WebProNews

Author: Pam Wright

  • Charlie Sheen Twitter Rant, Gone too Far?

    Charlie Sheen Twitter Rant, Gone too Far?

    Charlie Sheen is at it again. And it’s hard to decide whether to condemn or pity the man.

    He’s been on a Twitter rant and this time he’s attacking ex-wife Denise Richardson, along with Phil Robertson, who has been under fire and literally fired from A&E after comments he made concerning his beliefs on homosexuality.

    Sheen, 48, said in his tweet, “I came up with a PERFECT holiday idea! Denise and Phil Robertson should get married! then he can practice the Bestiality he hates!”

    In an earlier tweet, replete with typos, Charlie blatantly attacked Phil Roberson.

    It was the final in a series of messages, which TMZ claims the actor has sent Richards, in which he described her as “heartless” and “ugly.”

    The Twitter rant apparently comes over his anger that Sheen’s former wife is preventing him from seeing their daughters Sam, nine, Lola, eight, and their adopted 2-year-old daughter Eloise.

    His anger is blatantly apparant in his tweet that said, “lemme see if I got this straight; you won’t even spring the girls for 30 mins, from the 10 mil house I gave you, (100 yds away) to come down and open the gifts their dad bought them before they leave??”

    The Anger Management star went on, saying: “I hope your stocking is bronze-age coal stuffed along with an assortment of 8×10’s of yours so you can see how despicable and heartlessly ugly you and your fermented soul continue to be.”

    He added: “This is the worst Xmas I’ve ever had.”

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Patrick Stewart: Best Christmas Gift if in NYC

    A Christmas dream come true…

    A double-dose of X-men‘s Sir Patrick Stewart and Lord of the Ring‘s Sir Ian McKellen on Broadway!

    The always elegant and dapper British actors are performing in not just one, but in two alternating plays on Broadway this season: Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land” and Samuel Beckett’s classic “Waiting for Godot,”

    Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart sat down with “Power Players” to discuss how they manage to keep from mixing up their alternating characters.

    In an interview with “Power Players” the actors discussed how they keep from mixing up their alternating characters.

    “If you’re a teacher and you’re teaching geography from 10:00 to 11:00, but at 11:00 to 12:00, you start to teach math, you don’t get them mixed up,” McKellen said. “They’re different.”

    McKellen and Stewart have been running around NYC in bowler caps, calling themselves “Gogo” and “Didi,” their characters’ nicknames in “Waiting for Godot, enjoying local fare at Coney Island, peering out on the city from the top of the Empire State Building, and even meeting Elmo on “Sesame Street.”

    “It’s just been, for them, a time of their lives,” Stewart said.

    This is not the first time the two have acted on Broadway and they agree that the city has changed a bit.

    “In 1967, when I first came here and saw a man urinating on the statue of George M. Cohan in Times Square,” McKellen said. “Do that today and you’d be locked up in Bloomberg’s cellar, wouldn’t you?”

    “I worked in ’70, and for a three month, four month season, 41st Street, 42nd Street, Broadway, Times Square was our world. And it is almost unrecognizable now from how it was,” Stewart said.

    They love the fans in NYC and say they compare to no other.

    “The audiences are a constant — in my experience — for the last 40 years when I’ve been coming,” McKellen explained.

    “They are more enthusiastic about going out and enjoying themselves in front of a live performance than anywhere else in the world.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Dhoom 3 Beats Box Office Records

    Dhoom 3 Beats Box Office Records

    The Bollywood smash hit Dhoom 3 had the widest ever release for an Indian film in North America with shows in 236 theatres.

    Debuting in the United States with a weekend box office take of $3.3 million, it is unlike most Indian films in that it is set in Chicago, rather than India.

    The movie, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, centers on Aamir Khan, who plays an acrobat and illusionist named Sahir who lives in Chicago. It’s a departure from the first two Dhoom movies in that it only nominally follows the exploits of a pair of Indian buddy cops Jai and Ali.

    The thriller follows Sahir and his overwhelming desire to avenge his father’s destruction at the hands of a greedy banker. Set against the backdrop of the Chicago skyline, the film is a high-powered special effects extravaganza.

    Reviews have been mixed for the film, but many reviewers do rave over the special effects and the dazzling musical numbers that burst forth from the screen with color and excitement.

