According to the former Cleveland Cavalier Lorenzen Wright's family members, Memphis police told the Wright family that the NBA player, who has been missing for over a week, has been found dead. The details when you read on...
Amber aint slick. Chick is Tweeting (and deleting) messages about jetting to New Orleans to get some nookie from her new boo Reggie Bush. But we can read between the legs.
That and Diddy and Co.'s new VIBE cover when you read on...
Amber wants the world to know she's getting it in with New Orleans Saint Reggie Bush. And now that he's back in the N.O. for training camp, chick decided to make a trip too. Here's what she Tweeted hours ago and then decided to delete:
Find out which Atlanta housewife will not be a member of the show next season. We've got the info plus Zoe Saldana's new CK Envy ads when you read on....
Kelly Rowland was spotted out in Austrailia to launch the new iPhone 4 over there and looked absolutely FAB doing so. More pics of her plus another video of Kanye performing at Facebook headquarters when you read on....
She visited the Optus Live Lounge in Circular Quay, Sydney, Austrailia to launch the new iPhone and took a moment to pose with some fans.
Here are some candid shots of her exploring the streets of Sydney.
She looks like she's having a great time. Get it Kelly!
After hitting the Facebook HQ earlier this week, Kanye spread his social networking love and surprised the folks over at Twitter Headquarters yesterday with a surprise performance:
Chris Tucker owes some serious millies to the IRS.
We've got the deets plus Estelle's new vid when you read on...
Chris owes over $11 million in back federal taxes, according to these new docs. How? Here's the breakdown, according to TMZ:
2001 -- $4,007,794.34
2002 -- $5,060,074.23
2004 -- $55,544.84
2005 -- $660,414.94
2006 -- $1,788,080.91
Which all equals $11,571,909.26. Chris hasn't scored a major payday since his $20 millie role in Rush Hour 2 back in'01. Looks like he's going to have to nab that role in the last installment of Friday afterall. Every little bit helps...
Here's Estelle's new video ft. Nas and John Legend for "Fall In Love". And cutie actor Jessie Williams is her leading man. Loving this song....
New York City agreed Tuesday to pay more than $7 million to settle a wrongful death civil suit lodged by the fiancée and pals of Sean Bell, the unarmed black groom gunned down by cops on his wedding day four years ago. Read on for the details...
The settlement, one of the largest in NY state history, ends a four-year legal battle by the would-be bride Nicole Paultre Bell and two men wounded in a 50-shot barrage that claimed her lover's life.
Under the agreement, the city will pay $3.25 million to Sean Bell's family estate, which is controlled by Paultre Bell. Bell's pals Joseph Guzman, 35, who was shot 11 times in the incident, will receive $3 million and Trent Benefield, 27, who was shot three times, will be granted $900,000.
"I believe the settlement is fair," said Paultre Bell, the mother of Bell's two daughters, Jada, 7, and Jordyn, 4. "No amount of money can provide closure for losing Sean. I don't think there will ever be closure."
Guzman and Benefield, were in a car with Bell when undercover cops opened fire on them outside the Club Kalua strip club in Queens on Nov. 25, 2006, hours before Bell was to get married. Detectives Michael Oliver, Marc Cooper and Gescard Isnora were all acquitted in a 2008 trial of manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges stemming from the Bell shooting. The cops fired on Bell's lurching car after mistakenly believing someone inside had a gun and fearing that Bell was trying to run them down.
The U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn declined to prosecute the cops for civil rights violations.
The NYPD still has yet to decide whether to discipline a total of five officers involved in the shooting.
Six months after the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas-- a case in which no arrests have yet been made -- MTV News has obtained a 29-page document prepared by police in Compton, California, which reveals that only a few days after Shakur's murder last September 7th, Compton police had already learned the name of the man some local gang members believed to be responsible for the crime.
This document, it must be emphasized, is based largely on the words of Compton police informants. It does not legally prove who killed Tupac, nor does it legally prove that his death was a gang murder. Proof is the job of the courts. However, the Compton police document does contain a startling account of the events that led up to Shakur's murder and a shot-by-shot account of the five day blood bath his killing seems to have set off in Compton. A gang-war that apparently left three men dead and ten wounded. It also deals with a host of questions as to the identity of the man who allegedly shot Tupac Shakur.
This 29-page statement of probable cause offers some intriguing answers. It was written up by Compton police last September and was attached to a motion filed in February by Suge Knight's defense team as part of their attempt to overturn Knight's probation violation. Based largely on information provided to the Compton police by their gang-informants, the statement (or affidavit) gives an unverified but considerably detailed account of gang-related activity in Compton before and after the shooting of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas on the night of Saturday, September 7th.
According to the statement of probable cause, five days after Shakur was shot, an informant with special knowledge of the activities of the Bloods -- a man identified in the statement as CRI or "confidential reliable informant" #3 --provided police with a sequence of events which suggested that the shooting in Vegas might have been the culmination of a beef that began at the Lakewood Mall in Compton. The informant told Compton police that a man named Travon Lane -- a Death Row affiliate also known as "Tray" -- was at the mall's Foot Locker in July or August of last year when he was confronted by several members of the Southside Crips. There was a scuffle during which Lane's Death Row medallion was taken from him.
