The News Of …

Antoine Ashley (better known as Sahara Davenport on RuPaul’s Drag Race) has died.
“Logo is profoundly saddened by the passing of Antoine Ashley who fans around the world knew and loved as Sahara Davenport. He was an amazing artist and entertainer who’ll be deeply missed by his Logo family. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, especially his boyfriend Karl, in their time of need” – the network said in a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday.
Alongside 11 other contestants, Ashley competed for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar on the hit show’s second season in 2010 – but his talents spanned far beyond the realm of reality television.
A classically trained dancer, Ashley started performing in drag while attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Upon earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance, Ashley left Dallas for New York City where he appeared in drag regularly at various bars and nightclubs.

Sahara Davenport.

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Johnny Lewis has been found dead. He was 28.
The actor (who previously dated Katy Perry) is believed to have killed his 81-year-old landlady Catherine Davis before leaping to his death from his home in Los Angeles yesterday.
The upstairs of the building had been ransacked and a cat had also been killed.
“It’s a terrible tragedy as far as we’re concerned and we’re digging into the bottom of it” – said Los Angeles Police Department Spokesman Andrew Smith.
“He appeared to have died from some type of fall, either from the stairway, or from the balcony, or from one of the roofs.
“The best we’re piecing together now is that it appears that some type of altercation occurred inside of the house resulting in the death of the woman.
“Then this individual ran outside, had an altercation with a couple of neighbours, ran back into the house and by the time we got here, he had fallen or had somehow died on the driveway.”
Officers initially responded to a 911 call that a woman was heard screaming. No motive for the killing is yet known.

Johnny Lewis.

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Teen Sensation Miley Cyrus is putting her wedding plans on hold as she records her new album.
The 19-year-old announced in June that she was heading down the aisle with Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.
But Cyrus admits she is yet to begin organising the ceremony as she is too busy preparing her upcoming release, reports contactmusic.com.
Speaking at the Mtv Video Music Awards, she explains – “I’ll have a single out this year. This is the first time I get to tell people about it, so I’m really excited. It’s all really different. We’ve been working really hard and the record, I’m really proud of the album. It’s my favourite thing I’ve done, probably ever.”
The singer insists she is in no rush to marry and is happy to enjoy a long engagement.
“I’ve got so much going with this record. This record’s going to, like, kill me. I’m really excited to get obviously married, but I kind of already feel married. I know we’re forever and I don’t really need a paper right now” – she added.

Miley Cyrus.

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Pop heartthrobs One Direction were the big winners at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.
The UK fivesome made their debut appearance at the awards (this time last year no one had even heard of them!) scooping up three coveted “Moonmen” for their hit “What Makes You Beautiful”.
“Guys what the hell! You are incredible, 3 VMAs!” band member Niall Horan tweeted after the show.
The lads even managed to top Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” to take out the award for Most Share-Worthy Video. Meanwhile Rihanna beat the Aussie singer in the Video of the Year category.
Chris Brown also shook things up, winning Best Male Video for his clip “Turn Up The Music” — and beating his rival (and recent punching partner) Drake’s collaboration with ex-girlfriend (and former punching bag) Rihanna.

2012 MTV Video Music Awards.

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A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and neighboring countries on Wednesday, sending panicked people into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami alert, but causing little damage. Authorities reported one confirmed death.
A wall at the University of Costa Rica’s school of electrical engineering is damaged after an earthquake in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Wednesday.
“When we felt the earthquake, we held onto each other because we kept falling” – said Rosa Pichardo, 45, who was walking on the beach in the town of Samara with her family when the quake hit.
“I’ve never felt anything like this. We just couldn’t stay standing. My feet gave out under me. It was terrible, terrible” – she said.
Officials said the quake collapsed some houses and at least one bridge and caused landslides that blocked highways. But Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla said there were no reports of major damage and called for calm.

Costa Rica earthquake.

