Chris Kelly of Rap Duo Kris Kross Dead at 34

Chris Kelly, one half of the '90s rap duo Kris Kross, has died of a possible drug overdose, Georgia authorities said.

Kelly, 34, was pronounced dead Wednesday night at the Atlanta Medical Center, Clint Harbin, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, said.

Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death and an autopsy is expected to be performed later today.

"It appears it may have been a possible drug overdose," said Cpl. Kay Lester, a spokeswoman for the Fulton County police, according to The Associated Press.

Kelly (known as "Mac Daddy"), along with Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, the backward-pants-wearing mini-rappers, rose to fame with their song "Jump" from their 1992 album, "Totally Krossed Out."
"Jump" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remained there for eight weeks.

Kelly and Smith were discovered by music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri in an Atlanta mall. Kelly was 13 when "Totally Krossed Out" was released. The album went on to multiplatinum status thanks to "Jump," which remained a popular song throughout 1992.

They toured with Michael Jackson later that year during his "Dangerous World Tour."

Their gimmick of wearing clothes backward won over legions of fans and allowed the duo to cross over into mainstream success. They even went on to release their own video game titled "Kris Kross: Make My Video" for the Sega CD console.

They released "Da Bomb" in 1993, which failed to match the success of their prior album. One of the singles off the album, also titled "Da Bomb," featured female rapper Da Brat.

The group's last album, "Young, Rich & Dangerous," was released in 1996 and reached gold status.
Earlier this year, the group performed together in Atlanta to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dupri's label, So So Def.

"He actually was still working on music and recording," said Yahoo music writer Billy Johnson Jr., who interviewed Kelly in February.

"He said he had several hundred songs that he had recorded and he had mentioned that during his time away from releasing music that he had actually gone back to school to learn how to be a studio engineer," Johnson said.

Johnson also discussed questions about Kelly's health after pictures surfaced online with patches of his hair missing.

"I asked him about that and he said he had skin disease called alopecia and he said that those rumors had been very hurtful because people thought he had cancer and it wasn't true," Johnson said.

Rapper LL Cool J tweeted a link to his new song, "Jump on It," and dedicated it to Kelly.

"R.I.P Chris Kelly. This song is now officially dedicated to you. May GOD embrace your soul & lift up your family," he tweeted."

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and Da Brat also both tweeted condolences overnight.

Source: ABC News

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Reese Witherspoon Arrested for Disorderly Conduct

Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon was arrested in Atlanta for alleged disorderly conduct after her husband, talent agent James Toth, was stopped by police on suspicion of drunken driving, online Hollywood magazine Variety reported on Sunday.

Witherspoon, 37, was arrested early on Friday after she quarreled with officers who had taken Toth, 42, into custody during a traffic stop of the couple on Peachtree Street, Variety said, citing an Atlanta police report.

Toth, who was behind the wheel, was pulled over when he crossed a double line on the road, Variety said, citing the police report. Appearing disheveled and smelling of alcohol, he then failed a blood-alcohol breath test administered at the scene, according to the report.

Witherspoon was warned to stay inside the vehicle, but after her husband's arrest, she got out of the automobile and said, "she was a 'U.S. citizen' and that she had the right to 'stand on American ground,'" according to Variety.

Witherspoon herself was then arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct.

The magazine, citing the arresting police officer's account in the report, said: "Mrs. Witherspoon asked, 'Do you know my name?' I answered, 'No, I don't need to know your name.' I then added, 'right now.' Mrs. Witherspoon stated, 'You're about to find out who I am.'"

The report cited by Variety further quoted Witherspoon as telling the officer, "You're going to be on national news."

The couple was released from custody at about 3:30 a.m. on Friday, and were scheduled to appear in court on Monday, but sources told Variety that their attorney is expected to request a later date.

The couple married in 2011 and have a son together. Witherspoon has two children from her first husband, actor Ryan Phillippe.

Witherspoon won an Oscar for her work in the 2005 film about country music star Johnny Cash, "Walk the Line," in which she played his wife, June Carter Cash.

Source: Reuters

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'Leave It to Beaver' Star Frank Bank Dies at 71

Frank Bank, best known for his role as Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on the classic TV series Leave It to Beaver, has died. He was 71.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Bank died Saturday, but the location and cause of death were not revealed.