Fast forward to September 7th in Las Vegas -- the night of the Tyson/Seldon fight at the MGM Grand. According to the affidavit, CRI #3 told the Compton cops that moments after the bout, Travon Lane was walking through the hotel as part of Death Row's entourage when he spotted a man later identified as Orlando Anderson. The same man, Lane thought who'd taken his medallion at the Lakewood mall two months ago. Lane pointed the man out to Shakur. Shakur confronted Anderson with the question "You from the South?" -- an apparent reference to the Southside Crips. A melee ensued -- captured on tape by MGM Grand surveillance cameras.
Little more than an hour later, as a line of Death Row cars snaked its way to a party at Knight's Club 662, a white Cadillac with California license plates -- according to one report -- pulled up to the right of Shakur and Knight's vehicle. According to the affidavit, a passenger opened fire with a Glock .40 caliber handgun, grazing Knight and critically wounding Shakur -- as members of the Death Row entourage watched from the cars behind Knight's.
In the affidavit, the informant is also said to have told Compton police he heard Travon Lane at Club 662 declaring that the shooter was the same man who'd been in the melee at the MGM Grand and that the shooter was "Keefee D's nephew." According to police, Orlando Anderson is the nephew of the man known by Compton police to be Keefee D. Both are reputed to be Southside Crips.
Back in Compton on September 9th, the day according to the affidavit that another informant noticed a late-model white Cadillac being driven into a local auto shop by Orlando Anderson's cousin-- three separate Blood sects convened at Lueders Park. The topic of discussion, according to the affidavit? The need to retaliate against the Southside Crips for the attack on Tupac Shakur. Compton police were told by their informant that five sites for drive-by shootings were chosen. Three potential targets were singled out.
At 2:58 that afternoon at a location on East Alondra, one such man -- whose name was mentioned to Las Vegas police as someone who might have been riding in the white Cadillac -- was shot in the back. The war was on.
Two days later at 9:05 on the morning of September 11th, Southside Crip Bobby Finch was gunned down on South Mayo. The next day, Vegas police told Compton cops that they'd received calls that Finch had been riding in the white Cadillac. By early morning on the 14th, five more people had been shot in what Compton police regarded as related assaults. Meanwhile, three Bloods were fired on and wounded in two separate shootings. On September 13th, the day Tupac Shakur died, two more Bloods were shot and killed by an assailant who fled on foot.
As the gang war raged, police in Compton and Las Vegas continued to receive unsubstantiated tips that "Keefee D's nephew" or " Baby Lane" -- aliases for Orlando Anderson -- had shot Tupac Shakur. On the 13th, the affidavit says, one reputed member of the Bloods identified the man who'd shot him in Compton two days earlier as Orlando Anderson. On the 20th, an eyewitness fingered Anderson as the triggerman in an April 1996 homicide. Around that same time, the affidavit states, an informant told one police officer that Anderson had been spotted with a .40 caliber Glock handgun -- a potentially significant tip, since it hadn't yet been revealed publicly that a .40 caliber Glock had been used in the attack on Shakur.
On October 2nd, as part of a gang sweep, Compton police arrested Anderson in connection with that April 1996 homicide, but the District Attorney's office declined to press charges and asked police to gather more evidence. Compton police told MTV News that Anderson remains the prime suspect in the April 1996 homicide, and charges are expected to be formally filed imminently. As for Anderson's attorney, he declined to comment on this or any other allegations contained in the affidavit. And says that he has not been informed that his client remains the prime suspect in that April 1996 homicide. He has previously denied that Anderson was in any way involved with the killing of Shakur.
While testifying under oath in Suge Knight's probation hearing, Orlando Anderson invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked if he was a member of the Crips and denied that Knight had assaulted him. Vegas police questioned Anderson briefly in October after which one Vegas cop was quoted as saying that Anderson was not a suspect in Shakur's murder. Four months later, Vegas Sgt. Kevin Manning told the Los Angeles Times that Anderson was indeed a suspect in Shakur's killing, but that the department lacks hard evidence against him. Vegas police say that since the night of the shooting they have not been able to speak to Travon Lane -- who the affidavit asserts was involved with the scuffle with Anderson at the Lakewood Mall, who pointed Anderson out to Shakur at the MGM Grand and was heard at Club 662 hours after the shooting IDing Anderson as the shooter. Efforts by MTV News to talk with Travon Lane were unsuccessful.
The Las Vegas Shooting
Tupac was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 7, 1996 after attending the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon. He died in the University Medical Center hospital six days later from the four gunshot wounds. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Compton police, although they never officially solved the case, concluded that Shakur was shot by Southside Crips after the Tyson fight. Hours before the shooting, Tupac had been involved in a fight in the lobby of the MGM Hotel after the Tyson-Seldon fight. Shakur started the fight when he noticed 21-year-old "Baby Lane" Anderson, who had beaten up one of his bodyguards in a shopping mall a few weeks earlier, lingering nearby. Anderson and others were interviewed by police later in connection with the murder, though no suspects were ever publicly named.