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Griselda Blanco’s story was often told in numbers – she turned tricks at 14, and moved 300 kilos of cocaine a month in her 40′s.
Known as the “Godmother” of the cocaine racket, she had up to 20 aliases, and unsubstantiated lore said she ordered some 250 murders. Police put it closer to 40. She died Monday at 69 at the Cardiso butcher shop on 29th Street in a Medellin neighborhood, where the former madrina was gunned down after a life of drugs and murder. Her last act on earth was buying $150 worth of meat.
The cocaine trade pioneer, who made her mark by bloodying Miami’s streets, died the same way she was arrested in 1985 – with a Bible on her chest. It was a predictable end to a life marred by violence, prison, and impunity — a legacy nearly forgotten until filmmakers made her notorious. At least three feature films and an HBO series featuring Blanco were in the works at the time of her death.
“She found religion in later years” – said her former lover Charles Cosby, who expects to start shooting a film early next year called Hustle about his relationship with Blanco. “At the same time, you can’t bring a Bible to a gunfight.”

Griselda Blanco.

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Actor Michael Clarke Duncan (the miraculous mountain of muscle in the Oscar-nominated film “The Green Mile”) died Monday in Los Angeles after a massive heart attack in July.
The hulking 6-foot-5, 325-pound movie star passed away early in the day at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at age 54, his rep confirmed to the Daily News.
“(He) suffered a myocardial infarction on July 13 and never fully recovered” – the rep said.
His fiancee, Omarosa Manigault, a reality TV star and Baptist minister, performed CPR on Duncan when she found him unresponsive the morning he entered the hospital seven weeks ago – a source told The News.
Duncan left the intensive care unit in early August but remained hospitalized.
“I’ll miss you, my brother,” actor Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, Duncan’s co-star in 2002 flick “The Scorpion King,” wrote on Twitter.

Michael Clarke Duncan.

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Maybe everything really is bigger in Texas.
Alabama’s experienced offensive line opened Texas-sized holes for the team’s stable of running backs, AJ McCarron had a big day behind center and the defense had no problem filling the big shoes left by its pro-playing predecessors in a 41-14 blowout over Number 8 Michigan Saturday night.
It was only fitting the primetime season-opener between top-10 teams took place at Cowboys Stadium, a larger-than-life venue that still barely managed to contain a reloaded roster for the Tide that showed it has every intention of contending for a second straight national championship in 2012.
“This was a really good team win for us” – Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “This team has the challenge of trying to create an identity for themselves in terms of how they competed and how they played, and I think they took a step in the right direction.”
Many experts questioned if McCarron would have any trouble following up a breakout first season at quarterback that culminated in Offensive MVP honors in New Orleans. After one game, the early answer is not at all.

College Football Scores.

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Clint Eastwood’s bizarre chat to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention has sparked a new internet craze, dubbed “Eastwooding”.
“The Dirty Harry” actor made a surprise appearance at the climax of the convention on Thursday to endorse presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
But he made the internet’s day with a speech in which he hectored an empty chair representing an invisible president Barack Obama.
The speech (which ran more than twice as long as intended and had some Republicans looking at each other in bewilderment) became an online craze.

Clint Eastwood.

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Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty killed himself Thursday after a heated argument with his estranged wife in the Bronx, police sources told the Daily News.
Lighty (a longtime manager who worked with the likes of 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey) walked away from the argument after declaring “I’m tired of this,” before shooting himself in the head behind his South Riverdale home about 11:30 a.m., the sources said.
Cops found Lighty, 44, the founder and chief of Violator Management, lying faceup on the basement patio in a pool of blood with a 9-mm. pistol at his side – the sources said.
The shocking suicide followed a wild spat between Lighty and his 36-year-old wife, Veronica, who filed for divorce last year.
Moving trucks were at the home, as the veteran music manager prepared to move out of the three-story townhouse – sources said.
Law enforcement sources said Lighty’s wife of seven years told police he was facing financial woes that include a $5 million debt to the IRS. However, The Associated Press reported that Lighty paid off most of what he owed by selling a Manhattan apartment for $5,6 million in October.

Chris Lighty.

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