His former Beaver co-star Jerry Mathers, who played the title character on the 1958-63 comedy, told the Times that he had been hospitalized recently in Rancho Mirage and had been suffering from illnesses.

"Lumpy was the ultimate bully, but Frank was a very, very kind and gentle person and a very good actor to play it so well," Mathers said. "The show was about all the people you knew growing up and throughout your life, and Frank brought that perspective to the show."

But Bank was unable to distance himself from the role after the show ended. He later reprised the character in the 1980s series The New Leave It to Beaver as well as in a 1983 TV movie, Still the Beaver. He also had a cameo as "Frank" in the 1997 movie Leave It to Beaver.

But he gave up acting for a while, becoming a stock-and-bond broker in the 1970s, with clients including Mathers and former co-star Barbara Billingsley.

Born April 12, 1942, in Los Angeles, Bank got his start with an uncredited part in the 1950 movie Cargo to Capetown and other small TV roles before landing Beaver.

His memoir, Call Me Lumpy, was published in 1997. In the book, he detailed his "perpetual sexfest" of the 1960s and revealed that he "slept with over 1,000 women."

Bank is survived by his wife, Rebecca; four daughters; and five grandchildren.

Source: Hollywood Reports

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Lindsay Lohan Surrenders To Santa Monica Police In Plea Deal

Lindsay Lohan has surrendered to Santa Monica police after her no-contest plea to charges related to a Pacific Coast Highway car crash.

Lohan had her mug shot taken Tuesday, but she was not held.

The booking was largely a formality after a judge sentenced her to five days in jail as part of a plea agreement. The time will be served during her 90-day stint in a rehabilitation facility.

The "Mean Girls" star avoided jail in a last-minute deal by pleading no contest last month to misdemeanor reckless driving and providing false information to police.

A charge of willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer was dismissed. In addition to spending 90 days in rehab, she must also spend 18 months in psychotherapy and serve 30 days of community service.

In pleading no contest, Lohan admitted that she had violated her probation in a 2011 shoplifting case.

Lohan also caught up with David Letterman during an appearance on his CBS talk show Tuesday, saying her upcoming three-month stay in rehab is a blessing, not a curse.

Lohan, 26, is being required to spend the time in rehab as part of her sentence for lying to Santa Monica Police about who was driving a Porsche on Pacific Coast Highway that collided with a truck.

Letterman asked the actress, “Aren’t you supposed to be in rehab now?”

Lohan replied, “Do you not watch anything that goes on? May 2.”

Letterman asked how many times she’s been in rehab, to which she responded, “Several.”

Lohan quickly noted that Letterman's line of questioning had not been part of the pre-interview for her appearance on the show, in advance of her new movie, "Scary Movie 5."

But she then explained her feelings: “I’m the happiest when I’m working, and the healthiest. And I think [rehab] is an opportunity for me to, you know, focus on what I love in life.

"And I don’t think it’s a bad thing," she said. "I think it’s a blessing ... and not a curse.”

Letterman asked whether Lohan has “addiction problems.” She replied that he sounded like Dr. Phil.

In sentencing Lohan to rehab, a Los Angeles judge directed her not to leave the facility for any reason. The center does not have to be locked, but the judge made it clear that Lohan's probation would be violated if she left at any time.

Officials will be monitoring her progress.

After the sentencing, her attorney, Mark Heller, said, "I'm very confident that you won't be seeing Lindsay Lohan in any criminal courts any time in the future."

He added: "She has fully recognized all of the issues that have to be addressed, and I'm very confident she'll be able to move forward in her life with dignity, pride and respect."

Source: LA Times

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Unravelling The Mystery Of Pablo Neruda's Death

The remains of Chile's Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda are being exhumed on Monday in a bid to determine the cause of his death after his assistant alleged he was murdered by Gen Augusto Pinochet's military regime, the BBC's Gideon Long reports from Isla Negra.

Pablo Neruda's bones are interred in the garden of Isla Negra, his beloved beach house on Chile's Pacific coast. He is buried next to his wife and muse, Matilde Urrutia.

The poet died aged 69 on 23 September 1973, just 12 days after Gen Pinochet's military coup.

His death certificate says he died of prostate cancer, a view widely accepted for nearly four decades.

But his former personal assistant Manuel Araya says the poet was given a lethal injection in hospital.

Mr Araya says Neruda, a communist, was about to go into exile in Mexico from where he planned to lead the global opposition to the military dictatorship in his homeland.