    The Hollywood Reporter said, “Imagine a mashup of Cirque du Soleil, steampunk and Bollywood — throw in a few motorcycle chases, a love story, a secret double, a heist and the year’s funkiest music — and you’re just beginning to scratch the surface of Dhoom 3. The crazy thing is, it all works.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Pancho Claus, the Tex-mex Santa, is Coming to Town

    Pancho Claus, the Tex-mex Santa, is Coming to Town

    Pancho Claus, the tex-mex santa, has made several appearances across Texas in recent weeks.

    Sometimes he has a black beard or just a mustache. Sometimes he wears a sombrero or a complete ‘zoot suit’. Sometimes he dons a pancho. Sometimes he rides a “burro” or donkey instead of a reindeer.

    Whatever the exact look, Pancho Claus the ‘other’ santa. The one from the South Pole.

    Pancho Claus is a result of the Chicano civil rights movement, historians say. Lorenzo Cano, a Mexican-American studies scholar at the University of Houston, says Pancho came in the 1970s as Mexican-Americans tried to “build a place and a space for themselves.”. This was the same era that saw an increased interest in Mexican art and cultural events like Cinco di Mayo..

    Pancho is adored throughout cities and towns in Texas.

    “We have kids that we ask, ‘Did Santa Claus come to see you?’ and they say, ‘No he didn’t. But Pancho Claus did,’” says Robert Narvaiz, vice commander for Lubbock’s American GI Forum and coordinator of that city’s Pancho project.

    “Pancho Claus comes from the South Pole, and Santa Claus comes from the North Pole, and every year they get together here in Lubbock,” says Narvaiz. “Santa … was he Anglo? Was he black? Was he Hispanic? I guess everybody is trying to do the same thing: Add a little of their own culture.”

    In many cities, Pancho Claus visits charity events, hands out toys and meals to low-income families and has become so popular that he needs an information officer.

    “The end result,” says spokesman Patrick Resendez, “is putting that smile on their face.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Cameron Diaz Releases Book on Health and Nutrition

    As the season for New Year’s resolutions is in full swing, Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz, 41, offers her approach to health and beauty in a new book due out at the end of December.

    “The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength, and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body” will be released on December 31 and is available for preorder at Amazon for $16.43.

    According to a promo for the book, it is “grounded in science and informed by real life, The Body Book offers a comprehensive overview of the human body and mind, from the cellular level up. From demystifying and debunking the hype around food groups to explaining the value of vitamins and minerals, readers will discover why it’s so important to embrace the instinct of hunger and to satisfy it with whole, nutrient-dense foods. Cameron also explains the essential role of movement, the importance of muscle and bone strength and why we need to sweat a little every day.”

    She admits in the book that she wasn’t always such a healthy eater. “If you are what you eat, I was a bean burrito with extra cheese and extra sauce, no onions,” she said.

    The book is a result of the changes she needed to make in her own life. She says that her poor diet had an adverse affect on her skin and body, so she decided to make changes that included learning about nutrition.

    Image via Instagram

  • Rebecca Romijn’s Family Christmas card a Menagerie

    W.C. Fields is famous for saying never work with kids and animals.

    Didn’t look like Rebecca Romijn,40, and Jerry O’Connell, 39, took his advice when they decided to take a family Holiday portrait in matching green Christmas pajamas.

    “Happy Holidays from all nine of us!!” Romijn wrote on the Twitter post along with a pic of her big family, including twin girls Dolly and Charlie, three dogs and two cats.

    The family is shown in Twitter posts trying to wrangle in the kids, the animals and still keep up the good cheer.

    Their twin daughters turn five this year and the couple have said they don’t plan on having any more children.

    Image via Twitter

  • Eagles Cheerleader Honored as a Hometown Hero

    First Lieutenant Rachel Washburn, 25, a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader from 2007 to 2009 turned soldier, who finished her second tour in Afghanistan in November, was honored Sunday by the Philidelphia Eagles as a Hometown Hero.

    The daughter of Army helicopter pilot and Air Force pilot Lon Washburn, she was a military brat who moved many times during her childhood.

