Rihanna's Big Changes

Less than a year ago, Rihanna's life was turned upside down after she was assaulted by former boyfriend Chris Brown. Now the singer seems to be putting the traumatic past behind her.

On Saturday, she was spotted at the LA Clippers Cleveland-Cavaliers game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with her new pal, Dodgers star Matt Kemp, wearing her hair styled in angelic golden ringlets. The pop star, who will celebrate her 22nd birthday next month, appears to have kept her famous graduated bob hairstyle, adding playful curls for her day at the game.

In addition to the new style, photographers captured the singer with a perpetual and very sincere-looking grin on her face. Last week, Rihanna opened up to W magazine about coming out of the fog of last winter: "At first I completely shut down. But now I feel like this happened to me so I could be a voice for young girls who are going through what I went through and dont know how to talk about it."

She also revealed a desire to focus on her budding acting career, briefly cut short by all the media attention surrounding her private life last year. As everyone who watched her fall appearance on "SNL" can attest, Rihanna has comedic acting skills that rival her talent as a singer.

Wynonna Judd Slams Swift's CMA Win

At last night's CMA Awards show, host Brad Paisley likened the country community to one big family--"George Strait plus eight," he joked.
And, truth be told, he's not too far off the mark. Nashville is an insular and protective community--sure, it's full of gossip and pettiness and all the other things you find in any tight-knit group. But, as Paisley humorously noted, most of the time everyone gets along pretty well.
Most of the time.

What's up now, you ask? Well, country legend Wynonna Judd (a presenter at last night's show) has declared that Taylor Swift--who won the CMA's top honor, Entertainer of the Year--is nowhere near ready for so much success.
The country legend, one-half of famed mother-daughter duo the Judds, spoke to USA Today before the awards show, commenting in regards to Swift's extraordinary sweep of 2009: "You want my honest comment? It’s too much too soon."
"Mom [Naomi Judd] and I rode in a car for the first year of our career to visit radio stations," Judd continued. "There was a making of the star, there was a rising up, and the fans went with us.
"Now it’s over coffee breaks, the success, almost. It's like the girl who wins an Oscar and she's under 20. What do you do from here?"
Well, well. Truth be told, many music fans out there--rightly or wrongly--are saying basically the same thing. However, this sort of commentary tends to not go over very well in the country world.

Remember back in 2006, when Faith Hill gasped a theatrical "WHAT?" on camera in response to Carrie Underwood's CMA Female Vocalist of the Year win? Hill claimed to be just joking around, but the validity of her humor came under scrutiny and the incident made out-of-proportion national waves. (It blew through the roof on Yahoo!'s Buzz Index, which tracks hotly searched stories on the web--and even national broadcaster Don Imus talked about it on his show.)
Carrie Underwood, now Taylor Swift.
For what it's worth, Hill presented Swift with her Entertainer of the Year award, and did so most graciously. (Swift, who has cited Hill as her childhood idol, was incandescent at the moment.)

Also, just as an aside--what is it with the Judds and rising young talent? Naomi Judd recently put twin-sister duo Kate & Kacey (who, incidentally, are on Swift's record label) through the wringer during their stint on CMT's reality series Can You Duet. According to the twins, Judd, a judge on the program, was so hard on the pair that they ended up writing a song about the incident titled "You're Not My Judge."
Kacey Coppola termed the experience with Naomi to be "disappointing."
"Kate and I have looked up to the Judds for as long as I can remember," she told Yahoo! Music.

No need for the sour grapes, Judds. If anyone's proven their mettle in the entertainment industry, and can afford to be benevolent to the newcomers--it's you guys.

And, take a lesson from Faith Hill (and, hey, George Jones--who got skewered last week for his comments about "new country"). Watch it.
There's no problem with stating an honest opinion, but like I said, this sort of thing just tends not to float too smoothly with the country fans at large.

Sarah Palin In Book: McCain Aides Kept Me 'Bottled Up'

The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin: The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family. In Palin's new memoir, "Going Rogue," she confirms reports of tension between her aides and those of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. The vice presidential candidate confirms that she had wanted to speak on election night, but was denied the chance and says she was kept "bottled up" from reporters during the campaign.

Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as "badgering" and biased. Palin's series of interviews with Couric were widely regarded as disastrous, leaving the impression of an ill-informed candidate who was unsuited for the job.

The 413-page book with 16 pages of color photos but no index comes out Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Associated Press purchased a copy Thursday. "Going Rogue," with a first printing of 1.5 million copies, has been at or near the top of Amazon.com and other best-seller lists for weeks, ever since publisher HarperCollins announced that the book had been completed quickly and the release date was being moved up from next spring.

The book follows Palin from childhood to her departure last summer as Alaska governor. It includes much of what her admirers, and detractors, expected: tributes to family and faith and patriotism, and attacks against the media and other perceived opponents.

She writes about the "jaded aura" of professional campaign aides and how McCain's entourage limited her access to the media, leading to allegations — unfounded, she says — that she was avoiding reporters.

And she says that most of her legal bills were generated defending what she called frivolous ethics complaints, but she reveals that about one-tenth of the $500,000 was a bill she received to pay for the McCain campaign vetting her for the VP nod.

She said when she asked the McCain campaign if it would help her financially, she was told McCain's camp would have paid all the bills if he'd won; since he lost, the vetting legal bills were her responsibility.

Written with Lynn Vincent, "Going Rogue" is folksy in tone and homespun. For example, Palin says her efforts to award a license for a massive natural gas transmission line through Alaska was turning a pipe dream into a pipeline. She writes in awe about how the McCain campaign had hired a New York stylist who had also worked on Couric.

Taken aback by all the fussing, she wondered who was paying for the $150,000 worth of fancy clothes given to her and her family members by the campaign. Family members were told it was being taken care of or was "part of the convention." The designer clothing, hairstyling and accessories later grew into a controversy.

Palin shares behind-the-scene moments when the nation learned her teen daughter Bristol was pregnant, how she rewrote the statement prepared for her by the McCain campaign — only to watch in horror as a TV news anchor read the original McCain camp statement, which, in Palin's view, glarmorized and endorsed her daughter's situation.

Palin laments that she wasn't allowed to bring up loads of family members to the stage while McCain gave his election night concession speech, the vice presidential candidate having found out minutes earlier that she wouldn't be permitted to give her own speech.

She writes that ABC newsman Charles Gibson, who had an early interview with her, seemed bored by "substantive issues" stemming from her time as governor and that while speaking with her he "peered skeptically" at her over his glasses like a disapproving principal.

She writes at length about Couric. She says that the idea to meet with Couric came from McCain campaign aide Nicolle Wallace, who told Palin that Couric — also a working mother — liked and admired her. It would be a favor to Couric, too, whom Palin notes had the lowest ratings of the network anchors. Wallace said Couric suffered from low self-esteem. And Palin replied that she almost began to "feel sorry" for Couric.

She alleges that Couric and CBS left out her more "substantive" remarks and settled for "gotcha" moments. She writes that Couric had a "partisan agenda" and a condescending manner. Couric was "badgering," biased and far easier on Couric's Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden.

She writes warmly of her childhood and her mother's "nurturing, hospitable" personality. Her priorities were set early — faith (she would read Scripture each night before bed), hunting, current events and sports (she even dreamed of being a broadcaster alongside Howard Cosell). She remembers being a voracious reader, favorites including John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" and George Orwell's "Animal Farm." Long before Tina Fey parodied her on "Saturday Night Live," Palin enjoyed watching the show as a girl.

She met her future husband, Todd Palin, in 1982. He was good-looking and mature, like no one she had ever known. He was quiet, gruff, strong, spiritual.

Anne Pressly Autopsy

"FILE - In this June 26, 2008 file photo released by KATV Television, of news anchor Anne Pressly in Little Rock, Ark. The man accused of killing television personality Anne Pressly changed from scavenger to predator when he found the woman sleeping near the laptop computer she had on her bed, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A man who told police he had been hoping to steal a laptop was convicted of capital murder Wednesday in the beating of an Arkansas TV anchorwoman so brutal that her face was shattered and she never regained consciousness.

The panel was to reconvene later Wednesday to weigh whether Curtis Lavelle Vance should be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Oct. 20, 2008, attack on Anne Pressly at her Little Rock bungalow.