"Until the day I die I will not alter my story," Mr Araya told the BBC.

"Neruda was murdered. They didn't want Neruda to leave the country so they killed him."

Cancer or poison?

Mr Araya's allegations have been taken seriously. Following an investigation, a judge decided there were sufficient grounds to warrant the poet's exhumation.

The forensic experts who are examining Neruda's remains say they will search for two things above all.

Firstly, they will look for evidence of cancer in the poet's bones. That would suggest the disease was at an advanced stage, and would support - although not prove - the theory that it caused his death.

Secondly, they will look for signs of toxins, the discovery of which would lend weight to Mr Araya's claims.

It will not be easy.

Nearly 40 years have passed since Neruda died and his organs and soft tissue have long since decomposed.

"The passage of time makes our job difficult," said Dr Patricio Bustos, director of Chile's Medical Legal Service, a state body overseeing the exhumation and examinations.

"But on the other hand there have been technological advances over the past 30 or 40 years that can help us."

Forensic dentist and anthropologist Claudia Garrido-Varas says that even though 40 years have passed, there are still things that can be found in the remains through toxicological analysis.

"If poison was used it would depend on the type of poison, the amount used and the number of doses administered."

The job of the forensics team has been made more difficult by an absence of medical records from the hospitals where Neruda was treated.

He died in the Santa Maria hospital in the capital, Santiago.

According to newspaper reports from the time, the hospital issued a medical bulletin stating he died of heart failure.

But the hospital says no record of that bulletin remains, and the poet's death certificate makes no mention of heart failure.

A few months before Mr Neruda died, the Chilean media reported that he underwent surgery at another Santiago hospital.

But officials at that hospital say there is no record of that, either.

The judge investigating Neruda's death has even sought medical records in France, where the poet was treated in the early 1970s while serving as Chile's ambassador in Paris.

Nothing has been found.

Mr Araya and the Chilean Communist Party say the absence of such records is deeply suspicious, particularly given Neruda's stature as a Nobel Prize winner and senior diplomat.

Despite the passage of time, Mr Araya says he remembers clearly what happened in the days after the military coup.


Mr Araya says Pablo Neruda told him he had been given an injection
He says Neruda was admitted to hospital on 19 September 1973, and was due to fly to Mexico on 24 September.

"On the morning of 23 September, Matilde and I went back to Isla Negra to collect some of his belongings," he recalls.

"While we were there we received a phone call from Neruda in the clinic.

"He said 'Come back here quickly! While I was sleeping a doctor came in and gave me an injection in the stomach.'"

Mr Araya says he and Matilde drove back to Santiago immediately. "Neruda died at around 2230 that evening," he remembers.

Matilde Urrutia died in 1985. She always denied her husband died of cancer but never publicly alleged he was murdered.

The Pablo Neruda Foundation, which oversees the poet's estate, insists he died of cancer but says it will cooperate with the exhumation and tests.

Source: BBC News

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Halle Berry Pregnancy Confirmed

Halle Berry is talking about becoming a mother for the second time at 46.

"I feel fantastic. This has been the biggest surprise of my life to tell you the truth," said Berry. Berry spoke about her work with designer Michael Kors and the U.N. World Food Programme to fight hunger.

The Academy Award-winning actress and fiance Olivier Martinez are expecting their first child together.

"I thought I was kind of past the point where this could be a reality for me. So it's been a big surprise and the most wonderful," the actress said.

In the interview, Berry said she did not know if she was having boy, as some other media outlets have reported.

Berry has been engaged to Martinez, 47, a French actor, for more than a year.

Berry also has a daughter, Nahla, 5, with her ex-boyfriend, Canadian model Gabriel Aubry. Berry waged a difficult custody battle with Aubry when she wanted to move with Nahla to France. The estranged couple reached a settlement in November.

Source: CNN News

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Actor Wesley Snipes Released From Prison

Actor Wesley Snipes has been released from a federal prison where he was serving a three-year sentence after being convicted on tax charges in February 2010.

The release to a supervised residential location in New York occurred Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

Snipes, 50, who starred in the "Blade" action movies and "White Men Can't Jump," had been serving time at a federal prison in Pennsylvania. A jury convicted him of willfully failing to file tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001. Snipes was acquitted of felony tax fraud and conspiracy charges.

In June 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of his sentence, which he had argued was too harsh for a misdemeanor conviction.