Shakur and the crew at Death Row generally depended on members of the Bloods gang for security, while Biggie and the Bad Boy Crew depended on Crips members for security when visiting California. An investigation by the Las Vegas Times, while not naming its gang-member sources, stated that Biggie (who was also in town for the fight) offered to pay the Crips in exchange for Shakur's death. It was noted by the Compton Gang Unit that the Crips were bragging about the killing soon after returning to Compton. Compton Police were disappointed with the lack of initiative showed by Las Vegas police in pursuing the killing.
After the fight with Anderson, Tupac left the MGM Hotel, went to the hotel with his fiance, Kadida Jones. Then, he met up with Suge to go to Death Row's Club 662 in Las Vegas. The two drove together in Suge's 1996 black BMW sedan e38 7-series, part of a larger convoy of cars including some of Shakur's friends, the Outlawz, and bodyguards. Tupac was not wearing a bulletproof vest that night, even though Death Row had provided him with one. At 11:15 P.M., Suge's car stopped at an intersection on East Flamingo Road. A white Cadillac was seen pulling up to the passenger side of the car, and firing thirteen rounds into the car as Tupac attempted to climb to safety in the back seat. Tupac was hit four times, twice in the chest, and in his arm and thigh, while Suge was scratched by a piece of flying glass (while later claiming in an interview he had a bullet stuck in his head). Tupac then went on to live off of life support for 7 days and his mother finally had the plugs pulled on September 13, 1996 at 4:03 PM. After his death, Shakur was cremated, and his mother reportedly spread his ashes in L.A. saying that Tupac would want to be in the city he loved best.
The high profile nature of the killing and ensuing gang violence caught the attention of British filmmaker Nick Broomfield who made the documentary Biggie & Tupac, which examines the lack of progress in the case and the controversy and theories surrounding it by speaking to those close to Biggie, Tupac and the investigation.
Shakur's close childhood friend — and a member of the Outlawz — Yafeu "Kadafi" Fula, was in the convoy when the shooting happened and told police he might be able to identify the assailants. He, too, was killed shortly thereafter in New Jersey. Two teenagers took plea bargains and are serving time for Fula's murder. The eerie video for the single "I Ain't Mad at Cha", shot a month before his death, showed Tupac being shot and killed and later in heaven jamming with Billie Holiday, Donny Hathaway, Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Robert Johnson, and Sammy Davis Jr.
The first shooting (New York)
In 1994, shortly before being sent to prison for sexual abuse , Shakur was shot five times in an apparent robbery attempt outside a New York music studio. Tupac recalled the circumstances shortly afterwards in an interview with Vibe magazine. He was with his close friend Stretch, manager Freddie Moore, and another friend on the night of November 30, 1994.
They arrived at a studio so Shakur could do some recordings for an acquaintance, Booker, whom he didn't quite trust. When they got to the studio, Tupac was suspicious of two black men in their thirties, both dressed in army fatigues, because neither of them seemed to acknowledge his presence. He noted that he was less wary of them than he should have been because he "had just finished smoking chronic". Shakur simply assumed they must be security for The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie), whom he was still friends with at the time.
The two men, whom Shakur described as looking like they were from New York, came at him with identical 9mm handguns, and forced him and his friends to the floor. Their aggression was focused almost exclusively on Tupac, although they did threaten to shoot Stretch as well. They forced everybody to lie on the floor, but Tupac remained standing. He later said he had frozen. They demanded he hand over his jewelry, which he refused to do. After grabbing at one of the armed men, Tupac was shot in the leg, through his scrotum. He fell to the floor, and was shot a further 4 times, which he later claimed not to have realised; he believed he was being kicked & that his head was being beaten upon the floor. He recalled seeing white light, but never believed he could die. He lay silent, pretending to be dead. He was shot 5 times in total and robbed of the gold jewelry he was wearing, worth over forty thousand dollars.
Upon regaining consciousness, he entered the elevator and went upstairs to safety, where his then-friends Biggie, Puffy, Little Caesar, and others were waiting. Shakur described his friends as acting very strangely, almost surprised at his being alive. His first words after realizing how severe his wounds were, having been shot in the head and the scrotum, were "Oh, shit. Roll me some weed. Call my mom and tell her I've been shot." He was also very surprised that none of his other friends, who were also wearing jewelry weren't robbed. He survived, and left the hospital a day after, against doctor's orders because he was feeling harassed by phone calls and the doctors. He showed up in court just few days afterwards in a wheelchair to face his verdict in the sexual assault case.
Usher took the stage at Sumfest in Montego Bay, Jamaica this weekend. And he brought Chris Breezy on stage with him to do a surprise performance. And Elephant Man was there too.
More pics of Ursh, Breezy, and Breezy's capris when you read on...
There's nothing like your gal pal cheering you up with a night out after a big ass break up. So Serena Williams and Christina Milian may have been consoling each other as they hit Madeo in Beverly Hills last night for sme dinner.
We've got more pics of the fab ladies when you read on...
The newly single Serena hopped out of a car to meet up with Chris last night at the swanky Beverly Hills restaurant Madeo. 'Rena was with her crutches earlier int he day, so it looks like she can now go without:
Christina's post-baby bod looks hotter than ever. Chick is looking fantabulous these days. WORK.
Obviously homeboy in the background thinks so as well.
Looks like she's not letting her divorce blues get to her. This is the best "F*#$ You!" to Terius Nash that she could have ever done.