Vance, 29, of Marianna, was also convicted of residential burglary along with rape and theft of property.

After the verdicts were read, Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, raised a hand and said, "Praise God. Praise God." She burst into sobs.

Once the jurors had left, Vance gestured toward the empty jury box, pointed to his eyes and ears and shook his head.

Pressly, 26, was an anchor at KATV and had a bit part in the President Bush biopic "W." Cannady, unable to reach Pressly by telephone for her daily wake-up call, had found her daughter shortly before she was due for the "Daybreak" program.

In closing arguments, deputy prosecutor John Johnson had recounted graphic testimony that left some in the courtroom in tears. At one point, he held up two photos of Pressly: Her KATV publicity shot, and one from her autopsy showing her nose pushed to one side.

"He made this person look like this," Johnson said. A medical examiner had testified that the front of Pressly's face was broken "like an egg."

In various confessions made to police, Vance said he went to Pressly's neighborhood looking to steal laptop computers. After entering her home through a Dutch door she left open for her dogs, Johnson said, Vance found the computer he sought — and Pressly.

"It was just him and her," Johnson told jurors. "Can you imagine that? Him standing over her?

"She feels that fear; that paralyzing fear we've all had nightmares about," Johnson said.

Citing one of Vance's confessions, Johnson said the man lost control after she started to fight him.

"He began to hit her over and over," Johnson said.

Police witnesses said DNA evidence linked Vance to Pressly's death and to a Marianna rape case in which he has pleaded not guilty. The defense has said police duped Vance into confessing and giving officers a DNA sample to compare with evidence in the case.

Charla Nash, Chimp Attack Victim, Shows Face On Oprah

Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman mauled by a 200 pound chimpanzee in February, appeared on "Oprah" Wednesday to reveal her face and share heartbreaking details on her life since the attack.

Nash who turned 56 Tuesday revealed "the remnants of her missing eyes, nose and lips," as ABC News described it.

Nash told Oprah that she feels no pain but that she tries not to touch her face so as to avoid knowing the full extent of her injuries.

"I don't ask a whole lot about my injuries... I know that I have my forehead," she said. She now drinks her meals "with a straw through a small hole where her mouth used to be," ABC added.

Nash lost both her hands in the attack, as well as her nose, an eyelid, and lips. Doctors removed her eyes due to an infection, and only recently did she learn she'll no longer be able to see.

"Only . . . in the past couple of weeks did she realize that she no longer had eyes, because she had been saying that she was hoping to be able to see at some point," Oprah said, according to the New York Post.

Nash now walks around her Cleveland hospital — from which she might be released soon — in a veil.

Carrie Prejean Sex Tape Scandal

After reports started circulating that former Miss California Carrie Prejean had a sex tape, the beauty queen confessed, saying making that tape was the "biggest mistake of my life."

“It was me by myself. There was no one else with me. I was not having sex,” Prejean revealed on the 'Today' show.

Prejean said she made the video of herself when she was 17 years old and that it was for her long-distance boyfriend at the time. "I was a teenager," she said. "I cared about him. I trusted him. I think now they call it ‘sexting.’ Did I think it would come back now and haunt me? No. But I think that a lot of young people can learn from this. Nothing is private anymore. Nothing is private." said Prejean.

WHO: AIDS Leading Cause of Death, Disease in Women

GENEVA – In its first study of women's health around the globe, the World Health Organization said Monday that the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44.

Unsafe sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age, with others including lack of access to contraceptives and iron deficiency, the WHO said. Throughout the world, one in five deaths among women in this age group is linked to unsafe sex, according to the U.N. agency.

"Women who do not know how to protect themselves from such infections, or who are unable to do so, face increased risks of death or illness," WHO said in a 91-page report. "So do those who cannot protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or control their fertility because of lack of access to contraception."

The data were included in a report that attempts to highlight the unequal health treatment a female faces from childbirth through infancy and adolescence into maturity and old age.

WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan noted that women enjoy a biological advantage because they tend to live six to eight years longer than men. But in many parts of the world they suffer serious disadvantages because of poverty, poorer access to health care and cultural norms that put a priority on the well-being of men, she said.