    “I’m from a little bit of everywhere,” Rachel said. “I definitely didn’t mind the military lifestyle as far as moving. I always thought that my dad had a pretty cool job and that certainly helped push me in that direction.”

    It was her father who nominated her for the Eagles award.

    “I watched her go through two tours in Afghanistan and all of the things that she sacrificed,” he said. “It was not a very easy couple of tours and I just really kind of thought, ‘Man, what a homecoming that would be if (the Eagles) recognized her for that.’”

    Washburn, who received the Bronze Star Medal, was one of the first females on the Army’s new Cultural Support Program, which is attached to Special-operations combat forces like the Army Green Berets, Rangers, and Navy SEALs..

    As part of the Cultural Support Program, she went on missions with special operations forces, advocating for Afghan women and children.

    “We could be their voice during missions for engagement to ensure security on objectives, and we could help search and secure the females and the children during missions,” she told the Philadelphia Eagles website.

    Rachel was not born in Philadelphia but has always loved the city. She decided to go to Drexel University and it was during that time she began cheering for the Eagles.

    “The hometown part was really interesting, because she’s kind of from everywhere, but she calls Philadelphia her home, and she chose Philadelphia to call home,” her father said. “Even on her military paperwork and whenever people ask her where she’s from, she says the same thing every time. She says ‘I’m kind of a military brat and I’ve lived all over, but I call Philadelphia home.’”

    “I’m incredibly excited and humbled by it,” Washburn said. “I’m so honored because I call Philadelphia home, I love the Eagles so much and I’m just excited to be home in Philadelphia and watch the Eagles win.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Mega Millions Prize Could Grow to $1 Billion

    No one won the Mega Millions prize Friday evening, bringing the prize to over $550 million for next week’s drawing, and that figure could easily rise, even up to $1 Billion, according to the lead director of Mega Millions.

    “We’ve never had a jackpot at this level in December leading into the holidays,” said Paula Otto, the Virginia Lottery’s executive director and Mega Millions’ lead director. “If we keep rolling, we could well be at a billion dollars going into Christmas.” .

    Otto told The Associated Press that she wouldn’t be surprised if the Mega Millions jackpot surpasses the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever claimed, $656 million in March 2012.

    Had someone matched all six numbers (19-24-26-27-70, Mega Ball: 12) on Friday, it would have been that jackpot’s second-highest prize and the winner would have had a cash option of $228 million before taxes.

    Although nobody hit the biggest prize, nine people in Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey and two apiece in Florida, Michigan and New York, Otto won $1 million prizes for matching the first five numbers.

    Otto said sales were 40 percent ahead of projections, prompting officials to boost the jackpot to the jackpot from $400 million to $425 million.

    Mega Millions was changed in October in order to grow bigger jackpots in a shorter amount of time. This also decreased the odds of a person winning the top prize to about 1 in 259 million from 1 in 176 million..

    “In some ways we’re in uncharted territory because we have this new matrix,” Otto said. “… How wonderful that the changes seem to be working immediately to get us bigger jackpots.”

    Image via YouTube

  • China Moon Landing Happened on Saturday

    China became the third nation in history to ‘soft-land’ a spacecraft on the moon Saturday, following in the footsteps of the United States and the former Soviet Union.

    The unmanned spacecraft, Chang’e-3, touched down on the lunar surface, the first to do so in nearly four decades and comes two weeks after lift-off from Earth.

    It will release will release a six-wheeled, solar-powered lunar rover called the “Jade Rabbit”, which is “Yutu” in Chinese, named for the pet of goddess Chang’e, who is said to live on the moon. It is equipped with four cameras and two mechanical legs that can dig up soil samples to a depth of 30 meters.

    China’s information technology ministry said in a statement that the 140 kg. rover carries an optical telescope for astronomical observations as well as an ultraviolet camera that will monitor how solar activity affects the various layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, the troposphere, stratosphere and ionosphere.

    The rover will remain on the moon for three months.

    “It’s still a significant technological challenge to land on another world,” said Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane’s Space Systems and Industry. “Especially somewhere like the moon, which doesn’t have an atmosphere so you can’t use parachutes or anything like that. You have to use rocket motors for the descent, and you have to make sure you go down at the right angle and the right rate of descent and you don’t end up in a crater on top of a large rock.”

