Star Kicks Ball Boy,Just when it seemed Chelsea's reputation couldn't sink any lower after a controversy-ridden 2012, along came "Ballboygate."
The Football Association's disciplinary body is set to open a fresh file on the English club Thursday after winger Eden Hazard was sent off for kicking a 17-year-old ball boy while attempting to retrieve the ball toward the end of a League Cup semifinal match against Swansea........ctvnews.ca
The Belgium winger has apologized to the ball boy -- and will not face criminal charges -- but will be handed a minimum three-match ban for violent conduct, depriving Chelsea of one of its top players.
Worse for the European champions, however, is having face up to further accusations that its millionaire players are out of control, soon after the racism scandals involving John Terry, Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel that blighted 2012.
"It is an extraordinary incident," former referee Dermot Gallagher said. "There's no defence for that. Someone said it was borne out of frustration but you have to accept it . it was an extreme but you can't have that at a football match."
The incident sparked a flurry of activity on social networking sites and induced imaginative headlines in British newspapers, such as "Ed Case," "Occupational Hazard" and "Boots of Hazard." BBC radio has already been referring to it as "Ballboygate."
Civil War Shipwreck, Before government engineers can deepen one of the nation's busiest seaports to accommodate future trade, they first need to remove a $14 million obstacle from the past -- a Confederate warship rotting on the Savannah River bottom for nearly 150 years.
Confederate troops scuttled the ironclad CSS Georgia to prevent its capture by Gen. William T. Sherman when his Union troops took Savannah in December 1864. It's been on the river bottom ever since.
Now, the Civil War shipwreck sits in the way of a government agency's $653 million plan to deepen the waterway that links the nation's fourth-busiest container port to the Atlantic Ocean. The ship's remains are considered so historically significant that dredging the river is prohibited within 50 feet of the wreckage.
So the Army Corps of Engineers plans to raise and preserve what's left of the CSS Georgia. The agency's final report on the project last month estimated the cost to taxpayers at $14 million. The work could start next year on what's sure to be a painstaking effort.
And leaving the shipwreck in place is not an option: Officials say the harbor must be deepened to accommodate supersize cargo ships coming through an expanded Panama Canal in 2014 -- ships that will bring valuable revenue to the state and would otherwise go to other ports.
Alvin Gentry fired, The Phoenix Suns have fired coach Alvin Gentry, calling it a mutual agreement in announcing the decision Friday.
The Suns said in a news release that no interim coach has been chosen but that one would be selected in the next couple of days.
Coming off a home loss Thursday night, their first loss in Phoenix to the Milwaukee Bucks in 26 years, the Suns (13-28) apparently decided it was time to make a coaching move.
Gentry, Suns managing partner Robert Sarver and president Lon Babby reportedly had a late-night meeting, but Gentry was not let go at that time. A decision was made Friday morning.
The Suns lost star guard Steve Nash in the offseason and sought to offset that loss by adding Wesley Johnson and Michael Beasley. But Phoenix finds itself in last place in the Western Conference with the fourth-worst record in the league.
The Suns have lost 13 of their past 15 games and 20 of 26.
Still, some Phoenix players praised Gentry while confirming the dismissal. Suns forward-center Channing Frye, for example, tweeted:
"I have grown so much under @AlvinGentry. I wish him and his family the best. He's a great coach and a better man. #thanksalvin"
Gentry, 58, was in the final contract year of his contract. He was 158-144 with the Suns, his fourth head-coaching stint.
Stephen Colbert’s Sister,Stephen Colbert has long teased the possibility of political runs. He even started a campaign in “the United States of South Carolina” during his long-running effort to satirize the American electoral process.
But now, his sister is jumping into the for-real variety of a campaign, exploring a run for the U.S. Congress from their home state of South Carolina.
She’s not alone in pursuing the seat vacated by Sen. Tim Scott, the ex-congressman appointed by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to Jim DeMint’s former Senate seat.
It’s the same special election where Mark Sanford – the former governor with the South American mistress – is plotting his political redemption. Read more about that HERE.