Chan called it a "preventable tragedy" that nearly 15 percent of deaths in adult women occur in maternity, according to the statistics from 2004. She said the discrimination extends throughout a women's life, from girlhood diseases that aren't identified because they are not sicknesses affecting boys, to clinical trials and medicines developed on the basis of curing adult males.

"We will not see a significant improvement in the health of women until they are no longer recognized as second-class citizens in many parts of the world," Chan told journalists in Geneva.

Geisy Arruda Photo

Meet Geisy Arruda, Brazil’s latest celebrity after she was expelled from a University for the crime of wearing a miniskirt.

The Bandeirante University in Sao Bernardo do Campo said Geisy Arruda was expelled on the grounds that she disrespected “ethical principles, academic dignity and morality” when she wore a short, pink dress to class.

Before you think that the University acted alone, it should be noted that a sizable number of students at the University heckled and screamed abuse at her when she wore the mini-skirt to school. Video posted to YouTube was picked up by Brazilian media, who have been running with the story ever since.

To add insult to injury though, the University has published ads attacking her and calling her out for “inadequate clothing” and “posing for pictures and provoking other students.”

You get the feeling that the Brazil you see in movies (mini-bikini’s etc) isn’t quite the same as the Brazil in real life, don’t you. Two Geisy Arruda videos from YouTube as follows: both are in Portuguese, but you can get the general idea.

Alanis Morissette’s Time: NYC Marathon Results 2009

Canadian-American singer-songwriter, Alanis Morissette has completed her second race at the NYC Marathon, only a few weeks after running her first marathon. Alanis Morissette completed the New York City Marathon today with a unofficial time of 4:28:45.

Alanis official finishing time will be posted when it becomes available. The singer ran the first 5Km in 27 minutes, 32 seconds; she then crossed the halfway mark in 2:03:51, according to the unofficial race results.

She completed her first marathon in 4:17:03, which she ran to benefit the National Eating Disorder Association, Morissette said “An unbelievably harrowing and beautiful and moving and serene experience.” The star ran the NWC marathon to raise money for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, along with fellow celebrities David Blaine and Edward Norton.

Who Kathy Gloddy?

KATHY GLODDY PHOTO

Kathy Lynn Gloddy was the 13-year-old girl who was beaten, raped and hit over the head. She was murdered on November 1971 after been ran over by car several times. 20/20 magazine is trying to bring nations eyes on this unsolved case. Her family is not hopeless and they are determined that the accused shall be bring to justice.
Janet Gloddy Young, one of Kathy’s three sisters said:

" We are excited that 20/20 has chosen to take on Kathy’s case. We are hoping through continued media exposure and through the creation of the Kathy Lynn Gloddy Reward Fund we will be able to find some answers and peace for our family."

Retired Massachusetts Police Chief and Detective Thomas Shamshak are helping her family for the justice and they also creates fund for this unsolved case.
The case has many twists. Florida resident Ernest Dukette went into a police department and expressed that he believed that he was with the girl when she was murdered but not sure whether she was raped. Later police said that he was ill by taking excessive medicines. Senior Assistant State Attorney Will Delker said the case is reopened and it is believed that there may be more then one rappers involved in the murder.
Ann Ring, sister of Kathy said she believed two more men were involved in the murder one of them is currently residing in New Hampshire. She also said “We can’t give up hope.” She described Kathy Lynn as a “loving little girl”.

Woman Kisses Charlize For US$140,000

No, it’s not that Charlize Theron has fallen on hard times. She sold the kiss for a greater good – charity of course.

Thirty four-year-old Charlize took part in a live auction during a gala for the charity OneXOne in San Francisco on 22 Oct. And while she was initially selling a 2010 trip to South Africa that included World Cup tickets, a safari and a meet-and-greet with Nelson Mandela, she raised the stakes when bidding stalled at US$37,000, far below the $280,000 Entourage actor Jeremy Piven had just raised. "For f*** sake! You can do better," she told the audience. "There is no way I am leaving here with Jeremy Piven getting a higher bid. I've got t**** for God's sake."

