings home the groceries.
“Is this what it feels like to be actually married,” Kris Humphries says happily.
Kris Humphries attempts to sell Minnesota and says he misses the lake, Kim Kardashian begs him to compromise but he says he “can’t afford to fly back and forth”.
But there is a hint of suspicion as Kris Humphries asks Kim Kardashian who “put her up to” the trip and domesticity.
Kim Kardashian cuts her finger and Kris Humphries says: “You really haven’t been in the kitchen for a while.”
Kris Humphries also mentions that Khloe Kardashian left Miami for Lamar Odom and says: “It’s great you have a role model like that.”
Khloe Kardashian opens up about Kim in the Hamptons: “I don’t want the things she wants in life, I don’t compete with her, she’s in her own lane.”
Kim Kardashian finally gets the sleep she’s been craving and decides to confront Kris, she tells him it’s his “off season” and he should be living with her, but Kris Humphries blames distractions.
Kim Kardashian yells: “You have to meet me halfway,” as Kris Humphries lolls on the sofa chanting: “You don’t want me to resent you baby, do you?”
She then storms off saying she’ll skype him to “say goodbye”.
Later they share a tender moment, and Kim Kardashian tells Kris Humphries: “We’re not going to have a successful marriage if we live in separate states,” which combined with tears prompts him to act.
Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian enjoy a double date but he confronts her about de-cluttering his parents’ home and throwing out a beloved chess set.
But then it’s back to New York for all key players, and the showdown, “the Hump is back!” Kourtney Kardashian yells as Kris Humphries insists he will make it work.
But Kim Kardashian ignores her sister Khloe as she gushes to Kourtney about Kris Humphries, Khloe calls her insincere and the sisters part on bad terms as Khloe leaves to fly back to LA.
After Demi Moore announced her intention to divorce her husband of six years Ashton Kutcher just last month, it appears that she is eager to move on, with a little help from her friends.
Demi Moore, 49, has been linked to CEO of BORBA skin care products, Scott-Vincent Borba, according to Radar Online.
Scott-Vincent Borba, 39, is said to have been a pillar of support for Demi Moore during her marriage breakdown.
A source told RadarOnline.com:
“They have known each other a long time and he’s really been there for her by her side through the whole Ashton thing.”
![Demi Moore, 49, has been linked to CEO of BORBA skin care products, Scott-Vincent Borba, according to Radar Online Demi Moore, 49, has been linked to CEO of BORBA skin care products, Scott-Vincent Borba, according to Radar Online](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Demi-Moore-49-has-been-linked-to-CEO-of-BORBA-skin-care-products-Scott-Vincent-Borba-according-to-Radar-Online.jpg)
Demi Moore, 49, has been linked to CEO of BORBA skin care products, Scott-Vincent Borba, according to Radar Online
While RadarOnline.com reported that Demi Moore and Scott-Vincent Borba were now “dating” and that the beauty guru was “smitten” with the actress, other sources say that they are just “platonic friends”.
Scott-Vincent Borba counts many Hollywood stars as his friends, and his products are used by the likes of Twilight starlet Ashley Greene and 90210’s AnnaLynne McCord.
When approached for a comment about the nature of his relationship with Demi Moore, Scott-Vincent Borba simply told RadarOnline.com: “I do not comment on my personal life.”
Scott-Vincent Borba was born on June 23rd 1973 in Visalia, California, the youngest child of Evelyn Ann and Robert Anthony Borba. Scott-Vincent has 4 siblings. He went to High School in Visalia and then got her major in psychology from the University Of Santa Clara.
This gorgeous guy couldn’t go unnoticed for modeling agents and so he became a model for Ford Models, but as the guy of many talents he also experimented with his dancing, singing and acting skills, so pretty much one thing led to another and he ended up moving to Los Angeles.