News of the nascent House campaign for Elizabeth Colbert-Busch was first reported by the Washington Post, citing a state party official.
Colbert-Bush, who works as a business development director at Clemson University’s Restoration Institute, will have to win a Democratic primary March 19 if she wants her name on the ballot in the May 7 special election to replace Scott in the conservative district.
son steals dad corpse, The son of a 93-year-old steals his dad’s corpse from a temporary location used before a scheduled burial, and you can only imagine what Swanson Funeral Home thought when the body went missing.
On the morning of January 15, Clarence Bright was set to be buried at the Gethsemane cemetery in Detroit, but the body vanished with its entire casket, leaving no clues where it could be found.
However, law enforcement officials found the casket after conducting a search in the back of a van, but it was empty, with only a few signs indicating that a body once filled it.
At the funeral, his son put together a beautiful speech and talked about his love for his father, but no one thought he was serious when he said his dad wouldn’t be dead for long.
Some people, who are very religious, asked if this tale could be true, that Bright got up and walked out of the Funeral Home, but soon heard about the theft that took place by the man’s 48-year-old son.
Nicole Kidman movie annoys royals,Prince Albert Of Monaco and his sisters have lashed out at the producers and director of Nicole Kidman's new movie in which the actress portrays their mother, Princess Grace.
The European royals are far from happy with Olivier Dahan's film Grace of Monaco, which attempts to chronicle an alleged historical feud between the leaders of Monaco and France, and actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly's role in the stand-off.
An official statement released by Prince Albert of Monaco and his sisters Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie reads "For us, this film does not constitute a biographical work but portrays only a part of her life and has been pointlessly glamorized and contains important historical inaccuracies as well as scenes of pure fiction".
The film also features Tim Roth as the royal siblings' father Prince Rainier and actresses Parker Posey and Paz Vega.
Kidman wrapped the movie last week (ends11Jan13) and it is scheduled for release in 2014.
How to cut your fingernails in space,Clipping your finger nails here on Earth is already a tedious task.
But how annoying would it be to do in space? Without the comfortable pull of gravity, those sharp, crescent moon-shaped slivers of keratin would be all up in your face — literally.
Thankfully, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has mastered the art. He uploaded a DIY video from onboard the International Space Station about the best ways to file down your claws while floating in zero gravity.
Subway Sandwiches Not Foot Long, The famous Subway Foot Long sandwiches turned out not to really be a foot long, according to a recent investigation that was launched in New York.
Subway customers are pulling out their measuring tapes after Internet postings claimed that the world famousrestaurant chain is shortening the Foot Long Sub, putting the Milford, Connecticut-based company in the hot seat.
The controversy began on Tuesday in Perth, Australia, when a very precise customer, identified as Matt Corby, ordered a Foot Long Sub and then pulled out a tape measure. Corby found that the sub measured just 11 inches long and not the 12 inches as it should. so he took his outrage to facebook, where he posted a picture of his Sub next to the tape measure on the company facebook page with the caption: "subway please respond.”
The page with the photo of Corby, is not available on facebook at this time. Screen shots taken from his image were republished elsewhere online.
A New York City based research found the issue to be more the rule than the exception.
According to a local newspaper, four of the seven Five dollars Foot Longs bought at Subways in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, measured only between 11 and 11.5 inches. The owner of a local franchise told the newspaper that the chain has cut their deli meats by 25 percent and recently raised the cost of food to individual store owners.
Subway attributed the Sub length discrepancy to the fact that the bread is baked fresh daily in each of its 38,000 restaurants. They say, however, that they are investigating the matter.
Blob In Space,Blob In Space, Back in 2007, Dutch schoolteacher and amateur astronomer Hanny van Arkel spotted a strange object near a distant spiral galaxy...and nobody had any idea what it was. Now, four years later, we're finally learning the truth about this mysterious object
Hanny's Voorwerp - which is simply Dutch for "Hanny's Object" - confounded astronomers when van Arkel first brought it to their attention in 2007. They knew it was a massive green blob in space, but that was pretty much it, as nothing like the object had ever been seen before. Hubble has now been able to discover active star birth in a part of Hanny's Voorwerp that faces the nearby spiral galaxy IC 2497, located about 650 million light-years from Earth......io9.