    Bond notes that is has been slow-going for the Chinese space program, but they are making great strides.

    “They are taking their time with getting to know about how to fly humans into space, how to build space stations … how to explore the solar system, especially the moon and Mars,” Bond said. “They are making good strides, and I think over the next 10, 20 years they’ll certainly be rivaling Russia and America in this area and maybe overtaking them in some areas.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Dennis Rodman: BFF with Kim Jong Un?

    Dennis Rodman: BFF with Kim Jong Un?

    Think Dennis Rodman needs some new friends!

    The former NBA star will be heading to North Korea next week to represent the U.S. as coach to the elusive country’s basketball team, despite the announcement on Friday of the execution of leader, Kim Jong Un’s uncle.

    Rodman, who considers Kim a close friend, decided to proceed with his long-scheduled trip Monday to train the national team. Rodman will be celebrating Kim’s birthday in Pyongyang on Jan. 8 with an organized exhibition game. Declining to reveal names, he has stated that several professional basketball players have agreed to play in the game.

    Rodman’s announcement came soon after Kim’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek’s execution was announced from Pyongyang on Friday. The reported number two leader of the country was executed as a reputed traitor.

    “The Big Bang in Pyongyang” as the exhibition game is being called, will counter the U.S. team against the North Korean team. During the second half of the game, the two teams will be a mixture of U.S. players teamed up with North Korean players.

    “Yes, I’m going to North Korea to train the basketball team,” he told The Associated Press by phone. “I’m going to bring American players over there. Yes I am. I’m going to be the most famous person in the world when you see American people holding hands and hoping the doors can be opened. If they can. If they can. If they can. I’m going. I’m going back for his birthday. Special.”

    His first visit to North Korea was with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by New York-based VICE television in February 2013.

    Rory Scott, a spokesman for Rodman’s sponsor Paddy Power, said that “taking a pragmatic view, we have spoken to many experts familiar with recent developments in DPRK and it was the general consensus that it is safe for us to travel there. The purpose of this trip is not to get involved with politics but to prove once again that sport has the power to rise above all issues. And this will be a unique sporting occasion.”

    Image via Youtube

  • Julia Roberts Pregnant… Not!

    Julia Roberts said it loud and clear in response to David Letterman’s inquiry into pregnancy rumors on his show Friday.

    “No!” said the 46-year-old Pretty Woman actress.

    Whoa! OK, Julia! Got it, no baby for now!

    Rumors had been making the rounds all week that Roberts was pregnant after photos revealed what could have been a baby bump.

    If the rumors had been true, this would have been the fourth child for the actress and husband, Daniel Moder. The couple is already parents to twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 9, and son Henry, 6.

    During the adorable interview with Letterman, Roberts remarked that the late night talk host has sent her flowers every year on her birthday for the past 15 years. When she went on to mention that he forgot this year, Letterman surprised her with a huge bouquet that had Roberts quipping, “I feel like Miss America!”

    See the complete interview with David Letterman here:

    Image via “>YouTube

  • Megan Hilty Dishes on Marriage, Honeymoon

    Megan Hilty Dishes on Marriage, Honeymoon

    Sean Saves the World star, Megan Hilty, recently spoke about her Las Vegas marriage to Brian Gallagher, saying that things haven’t changed all that much. But, with a smile she added, “I just get to introduce him as my husband now. I think other people treat us differently, than anything else.”

    The intimate, Las Vegas wedding ceremony last month included Sean Saves the World costars Sean Hayes, Echo Kellum and Tom Lennon in attendance. Several weeks later, a three-hour reception was held at the Sherman Oaks house that Hilty and Gallagher have been renting, outside of L.A.

    As to why Vegas?

    “I love Vegas,” she said, “And I love The Palazzo and The Venetian, so we got married in The Venetian and stayed there for the weekend. It was a very intimate setting, we had our parents and our siblings—he’s from New York and I’m from Seattle, so they met in Vegas.”

    According to Hilty, the couple have yet to make definite honeymoon plans.

    “I don’t know,” said Hilty. “We’re gonna go to New York next week, just to see New York at Christmas time. So maybe we’ll count that as our honeymoon?”