For Rihanna, looks like all those futuristic outfits she wears on her tour have been for research purposes. Learn more about her new movie role when you read on....
R&B chick Rihanna will make her film debut in Universal's Battleship, the Hasbro adaptation to be directed by Peter Berg.
The film takes place across the seas, over the skies and land in a battle for planet survival against a superior force. And it's set for release on May 25, 2012.
Rihanna's last movie was the direct-to-dvd film 'Bring It On: All or Nothing,' where she played herself. This ought to be interesting...
Drake got a preview of Lil Wayne's 'The Carter IV' over the phone. Find out what he had to say about it plus Nelly's Missouri concert in trouble and video of Lauryn Hill's concert performance in Rwanda when you read on...
The last time Lil Wayne rapped over the telephone, his rhymes were added as a remix to Drake's 'Light Up'. Now, Weezy gave Drake a preview of his upcoming Carter IV.
Drake says, " He called me the other day from jail and rapped me two verses, man." Apparently, the verses affected Drake. The rapper continued saying, "It really made me, like, 'I gotta do something different. I gotta get sh-- together,' because he's really got bars and he's rapping from a broader life perspective, saying these things people love to hear."
Drake also says he will definitely be featured on Lil Wayne's new album. Since Weezy's gone till November, I'm sure he has plenty of time to work on his rhymes.
The first rap show to ever happen in Branson, Missouri has run into some problems. Concert promoter Paul Dunn wanted to have a concert featuring Nelly in the parking lot of The Grand Palace. The parking lot can hold 6,000 people and the building has space for 4,000 inside.
The city planning director denied the application for several reasons including noise, parking, and crowd control. However, Dunn began to promote the concert before the application was submitted. About 3,000 tickets have already been sold. He is appealing the denied request and the concert is expected to bring in $500,000 for the resort city. Branson is about four hours from Nelly's home in St. Louis.
14% Fully Recover After First Episode of Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder
Researchers followed 118 individuals in their first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. After 5 years, only 13.7% of these individuals fully recovered. "Full recovery required concurrent remission of positive and negative symptoms and adequate social/vocational functioning (fulfillment of age-appropriate role expectations, performance of daily living tasks without supervision, and engagement in social interactions) for 2 years or more."
In its January 2010 Update, the United States Government Accountability Office predicts that the US government will be insolvent by 2020. Specifically (page 6) it states: ".. roughly 93 cents of every dollar of federal revenue will be spent on the major entitlement programs and net interest costs by 2020." Thus, in less than ten years, there will essentially be no money left to run the US government - 93% of all tax revenues the US government collects will go to pay social security, Medicare, Medicaid and the interest on the US national debt. This implies no money left over for welfare, unemployment benefits, education, defense, homeland security, or any other government activity. The former Soviet Union did not collapse because it was attacked; it collapsed because it was broke,
We now offer state-of-the-art, interactive psychiatric tools at our new website, MyTherapy. You can use your computer to: make psychiatric diagnoses, keep a private diary (to document, graph and statistically analyze your week-by-week progress), test your brain (memory, concentration, verbal fluency, orientation, and thinking speed or executive functioning), and statistically test whether your current treatments have been successful.
"Within the borough unemployment rates among people with longer-term mental health problems increased steadily during the 1990s, despite a decreasing rate of general unemployment for the majority of that period. Unemployment among people with long-term mental health problems increased from 80% in 1990 to 92% in 1999, and the unemployment rates among those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia increased from 88% in 1990 to 96% in 1999.
BP's chief executive Tony Hayward is expected to stand down following widespread criticism of his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Mr Hayward's performance in the crisis has been widely criticised.
A statement issued by BP said a board meeting was being held on Monday and "no final decision has been made".
But BBC business editor Robert Peston says the board has in effect made up its mind that Mr Hayward is going, even if the decision is not yet ratified.
The firm, which said over the weekend that Mr Hayward had the board's full support, added that "any decisions will be announced as appropriate".
Mr Hayward is likely to be replaced by his American colleague, Bob Dudley, who has taken charge of the clean-up operation.
As speculation strengthens that today will be BP CEO Tony Hayward's last day, some are already looking forward to his yet-unnamed successor.
"He has to go," U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told "Good Morning America." "This is the leader of this company. He was the one that allowed this company to run up the worst safety record of any company n the world."
Reports that Hayward, whose bumbling public statements have often served only to rub salt into the wounds of Gulf Coast residents, would step down this week surfaced Sunday.
BP's board is expected to meet today, one day ahead of its announcement of second-quarter earnings, and a spokesman has said over the weekend that no final decisions have been made regarding Hayward's future with the company.
If and when Hayward bows out, he is likely to be succeeded by BP's managing director and Mississippi native Bob Dudley.
Markey said today that while Dudley, who's been running BP's daily operations for more than a month, is a better choice, he suggested Dudley's assertion last month that the relief well would be completed by this week was not a coincidence given the deadline for the second-quarter earnings announcement.
Still, he called Dudley, "a step in the right direction."
Markey has been especially critical of Hayward, who infamously told the world after the spill, "I just want my life back."
THE US government secretly advised Scottish ministers it would be "far preferable" to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya.
Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.
The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was freed in August last year on grounds that he had terminal cancer.
The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama's claim last week that all Americans were "surprised, disappointed and angry" to learn of Megrahi's release.
Scottish ministers viewed the level of US resistance to compassionate release as "half-hearted" and a sign it would be accepted.
US OFFICIALS secretly advised Scottish ministers that freeing the Lockerbie bomber was “far preferable” to jailing him in Libya, it was claimed yesterday.
Leaked letters suggest President Barack Obama’s government considered compassionate release a better option to locking Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, 58, in prison in his home country.
And it raised fresh questions about the condemnation from the President and other senior US politicians over the Scottish Government’s decision to release the bomber last August.
A letter sent by Richard LeBaron, Deputy Head of the US Embassy in London, to the Scottish Government stated the US wanted Al Megrahi to stay in jail.
But if he was going to be released then Mr LeBaron said that conditional release on compassionate grounds would be “far preferable to prisoner transfer”.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said: “I think a fair description of the American Government’s position is that they didn’t want Al Megrahi to be released.
“However, if he was to be released, they thought it was far preferable for compassionate release as opposed to the prisoner transfer agreement.” Mr Salmond said this opposition was probably because the “deal in the desert” signed by ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, which paved the way for the prisoner transfer agreement, was signed at the same time as an oil deal with Libya.
The American Ambassador to the UK Louis Susman said yesterday the US was examining if its correspondence could be released.
Al Megrahi was jailed for blowing up Pan Am flight 103 in 1988, killing 270 people. He was freed after doctors said he had three months to live.
A pair of U.S. senators and the families of Lockerbie bombing victims will hold a news conference Monday in Times Square ahead of this week's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the matter.
Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey will chair Thursday's hearing on last year's release by Scotland of a Libyan man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pam Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York also is a member of the committee.
They were part of a group of four senators who met for 45 minutes last week with Prime Minister David Cameron, asking the British leader for an independent investigation into the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and any possible involvement by oil giant BP might have had. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg also attended. All are Democrats.
Most of the victims in the bombing were Americans. The flight was headed from Frankfurt, West Germany, to New York via London, England, when it exploded in the air.
Al Megrahi was convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison. The Scottish government released him on compassionate grounds last August after doctors said he had terminal prostate cancer and just three months to live.
Al Megrahi is still alive, and news reports in recent days have questioned whether he was as sick as depicted. Questions also have been raised about whether a deal was cut to release him to protect British business interests in Libya, possibly involving oil giant BP.
One of the biggest surprises at this year's Comic-Con was the debut of a new "Thor" trailer that offered the first taste of what we can expect when Marvel's god of thunder arrives on the big screen.
While we've seen images of Chris Hemsworth as Thor already, the footage shown at the Marvel movies panel featured the actor in action as the film's title character — and so much more. When MTV News snagged some time with Hemsworth, we asked him about the character's iconic look.
"I put the costume on for the first time and had the camera test and Anthony Hopkins was there with me," he told MTV News. "We looked at each other and he said, 'God, there's no acting required here, is there?'"
"It sells the picture," he continued, "and you can't feel like anything but that character when you put that thing on."
According to Hemsworth, the significance of the moment wasn't lost on him, either.
"There's a very iconic sort of moment for myself putting it on," he said, "but a lot of people who have been involved with the comics and the stories for years just said, 'Wow, this is it.'"
Hemsworth also described the various iterations of Mjolnir, Thor's magical hammer, created for the film — as well as the importance of his character losing it.
"There were a few different versions for different shots — the closeup one, and the stunt one," he said. "The main one was very heavy, a beautifully polished, metal, wood, leather-looking thing. It was an impressive thing. You feel naked without it after holding it for a while."
"That was the transition of coming to Earth, as Thor minus his powers and costume was very much a fish out of water," he explained. "It probably helped for the story, because he's meant to feel that way."
DEARBORN, Mich., July 26, 2010 – Ford Explorer – the vehicle that defined a segment – has been completely reinvented, raising customers’ expectations of sport utility vehicle (SUV) fuel efficiency, safety, technology, capability and quality.
“The all-new Explorer will deliver today’s SUV buyers the attributes they really want and value, and a few they might not even have dreamed of,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. “We’re proud to introduce the new Explorer to customers and fans around the world today and pleased to begin a whole new era that blends strong SUV fuel economy and performance.”
The all-new Explorer launches today to its Facebook friends in a unique social media initiative, followed by reveal events throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Shattering SUV fuel economy and performance expectations
“The new Explorer simply does everything well,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “It raises the bar for ride and handling on the road and transforms the off-road experience. It’s the hands-down winner for towing capability and ease. All this capability – and three rows of seating – with amazing fuel economy will make Explorer the absolute right choice for families with a sense of adventure.”
Ford just pulled the sheet off the brand new 2011 Ford Explorer. It’s a bit different than we’re used to. Traditionally next-gen SUVs are bigger and badder than the previous generation. While the 2011 Ford Explorer is slightly longer than its predecessors are, the engines are smaller, the ride height is lower, and the overall off-roading capabilities are dramatically reduced. Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief even goes as far as stating that it’s not an SUV at all. But I don’t think Ford would argue.