The galaxy's gas is trickling out across the cosmos to the object, fueling continued star formation. Most of the stars are born in one particular small region of Hanny's Voorwerp, and this area is collapsing as more and more stars form. Indeed, galaxy IC 2497 has long been meddling in the affairs of Hanny's Voorwerp. The black hole at the center of the galaxy likely created a quasar, an intense light beacon that shot towards the object, giving the gas cloud its strange green glow. Hanny's Voorwerp is green because it has lots of oxygen molecules inside it, which are turned green in the incredibly bright light.
Python On Plane Wing, Passengers on a Qantas flight from Australia to Papua new Guinea got a little surprise when they looked out the window: There was a python on the plane wing.
According to the Reuters, a nine foot Amethystine python was spotted on the plane wing halfway through the flight. Reported Inquister...
A Qantas spokesman Thomas Woodward told The Star that the snake likely crawled aboard the plane during the night and was not noticed by the crew before takeoff.
Woodward said:
“The snake was seen by passengers while the aircraft was cruising. The most likely scenario is that the snake had taken refuge on the exterior of the aircraft overnight.”
Reuters reports that the snake managed to hold on for the duration of the one hour and 50-minute flight. Unfortunately, the snake was found dead when the plane landed. Woodward said that the plane was traveling at about 250 mph and that the temperature outside the plane was about 10 degrees fahrenheit during the flight.
Qantas said that there was no damage done to the plane during the incident and that the jet was cleared to fly shortly after arrival.
Woodward said:
“On arrival the snake carcass was handed to local authorities and the aircraft was inspected by engineers before being cleared to fly.”
Meredith Vieira Swears on air, Meredith Vieira dropped an s-bomb on-air as she was filling in for Kathie Lee Gifford on the fourth hour of Thursday’s Today show.
Al Roker was so amused he raised his arms in triumph.
The slip came as the crew was returning from a commercial break,
Ironically the slip came shortly after she and Hoda Kotb had been discussing her alleged potty mouth and shown a clip from a previous time Vieira had done the same thing on the air.
Bradley Cooper Zoe Aldana Breakup, Happy Friday chismosos! Get your daily gossip fix below:
- Word is that Zoe Saldana is a single lady! Us Weekly reports that the half-Puerto Rican and Dominican actress called it quits with her The Words co-star, Bradley Cooper. "She and Bradley weren't super serious at all," says a friend to the gossip magazine. However a source close to the actor claims, "He dumped her. He just doesn't want to be in a relationship at the moment." Bueno, no matter who did the dumping it seems like one thing is certain – these lovebirds are over!
- Jessica Alba may always look bohemian chic with her stylish scarves, but the Mexican American actress admits that she wears the accessory to cover up baby puke! "I wear scarves, mostly because it's an accessory that can dress up an outfit, so you're not just wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. But it's also because if my baby has an accident -- and I'm holding the baby -- I can cover that accident up! So I'm not walking around with a big puke stain or poo stain on my shirt!" Very smart mamacita. We wonder what other fashion secrets she has hiding in her closet!
Facebook messenger voice calls, Facebook Messenger, the text messaging app for everyone’s favorite social network, is now a full-fledged communications tool that also supports voice calls, much like Skype, WhatsApp, and other IM clients.
Facebook Messenger version 2.1 allows users to send quick voice messages when they have more to say and no time to type. Some minor improvements and bug fixes are incorporated in this release as well.
Most importantly, though, the update brings the ability to call friends for free right from Facebook Messenger.
As it is the case with Skype and other VoIP apps, the free calling feature will use your existing data plan, and you’ll be calling people for free only as long as they have Facebook Messenger installed as well.
Facebook says that while they’ve added voice calling support in the app itself, the feature won’t be immediately available.
“Free calling uses your existing data plan, and will be rolling out over the next few weeks,” according to Mark Zuckerberg’s people.
