Tsunami

Indonesia pledged to build a nationwide tsunami alert system as soldiers pulled bodies from ravaged beaches, homes and hotels Tuesday. Parents searched tearfully for their children and the death toll hit at least 531, with 275 people missing.
Bodies covered in white sheets piled up at makeshift morgues, while others lay beneath the blazing sun in the tourist resort of Pangandaran, a 6-month-old baby among them.


The search for survivors continued Tuesday, with parents among the last to give up.
"The water was too strong," said Irah as she dug through a pile of rubble with her bare hands, close to the spot where she last saw her 6-year-old son. "Oh God. Eki, where are you?"
The magnitude 7.7 undersea quake on Monday triggered walls of water more than six feet high that crashed into a 110-mile stretch of beach on Java island, an area spared by the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami.
The waves destroyed houses, restaurants and hotels and tossed boats, cars and motorbikes far inland.
The government said Wednesday that emergency workers recovered dozens of more bodies, pushing the death toll to 531 with 275 people missing.
Almost all the victims were Indonesians, but a Pakistani, a Swede and a Dutch citizen were among those killed, officials said.
At least 42,000 people fled their homes, either because they were destroyed or in fear of another tsunami, adding to the difficulty of counting casualties.

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Beyonce fasted to lose weight

Singer Beyonce Knowles fasted for two weeks to lose 20 pounds (9 kg) for her latest film role.
According to Hollywood.com, Beyonce took on a strict diet to make sure she lost weight for the film "Dreamgirls".
She said: "I wanted to make a physical transformation because I was playing this role and I wanted to be not Beyonce... It was a big sacrifice.

I basically ate vegetables, I had a trainer... I was very healthy. She added: "I did do a two-week fast but (I took) all the vitamins and nutrients my body needs. I normally wouldn't have done that for Beyonce as a performer, but Dina, as the character, I needed to drop it really fast."

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Suri Cruise Hidden

Almost three months after the birth of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter, the Shroud of Suri has yet to be lifted.
Suri Cruise has yet to be seen in public, either in person or photographically, since entering the world on April 18. To some, this is a holdout of staggering proportions. Us Weekly magazine is running a clock, ticking off the days (84 and counting) since Suri's birth.
German TV station RTL, taking matters into its own hands, has produced a composite image of what Suri might look like. TMZ.com, perhaps digging for evidence of Suri's existence, obtained a copy of the official birth certificate, filed on May 8 in Los Angeles.
And gossip website Defamer.com has called the delay "profoundly strange" and upgraded its suspicion from "mystery" to "riddle that would make the Sphinx incontinent."
Lest anyone rent out milk-carton space, Cruise spokesman Arnold Robinson pleads for privacy: "If and when they do make a decision, it will be at their discretion and not anybody else's," he told The Associated Press.
The secrecy is in stark contrast to the couple's radically public courtship. Cruise, 44, and Holmes, 27, spared no photo-op during their whirlwind romance. They are now engaged, though there has been no word on wedding plans.
The top Invisible Baby theory involves Cruise's Scientology beliefs. The religion's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was very specific about how infants should be treated, and taught that birth should occur in a silent environment.
Perhaps Cruise believes media attention would bring unwanted distraction - a sentiment many parents would likely agree with. Meanwhile, other celebrity babies born since Suri have made their public bows.
The daughter of Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy, Grier Hammond Henchy, was revealed weeks ago _ and she was born the same day as Suri. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, was born on May 27 and landed in several magazines by early June. The recently born children of Gwen Stefani and Rachel Weisz are confirmed to exist.
But Suri remains unseen, which is not unusual for a Cruise child. When he and Nicole Kidman were married, their two adopted children weren't photographed until 1996, when son Conor Anthony was a year old and daughter Isabella Jane was 3.
Given that track record, those counting clocks might still have a while to tick.

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Jessica Simpson to co-host Teen Choice show

Jessica Simpson's schedule is getting even busier now that she's co-hosting the Teen Choice awards.

The eighth annual special will air live Aug. 20 on Fox (8 p.m. EDT).

Her co-host will be announced at a later date, Fox said Tuesday.

At "Teen Choice 2006," Simpson is nominated for choice movie breakout performance for her role as Daisy Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard," choice red carpet fashion icon and choice hottie.