![Scott-Vincent Borba, 39, is said to have been a pillar of support for Demi Moore during her marriage breakdown Scott-Vincent Borba, 39, is said to have been a pillar of support for Demi Moore during her marriage breakdown](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Scott-Vincent-Borba-39-is-said-to-have-been-a-pillar-of-support-for-Demi-Moore-during-her-marriage-breakdown.gif)
Scott-Vincent Borba, 39, is said to have been a pillar of support for Demi Moore during her marriage breakdown
Once In L.A beauty knock on his door well that and science which is why he then became a licensed Esthetician and nutraceutical specialist, got himself a very important spot around major beauty companies like Sebastian, Neutrogena, Hard Candy, Wella, Shiseido, Murad and Joico, this got him enough experience to launch his own brand e.l.f. Cosmetics (eyes Lips face) in 2004 with Joseph Shamah and of course BORBA and the rest is history these days Scott-Vincent Borba founder and CEO of BORBA is one of the biggest name is skin and beauty care, he and his products are constantly feature in top fashion and entertainment magazines Vogue, W Magazine, People, Self, Marie Claire, InStyle, Redbook Times (who once referred to Borba as genius), Los Angeles Times and other newspapers. Scott-Vincent Borba has been a guest in many television shows like Extra, Good Morning America, CNN and ABC.
Meanwhile Demi Moore’s estranged husband, Ashton Kutcher, seems to be enjoying life as a single man.
Ashton Kutcher, 33, was spotted living it up during a visit to his hometown over Thanksgiving.
He is said to have been “swarmed” by girls during a night out in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Visiting local sports bars such as Bo James and Sports Column, Ashton Kutcher allegedly lapped up the attention lavished upon him by the local women, according to American magazine, Us Weekly.
“He was drinking beer, and girls kept coming up to him,” a source told Us Weekly.
“He loved the attention. Girls were hugging him and shaking his hand.”
However, clearly learning from past mistakes, Ashton Kutcher somewhat remained contained.
After a three hour drinking session with old friends at yet another watering hole by the name of Summit, Ashton Kutcher turned down an invite from a group of women to visit a strip club.
“He was swarmed by girls,” a source told Us weekly.
“A few tried to convince him to go to a strip club… but he declined!”
Despite partying it up in the Mid-West state, it also seems Ashton Kutcher is indulging in some soul searching.
Earlier this week Ashton Kutcher tweeted a picture of himself standing in a field, with a cow in the distance, and posted a short simple message: “Country Giving”.
American First Lady Michelle Obama revealed White House Christmas decorations for this holiday season.
American First Dog Bo is upstaging the Christmas decorations at the White House in 2011.
This year, the Obamas’ Portuguese water dog is in almost every room of the ground and State floors, ranging from a miniature licorice and marshmallow version to a felt design four-and-a-half feet tall.
Michelle Obama welcomed military families to the first viewing of the decorations.
![American First Lady Michelle Obama revealed White House Christmas decorations for this holiday season American First Lady Michelle Obama revealed White House Christmas decorations for this holiday season](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/American-First-Lady-Michelle-Obama-revealed-White-House-Christmas-decorations-for-this-holiday-season.jpg)
American First Lady Michelle Obama revealed White House Christmas decorations for this holiday season
“Shine, Give, Share” is the theme for the Obama family’s third Christmas in the mansion.
The theme translates throughout the public viewing space from gold foil leaf trimming to shiny quartz ornaments.
First Dog Bo made a special appearance in the State Dining Room as military children created holiday ornaments and decorated cookies.
Several decorations honour military families including a Gold Star Families Tree with ceramic gold ornaments carrying personalized messages by families. Tour visitors can also create handwritten notes for the troops.
The usual masterpiece of Christmas at the White House is the official tree, an 18-and-a-half-foot tall balsam fir in the Blue Room. The Christmas tree at White House is decorated with holiday cards created by military children, medals, badges and patches from all the military branches.
“I want to thank all of the troops, all of our veterans and all of our military families,” Michelle Obama said at the unveiling.
“Your service and sacrifice inspire us all.”
The Red Room of White House features fruit, foliage and flowers set in pepperberry- and cranberry-covered vases and a nine-and-a-half-inch tall Bo replica made of buttons.
Denver caterer and event planner David Bondarchuck, who designed the Green Room decorations, said he wanted to enhance the “simple beauty” of the room. “I didn’t want to overdo it,” David Bondarchuck said.
The room was decorated with various hues of green with a bit of “sparkle and shine” including pine cones, twigs, and clear and silver ornaments, David Bondarchuck said.
Bo made a special appearance in the State Dining Room as military children created holiday ornaments and decorated cookies with the White House chefs Cristeta Comerford and Bill Yosses, and White House florist Laura Dowling.