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Hollywood Release: Jurassic Park 3D [Watch Trailer]

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, and is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mazzello, Martin Ferrero and Bob Peck. The film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar near Costa Rica's Pacific Coast, where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs.

Before Crichton's book was even published, many studios had already begun bidding to acquire the picture rights. Spielberg, with the backing of Universal Studios, acquired the rights before publication in 1990, and Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. David Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, and made numerous changes to the characters. Filming took place in California and Hawaii.

Jurassic Park is regarded as a landmark in the use of computer-generated imagery, and received positive reviews from most critics. The film grossed over $900 million worldwide, surpassing another Spielberg film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, to become the highest-grossing film released up to that time (it was surpassed four years later by Titanic). It currently ranks as the 25th-highest-grossing film worldwide, and 20th-highest-grossing film in North America, adjusted for inflation. It is the highest-grossing film produced by Universal and directed by Spielberg. Jurassic Park won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

The film's success led to two sequels being made: The Lost World: Jurassic Park also directed by Spielberg, which was released on May 23, 1997, and Jurassic Park III, directed by Joe Johnston, which was released on July 18, 2001. A 3D re-release was released on April 5, 2013, to commemorate the movie's 20th Anniversary. Jurassic Park 4 is slated to be released on June 13, 2014 in 3D.

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Hollywood Release: Evil Dead [Watch Trailer]

Evil Dead is a 2013 American horror film co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez, and a remake of Sam Raimi's 1981 horror film The Evil Dead. It is the fourth installment of the Evil Dead franchise, serving as a reboot, and the first not to be directed by Raimi.

The film is the feature debut of Alvarez, whom Raimi selected. It was produced by Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Robert G. Tapert: the writer–director, lead actor, and producer of the original trilogy respectively. The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest festival on March 8, 2013. On March 9, it was announced that a sequel was in development.

The film opens with a girl being captured in the woods by a pair of men. She wakes up tied to a post in a basement, with an old woman reading the Necronomicon, saying that her soul must be saved. As her father is about to light her on fire, she at first pleads for him to save her but then reveals she is possessed, her skin turning pale and eyes yellow. She is burned to death.

Mia is attempting to stop her addiction to heroin with the support of three of her friends (Eric, Olivia, and Natalie) and her brother David. The siblings have a strained relationship due to the death of their mother. David, fearful her insanity was genetic and that he would suffer from it, ran away from the situation while Mia had to tend to her as she died, causing her addiction. The group is led to a secret cellar under the house (the site of the events at the beginning of the movie) by the smell of decaying animal carcasses. Eric finds the Necronomicon and, despite repeated warnings in the book, utters an incantation from it. Mia begins to see images of a girl with pale skin and yellow eyes. Later, going through withdrawal, she attempts to escape the woods but is captured by tree branches and raped by a long spiky worm-like tentacle which exits the mouth of the dead girl from the opening of the film and enters Mia's body and stays there.

Making her way back to the cabin, Mia attempts to warn David about the demon but the group believes she is trying to leave to find more drugs. Mia kills the family dog with a hammer and then burns herself in the shower, sustaining serious injuries. David attempts to drive her to a hospital, but the rainfall has flooded the exit routes. Back at the cabin, Mia, who now looks possessed, warns the group they will not survive the night. Mia attacks Olivia, vomiting in her mouth. In the struggle, Mia falls into the cellar and they lock her there. Olivia now shows signs of being possessed, and following a cue from the book, cuts off the skin from the lower half of her jaw with a piece of glass. When Eric tries to stop her, she attempts to kill him, but is stopped when he beats her head open with a piece of the sink.

While David treats Eric's wounds, Natalie hears the real Mia talking and goes into the cellar, only to be bitten on the hand by the possessed Mia. Natalie escapes, but her hand becomes possessed and she is forced to cut off her arm to prevent the spread. Eric reveals from reading the book that the demon needs to devour five souls to rise from the dead and rain blood. To do this, the demon has attached itself to Mia's soul, and the only ways to save her soul are to burn her, bury her alive, or dismember her. Natalie attacks David and Eric with a nailgun; she is killed in the struggle, but Eric sustains near-fatal injuries. David resolves to burn Mia and the cabin down, but at the last minute decides on a different plan.