To sweeten the pot, she offered up a seven-second kiss for US$130,000 to a male bidder. "Swine flu is going around. This is high risk kissing!" she told him. After one man bid US$135,000, a woman upped the stakes to US$140,000 – getting up on stage for a 20-second smooch as the audience counted down. Charlize, who is in a long-term relationship with actor Stuart Townsend, 36 joked, "My boyfriend is not here tonight," drawing laughter from the crowd.

Whether sold to a man or a woman, cheers to Charlize for her effort.

Lily Allen Quits Twitter For Lover

Quitting your Twitter account seems to be the in thing with celebs these days. First Miley, then Courtney Love and now it seems British singer Lily Allen has also given up on the social networking site.

You see, Lily was addicted to Twitter and MySpace so much so that her boyfriend, Sam Cooper, felt neglected.

She once admitted, My boyfriend gets really angry. He's like: 'I want to spend some time with you, do we have to have one and a half million people in the room with us?' I'm like, 'Yes, shut up!'"

But now Sam has made her choose and Lily chose Sam. A source told Daily Mirror, "We thought she was joking, but it's been a month since she last Twittered."

Lily also gave up her computer and BlackBerry to appease Sam.

Quitting your Twitter account seems to be the in thing with celebs these days. First Miley, then Courtney Love and now it seems British singer Lily Allen has also given up on the social networking site.

You see, Lily was addicted to Twitter and MySpace so much so that her boyfriend, Sam Cooper, felt neglected.

She once admitted, My boyfriend gets really angry. He's like: 'I want to spend some time with you, do we have to have one and a half million people in the room with us?' I'm like, 'Yes, shut up!'"

But now Sam has made her choose and Lily chose Sam. A source told Daily Mirror, "We thought she was joking, but it's been a month since she last Twittered."

Lily also gave up her computer and BlackBerry to appease Sam.

Kidman: Hollywood probably contributes to violence

Nicole Kidman tesified before a U.S. congressional panel on violence against women, conceding that Hollywood probably has contributed to the problem by portraying women as weak sex objects.

However, the Academy Award-winning actress said she is not interested those kinds of demeaning roles, adding that the movie industry also has made an effort to contribute to solutions for ending the violence.

Kidman testified Wednesday before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is considering legislation to deal with violence against women overseas through humanitarian relief efforts and grants to local organizations working on the problem.

Asked by Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher whether the movie industry has "played a bad role," Kidman said "probably" but quickly added that she herself does not.

"I can't be responsible for all of Hollywood, but I can certainly be responsible for my own career," she said.

Kidman appeared before the committee in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Development Fund for Women, known as UNIFEM, to promote the International Violence Against Women Act.

"In the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm," she said.

The legislation has stalled in the past, but a sponsor, Democratic Rep. Bill Delahunt, said he and others plan to reintroduce it soon.

The Australian star told Congress that the U.N. women's fund needs more resources. "We need the money," she said. Before the hearing began, a crowd of people lined the hall and around the corner to hear her speak.

Paris Hilton Wants Lobsters For Her Cameo?

It’s no secret that celebs have riders but the latest request from Paris Hilton as part of her contract has left some people very surprised.

According to the New York Post, Paris has landed a cameo in The Other Guys, a movie starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes currently filming in New York and her three-page list of demands included live lobsters to be prepared fresh when she’s ready to eat and a bottle of Grey Goose vodka.

Mind you, she’s only on the set for just one day. That’s a bit excessive, isn’t it?

Of course the rep for Paris denies there’s any truth to this story, dismissing it as “totally ridiculous and untrue.” Yeah, why would she admit it if it is true?

Britney Spears, photographer settle suit

Court records show Britney Spears and a photographer whose foot she ran over have settled a lawsuit.

Ricardo Mendoza sued the pop singer in May, accusing her of assault, battery and negligently driving her car when she ran over his foot in Beverly Hills in October 2007.

Court records filed in Los Angeles show a settlement notice was filed on Monday. The records do not disclose the terms of the agreement.

TMZ, who employed Mendoza at the time, auctioned his tire-stained sock and donated the proceeds to charity.

The incident happened during a turbulent period for Spears, who hours earlier had lost custody of her two sons. She now has the No. 1 song on Billboard's charts with her single "3" and has since regained visitation rights.