CNN

20/20 abs Ad art celebrities CNN Court donald trump Fuse image Kimye Owe OWN Pee photos Political power quote real red RIP size son stage style sur tan Taylor Swift the real thin Twitter Video Weight Wil Wheaton wow YouTube

Ted Cruz refused to endorse Donald Trump on Day 3 of the RNC: funny?

marc

Embed from Getty Images It’s really cute the way Kimye and Taylor Swift thought they were bringing the drama this week when all of the real insanity has been going down at the Republican National Convention. By all accounts, this year’s RNC has been a complete mess. Few of the big names in the GOP have come to Cleveland, the message keeps getting hijacked because everything is in shambles and the ratings are terrible. And last night’s prime-time line-up was particularly unhinged. Marco Rubio didn’t even come to Cleveland – he just sent a video, which is just what you’d expect from the least-working member of the Senate. The night should have been all about Mike Pence accepting the nomination for vice president, but they made the mistake of putting alleged Zodiac Killer Ted Cruz on around 10 pm, and of course it ended badly. The problem was that Ted Cruz, Donald Trump’s biggest challenger, got a major speaking slot, and Cruz still refused to endorse Trump. Here’s the whole speech: And here’s Cruz refusing to endorse Trump, and everyone booing him. Donald Trump arrived at the end of Cruz’s speech, and on Morning Joe this morning, they compared it to Wrestlemania. Watch the #RNC audience boo @tedcruz for not endorsing @realDonaldTrumphttps://t.co/3VzLWtH0zG — Business Insider (@businessinsider) July 21, 2016 It got so bad that Ted Cruz’s wife had to be escorted out of the RNC by security because audience members and delegates started threatening her. Trump-puppet Chris Christie decried Cruz as “awful” and “selfish.” .@ChrisChristie tells @DanaBashCNN that he thought @tedcruz’s speech was “awful” and “selfish.” #RNCinCLE https://t.co/yVnWqI3y7Y — Abigail Crutchfield (@ACrutchfield14) July 21, 2016 But as many pointed out, this was not a surprise. Trump Org. knew that Cruz would not be endorsing Trump, as they had access to his speech hours beforehand. The press knew too. And Trump let it happen anyway, possibly for political theater reasons, possibly because everyone knows that the best way to turn people against Ted Cruz is to let people see Ted Cruz speak. Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn't honor the pledge! I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2016 So was this a power-move by Team Trump or Team Cruz? Or was this just another shambolic mess from the RNC? I don’t know. But sources now say that Cruz is definitely going to run again in 2020, even if Trump is president. I got a copy of Ted Cruz's prepared remarks for tonight's #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/wm0IUKmOhx — Wil Wheaton (@wilw) July 21, 2016 Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of Getty.

2013 abs Ad arms art Barack Obama Celebrity CNN Death Families Fight FOX H&M heart Hollywood ice t image Killed obama Owe photos Police Rant Rants rap Rapper red RIP Sad son style Sued tan thor Tragedy Win

Bastille Day Attack: Truck Crashes Into Crowd in France, 75 Killed

celebrityabout

Horrifying news out of France today: At least 75 people were killed late when a man driving a large truck drove into a large crowd in Nice that had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day. According to The Associated Press, via a witness who was on hand for the heinous act, a driver plowed directly into a throng of citizens prior to getting out of the vehicle with a gun, firing away in all directions. The culprit was shot to death, authorities have confirmed.  At least 100 people were injured in the slaughter, the same authorities have also said. “There was carnage on the road,” Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native, told The Associated Press. “Bodies everywhere.”  Another individual who was present told Fox News that cops did, indeed, shoot and kill the gunman; his name has not yet been released. Various photos, meanwhile, depict police trucks riddled with bullets, a result of a gunfight between the suspect and police. CNN reports that the tractor-trailer drove for two kilometers along the pavement of the Boulevard des Anglais, the main street in Nice, taking out pedestrians along the way. Regional President Christian Estrosi says police discovered firearms, explosives and grenades in the truck after the shooter was taken out. “This is the worst tragedy in the history of Nice with more than 70 victims already reported,” Estrosi Tweeted this evening. Another person on the scene told the Telegraph that the area was “absolute chaos” and that there were cops “flooding the streets, including anti-terrorism officers.” And then there was a local reporter who also spoke to The Telegraph, stating the following: “People ran, there was panic. He drove onto the promenade and plowed into the crowd. There is a huge amount of blood and without doubt a lot of people have been hurt.” Awful, scary, incomprehensible stuff. Bastille Day marks the storming of the Bastille in 1789. It is a bank holiday in France, with restaurants and hotels especially crowded with revelers. Soon after news of the tragedy went public, President Barack Obama issued a statement condemning the attack, saying: “We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack.” We’ll update this sad story as more news breaks. Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims.