David enters the cellar with tranquilizers but is attacked by Mia. Eric saves him but is stabbed to death in the process. David buries the possessed Mia with a bag over her head while she taunts him. After he sees a fire of paranormal origin extinguish itself, he digs her up and attempts to shock her heart back to life, the possession now removed. David goes back into the house for the car keys but is attacked by Eric, who was possessed due to the knife he was stabbed with having Mia's blood on it. David locks Mia out of the house then burns it down with himself and Eric still inside.

As Mia begins to walk away, blood begins to rain down, and the girl Mia saw earlier in the woods crawls out of the ground. After a long fight-and-chase sequence (including the demon pinning Mia's arm under their jeep and forcing herself to tear off her left hand), Mia manages to dismember the demon body with a chainsaw and it sinks back into the ground.

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Lindsay Lohan Might Not End Up in Any Rehab Clinic

Recently spotted having fun at parties, Lindsay Lohan might be trying to savor her moments of freedom before preparing herself to serve jail time. Lindsay, who was sentenced to 90-day lockdown rehab, might end up being behind bars because such facility reportedly does not exist across the United States.

"There is no rehab that will hold you against your will, unless they feel the person is a suicide risk, and in that case they can hold the individual for 72 hours," Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew", told TMZ. This situation undoubtedly makes the troubled starlet hard to avoid jail time since she might not be able to fulfill one of the terms her judge specifically ordered.

The "Mean Girls" actress, meanwhile, was spotted in Brazil on Sunday, March 31. Despite her recent troubles, Lindsay still managed to come all the way to South America to promote a clothing line called John John Denim and to have some fun in a Sao Paulo nightclub. Her father, Michael Lohan, is apparently not pleased about it.

In an open letter to the 26-year-old actress' booking agent Mike Heller, Michael warned him that he should take responsibility for his daughter. "I am telling you now if you are with Lindsay in Rio or you booked it, and anything happens to my daughter, I am holding you personally responsible," he wrote.

Michael then expressed his concern about Lindsay's well-being, writing, "Judging from what has happened to in the past, and the way she looks down there from the pictures in the media, it's not a good thing. If you have anything to do with her being there, its on you. Count on it."

Source: AceShowBiz

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US Music Producer And CD Pioneer Phil Ramone Dies

The US music producer and pioneer of digital recording, Phil Ramone, has died aged 79.

Ramone is regarded as one of the most successful producers in history, winning 14 Grammy awards and working with stars such as Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Elton John and Paul McCartney.

He produced the first major commercial release on CD, Billy Joel's 1982 album 52nd Street.

Some of his awards were for soundtracks to TV shows, films and stage plays.

A native of South Africa, Ramone learnt the violin at the age of three,

He became a US citizen at 12, and opened his own recording studio in 1958.

He produced three records that won Grammys for album of the year - Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years in 1976, 52nd Street and Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company in 2005.

"My career as an engineer and producer coincided with one of the most profound periods in pop music history: that of the contemporary singer-songwriter," he wrote in his 2007 book Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music.

Ramone also won Grammys for soundtracks to Flashdance, the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, and an Emmy for a TV special about jazz great Duke Ellington.

His last Grammy came in 2012, when he won best traditional pop vocal album for producing the Tony Bennett album Duets II.

He was known for bringing artists together for duets, producing efforts by Frank Sinatra and Bono, and Tony Bennett and Paul McCartney among others.

Ramone had been in hospital for several weeks, where he was being treated for an aortic aneurysm.

Confirming his death, his son Matt Ramone said he was "very loving and will be missed".

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Justin Bieber's Monkey Quarantined In Germany

Justin Bieber had to leave a monkey in quarantine after landing in Germany last week without the necessary papers for the animal, an official said Saturday.

The 19-year-old singer arrived at Munich airport last Thursday. When he went through customs, he didn't have the documentation necessary to bring the capuchin monkey into the country, so the animal had to stay with authorities, customs spokesman Thomas Meister said.

Bieber performed in Munich on Thursday, beginning the latest leg of his European tour. He later tweeted: "Munich was a good time. And loud. The bus is headed to Vienna now. U coming?" He didn't mention the monkey.

The Canadian singer is giving several concerts in Austria and then in Germany over the next week.
Bieber had a trying stay in London recently. The star struggled with his breathing and fainted backstage at a show, was taken to a hospital and then was caught on camera clashing with a paparazzo. Days earlier, he was booed by his beloved fans when he showed up late to a concert.