In the youth-centric ceremony, teen-friendly stars of film, television, music, sports and fashion win surfboard awards.
Voters can cast their ballots until Aug. 11 on the Web sites Teenpeople.com, MySpace.com, Ign.com and Fox.com.
Simpson, 26, stars in the comedy "Employee of the Month," which opens Sept. 15. Her new album, "A Public Affair," debuts Aug. 29.
She and Nick Lachey, who co-starred in the MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica," recently divorced after three years of marriage.

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Les Bleus honored in Paris the day after loss in final

Thousands of fans braved soaring temperatures to honor the national team Monday, a day after Les Bleus were defeated by Italy in a World Cup final that had a shocking end to the captain's illustrious career.
Fans of all ages gathered under a punishing sun at the elegant Place de la Concorde to pay homage to the team and bid farewell to retiring Zinedine Zidane -- sent off from his last-ever match after head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.
Earlier, French President Jacques Chirac also thanked the team, which lost in a penalty shootout 5-3.
"France loves and admires you," Chirac said in a speech before lunching with the players and their wives at the presidential Elysee Palace.
"At such a level of competition, as we all know, winning or losing depends on so little that it is not what counts," said Chirac, who had attended Sunday's final in Berlin.
The president had special words of consolation for Zidane, a national idol whose last act as a soccer player shocked fans and threatened to tarnish his reputation.
Chirac ensured Zidane that he had France's respect.
"You are a virtuoso, a genius of world football," Chirac said. "You are also a man of heart, commitment, conviction. That's why France admires and loves you."
Many of the team's supporters seemed to agree.
According to the Paris police, some 15,000 people -- many carrying signs that read "Zidane we love you" -- packed the square in front of the Hotel de Crillon for a last glimpse at Zidane and his teammates.
They chanted Zidane's nickname -- "Zizou" -- calling the now-retired captain to take his place at the hotel's second-story balcony, which was draped with a giant blue jersey.
But in spite of the fans' insistence, Zidane made only a brief appearance, waving and taking a humble bow before he ducked out of sight.
Zidane -- who shot to stardom during the 1998 World Cup that France won on its home turf -- was expected to explain himself in the coming days.
Some fans insisted that Zidane should apologize.
"For the sake of the kids that adore him, he needs to say he's sorry," said Beatrice Marechaud, 35, a still-life photographer, who said she turned out to cheer the team's other players. "It's really too bad for him to end his career this way."
Others in the crowd said they expected that Zidane's career would outshine his final ugly gesture.
"He had so many magical moments, I don't think that people are going to remember this negative one," said Regis Bernard, a 32-year-old salesman, who shouted when Zidane made his appearance.
Fans cheered when David Trezeguet appeared on the balcony. But Trezeguet, whose missed penalty cost France the match, broke down in tears. Striker Thierry Henry comforted him with a bear hug.

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Emmy Awards

The Emmy Awards are United States television production awards, similar to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment.
Three related but separate organizations present Emmy Awards:
- the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors national prime time entertainment (excluding sports);
- the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognizes daytime, sports, news and documentary programming; and
- the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors programming originating outside the United States.

The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The name "Emmy" was a feminization of "immy", a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes that were common in early television cameras. Shirley Dinsdale has the distinction of receiving the very first Emmy in the first awards ceremony. The Emmy Awards trophies are currently made by a private company with a manufacturing site at the maximum security El Dorado Correctional Facility, in El Dorado, Kansas.
The statuette of a winged woman holding an atom has since become the symbol of the TV Academy's goal of supporting and uplifting the art and science of television: The wings represent the muse of art; the atom the electron of science. It was created by television engineer Louis McManus, using his wife as a model.