    Image via Twitter

  • Chicago Plant Explosion: RAW video

    Chicago Plant Explosion: RAW video

    Two people were injured when a chemical plant exploded south of Chicago Friday.

    The company, Blue Island Phenol, manufactures acetone and phenol which is used to manufacture certain herbicides, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

    According to the company, the cause of the explosion is attributed to a power outage after a storm, stopping cooling and circulation systems, allowing the heat of the phenol to rise to a level where the chemical exploded.

    Television stations in Chicago showed firefighters trying to douse the blaze four hours after the initial explosion, which occurred around 11:30 a.m. Several more explosions occurred subsequently.

    The injured were transported to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, suffering burns.

    Image via Youtube

  • Penelope Cruz: the Hottest Bod of 2013’s Secrets

    Fitness Magazine named Penelope Cruz, Hottest Celebrity Body of 2013, beating out other notable hot bod’s, Jennifer Lawrence and Sandra Bullock.

    The 39-year-old, mother-of-two credits her post-baby shape to a way of life that includes dancing, a vegetarian diet, a Mediterranean way of eating, breast feeding and chasing after her little ones.

    According to Motley Health, Cruz does not diet and exercise per se, but lives in such a way that she keeps her body in tip-top shape. She became a vegetarian in 2000 and adheres to a Mediterranean way of eating, which dictates how and when she eats, as opposed to following a strict diet.

    “I know how to cook and it’s important to me to make fresh food every day. I don’t do crazy diets, just the good Mediterranean food that I love because it’s important to eat well,” she said in an interview. with the India Times.

    While the sultry, Spanish actress loves pasta, bread and wine, she is careful about excess. A self-named rehabilitated “junk food junky”, Cruz decided years ago to make changes to her lifestyle, reconciling herself with food, opting to eat moderately and healthy. She also gave up smoking, began to exercise and meditate, and made sure she got enough sleep.

    Cruz had her baby girl, Luna, in July 2013 and wowed the red carpet at the opening of her film, The Counselor, with her quick return to her pre-baby shape.

    Breastfeeding is another of her secrets to her fabulous body.

    “I think I’m very lucky that I can breastfeed my children because sometimes even if a woman wants to, she can’t,” said cruz in an interview. “I breastfed my son for 13 months and I plan to do at least the same with my daughter. That’s an amazing thing for babies, but it’s also really good for the mother because it regulates your body again after pregnancy.”

    Image vie Wikimedia

  • Candace Cameron and Her Struggle With Bulimia

    Candace Cameron, the 37-year-old actress best known for her role as T.J. Tanner on the television show, Full House, recently discussed her struggle with bulimia in an interview with Yahoo’s OMG! Insider co-anchor, Thea Andrews.

    While discussing her book, Balancing It All, Cameron opened up that while she managed to avoid addictions and other pitfalls like so many other child actors, she fell into the incessant cycle of binging and purging after she married former NHL player, Valeri Bure, and moved to Canada in 1996 to support his career as a hockey player.

    She told Andrews that bulimia entered her life when she started using food to comfort her as she navigated the waters of being a new wife, and keeping her own career as an actress afloat. The binging and purging soon got the better of her and she realized she needed to do something about the food disorder.

    “Clearly it wasn’t a healthy way to deal with things. That’s really when my faith was kicked up a notch, and I sought comfort in my relationship with God and not with food,” she told Andrews in the interview.

    Never a very thin actress like many of her contemporaries, Cameron credits the producers and cast of Full House for protecting her with body image when she was young.

    “I think I was very protected by my parents and the producers. They all had a sensitivity about it,” she said in the interview. “Even the one episode of Full House where D.J. goes on a crash diet for a few days … they asked me would I feel comfortable doing an episode about that.”

    Known as being very vocal about her faith and her Christian walk, Cameron went on to explain how her eating disorder strengthened her faith and relationship with God.

    Watch the video below where she talks about her struggle with Bulimia.

    Image via Twitter

  • Trader Joe’s Plowed by Car Leaving 15 Injured

    Fifteen people were injured, two seriously, after a car plowed into a Trader Joe’s on Long Island Friday.

    According to reports, a woman driving a white car smashed into the front window of the Oceanside grocery store after hitting two other cars in the parking lot.