Source: Fox News

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Hollywood Release: G.I. Joe: Retaliation [Watch Trailer]

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by Jon M. Chu, based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe toy, comic and media franchises. It is a sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The film was written by Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. G.I. Joe: Retaliation features an ensemble cast, starring Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson, with Channing Tatum, Arnold Vosloo, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, and Lee Byung-hun reprising their roles from the first film. The film was released in North America on March 28, 2013.

The G.I. Joes are framed for stealing nuclear warheads from Pakistan by Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) who is impersonating the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce). The entire team is eliminated in a military strike with Duke (Channing Tatum) as one of the casualties. Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (D.J. Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) are the only survivors.

Meanwhile, Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) and ex-Joe Firefly (Ray Stevenson) rescue Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) from a penitentiary in Germany. Storm Shadow is injured during the escape and retreats to a temple in the Himalayas to recover. Upon learning that he is alive, the Blind Master (RZA), leader of the Arashikage Clan, sends Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and his apprentice Jinx (Elodie Yung), Storm Shadow's cousin, to capture Storm Shadow so he can answer for the murder of his uncle, the Hard Master.

Roadblock, Flint, and Lady Jaye return to the United States where they set up a base of operations in a rundown gym. After Zartan announces that Cobra will replace the Joes as America's main protective unit, Lady Jaye deduces that someone is impersonating the President and Roadblock leads them to General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis) who provides them with weapons and helps them infiltrate a fundraising event that the President will be attending, where Lady Jaye steals a sample of his DNA and confirms that he is Zartan. They escape after a brief confrontation with Firefly and Zandar (Matt Gerald), the head of the Presidential Detail and a member of Cobra.
Snake Eyes and Jinx locate and capture Storm Shadow after a battle with ninjas and take him back to Japan where Storm Shadow reveals that Zartan murdered the Hard Master and he joined Cobra to avenge his uncle, embittered that the clan didn't believe in his innocence. Storm Shadow then accompanies Snake Eyes and Jinx as they join the Joes' efforts to stop Cobra.

Zartan invites the world leaders to a summit, where he blackmails them into disabling their nuclear arsenals, and reveals that he has created Project Zeus: Seven orbital kinetic bombardment weapons of mass destruction at his command. He destroys central London to prove his superiority and threatens to destroy other capitals if the countries don't submit to Cobra. However, Storm Shadow betrays Cobra Commander and kills Zartan, revealing Cobra's deception to the world leaders. While Snake Eyes, Jinx and Flint fight Cobra's soldiers, Cobra Commander activates the remaining six weapons and instructs Firefly to protect the launch device. Firefly is killed in combat with Roadblock, who deactivates and destroys the orbital weapons. Meanwhile, Colton and Lady Jaye rescue the President.

Cobra Commander escapes during the battle and Storm Shadow disappears after avenging his uncle. The President initiates a global massive manhunt on Cobra Commander, who is now considered to be a terrorist, and reinstates the Joes with Roadblock leading Flint, Lady Jaye, Snake Eyes and Jinx, and recruiting more soldiers to join them. Roadblock swears to avenge Duke by capturing Cobra Commander.

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Hollywood Release: The Host [Watch Trailer]

The Host is an American science fiction film, adapted from Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel. It was released on March 29, 2013.

Earth has been inhabited by an intellegent alien species known as "Souls." Although an incredibly peaceful race, Souls can only survive by being inserted into a host body, taking control of their minds.

In an effort to discover the secret whereabouts of some of the last remaining human resistances, the Soul Wanderer has been inserted into the human being Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), who was captured while attempting to locate her family. After insertion, Wanderer comes to realize an unsettling fact- Melanie has not faded away in consciousness, and in fact is putting up walls in her mind to prevent her family from being found. As time passes and Wanderer tries to break Melanie's walls, she begins to feel sympathetic toward the humans Melanie loves so dearly- her brother Jamie and her partner, Jared Howe.

Wanderer becomes torn between loyalty to her own race, trying to give information to the argumentative Seeker assigned to her, and her blossoming love for the humans in her memories. As Wanderer's and Melanies trust builds, they embark on a journey through the desert to find the resistance, nearly dying in the process. Wanderer awakens to find herself captive in the den of the enemy, and realizes her problems have just begun: the humans want her dead, the doctor wants to experiment on her, and she may have accidentally lead the Seekers to some of the very last humans remaining.