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Shakira

After achieving superstardom throughout Latin America, Colombian-born Shakira became Latin pop's biggest female crossover artist since Jennifer Lopez broke down the doors to English-language success. Noted for her aggressive, rock-influenced approach, Shakira maintained an extraordinary degree of creative control over her music, especially for a female artist; she wrote or co-wrote nearly all of her own material, and in the process gained a reputation as one of Latin music's most ambitiously poetic lyricists. When she released her first English material in late 2001, she became an instant pop sensation, thanks to her quirky poetic sense and a sexy video image built on her hip-shaking belly-dance moves.
Shakira Mebarak (full name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) was born February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, into a poor family. Her mother was a native Colombian and her father was of Lebanese descent, and so as a child Shakira soaked up music from both cultures; she also listened heavily to English-language rock & roll, listing her favorite bands in later interviews as Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Police, the Cure, and Nirvana. Shakira wrote her first song at age eight, began entering (and winning) talent competitions at age ten, and started learning the guitar at age 11; one story runs that around this age, she was kicked out of her school choir for singing too forcefully. In 1990, at age 13, Shakira moved to Bogotᠩn hopes of pursuing a modeling career, but wound up signing a record deal with Sony's Colombian division instead. Her 1991 debut album, Magia (Magic), was comprised of songs she'd written over the past five or six years, including some of her earliest efforts. Although it didn't break internationally, the record started to make a name for her in her home country. Dissatisfied with the pop inclinations of the follow-up, 1993's Peligro (Danger), Shakira changed direction for a time, joining the cast of the Colombian soap opera El Oasis in 1994.
When Shakira returned to recording in 1995, she asserted more control over the direction of her music, and worked more rock & roll rhythms -- as well as occasional Arabic tinges -- into her Latin pop material. The first results were Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet), which was initially released in 1995; a slow seller at first, the album gradually caught on thanks to the rock-tinged single "Estoy Aqui," which became a hit all over Latin America, as well as Spain. After that breakthrough, Pies Descalzos just kept spinning off singles: "D󮤥 Est᳠Coraz󮿬" "Antolog?" "Pienso en Ti," "Un Poco de Amor," "Se Quiere, Se Mata." The album hit number one in eight different countries and eventually went platinum in the U.S. as well; Shakira toured for nearly two years promoting it (she finally left El Oasis in 1997).
Seeking to build on her success, Shakira signed Emilio Estefan -- Gloria's husband and a highly successful music-biz insider -- as her manager and producer. The move paid off when her follow-up album, 1998's D󮤥 Estᮠlos Ladrones? (Where Are the Thieves?), became an even bigger worldwide hit than its predecessor. What was more, it cracked the lucrative U.S. market wide open, spending 11 weeks at number one on Billboard's Latin album chart and producing two U.S. number ones (on the Latin chart) with "Ciega, Sordomuda" and "Tu." The album's signature track, however, was the worldwide hit "Ojos As? her most explicit nod yet to the Arabic music she'd picked up from her father (not to mention its latent belly-dancing connotations). D󮤥 Estᮠlos Ladrones? was also the most effective presentation yet of Shakira's strong-willed persona; her self-analysis made her even more popular among female fans, while her anger over love gone wrong drew comparisons to Alanis Morissette.

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4 July: Independence Day of USA

In the United States, Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Independence Day is commonly associated with parades, barbecues, picnics, baseball games, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the U.S. Fireworks have been associated with the Fourth of July since 1777.
Picnics and barbecues
Fourth of July barbecues (sometimes abbreviated as "BBQ") and picnics are outdoor meals that are easy to prepare for the large quantities of people that often gather on July 4.
Barbecues generally involve hamburgers and hot dogs which may be garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions. Hamburgers may be topped with lettuce and/or tomatoes, and hot dogs may be topped with relish. For buns, the meat may be served on a hamburger bun or hot dog bun respectively, or sliced bread may be used as a bun substitute. Grilled chicken is sometimes also served.
July 4 Picnics are generally held in parks while waiting for fireworks or are held at the beach. They do not involve heated meats and instead include sandwiches such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tuna salad sandwiches. Picnics were traditionally transported in a picnic basket although they are more commonly carried in coolers.
Beverages for a picnic or barbecue generally include 2-liters of soda. Soda is chilled with ice and served in party cups. If alcoholic beverages are present, the host may provide canned beer or a keg or may ask participants to bring their own beer (referred to as "BYOB"). Traditional sides for a picnic or barbecue include potato salad, potato chips, vegetable tray, jello salad, and perhaps corn on the cob.
Guests at barbecues and picnics may sit at a picnic table or some other form of outdoor furniture. If the picnic is in a park (especially where fireworks are held), a picnic blanket may be set on the ground and participants eat the food sitting down on the blanket.