    Twelve people were sent to the hospital, two in serious condition. Most of the injured suffered broken bones, head injuries and minor abrasions. One of the injured was pinned by the car at the time of the accident.

    According to witnesses, the car driven by an elderly woman crashed into the front window around 1 p.m. It appears she simply lost control of the car. The woman was shaken up by the accident, but was uninjured.

    “When the car came through, it was just like shattering glass, and the next thing we knew the registers were like dominoes and went down, 1-2-3,” said Elizabeth Donnelly.

    “There was somebody trapped, pinned up against the wall, half under the car.” said a man who worked in a store nearby. “I saw firefighters try to extricate the person.”

    “It’s god awful,” he said. “You never know. It could have been here.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Arrowhead Homicide: Three Arrested after Man Dies

    Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte announced that a death that occurred in the parking lot of Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is being investigated.

    There is no official update from police at this time, but KCTV reports that a man and his son returned to their Jeep in Parking Lot A during the game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday to find someone sitting in their SUV, “rifling through the vehicle.” A struggle then ensued between the two men.

    As the man and the Jeep owner began to fight, the owner’s young son ran for help. The man found in the Jeep, described as in his mid 20s, collapsed onto the pavement during the fight and was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

    Police officers were called to the scene at 5:20, arresting three persons of interest.

    (image)

    Kansas City police Officer Darrin Snapp said an autopsy will be vital in determining the cause of death since the man wasn’t stabbed or shot.

    “The main thing we’re trying to figure out now is exactly how this person died. The hospital says there’s no obvious signs of how he passed away, so we’re still waiting on that. We’re going to investigate it as a homicide until we find out exactly how the person died,” Snapp said.

    “Everyone was very cooperative when we got here,” Snapp said. “Everyone that we believed was involved is still here and we’re talking to them. Right now they’re persons of interest. Like I said, until we find out exactly how this person passed away, we’re going to investigate it as a homicide. They’re not suspects right now until we find out exactly what happened.”

    Image via Twitter

  • ‘Catching Fire’ Crushes Box Office

    “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” crushed box office records over the Thanksgiving holiday, earning a whopping $75 million, beating out the previous Thanksgiving record holder, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which earned $57.5 million in 2001 over a three-day period.

    “Catching Fire”, based on the series of books by Suzanne Collins, earned the biggest-ever gross for a film from Wednesday to Sunday over the Thanksgiving holiday. It brought in $110.2 million, raising its domestic total to $297 million.

    “All of these records being broken, it’s like a true snowball effect,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak. “Overall, this is the biggest Thanksgiving weekend for the industry ever. Last year was the Thanksgiving record holder, but this one-two punch with ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Frozen’ was just amazing.”

    Internationally, “Catching Fire” continues to hold strong, grossing $573 million worldwide.

    Coming in second over the weekend, “Frozen”, became the largest opening for Walt Disney Animation Studios. It scored $93 million over the five days, beating Disney’s previous winner, “Toy Story 2,” which earned $80.1 million in 1999.

    “For a company whose foundation was built on animation, to have this as the biggest opening ever is a pretty extraordinary thing,” said Dave Hollis, executive vice president of distribution at Walt Disney Studios, adding that the box office returns for “Frozen” far surpassed studio expectations.

    “We came into the weekend feeling like anything that would exceed the result from ‘Tangled’ from a couple years back would be great,” Hollis continued.

    “Tangled” opened with $68.7 million in 2010. “We thought something in the $70-$80 million range is what might be possible with ‘Frozen.’ We are hoping it lends itself to a big, long payoff after this great start,” said Hollis.

    Disney’s “Thor: The Dark World” dropped to No. 3 this weekend, earning $11.1 million. Globally, it continues to boost Disney’s earnings with a total of $591.1 million.

    Universal’s romantic comedy, “The Best Man Holiday”, held the fourth slot with $8.5 million, while the thriller, “Homefront,” starring Jason Statham and James Franco, secured the No. 5 slot with $7 million.

    Image via YouTube

  • Cyber Monday Ad Warning: Look out for Scams

    Cyber Monday Ad Warning: Look out for Scams

    Cyber Monday shoppers be warned. Scammers are waiting to pounce on naive internet shoppers.