abs active Ad Anderson Cooper art celebrities Celebrity CNN Community Court dance Dead dress Families Fight Gay General H&M heart image interview IRS lace live magazine Marriage Married Money NYC on air Owe OWN photos pout quote real red size son style Sundance sur Survivor tan thin Tragedy Weight Win YouTube

Anderson Cooper takes down Florida’s Attorney General a second time

marc

After an emotional statement on Monday’s Anderson Copper 360 about the tragedy in Orlando, on Tuesday Cooper grilled Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi over her anti-gay record. Mainly, he questioned her championing herself as a voice for the LGBTQ community by establishing a hotline for spouses when Bondi had actively worked to limit gay rights. Bondi’s administration had used anti-gay rhetoric to fight same sex marriage in court, and Anderson brought it up to her. Bondi grew flustered and the interview, which you can watch here, ended professionally but tersely. After the segment aired, Bondi called in to WOR 710 radio and blamed Cooper for misleading her about the interview’s objective and editing her in a bad light. One problem, Cooper had his receipts and showed them on air that night. Fighting words. Anderson Cooper responded on Wednesday, June 15, to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s claims that their interview in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting, which aired live on CNN the previous day, was edited to portray her in a bad light. “She’s either mistaken or she’s not telling the truth,” the CNN host said on his show, Anderson Cooper 360. “Let’s be real here. Ms. Bondi’s big complaint seems to be that I asked in the wake of a massacre of gay and lesbian citizens about her new statements about the gay community and about her old ones.” Bondi claimed during a radio interview with WOR 710 in New York on Wednesday that she was led to believe that the interview with Cooper would focus on donation scams affecting the victims and their families. Instead, “when he posted the clip [online], he cut out the entire first portion that discussed people donating to legitimate funds,” she said, and insisted that all the interview did was “encourage anger and hate.” (CNN.com later posted the interview online in its entirety.) “There’s a time and place for everything, but yesterday wasn’t the time nor the place in front of a hospital when we could have been helping victims,” Bondi added. “For the record, my interview was not filled with any anger,” Cooper responded on air on Wednesday. “My job is to hold people accountable, and if on Sunday a politician is talking about love and about embracing ‘our LGBT community,’ I don’t think it’s unfair to look at their record and see if they have ever actually spoken that way publicly before, which I’ve never heard her say.” “The fact is Attorney General Bondi signed off on a 2014 federal court brief that claimed married gay people would ‘impose significant public harm.’ Harm. She spent hundreds of thousands in taxpayer money, gay and straight taxpayers’ money, trying to keep gays and lesbians from getting the right to marry,” he continued. “Good people can and do disagree on that issue — everyone has the right to their own opinion, thank goodness — but Miss Bondi is championing right now her efforts to help survivors. With the very right which allows gay spouses to bury their dead loved ones — that’s a right that would not exist if Miss Bondi had her way. I think it’s fair to ask her about that. There is an irony in that.” [From Us Magazine] I am so tired of the “time and place” argument to waylay discussions about gun and LGBTQ rights. I think when you can point to the result of these antiquated views and say, “that, right there,” it is the perfect time to hold a dialogue. Bondi did much more damage with her radio response than she did in the initial interview. Even without Cooper countering her every claim, she acted against her own argument that it wasn’t the time or place. She asserted Cooper stirred up anger and hate but she missed the point, Cooper’s questions were borne of the anger from the LGBTQ community. She could have admitted that her stance has changed and discussed what her office would do going forward but instead decided to call in for a proper pout to a radio station. Cooper said he does not like to make himself the story but he felt strongly about addressing her claims. I’m very glad he did. Just like Connecticut’s Rep Chris Murphy’s filibuster to get gun legislation on the floor, we need to keep up the pressure to have a real discourse that brings about a solution to mass shootings. Here’s is Copper’s full response to Bondi’s claims: Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Photo credit: fame/Flynet Photos and Getty Images

"superstar" Abuse Ad art Cancer celebrities Celebrity CNN Dead Death Deaths Died fat H&M health Heroin ice t image jean Killed magazine Music NBC Owe OWN photos pot pounds power Prince quote real red RIP Sad size son tall tan The Office Twitter underweight Weight