Michelle Obama drew a laugh from the crowd when she said Bo, “the most famous member of the Obama family,” has been a little confused walking around the house and seeing himself in “gigantic form”.
A total of 37 Christmas trees and a 400lb White House made of gingerbread, white chocolate and marzipan also decorate the executive mansion. Some of the handcrafted decorations are made of paper, felt and recycled cans.
Approximately 85,000 visitors are expected to tour the Christmas decorations this December, the White House said.
Nearly 100 holiday volunteers from across the country assisted with the decorations, transforming 16 distinct spaces into works of art.
Tomorrow, the Black Eyed Peas and Kermit the Frog will join the festivies, and the lineup of performers who will help light the National Christmas Tree near the White House.
Carson Daly will host the lighting ceremony, introducing performers including Big Time Rush, Ellie Goulding, the band OneRepublic, country star Rodney Atkins and singer Marsha Ambrosius.
President Barack Obama and his family will officially light the tree.
This will be the 89th year for the holiday tree lighting. The tradition began with President Calvin Coolidge in 1923.
This is the first lighting of a new National Christmas Tree that was planted in March.
It’s a 26-foot-tall Colorado blue spruce from a New Jersey tree nursery. Strong winds in February toppled the last tree that had stood on the Ellipse since 1978.
[youtube Pn6aDUP19To]
Sanford Ziff, a Miami millionaire philanthropist and the founder of Sunglass Hut is hoping to scrape his recently-deceased wife’s name off of the city’s Ballet Opera house in order to make room for the name of his new younger wife.
Sanford Ziff, 86, and he and his wife of 15 years, Dolores, were well-known for their charitable giving throughout Miami.
Just months after Dolores died this January, Sanford Ziff married his new girlfriend Baroness Beatrice Clancy, 68.
In the months following their July nuptials, Sanford Ziff publicly expressed his desire to change the name of the city’s Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House in the Arsht Center for performing arts.
“I’m considering name changes, especially at the Arsht Center,” Sanford Ziff told The Miami Herald.
“I haven’t quite decided yet. I still have to confer with the board.”
![Sanford Ziff, 86, married Baroness Beatrice Clancy, 68 Sanford Ziff, 86, married Baroness Beatrice Clancy, 68](http://www.bellenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sanford-Ziff-86-married-Baroness-Beatrice-Clancy-68.jpg)
Sanford Ziff, 86, married Baroness Beatrice Clancy, 68
Calls to the Arsht Center went unreturned, and there is no word yet whether the name change has been approved, but Sanford Ziff seems to think it won’t be a problem.
“I gave $10million to the Arsht Center, so I don’t expect it to be a problem. My friends have been wonderful about me getting married.”
Before Dolores Ziff’s death of pneumonia on January 11, she was widely lauded as one of the city’s best-known members of high-society, recognized for her charitable giving to the arts and education.
Little is known of Baroness Beatrice Clancy- including what region of the world she claims her title from- but the blonde was known for her role in an unidentified 80’s sit-com.
The one thing that is certain is that Beatrice Clancy’s love life has earned her some harsh headlines in the past.
In October, Beatrice Clancy was named in a lawsuit disputing the proper distribution of the will of Bernard Schoninger, a deceased millionaire developer, with his lawyers claiming she swindled the dying man out of millions.
The suit over Bernard Schoninger’s money, which has lasted since he died of lung cancer in 2003, said that Beatrice Clancy “abused Schoninger’s trust… coerced him into conveying millions of dollars to her… with his credit cards, department store charge cards and bank accounts”.
That hasn’t put a damper on Sanford Ziff’s love for her, as he denied any knowledge of any wrong doing.
“I don’t know anything about the lawsuit. But I know that my wife is the most generous, caring and giving person I ever met,” Sanford Ziff said at the time.
The move is being viewed as callous and insensitive of Sanford Ziff, and many local journalists and bloggers have written out against the move.
There has been no official comment from the former-couple’s son, one of Dolores Ziff’ three other sons from previous relationships did speak out.
Dolores Ziff’ son Barr Keator told The Miami Herald said he was “shocked and offended he’d [Ziff] even consider this. My mother moved him to supporting the Arsht project. She had the society connections”.
If the board eventually does approve, the name-changes may not end there. The former couple also leant their name to the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Family College of education at Florida International University.
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