New Lions at Calgary Zoo, After nearly six months in the city, two male lions finally made their public debut at the Calgary Zoo Thursday.
Tom CruiseCruise doesn't let his height get in the way of his attraction to tall women.
How Tall is Tom Cruise?His height is regularly listed as being either 5ft 7 or 5ft 9 in the earlier days. In 1988 he said "I have always been pretty much the same weight, 147 pounds - at 5 feet 9 inches". Ex-wife Nicole remarked in 2001, 'Now I can wear heels again'. She also said she was a couple of inches taller than him.
PrinceA rock 'n' roll fashion icon, Prince is known for rocking his guitar in high heels.
How tall is Prince?Prince — height: 5 feet 2 inches (1.58 meters)
SnookiThere's a reason this tiny "Jersey Shore" cast member is always sporting high heels and stilettos. Snooki, real name Nicole Polizzi, is the midget sized brown, sexy "Guidette" on Jersey Shore and she could nearly qualify as being a "little person.
How tall is Snooki?Nicole Polizzi — height: 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 meters)
Conan O'BrienStanding taller than most of his guests O'Brien is probably wishing the ratings of his cable show hadn't fallen from such great heights since its hyped debut on this network.
How tall is Conan O’BrienConan O'Brien — height: 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 meters)
Nicole KidmanDate of Birth 20 June 1967, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Birth Name Nicole Mary Kidman Nickname Nic Mini Biography
Man trapped hunting for lottery ticket, A 76-year-old man trapped himself in an underground waste paper container in Amsterdam after he clambered in to hunt for a lottery ticket.
walk off the earth cover taylor swift, Last year, Walk Off the Earth came out with a video on January 5 that would become a YouTube sensation, a cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know." It had 5 members of the band all playing one guitar, and it would go on to be the second-highest viewed video of 2012. WOTE is kicking off 2013 with a cover of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble," teaming with amazing beatboxer KRNFX. Collaboration is becoming increasingly important in how YouTube perceives your channel, so this is a good example of that.
I love how all the backing vocals basically steal the show here, as they basically all recreate the song's instruments from voice alone.
Now, it's not likely this becomes a "Somebody That I Used to Know" type of hit, mainly because it doesn't have that unique 5-on-1 guitar kind of content. That setup drove views, then Gotye's original song blew up, and WOTE got a lot more based on the song's increasing popularity, owed much in part to what they did with it. That said, it should be one of Walk Off the Earth's more popular videos when all is said and done, because of the Taylor Swift connection and the collaboration with KRNFX, who's carved out a nice audience on YouTube in his own right.
Bazinga Bee Big Bang Theory, A Brazilian biologist named a species of Brazilian orchid bee 'Euglossa bazinga'CNN reported today, in honor of Dr.Sheldon Cooper, played by two-time Emmy-winning Jim Parsons.
Brazilian biologist Andre Nemesio from the Universidade Federal de Uberlandia recently discovered a new bee species that he thinks fits the "bazinga" bill. Because the new species so closely resembles the Euglossa ignita, a more common Western Brazilian orchid bee, it wasn't recognized as a separate species -- therefore it "tricked" scientists for years.
Orchid bees are a beautiful, but poorly understood type of bee, that collect all sorts of chemicals that they then use to attract females. These bees co-evolved with the plants they collect from, and the plants rely on the bees for pollination.
The specific epithet honors the clever, funny, captivating 'nerd' character Sheldon Cooper...Sheldon Cooper's favorite comic word "bazinga", used by him when tricking somebody, was here chosen to represent the character. Euglossa bazinga sp. n. has tricked us for some time due to its similarity to E. ignita, what led us to use 'bazinga.'"
"The idea was to honor actor Jim Parsons and his brilliant interpretation of Sheldon Cooper,"
Steven Molaro, one of "The Big Bang Theory's" executive producers, told CBS, "We are always extremely flattered when the science community embraces our show. Sheldon would be honored to know that Euglossa bazinga was inspired by him. In fact, after 'Mothra' and griffins, bees are his third-favorite flying creatures."