Prince’s cause of death ruled to be accidental opiate overdose by fentanyl

celebrityabout

It’s been six weeks since Prince passed tragically at his home just before he was scheduled to see an addiction specialist to seek treatment. The report on his cause of death has now been released. Prince’s death has been ruled an accidental opiate overdose. While Prince was said to be addicted to Percocet, the medical examiner found that the drug which killed him was fentanyl, another far more powerful opiate. Toxicology tests for Prince concluded that the entertainer died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl, according to a report on his death by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. Fentanyl, prescribed by doctors for cancer treatment, can be made illicitly and is blamed for a spike in overdose deaths in the United States. It’s 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died April 21 at age 57, after being found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park, his home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The report from the medical examiner’s office, which was released on Twitter, didn’t provide many details. “How injury occurred: The decedent self-administered fentanyl,” the report said. For manner of death, a box was marked for “accident.” The report didn’t specify how the drug was taken and if the fentanyl was prescribed or illegally made. The music superstar weighed 112 pounds and was 63 inches tall when he died, the report said. He was wearing a black cap, shirt, pants, boxer briefs and socks and a gray undershirt, the report said. His occupation was listed as “artist” and his business as “music.” The full autopsy and toxicology reports will not be released, the office told CNN. [From CNN] At 5’3″ and 112 pounds Prince was in the normal range with a BMI of 19.8 and was not technically underweight. NBC reports that he was being “being treated for opioid withdrawal, as well as anemia and a fatigue” at the time of his death. I’ve only heard of fentanyl in passing and was not aware that it had so much potential for abuse and for overdose. Many outlets are reporting how potent it is, it’s the most powerful opiate available and is 25 to 50 times stronger than heroin, along with the fact that it’s caused thousands of accidental deaths. According to experts quoted by People Magazine, the drug was originally meant to be used for pallative, or end of life care, but is now routinely given to patients who have become habituated to other opiates and aren’t getting the same pain relief. It’s unknown if Prince had a prescription or how he obtained the drug, but a criminal investigation is underway. This also brings attention to the street use of the drug, which can be highly deadly as users may not realize how much stronger fentanyl is than heroin. Just touching or inhaling the drug can be fatal. NBC News quotes the chief pathologist at Tufts University, Barbarajean Magnani, who says that Prince’s case is sadly all too common. “This was a man in his 50s who may have been struggling with pain and took a very potent opioid analgesic and died accidentally from an overdose. Celebrities bring it to our attention, but we see this every day.” RIP Prince. photos credit: WENN and FameFlynet

2013 ABC Ad Anderson Cooper art Bravo butt celebrities Celebrity CNN fit Friends future Good Morning America gues image interview Kathie Lee Gifford kathy lee gifford Kelly Ripa lace live looks magazine on air OWN photos quote R. Kelly rap real red RIP scandal seth meyers size son stage sur tall thin TMZ Win