Ford is attempting to reinvent the SUV for the 21st century or some nonsense like that. But what they’ve created is more crossover than SUV. Where do I start?
The new Explorer is built around the same front-wheel drive unibody platform currently employed by the Taurus and Flex. It’s rigid frame now supports all the underpinnings as well as the exterior sheetmetal. Saving weight (and lower manufacturing costs) is the reason. But because this SUV is based on a passenger car’s platform, that means there’s going to be some compromises.
The leaked war logs show that Task Force 373 uses at least three bases in Afghanistan, in Kabul, Kandahar and Khost. Although it works alongside special forces from Afghanistan and other coalition nations, it appears to be drawing its own troops from the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and to travel on missions in Chinook and Cobra helicopters flown by 160th special operations aviation regiment, based at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
US soldiers pursue militants in Helmand province. The shadowy Task Force 373 meanwhile focuses its efforts on more than 2,000 senior Taliban figures on a target list. Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
The task force 373 is a special unit of the UN army soldiers; task force 373 is assigned to kill 2000 Taliban leaders in their list called the JPEL. Recently it has been reveled that the task force 373 has killed a big number of women and children and even some Afghanistan police officers, they have killed almost all people that have come into their path. The human rights defenders in all around the world are strongly condemning such action of the task force 373 and after a long struggle the reports have come in front and the truth has been revealed. The TS has killed innocent people in the Afghanistan war and this should not be allowed and strong actions should be taken against such killings, said a human rights activist. Another incident has also come in front that in the night when the Task force was on a mission looking for it targets, the TS came across a building where someone stoned a torch on them, the task force soldiers started shooting in
the night in the direction from where the light was coming and AC-130 was summoned which fired and strafed the area with gun fire. The TS was looking for a taliban commander Qari-UR-Rehman but the original operation was aborted and the task force returned to the base later on it was revealed that the people killed in the firing were Afghan police officers, seven of them died and four of them got badly injured. After the leakage of such incidents people are raising fingers against the task force and they are demanding to stop such operations.
The wiki-based site for whistler-blowers, Wikileaks, today released what it called "an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010."
"The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related detail."
On a dedicated page for the reports, WarDiary, the editors explained their choice in releasing these documents.
"This archive shows the vast range of small tragedies that are almost never reported by the press but which account for the overwhelming majority of deaths and injuries resulting from the war."
The information on the site is provided in a number of formats data, including CSV, SQL formats, month-by-month and KML mapping data.
One of the main points in the introductions, that soldiers tend to minimize the value of the lives of those they fight and maximize the value of their own men might be shocking to anyone who's never had experience with the military. Or a passing relationship with common sense. (Members of the military tend to engage in war - which is sui generis).
Wikileaks says it has held back some material.
"We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source. After further review, these reports will be released, with occasional redactions, and eventually, in full, as the security situation in Afghanistan permits."
It is possible the information came to Wikileaks via Army intelligency's Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, who is currently under military arrest on a variety of charges. Wikileaks' founder,
Julian Assange, spent some time hiding out in his native Australia, apparently out of fear of U.S. prosecution, before appearing at a TED conference in Oxford, England on July 19. Although he wasn't before, it wouldn't be altogether surprising to see Mr. Assange indicted now, though on what and by which court is uncertain. Should the material prove useful for Afghani insurgents, however, and directly result in loss of life, the lengths to which U.S. officials will go will doubtless increase substantially.
However, the material is dense and jargon-ridden. It will take time to assess.
LONDON -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says there appears to be evidence of war crimes in the thousands of pages of leaked U.S. military documents relating to the war in Afghanistan.
Assange told reporters Monday that "it is up to a court to decide really if something in the end is a crime. That said ... there does appear to be evidence of war crimes in this material."
On Sunday, the online whistle-blower WikiLeaks posted some 91,000 leaked U.S. military records of six years of the war, including unreported incidents of Afghan civilian killings and covert operations against Taliban figures. Both the White House and Downing Street have condemned the release.
But there may be more. Assange says that the group has files that concern every country in the world - though on other subjects.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LONDON (AP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says there's "no reason" to doubt the reliability of 91,000 pages of leaked U.S. documents relating to the war in Afghanistan.
"In media history up to now, the press is free to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the laws of a given nation protect it. But Wikileaks is able to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the logic of the Internet permits it. This is new."
From my internal notebook and Twitter feed, a few notes on this development:
1. Why didn’t Wikileaks just publish the Afghanistan war logs and let journalists ‘round the world have at them? Why hand them over to The New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel first? Because as Julien Assange, founder of Wikileaks, explained last October, if a big story is available to everyone equally, journalists will pass on it.
“It’s counterintuitive,” he said then. “You’d think the bigger and more important the document is, the more likely it will be reported on but that’s absolutely not true. It’s about supply and demand. Zero supply equals high demand, it has value. As soon as we release the material, the supply goes to infinity, so the perceived value goes to zero.”
2. The initial response from the White House was extremely unimpressive:
This leak will harm national security. (As if those words still had some kind of magical power, after all the abuse they have been party to.)
There’s nothing new here. (Then how could the release harm national security?)
Wikileaks is irresponsible; they didn’t even try to contact us! (Hold on: you’re hunting the guy down and you’re outraged that he didn’t contact you?)
