The News Of …

Nora Ephron, the essayist, author and filmmaker who thrived in the male-dominated worlds of movies and journalism, has died. She was 71.
She died of leukemia Tuesday night at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, her family said in a statement.
“She was so, so alive” – said her friend Carrie Fisher. “It makes no sense to me that she isn’t alive anymore.”
Born into a family of screenwriters, Ephron was a top journalist in her 20′s and 30′s, then a best-selling author and successful director. Loved, respected and feared for her devastating and diverting wit, she was among the most quotable and influential writers of her generation.
She wrote and directed such favorites as “Julie & Julia” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” and her books included the novel “Heartburn,” a roman a clef about her marriage to Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein. And the popular essay collections “I Feel Bad About My Neck” and “I Remember Nothing.”
She was tough on others (Bernstein’s marital transgressions were immortalized in “Heartburn”) and relentless about herself. She wrote openly about her difficult childhood, her failed relationships, her doubts about her physical appearance and the hated intrusion of age.

Nora Ephron.

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Music fans the world over can mark 25 June 2009 as one of those eerie days that force them to recall exactly what they were doing in the moments before they heard tragic news. Michael Jackson died that day – at the age of 50, and the world was not ready to see him go.
No entertainer could ever fill the void that MJ left behind, but his memory has not faded in the three years that he’s been gone. In the past 12 months alone, we’ve seen Jackson-inspired productions, heard narratives from celebrities who continually cite him as a key influence. And this summer his face will be plastered on Pepsi cans to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his classic album Bad. Keep reading to see a few examples from the past year that prove that Jackson has remained forever in the heart of pop culture.

Michael Jackson.

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Kevin Youkilis is changing his Sox. After weeks of speculation and a weekend that featured reporters offering round-the-clock updates on his status, the Red Sox have traded the 33-year-old three-time All-Star and about 5,5 million dollars in cash to the White Sox for 25-year-old righty reliever Zach Stewart and 28-year-old utilityman Brent Lillibridge. The move solves a pair of problems for Boston, opening up playing time for hot-hitting rookie Will Middlebrooks while removing the distraction created by a disgruntled veteran seemingly at odds with his manager in a media-saturated environment. Not to be overlooked is the impact on the White Sox, who have received such dismal production from their third basemen that even in less than mint condition, Youkilis may be an upgrade, and a player who benefits with a change of scenery.

Kevin Youkilis.

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Lori “Lolo” Jones’ Olympic dream is alive and well.
A third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the USA Olympic Track and Field trials Saturday at Hayward Field sends the celebrated Iowa-born, Louisiana-trained, “still pure” athlete to the London Olympic Games, with a crack at erasing her sad memories of the 2008 Beijing Games.
“I woke up this morning and didn’t even think I’d make this team” – she said.
“Now, I’m just thrilled that I overcame all those fears and got there.”
This five-ringed reprise opportunity nearly didn’t happen. Midway through the eight-runner final, Jones seemed out of team contention. But a mighty burst over the final two barriers brought her up to third place, with a 12.80 clocking back of 1-2 finishers Dawn Harper (12.73) and Kellie Wells (12.77.)
A huge rally got her past Virginia Crawford (who ran 12.90) and into that all-or-nothing, go-or-stay-home third position.
The nightmare she’d endured for four years, the trauma she encountered in China, was officially over.
She’ll be able to celebrate her 30th birthday – July 5 – in London, in style.
With the sun finally out after an earlier rain delay, in this place they call “Tracktown USA,” “Lolo” could smile at last.

Lolo Jones.

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There is an uneasiness in the basketball heartland. There is, outside of south Florida, a muted reply to the new NBA champions.
LeBron James is being handed his proper respect, but nearly every package delivered is dripping with reluctance.
The Miami Heat (the Prefab Five) vanquished the deer in the headlights Thunder to finally validate its July 2010 celebration, and James is being toasted with a round of praise and handwringing. The high and mighty are chastising those who ever doubted LeBron, even if they were once among those firing keyboard arrows into his hide.
All hail King James. Behold the new NBA order.
But that doesn’t mean people have to like it. The vast consensus is that this will go down as one of the least nationally popular victories of our time. And while it would be moronic not to respect the accomplishment. It would be equally muttonheaded not to understand there are valid reasons why many find it distasteful.
There was absolutely nothing illegal or even immoral with the way LeBron and Chris Bosh conspired to join forces in a warm weather city with Dwyane Wade. They cannot be blamed for taking advantage of their collectively bargained rights.