US: Kelly Ripa may quit Live if she doesn’t get one of her friends to co-host

marc

I saw Live with Michael and Kelly yesterday and while I haven’t watched this show enough to have a frame of reference it looked like things were back to normal. They came out holding hands, they were joking around about eyelash extensions and butt padding and they seemed to have a great rapport. At times Kelly looked uncomfortable but you had to be looking for it. If it wasn’t for all the stories you wouldn’t know that they were having issues and that Michael is leaving in just two weeks. They never brought it up. He’s leaving early though, whether that was due to Kelly throwing a fit or just an executive decision it’s hard to tell. Kelly’s issue seems to be more with the ABC executives who kept her out of the loop than with Michael, who was just following orders not to tell her. Kelly is said to still be playing hardball at ABC after staying away for five days. Us is reporting that she’s threatened to quit if she doesn’t get one of her friends, either Anderson Cooper or Andy Cohen, to cohost. A source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly that Kelly Ripa “is talking about leaving” Live with Kelly and Michael after Michael Strahan announced his exit from the show for a permanent gig at Good Morning America. (Strahan was originally supposed to make the move in September, but the show announced this week that his last day on air will be May 13.) Although Ripa, 45, returned to the show after a four-episode hiatus Tuesday, April 26, the source says she still feels “blindsided” that producers and Strahan, 44, broke the news to her just moments before the April 19 public announcement: “She considers it a sign of disrespect.” Now, the 15-year Live vet will wait to see who producers seat beside her to help weigh her options for the future. They’re considering actor Jerry O’Connell, says the source, but Ripa “hopes Anderson Cooper or Andy Cohen gets the job.” Unfortunately, it’s not likely that one of Ripa’s pals will come aboard, due to their prior commitments (the CNN journalist is covering the election and the Watch What Happens Live host is under contract with Bravo), so the show may not go on for Ripa. Says the source, “Unless one of them can come on, she doesn’t really want to do it.” [From US Magazine] This is likely a negotiation tactic to make sure that Kelly has a say this time, because if she really means this it’s short-sighted for a couple of reason. One, just because she’s good friends with someone (she has known both Cooper and Cohen for years) does not mean they’re the best choice for a co-host. Working with a friend can bring up all sorts of problems you wouldn’t have with someone you only know in a professional capacity. And two, both of those guys are super busy with their own shows as US points out. This sounds like Kelly is just trying to get her way, but keep in mind that it could also be a planted story meant to make her look like a diva. We know the network is not above that, think of how TMZ got the news that Kelly’s finances are overextended. People reports that both Cooper and Cohen will come on as guest hosts following Strahan’s exit and that additional hosts will include Josh Groban and Seth Meyers. It’s unknown when a permanent host will be chosen and a source tells People “They’re prepared to keep cycling people through even if its not resolved by the fall.” E! Online has a think piece about this while debacle. (I really like their editorials lately, they seem to be going in a new direction.) They have quotes from a media expert who says that the way this has played out so far “it looks like Kelly won” against the network. Their source also gives ABC credit for letting Kelly say her piece at the beginning of her return show and not trying to censor or pre-tape her remarks. Also, Bellamy Young of “Scandal” was a guest on Tuesday’s show and she said that although there was tension backstage it all felt completely professional during her interview. Kathy Lee Gifford, who was replaced by Kelly on Live 15 years ago after she put in 15 years with Regis, has some advice for Kelly which sounds like delicious shade. She said “Be totally professional. I would keep anything that is going on between you private. It’s nobody’s business but yours. But always, always be professional at your job. That’s what you’re hired to do.” You know Kathy does not consider it professional to take a bunch of days off work and then insist that a friend be hired to work with you. Photos credit: WENN.com and screenshots from ABC

ABC abs Ad art celebrities Charity clothes CNN Dating Dog Dogs Erin Andrews fit food Friends GMA Good Morning America health healthy ice t image Kelly Ripa live Money NYC on air OWN Paparazzi photos quote rap red RIP size style sur tan thin Video Weight workout

Kelly Ripa is on vacation now and is ghosting Michael Strahan

celebrityabout

Embed from Getty Images I’m surprised how much interest there’s been in the Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan drama happening at ABC and I’m also surprised at the sheer number of stories about it. There are a massive amount of details coming out. While I was team Kelly yesterday and am still on her side I am starting to get the impression that she’s somewhat petty too. She came out of her townhouse in New York yesterday carrying a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath, which seems to be a transparent metaphor for her situation with the big bad network. People is reporting that Kelly “jetted off to the Turks and Caicos islands to celebrate her 20th anniversary right after learning that her co-host Michael Strahan was leaving their show,” but this is not supported by paparazzi photos of her outside her townhouse yesterday. She heard Strahan was leaving on Tuesday, so maybe “right after” means the next day. The Ny Daily News has a very pro-Strahan piece about how he was professional in announcing his exit (remember that he was allegedly under orders not to tell her) and gave her several months’ notice considering that he’s not leaving until the end of the summer. He’s also been trying to contact Kelly, according to a source, but she’s not responding to him at all. He keeps calling, but she won’t pick up the phone. Michael Strahan has repeatedly tried to reach out to co-host Kelly Ripa but has been rebuffed, Confidenti@l has learned. “He’s reached out but there’s been no response,” a source close to the show said. Strahan shocked Ripa and “Live!” executive producer Michael Gelman Tuesday when he revealed to them in a post-show meeting that he was leaving “Live! With Kelly and Michael” to join “Good Morning America” full time. “He did the right thing and gave them a lot of notice that he was leaving at the end of the summer,” a second show source said. “He’s been there all week for the staff, she on the other hand has disappeared.” Ripa — who called out sick Wednesday and then took what a show rep says was a “planned vacation” — looked perfectly healthy as she exited her Upper East Side townhouse clutching a copy of Malcom Gladwell’s “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.” [From NY Daily News] The NY Daily News also points out that Strahan didn’t attend a scheduled charity co-hosting event Tuesday night for the NYC Food Bank. He did send a video message though. Strahan, 44, was also photographed out with his 27 year-old girlfriend in their workout clothes yesterday. They’ve been dating over a year, and she doesn’t pass the “half his age plus seven” rule by a couple of years. Strahan appeared yesterday on both Live, co-hosting with Erin Andrews, and Good Morning America, which he’s set to join full time in September. On GMA he credited Kelly with teaching him the ropes and called her “family.” There were rumors that GMA’s Lara Spencer felt shafted by Strahan’s appointment at the show because she was hoping to get a promotion to the position he’s taking as lead anchor. A source denies to E! that Spencer is upset and states “Lara and Michael are very close friends.” People is reporting that Strahan will double his salary by moving to GMA and will be making $20 million a year. Ripa reportedly makes around $15 million at Live. CNN is reporting that execs plan to test out other co-hosts for Ripa once Strahan leaves this fall and they’re not planning on canceling the show as rumored. I wonder if they’re rethinking that now that Kelly is MIA and her people have talked to just about every outlet. Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