Wikileaks is against the war in Afghanistan; they’re not an objective news source. (So does that mean the documents they published are fake?)
“The period of time covered in these documents… is before the President announced his new strategy. Some of the disconcerting things reported are exactly why the President ordered a three month policy review and a change in strategy.” (Okay, so now that we too know the basis for the President’s decision, that’s a bad thing?)
Prader Willi Syndrome:Prader Willi Syndrome is also known as PWS is a rare genetic chronic disease. PWS symptoms may be different. Some of the most common symptoms are muscle weakness and unsatisfiable appetite, which leads to obesity. Other symptoms and characteristics include problems with behavior, speech disabilities, violations of OCD type, short statures, incomplete sexual development, and much more.
Disorders named after the doctors that first noticed it in 1956 by Andrea Prader, Alexis Labhart and Heinrich Willi. There is still much unknown about this disorder. It is known that Prader Willie Syndrome genetic and should not be confused with a hereditary disease. Prader Willi Syndrome occurs only in the period from 1 to 10 000 and 1 in 25,000 live births.
Prader-Willi Syndrome is an uncommon genetic disorder that causes poor muscle tone, low levels of sex hormones and a constant feeling of hunger among other things. People with this disorder have a problem with their hypothalamus, part of the brain that controls feelings of fullness or hunger. Thus, these people never feel full and have a constant urge to eat, ultimately leading to life-threatening obesity.
Prader-Willi syndrome in most cases result from a spontaneous genetic mutation in genes on chromosome 15 that occurs at conception. In rare cases, the mutation is inherited.
What are the symptoms of Prader-Willi syndrome?
Often people with this disorder experience symptoms in two stages.
Stage 1 - Infants with Prader-willi syndrome can have low muscle tone affecting their ability to such properly. Because of this, they need special feeding assistance to help them eat and they may have problems gaining weight. The situation gets better as they grow older.
Stage 2--Between the ages of 1 and 6 years, the children with the disorder may feel constant hunger, have an insatiable appetite, meaning they never feel full.
Although they eat more, but because they have less muscle mass, they do not burn as many calories as the normal peers leading to the development of life-threatening obesity if the diet is not kept under strict control.
Other symptoms that may affect people with Prader-Willi syndrome include
Behavioral problems such as stubbornness or temper tantrums
Delayed motor skills and speech due to low muscle tone
Cognitive problems, ranging from near normal intelligence to mild intellectual and developmental disabilities; learning disabilities are common
Repetitive thoughts and verbalizations
Collecting and hoarding of possessions
Picking at skin
Low sex hormone levels
Prader-Willi syndrome is considered a spectrum disorder, meaning that not all symptoms are expected to occur in everyone with the disorder and the symptoms may range from mild to severe.
People with Prader-Willi syndrome often have some special mental strengths as well, such as skills in jigsaw puzzles. If obesity can be prevented, people with the syndrome can live a normal lifespan.
What are the treatments for Prader-Willi syndrome?
There is no cure for Prader-Willi syndrome. But, early intervention can help people with the disorder build skills for living a better life. Early diagnosis is essential and luckily a health care provider can simply do a blood test to check for Prader-Willi syndrome.
Exercise and physical activity can help control weight gain and develop motor skills. Speech therapy may also help with oral skills.
Human growth hormone can help increase height, decrease body fat, and increase muscle mass. However, nothing can help control appetite in those with Prader-Willi syndrome.
The foundation of the virulent Justin Bieber syphilis rumor.) The phrase in this case was Dahvie Vanity raped Jessica redactedJessica being Jessi Slaughter 4chans earlier victim. The bomb was primed with a post on /b/ telling … I really wouldnt be bowled over if he did molest that girl. Wouldnt be the first time hes touched minors. Guy was convicted of raping a 15 year ancient makes out with tween and teens at his show (and there is photographic evidence.
The Megan Fox molests black baby is the next rumor from the Hollywood after the rumors of Justin Biebers death. Megan Fox is a famous Hollywood artist born. … The Megan Fox molests black baby is just another rumor and that will do nothing more than just cause some disturbance in her fans. Everyday celebrities are made target of rumors like death pregnancies extra-marital affairs etc. The Megan Fox molests black baby rumor was spread very successfully on the internet
From last one hour everyone is searching for ‘Justin Bieber Molests Fan’. What you think did Justin Bieber really Molests Fan? No there is not really anything like Molesting. Justin Bieber wanna be bad man in his upcoming appearance on CSI drama TV Episode. We got a hold of the original picture and posted it below.
Justin Bieber tweeted this photo to his fans earlier today from his upcoming appearance on CSI which premieres Thursday September 23 on CBS.
Justin Bieber Molests Fan, Megan Fox is annoying black baby rumor of the next Hollywood after rumors of the death of Justin Biebers. Megan Fox is a famous artist born Hollywood. … Megan Fox upset the black baby is just another rumor and that will do nothing but cause some disruption in their fans. Every day they become famous white rumors of the death, such as pregnancy, extra-marital affairs etc. The rumor bothers Megan Fox black child spread with great success on the internet …
"Inception" has achieved that rarest of box-office dreams: a big-budget event movie that's a word-of-mouth phenomenon.