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Hollywood Release: The Place Beyond The Pines [Watch Trailer]

The Place Beyond the Pines is a 2013 crime drama film directed by Derek Cianfrance, written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius Marder. It stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, and Ray Liotta. The film reunites Cianfance and Gosling, with whom he worked on 2010's Blue Valentine. The title is the English meaning of the city of Schenectady, New York, which is derived loosely from a Mohawk word for "place beyond the pine plains."

A mysterious and mythical motorcycle racer, Luke (Ryan Gosling), drives out of a traveling carnival globe of death and whizzes through the backstreets of Schenectady, New York, desperately trying to connect with a former lover, Romina (Eva Mendes), who recently and secretly gave birth to the stunt rider's son. In an attempt to provide for his new family, Luke quits the carnival life and commits a series of bank robberies aided by his superior riding ability.

The stakes rise as Luke is put on a collision course with an ambitious police officer, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), looking to quickly move up the ranks in a police department riddled with corruption. The sweeping drama unfolds over fifteen years as the sins of the past haunt the present day lives of two high school boys wrestling with the legacy they've inherited. The only refuge is found in the place beyond the pines.

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Harry Potter Actor Richard Griffiths Dies

Actor Richard Griffiths, who starred in the Harry Potter movies and Withnail and I, has died at the age of 65 after complications following heart surgery.

Griffiths enjoyed a long career of success on film and on TV, but also on the stage where he was a Tony-winning character actor.

TV roles included a cookery-loving detective in Pie in the Sky.

He was best known for playing Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films and Uncle Monty in Withnail and I.

His Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe - who also appeared on stage with him in Equus - was among the first to pay tribute, saying: "Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career. I was proud to know him."

On stage, Griffiths most acclaimed performance was as the charismatic teacher Hector in Alan Bennett's The History Boys.

After achieving a rare double of winning a Tony Award in New York and an Olivier Award in London, he recreated the role in a 2006 film version.

But it was his role as the predatory Uncle Monty in Withnail And I - which has become of one of the biggest cult classics in British cinema history - which made him a fan favourite.

In a message to his co-star on Twitter, the actor Richard E. Grant said: "My beloved Uncle Monty Richard Griffiths died last night. Chin-Chin my dear friend."

Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, and left school at 15 but later returned to education to study drama, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He married Heather Gibson in 1980 after they met during a production of Lady Windermere's Fan in 1973.

His TV career saw him land bit parts in series such as Minder, The Sweeney and Bergerac, while he also played small parts in major movies such as Chariots of Fire, Superman II and Gandhi.

Well respected by his peers, was appointed an OBE in the 2008 New Year Honours for his services to drama.

Sir Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, said Griffiths's unexpected death would devastate his "army of friends".

He said: "Richard Griffiths wasn't only one of the most loved and recognisable British actors - he was also one of the very greatest.

"His performance in The History Boys was quite overwhelming: a masterpiece of wit, delicacy, mischief and desolation, often simultaneously.

"His anecdotes were legendary. They were, literally, endless. They would go on for hours, apparently without destination, constantly side-splitting."

In 2012 he appeared alongside Danny Devito in Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys at London's Savoy Theatre.

One of his most recent roles was in the drama Private Peaceful where he played The Colonel alongside Frances de la Tour and Maxine Peake.

Actor Warwick Davis told BBC News he had the upmost respect for someone with such a great filmography behind them.

"You got a great deal of support (as an actor) for having Richard about.

"He was lovely, he would always make time for his fans, that's what makes a great actor, it's about having a good persona."

His agent Simon Beresford described him as a "remarkable man".

He said: "On stage he allowed us to share in our own humanity and constantly question our differences.

"Richard gave acting a good name. He was a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors. He will be greatly missed.""He was lovely, he would always make time for his fans, that's what makes a great actor, it's about having a good persona."

His agent Simon Beresford described him as a "remarkable man".

He said: "On stage he allowed us to share in our own humanity and constantly question our differences.

"Richard gave acting a good name. He was a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors. He will be greatly missed."

Source: BBC News

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Prince Harry Is Returning To Washington

Prince Harry is set to return to the U.S. on yet another mission of princely things — polo playing, veterans’ causes, lots of jolly receptions.