LeBron James.

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Summer officially kicks off today, with the summer solstice marking the longest day of the year on June 20 – at least in the Northern Hemisphere.
This year’s summer solstice takes place a day earlier than it’s been for the past three years, due to the fact that 2012 is a leap year—this February got an extra day, to keep our calendar year of 365 days in sync with the astronomical year, which is about 365.24 days.
In general, the exact timing of the summer solstice changes from year to year, “but there’s a bigger jump when you have a leap year” – explained Mark Hammergren, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
“But it’s still always going to be around June 20 or 21.”

Summer Solstice.

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It’s no secret that some celebs use reality shows to launch other ventures, and once K.Michelle grabs the attention of “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” fans, she plans to keep them hooked.
“One thing R.Kelly told me is that once you get the attention, you have to keep it with the talent” – the Pied Piper protege told VibeVixen.com.
“My main focus has been my music and it’s not gonna stop. I was signed to a record label, and I hardly got any promo. I can see today that more people are picking up old music like it’s new. I think it’s gonna help me and people get to know who I am and it’s up to me to make sure that the music sticks.”
While her New York counterparts, Olivia and Teairra Mari, hope to sign record deals, K.Michelle said she just got out of one, and isn’t eager to go back.
“The point in my career now: do I even want a record deal? I fought out of a record deal, and I haven’t even been out of my deal for a year yet. Now, I’m trying to decide on how I want to put out music and is it time for me to put out music” – she said.
Hopefully, starring on a reality series won’t be a distraction for K.Michelle, who didn’t hesitate to join the show’s cast.
“I knew that I wanted to do the show from New York, because when I saw it, it was about the struggles of women and what they were going through” – she said.

K. Michelle.

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Jack Osbourne (the 26-year-old former reality star and son of Ozzy and Sharon) has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The former star of MTV’s “The Osbournes” told People magazine in an interview that he was diagnosed with the disease just two weeks after he welcomed the birth of his first child with fiancee Lisa Stelly – CBS News reported.
“I was just angry and frustrated and kept thinking, ‘Why now?’” Osbourne, said.
Dr. Karen Blitz-Shabbir, director of the North Shore-LIJ MS Care Center at Glen Cove Hospital in Glen Cove, N.Y., told HealthPop that the peak time a person is diagnosed with MS is in fact between the ages of 20 and 30.
“It is the most common, chronic, neurodegenerative condition affecting young people” – she explained.
But the disease can also be diagnosed in children as young as 10 and in seniors. Blitz-Shabbir (who is not involved in Osbourne’s care) said the disease strikes more women than men – in about a two to one ratio – and affects about 400.000 people in the United States.
Multiple sclerosis affects each person differently – according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The chronic disease attacks the central nervous system, resulting in symptoms that range from mild numbness in the limbs to more severe symptoms like paralysis or loss of vision, depending on the severity of the disease and the areas of the brain it affects.

Jack Osbourne.

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This Father’s Day, the most important thing to me is to celebrate it with my children. As a father of two, I know the struggles that many families face in this tough economy and share in the hopes and desires for a better future for all our kids.
Almost all fathers share two big worries – Will our children be able to lead healthy and productive lives, and will we be there to witness and support their transformation into outstanding adults? We worry whether they will be able to grow up in safe neighborhoods with good schools, live in a clean environment, and prosper in a turbulent economy. We always want what is best for them, and we work hard to ensure that their futures are much brighter than our own.
The future holds many uncertainties, but today there is one thing we can be certain about – our children will have quality health care thanks to the health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act. The law enacts many benefits for children and their fathers (and mothers), and these benefits are all at stake if the Supreme Court decides to overturn the ACA this month.
Much has been said about what is now known as “Obamacare” – and much of it is simply not true. The conservative talking points that get many riled up – “government takeover of health care” or “death panels” – simply serve as a distraction from the truth of what the law has already accomplished.

Father's Day.

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Lindsay Lohan has been hospitalised after she was found unconscious in a California hotel – according to reports.
Paramedics were called to the penthouse suite at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey on Friday to attend to “the Mean Girls” star (who had allegedly stopped breathing).
No further details about the circumstances surrounding Lohan’s health scare or her condition were available as WENN went to press.
The actress, who has battled drink and drug problems, had been shooting her official comeback movie – TV project “Liz & Dick”, in nearby Los Angeles.

Lindsay Lohan.

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