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Scientology

Scientology is a system of beliefs and practices created by American pulp fiction and science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a self-help philosophy. By 1960 Hubbard had redefined it as a "religion by its basic tenets". The name "Scientology" is also sometimes used to refer to the Church of Scientology, which is the largest organization promoting the belief system of Scientology. There are other organizations and individuals who are not affiliated with the Church of Scientology who regard themselves as practitioners of and believers in Scientology, sometimes collectively called the Free Zone. The Church regards such independents, almost without exception, as not practicing the "true" Scientology set out by Hubbard, while many of those independents make the very same criticism about the Church.
The Church of Scientology presents itself as a religious non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of the human spirit and providing counseling and rehabilitation programs. Church spokespeople claim that Hubbard's teachings (called "Technology" or "tech" in Scientology terminology) have saved them from addictions, arthritis, depression, learning disabilities, mental illness, cancer, homosexuality and other perceived problems.
The controversial organization has attracted much criticism and distrust throughout the world because of its closed nature and strong-arm tactics in handling critics. Lawmakers, including national governing bodies of several countries, have characterized the Church as an unscrupulous commercial organization, citing harassment of critics and exploitation of its members.

Scientology's principles have been characterized as pseudoscientific by scientists, medical doctors and psychotherapeutic practitioners. Although some religious scholars consider Scientology a religion, it has frequently been perceived as a cult and a pseudoreligion.
Allegations of Scientology's cult status can be attributed to its unconventional creation by a single authoritative and charismatic leader.
Within the church members are arranged in a hierarchically pyramid ranked structure, with higher level members holding authority over lower ranked subordinates, especially as evidenced by the Sea Org. The Church indoctrinates its members providing very little initial knowledge of the inner secrets of the organization. In order to reach this knowledge parishioners are required to advance forward in rank through study and payments to the Church, the incentive of which is the stepped acquisition of promised powerful secrets and gaining of supernatural abilities.
According to a 2001 survey published by the City University of New York 55,000 people in the United States would, if asked what their religion was, have said Scientology. The worldwide number of Scientologists is disputed: the Church of Scientology claims around 10 million members as of 2006, but claimed national membership figures it has released when totalled indicate a figure of around 500,000. Adherents.com suggests there may be 500,000 Scientologists worldwide while critics say Church membership is likely to be less than 100,000.

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Superman Returns

Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character, Superman. The film is directed by Bryan Singer, and stars Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey. The screenplay is by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.
Filming began on February 2005 and the movie was released in the United States on June 28, 2006. Bryan Singer has said that the loose continuity established in the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films serves as its back-story, or, as he put it, a "vague history". The late Marlon Brando reprises his role as Superman's biological father, Jor-El, from Superman, using computer-generated techniques coupled with footage from the Superman franchise archives.
Released alongside the film was a documentary, Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, covering the history of the Superman franchise with input from Bryan Singer, as well as other past and present actors, directors, writers, artists, and fans.

Shooting of Superman Returns was initiated in Australia, on locations that included a farm located outside of the regional town of Gunnedah in North West NSW, and Sydney. Some other scenes were shot in the United States. The film was shot entirely on high-definition video using a Panavision Genesis camera.

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Pregnant Britney Spears on Harpar's Bazaar cover

Just a few weeks after making a tearful TV plea for picture-hungry paparazzi to leave her alone, pregnant pop diva Britney Spears has posed naked for the cover of the fashion glossy Harpar's Bazaar.
The cover photo, reminiscent of actress
Demi Moore's iconic 1991 shoot for Vanity Fair, shows Spears, her arms covering her breasts above her swollen belly, in all her six-months-pregnant glory.
The picture will grace the cover the Harper's August issue, which goes on sale July 25th. The magazine released the image, but not those of an inside picture spread featuring the singer and her nine-month-old son Sean.

Earlier this month, Spears, 24, had given an emotional interview on NBC's "Today" show in which she lashed out at the media intrusion into her private life.
"I would like for them to leave me alone," Spears said, dissolving into tears.
Motherhood had brought unflattering pictures of the former teen sensation who was snapped driving her SUV with baby Sean on her lap instead of safely buckled into a car seat, as required by US law.
Asked what she had to say to paparazzi, Spears asked them to think of their own families and grant her privacy and respect.
Spears, who shot to celebrity in 1999 with the song "Baby One More Time" and has since sold more than 60 million albums, has put her career on hold for more than a year but still stars in the gossip columns.
"People" magazine recently speculated on the health of her marriage to former backup dancer Kevin Federline, now an aspiring rapper, whom she married in September 2004.