Ticket sales for director Christopher Nolan's complex thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio declined only 31% on its second weekend in theaters to $43.5 million, according to an estimate from distributor Warner Bros. That's the smallest such decline for any movie that's opened this year and one of the best ever for a film that didn't play its second weekend over a holiday.
With moviegoers, particularly younger ones, spreading such good buzz about the movie and some coming back for repeat viewings, it now appears likely to gross a strong $250 million in the U.S. and Canada and possibly more overseas. That would provide a good return on the $160 million that Warner and Legendary Pictures spent to produce the picture, considered by many to be a big risk given its dense plot and original style. Its main competition this weekend, the Angelina Jolie action thriller "Salt," opened to a pretty good $36.5 million. The movie likely will collect around $100 million domestically, but it has much higher box-office potential overseas, where Jolie is one of the few stars who reliably draws big audiences. ("Salt" has yet to open in most foreign markets, and this weekend's international numbers aren't yet available.)
Distributor Sony Pictures and its partner Relativity Media spent about $130 million to produce "Salt," according to a person close to the production. A Sony spokesman said tax credits brought the final cost down to less than $110 million.
Most summer action movies draw a younger male audience, but "Salt' did just the opposite, based on the appeal of Jolie and also largely positive reviews. 53% of filmgoers were female, according to exit polling, and 59% were older than 25. That's potentially good news for the picture's playability, since older adults are more likely than teenagers to come to a movie after it opens. Audiences liked "Salt," giving it an average grade of B+, according to market research firm CinemaScore.
"Ramona and Beezus," the only other movie to open nationwide this weekend, failed to draw much of a crowd. 20th Century Fox and Walden Media's adaptation of the children's book series by Beverly Cleary opened to a weak $8 million.
In limited release, the Sundance Film Festival favorite "The Kids Are All Right" continues to play extremely well. Focus Features expanded the offbeat family drama, which stars Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, to 210 theaters from 38 and collected $2.7 million, or $13,173 per theater.
"Kids" enjoyed a drop of about 20% at most theaters where it was already playing and opened well in its new locations, which for the first time included some suburbs. On Friday, it will expand substantially, to more than 500 theaters, as Focus tries to convert the indie drama into a mainstream hit.
The animated hit "Despicable Me" was No. 3 at the box office on its third weekend, declining only 26% to $24.1 million with no other family movies opening. It has now grossed a healthy $161.7 million and is on its way to more than $200 million.
Three songs into their St. Louis concert Friday night, the Kings of Leon had to shut down the show on account of some unexpected accompaniment that CNN pins on "pooping pigeons."
"Jared [Followill, the band's bassist] was hit several times during the first two songs," said Andy Mendelsohn of Vector Management. "It's not only disgusting – it's a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there."
The dirty birds were reported to have been lurking in the rafters of the Missouri city's Verizon Amphitheatre and launching their aerial attack during the band's opening number, "Closer." Followill, 23, got it in the face.
"I was hit by pigeons on each of the first three songs," said the musician and self-professed germophobe. "We had 20 songs on the set list. By the end of the show, I would have been covered from head to toe."
Nor did he feel safe gazing skyward to see who his attackers were – or how many of them.
"The last thing I was going to do was look up," he said, "but if that was only a couple, we must have caught them right after a big Thanksgiving dinner."
After the cancelation – and, presumably, a good, hot shower – the band said in a statement through its manager, "We want to apologize to our fans in St. Louis and will come back as soon as we can." Added the band's publicist, "No fans got pooped on as far as we know."
Though comments were sought, CNN received no word on the matter from reps for the Verizon Amphitheatre or the concert promoter Live Nation.
Mark Cavendish won the final sprint on the Champs-Elysees for the second consecutive time, as he scored his fifth stage of this year's tour.
Alberto Contador wrapped up his tour win, with Alessandro Petacchi securing the green points jersey.
It was the usual end of term atmosphere and antics at the start of the day's stage, as team RadioShack pulled on special black jerseys bearing the number 28, representing the 28 million worldwide cancer sufferers.
The organisers hadn't authorised the jersey change, meaning that the peloton grounded to a halt for 15 minutes, as the team changed their jerseys, and transferred their race numbers.
Not long after Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck posed for the cameras at the front of the bunch, with Koos Moerenhout also enjoying leading the race for a period, in the 36-year-old's final stage ever of the Tour de France.
Amber aint slick. Chick is Tweeting (and deleting) messages about jetting to New Orleans to get some nookie from her new boo Reggie Bush. But we can read between the legs.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Compton police, although they never officially solved the case, concluded that Shakur was shot by Southside Crips after the Tyson fight. Hours before the shooting, Tupac had been involved in a fight in the lobby of the MGM Hotel after the Tyson-Seldon fight. Shakur started the fight when he noticed 21-year-old "Baby Lane" Anderson, who had beaten up one of his bodyguards in a shopping mall a few weeks earlier, lingering nearby. Anderson and others were interviewed by police later in connection with the murder, though no suspects were ever publicly named.
"The reports, while written by soldiers and intelligence officers mainly describing lethal military actions involving the United States military, also include intelligence information, reports of meetings with political figures, and related detail."