    According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, cyber thieves target scams based on their knowledge of the hottest gifts on the market, leading to fake contests on social media sites, dangerous links, and texts and emails that could lead to identity theft.

    Other recommendations to stay safe include making sure a website is legitimate and secure before ordering, install anti-virus software and a firewall, pay for credit card protection and print records of online transactions.

    “When you see a post on someone’s wall or a tweet from a colleague, treat it the same as an unsolicited email,” says Chester Wisniewski, an expert with Sophos, on their blog. “Don’t click it. Go to the real source and, if necessary, contact the sender to confirm its veracity.”

    (image)U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal warned of “tricks and traps” some advertisers use to try to lure consumers into making purchases on Cyber Monday.

    During a recent news conference highlighting what he calls laughable, ludicrous and deceptive ads, the Connecticut Democrat said that consumers should be on the lookout for scams.

    He says scams may include overly broad advertisements, hidden fees when it’s time to check out and emailed coupons that hide the fine print in links to other websites.

    It is estimated that shoppers will spend $62 billion online this holiday season – up about 15 percent from 2012, says eMarketer, a firm that tracks e-commerce.

    Image via YouTube
    Image via Wikimedia

  • Jennifer Lawrence’s Fear Factor

    Jennifer Lawrence’s Fear Factor

    Jennifer Lawrence may play the tough girl on film, but in real life she is scared to death of spiders.

    Lawrence has revealed that she started crying after seeing a spider on the set of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, because she is so scared of them.

    The actress apparently got so freaked out when she came across spiders in the Hawaiian jungle where she was filming “Catching Fire”, that she began to sob.

    ”Everybody told me there were no spiders, so when I saw three, I started crying. Jungles are not easy when you’re afraid of everything,” she said.

    ”I think I am a legitimate alcoholic. No, what’s it called? An Arachnophobic,” said the 23-year old actress who plays Katniss Everdeen in series of films.

    Filming the third part of the franchise, “Mockingjay”, has already started and Lawrence admits she would love a bit of a break.

    ”I would like to slow it down. You don’t want more than one or two movies out a year; people get sick of you,” she said.

    She continued: ”I think youth and caffeine have kept me going until now. To unwind? I do nothing other than bad TV and a couch.”

    Meanwhile, the stunning star opened up to Empire magazine recently regarding fame and what she’s had to give up to be a Hollywood star.

    The actress admitted that it’s the small things like visiting a coffee shop with her friends that she misses the most now that she is an international celebrity.

    “My personal life is now ruined,” she explained: “I’ve had to create a new one and get used to this new life. It’s hard and it takes time, but I’m sure I will get it.”

    “Catching Fire” raked in over $161 million over the opening weekend to make it the biggest November opening of all time.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Merrill Newman ‘Apologizes’ to North Korea

    Merrill Newman ‘Apologizes’ to North Korea

    As the United States urges Pyongyang’s release of US veteran, Merrill Newman, who has been detained for more than a month in North Korea, the country’s official KCNA news agency reports that the elderly Palo Alto resident has issued an apology to the secretive country.

    Newman 86, read an apology for crimes he allegedly committed during the Korean war and for “hostile acts” against North Korea during a recent visit to the country.

    Newman’s alleged apology, dated 9 November, could not be independently verified. This is not the first time that North Korea has been accused of coercing statements from detainees.

    There has been no word from Newman directly and curiously, the apology was riddled with stilted English and grammatical errors, such as “I want not punish me”.

    “I have been guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against DPRK government and Korean people,” Newman purportedly wrote in a four-page statement, adding: “Please forgive me.”

    According to The Guardian, the statement said the war veteran allegedly attempted to meet with any surviving soldiers he had trained during the Korean War to fight North Korea, and that he admitted to killing civilians and brought with him an e-book criticizing North Korea.

    Newman was taken off a plane on October 26 by North Korean authorities while preparing to leave the country after a 10-day tour.
    Newman’s son, Jeffrey Newman, said his father had wanted to return to the country where he spent three years during the Korean war.

    International affairs experts believe North Korea may have issued Newman’s apology in order to begin talks with the United States for his release.

    “North Korea wants negotiations with the United States on his release,” said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

    “The release of Newman, probably together with another American detained earlier, may come before the end of this year if Washington sends a special envoy,” he said.

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