His May 9-15 visit will include a stint in Washington, where he will tour Walter Reed, Arlington National Cemetery, and an exhibit on land-mine clearance, a particular cause of his late mother’s. Stops in Connecticut, Colorado, and sites of Hurricane Sandy damage are also on the itinerary.

The last time he was in Washington, in May, he accepted an honor at a black-tie Atlantic Council gathering; our colleague Monica Hesse was there to gawk (Prince Harry comes to Washington and unleashes his British royal charm). And of course, on another previous trip to the States, he got himself photographed naked at what looked like a really interesting strip-billiards party in Las Vegas. (“Probably a classic example of me being too much Army and not enough prince,” he explained later.) If you had to ask, well, no, Vegas is not on the itinerary this time.

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Lindsay Lohan -- Lockdown Rehab Doesn't Exist

Lindsay Lohan struck a plea deal she CANNOT fulfill, because the lockdown rehab she promised to do is a fiction.

Fact is ... there appear to be no non-jail rehab facilities that will keep patients in against their will -- anywhere in the U.S..

Lindsay's lawyer, Mark Heller, represented to prosecutors he could get his client into a 90-day lockdown rehab center in NYC. As we reported, there are no private NY rehab centers that keep patients against their will, except for one connected with the prison system, and you have to have a felony record to get in -- and Lindsay doesn't.

We also checked to see if Lindsay could complete her 90-day lockdown rehab in CA, but there isn't a single non-jail lockdown rehab facility in the State.

Rehab guru Dr. Drew said TMZ, "There is no rehab that will hold you against your will, unless they feel the person is a suicide risk, and in that case they can hold the individual for 72 hours."

Here's the BIG problem. Lindsay's actual sentence is 90 days in jail, but the judge said he'd allow her to complete it with lockdown rehab. Sources say the prosecutors believed such a facility was available when they offered the plea deal.

It would seem a typical 90-day rehab program wouldn't cut it.  Lindsay has been there at least twice before. She constantly snuck out of Cirque Lodge in Utah and allegedly did the same thing at Betty Ford in California.

On top of that, Lindsay continues to drink, as recently as Friday.

We're told prosecutors are reevaluating the plea deal to determine what they want to do.  Sources say the jail option is still on the table.

Source: TMZ

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Cuban Jazz Musician Bebo Valdes Dies

Cuban jazz musician Bebo Valdes has died at the age of 94.

Bebo Valdes, who started his career in the nightclubs of the Cuban capital, Havana, in the 1940s, was a central figure in the golden era of Cuban big band music.

A pianist, he also composed and arranged songs, and led two big bands, as well as creating his own rhythm, the batanga.

He died in Sweden, where he had lived since the 1960s.

Valdes came to fame as the musical director of the Tropicana club in Havana. From 1948 to 1957, he worked as singer Rita Montaner's pianist, also arranging many of her songs.

During his time at the Tropicana, he also performed with US artists Nat "King" Cole and Sarah Vaughan.

Following the 1959 Cuban revolution, Valdes left Cuba for Mexico.

In 1963, he toured Europe with the Lecuano Cuban Boys orchestra and, while playing in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, fell in love with a woman in the audience.

He stayed in Stockholm and got married six months later.

Shortly after the wedding, he stopped touring, choosing to settle down with his wife instead.

While he continued to play in hotel piano bars and restaurants, it was not until 1994 that he would record another album, Bebo Rides Again.

The collaboration with Cuban saxophonist and clarinettist Paquito D'Rivera revived his musical fortune.

Calle 54, a 2000 documentary about Latin jazz by Spanish director Fernando Trueba, further helped to bring Valdes's music to a wider audience.

The film featured Bebo performing together with his son from his first marriage, Chucho Valdes, who is also a pianist and band leader.

The cause of Bebo Valdes's death has not yet been made public.

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Hollywood Release: Admission [Watch Trailer]

Admission is a 2013 comedy film directed by Paul Weitz and starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. The film was released on March 22, 2013.

Straitlaced Princeton University admissions officer Portia Nathan (Fey) is caught off-guard when she makes a recruiting visit to an alternative high school overseen by her former college classmate, the free-wheeling John Pressman (Rudd). 

Pressman has surmised that Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), his gifted yet very unconventional student, might well be the son that Portia secretly gave up for adoption many years ago. Soon, Portia finds herself bending the rules for Jeremiah, putting at risk the life she thought she always wanted -- but in the process finding her way to a surprising and exhilarating life and romance she never dreamed of having.

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