2011 2012 2013 ABC abs Ad art Cars celebrities Celebrity Channing Tatum CNN Crazy GMA Good Morning America H&M Hollywood ice t image instagram IRS kathy lee gifford Kelly Ripa lace live looks magazine Oscars OWN photos Pissed quote red red carpet red carpet arrivals Regis Philbin RIP size son tan thin TMZ

Kelly Ripa ‘livid’ Michael Strahan left without telling her, she hasn’t returned

marc

Michael Strahan has co-hosted Live! with Kelly Ripa for nearly four years now. Kelly has been on the show for fifteen, since Kathy Lee Gifford left and she co-hosted with Regis Philbin, who retired in 2011. (He’s still kicking at 84, I just checked.) So you would think that Kelly would be one of the first people to learn that her longterm co-host was leaving the show to join Good Morning America. According to outlets including TMZ, E!, and People that wasn’t the case and Ripa found out via a memo to the entire network like everyone else. No one at her workplace, not even Strahan, gave her a heads up and she was understandably “livid.” According to E! Strahan couldn’t tell Ripa because network execs told him not to. About an hour after LIVE! With Kelly and Michael aired Tuesday, an internal memo at ABC revealed he would be leaving the show by summer’s end to work on Good Morning America full-time. His co-host, Kelly Ripa, did not receive a heads up. In fact, E! News has learned that executives broke the news to her just after the show finished taping—around the same time everyone else first heard about it. “She was livid,” a source says exclusively. “It wasn’t pretty.” Strahan joined Ripa and others in the meeting. “He wanted to be there. He didn’t have to be, but he didn’t want to have her hear it and not be there,” the source says. “He tried to do the stand up thing.” Strahan, who replaced Regis Philbin in 2012, has been a correspondent on ABC’s Good Morning America since 2014. When executives decided to move him to the news show full-time, they intentionally kept Ripa and others key staff members in the dark to prevent leaks. “That was a network decision,” the source says, adding that it was a carefully executed plan. “It wasn’t an overnight decision and took some time to put it in place.” Strahan didn’t have a say in the matter. “He’s not the boss,” the source tells E! News. “He is an employee of the network.” [From E! Online] That’s a weak excuse that network execs they were worried about leaks. They could have at least told Kelly, that would have only been fair. People confirms E!’s version of events and adds that Kelly “went crazy.” TMZ is reporting that while it’s true that Strahan was under orders not to tell Ripa, “Kelly and Michael don’t get along” and Ripa feels like “he’s disrespectful to her and is full of himself.” In an earlier story, TMZ revealed that ABC is considering canceling Live and adding a third hour to Good Morning America, which is facing stiff competition from The Today Show. Ripa did not host Live! on Wednesday and was replaced by Ana Gasteyer. Sources tell US Magazine that Ripa took a sick day. Strahan had some nice things to say about her, and about his time on Live, at the end of the show, but who knows if he’s paying lip service. People has a source close to Strahan who says that “He very much wanted to do the right thing” by telling “her in person and [giving] her months notice” but that he couldn’t. Strahan is said to be “hurt by her reaction” and “the very public way she’s handling this.” Their source added “You can’t not show up for work. If you’re going to have a meltdown you don’t do it publicly.” It’s not public! Kelly didn’t show up for work. She didn’t tweet or Instagram anything. She may have gotten mad at work but she didn’t make her response public, she just took time off, as is her right. It looks like this show is about to get canceled and like they put off telling Ripa until it was absolutely necessary. People is reporting that it’s unknown when Kelly will return to the show. A source tells them that Kelly plans to stay out this entire week. Additional stories have come out stating that Kelly is on a 20th anniversary vacation with her family and husband, Mark Consuelos, in Turks and Caicos. Apparently the trip was planned already and she was supposed to be out on Friday and Monday, but left early when she was blindsided by the news of Strahan leaving the show. photos credit: WENN.com