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Star Jones Reynolds

ABC suggested she 'make up a story'
Ousted cast member Star Jones Reynolds said Thursday she was told she could "make up a story" about why she was leaving "The View" and her colleagues would have gone along with it.
The news that Reynolds wouldn't have her contract renewed for a 10th year on the daytime talk show exploded this week into a bitter war of words involving show creator Barbara Walters.
Reynolds, appearing Thursday on CNN's "Larry King Live," said she'd been told in April that she wasn't coming back but kept it secret. She revealed it on Tuesday's show, taking Walters and ABC by surprise with the timing.
The truth - that Reynolds' ABC bosses didn't want her back because her personal popularity was plummeting - might never have been known without the fight.
"They said you can make up a story," Reynolds said. "The audience didn't deserve for me to make up a story. That's not fair."
Longtime ABC newswoman Walters has confirmed the intended deception, but said it was done to protect Reynolds' reputation and feelings.
ABC said it canned Reynolds immediately after Tuesday's show because her announcement, and an interview with People magazine, took the network by surprise. Walters told The Associated Press that she felt betrayed and ABC said it couldn't trust Reynolds to tell the truth if she remained on the air.
Reynolds said she was "having trouble reconciling" ABC's statement with being told earlier that she could lie about her exit.

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J. K. Rowling

Joanne Kathleen Rowling was an author only in potential when she sat at a table in an Edinburgh cafe writing of Harry Potter, the boy who lived. The first of the fantastically popular Harry Potter books was completed with the aid of a grant from the Scottish Arts Council. Nobody could ever have forseen the worldwide following which sprang from those humble origins. Four books into the series of an intended seven, and J.K. Rowling is a household name across the USA and much of Europe.
Born in Chepstow, Gwent in 1965, J.K. Rowling attended Exeter University, worked as a secretary and then a teacher before a period of unemployment gave forth the first in the Harry Potter series. She and her husband divorced shortly after her daughter's birth, and during the writing of The Philosopher's Stone mother and daughter lived in a tiny Edinburgh flat.

Current life and family
In 2001, Rowling purchased a luxurious 19th-century estate house, Killiechassie House, on the banks of the River Tay, near Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Rowling also owns a home in Morningside, Edinburgh, and a Georgian style house in London, on a street where, according to The Guardian, the average price of a house is £4.27 million ($8 million), possibly including an underground swimming pool and 24-hour security.
On 26 December 2001, Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray, an anaesthetist, in a private ceremony at her home in Aberfeldy. Their son David Gordon Rowling Murray was born shortly after Rowling began writing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Rowling took a break from working on the novel to care for him in his early infancy. Rowling's youngest child, Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, to whom she dedicated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was born in January of 2005.

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France's 'Geoportail'

A new wanna-be map service is ready to rival with Google Earth, but this time it is not a MSN or Yahoo product. The new service, called Geoportail, was created by France and it will allow users to view ultra-high resolution images of the country. The project was developed by the National Geographic Institute and the Office of Geological and Mineral Research and it includes 400,000 images along with 3,700 maps, which are updated every five years. Similar to Google Earth, Geoportail.fr offers various views and users may switch from aerial views of a site, to detailed maps, charts and geological data. As AFP reports, in autumn, the project will add 3D imagery. According to Reuters, in a ceremony unveiling the new technology, President Jacques Chirac called the move significant as it "places France at the forefront of new technologies." "With Galileo (the European Union satellite navigation system), with the mobile telephone, services linked to global positioning will develop a lot. It is also about democracy because our citizens have the right to know all the facts about the environment.", said also President Jacques Chirac. According to AFP, the total cost of the project was 6mn-euro ($7.5mn). Still the Geoportail project isn’t a real competitor to Google Earth, because it can only show images of French territories.

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The McBoyfriend is McOld

American Idol season five runner-up Katharine McPhee, 22, has been spotted around SoHo the last few days walking hand in hand with her 41-year-old boyfriend Nick Cokas, who also has a stage career. Nick is originally from San Francisco but currently lives in Los Angeles (like Katharine). He graduated from UCLA and his Broadway credits include Blood Brothers, Guys & Dolls, Mamma Mia and Once Upon a Mattress.

Kat has most likely had some relationship problems with guys her age. Usaully when this happens girls tend to look for older men, without thinking about the problems it creates. Not to mention the wasted time in a relationship that everyone knows is not going to last. The only positive thing about this is the fact that they are not married yet. If they ever get married then I will negativly critique their relationship. The way I see it: he was at the right place at the right time and so happened to say the right thing and the only reason he "begged" her to go to American Idol was to boost his career which has been lackluster at best. Lets see how many gigs he gets now. And, I would love to know when their relationship got started. Was she under 18? Her father was crying like a baby the whole damn time she was singing on T.V., yet he apparently is ok with a guy his own age banging his daughter. Makes no sense...anyway, thats my take.

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Paris Hilton loves the single life

Paris Hilton loves being single. The House of Wax star told US daytime talk show Live With Regis and Kelly that being on her own makes her feel like "a strong woman".
She revealed: "I always have a boyfriend all the time, so I've never really got to know me and, like, have time for myself because I spend all my energy on the boyfriend.
"I'm a very strong woman. I don't need a man. I can be on my own."
Paris - who recently split from her Greek shipping heir lover, Stavros Niarchos - also revealed that she wants to patch up her friendship with former best friend, and The Simple Life co-star, Nicole Richie.
She said: "I look at baby pictures. It makes me sad that she's, you know?
"We're going through something right now and we'll make up one day."
Meanwhile, Paris has attacked Lindsay Lohan for dating her ex, Stavros.
The 25-year-old socialite-turned-actress reportedly screamed insults at the Mean Girls star when their paths crossed at New York hotspot Butter on Monday night.
She allegedly screamed: "I can't believe you and Stavros! You are ridiculous!"
Lindsay replied: "That's how you say hello? I don't need to respond to you."

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Angelina Jolie

Born in Los Angeles, California, Jolie is the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. She is the niece of Chip Taylor, sister of James Haven and the goddaughter of Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. In a 2004 article in Vogue she stated that her mother is from Chicago. At the Premiere Magazine "Women in Hollywood" Awards, she said her mother was born in a bowling alley and has stated that because of her name people often assume that her mother is French. Jolie's grandparents were French-Canadian. Her paternal grandfather was from Czech Republic. She is of Czech and English descent on her father's side, and French-Canadian and Iroquois on her mother's side. As a teenager, Jolie dreamed of becoming a funeral director.She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute from the age of 11, later attending Beverly Hills High School. Her mother also studied with Lee Strasberg. Though she enrolled at the film school at New York University after finishing Gia, she did not complete her studies.
Jolie has been long estranged from her father, though a reconciliation was attempted by his appearing with her in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. In the October 2004 issue of Premiere Magazine, Jolie indicated that she was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with her father, but that she did not hate him because she realized that "...we only have so much energy in this life". Soon afterwards, he claimed that she has "serious emotional problems" on Access Hollywood, and she legally dropped Voight as her last name, taking "Angelina Jolie" as her legal name. She stated that she didn't want to publicize her reasons for not having a relationship with her father, but since she had just adopted her son Maddox, that she didn't think it was healthy for her to be around him. Voight has yet to meet any of his three grandchildren.

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Actor Richard Stahl dies at 74

Richard Stahl, an actor whose more than 40-year career stretched from New York theater to film and television comedies such as Laverne and Shirley, has died. He was 74.
Stahl died Sunday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund's health center in Woodland Hills after a 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease, his wife, actress Kathryn Ish, said Wednesday.
"He had been declining for some time now," she said.
Born in Detroit, Stahl did magic tricks as a boy and moved to California as a performer at age 15, Ish said. He served in the Army during the Korean War, later graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
Ish and Stahl were both off Broadway theater actors when they met in 1959. They married later that year.
In the 1960s, the pair moved to San Francisco and joined improv comedy group The Committee, Ish said. They settled in Santa Barbara in 1975.
Stahl's film credits include 1979's Five Easy Pieces, Mel Brooks' 1977 spoof High Anxiety, 1980's 9 to 5 and 1996's Ghosts of Mississippi.
He appeared on such TV shows as Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, and Barney Miller, and held a regular stint on 1980s sitcom It's A Living.
"He was a funny guy, he worked in comedy all his life," Ish said.
Stahl is survived by Ish, their daughter Allegra and son Oliver.
Memorial services were pending.

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World Changers:CONNIE CHUNG

Connie Chung is the first Asian-Pacific American anchor in national television. The secret to her success is just plain hard work. Connie was born on August 20, 1946, in Washington, D.C. Her father had been an officer in the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek's intelligence agency. In the early 1940s, living conditions were terrible in Shanghai where the Chung family lived. China had been under attack by Japan for several years and there were shortages of food, and diseases were widespread. Five of William and Margaret Chung's children died in infancy and their parents decided to move to the United States to save the rest of their children. Connie was the only one out of ten children who was born in the United States. Mr. Chung believed that his daughters would have a better life in the United States. At that time, women in China were not yet considered equal to men. Connie had a happy childhood and she grew up in a big wonderful family. There were parties and picnics with friends and neighbors. Like many Chinese families, the Chungs had a tradition of high regard for education and Connie wanted to be successful to perpetuate the family name for her father, in place of her brothers, who died in infancy.
Connie started her career as a secretary for a local Washington TV station, with hopes of becoming a newswriter. Whenever a new story came into the station, Connie volunteered to cover it. She gained valuable experience and was soon sent to cover major stories, like the 1972 Nixon-McGovern presidential campaign and the Watergate hearings. After that, she became one of the most successful journalists in broadcasting. She was involved with several television projects at one time. In addition to anchoring the CBS nightly news, she also hosted her own prime-time TV shows and special reports. The topics of her shows ranged from interviewing celebrities to reporting current findings on stress and aging.
In 1987, Connie visited China for the first time. She met her relatives and visited her grandparents' graves. She talked with her relatives about how World War II and China's Cultural Revolution affected their family. It was an emotional experience for her.
Connie Chung is an example of an outstanding woman anchor. Her hard work, intelligence, and honesty are just a few reasons that she has become one of the nation's leading television journalists. Connie Chung has changed the world we live in, where a lot of minority people can't have an equal opportunity just because they are not white. Her success shows us that if people try their best, anyone can be at the top of their field.

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WWE:World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) is a publicly traded integrated media, sports and entertainment company dealing primarily in the professional wrestling industry. Vincent K. McMahon is the owner and Chairman of the company and his wife Linda McMahon holds the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Together with their children, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon and Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest, but due to the multi-voting structure of their shares, they hold 96% of all voting power in the company. The company's global headquarters are located at 1241 East Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut, with international offices in Los Angele, New York City, London and Toronto. The company was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc. before changing to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., and most recently becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is the company's main business module, which is the basis of the running of the organization. It is a professional wrestling promotion, currently the largest in North America. It has previously existed as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, preceded by the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
WWE's revenue in the last twelve months was approximately $400 million (US), with a net profit of approximately $47 million. As of May 2006, the company's market capitalization is over $1 billion (US). Its stock is traded on the NYSE as WWE. The owner and chairman Vince McMahon is once again a billionaire and not just a fictional one.

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2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament which began on 9 June 2006 and will end on 9 July 2006. The final match will determine the World Cup champion. The 2006 finals are the eighteenth to be contested. In June 2000, Germany won the right to host the event, beating bids from Brazil, England, Morocco, and South Africa (who will host the 2010 World Cup).
The top scorer at the conclusion of the tournament will receive the Adidas Golden Shoe Award. Brazil's Ronaldo won the award at the 2002 World Cup, with 8 goals, and is the only former winner still active. Just Fontaine holds the all-time single-tournament scoring record with 13 goals in the 1958 FIFA World Cup while playing for France.
"A time to make friends™" is the slogan of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany. One of the elements of this hospitality concept developed by the Federal Government is the "nationwide service and friendliness campaign", sponsored by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, initiated by the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Organising Committee and the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), and coordinated by the GNTB. The project sends a signal to the wider German public, and also to visitors from abroad, that the host country is putting into practice the slogan "A time to make friends™“ beyond the confines of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.
Individual service providers from Germany's tourism and hospitality industry and the people of Germany as a whole will be demonstrating their hospitable and cosmopolitan outlook through a variety of campaigns and competitions. The aim is to highlight the strong commitment to service in Germany as a whole and particularly in the twelve FIFA World Cup Host Cities.
Germany's tourism service providers will also be able to demonstrate their association with the campaign and thus with the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ by using special kits comprising pennants, badges, door signs, stickers and posters, any by taking part in specially designed training courses.

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Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai's striking beauty might make her seem an obvious fit as a model, but the truth is that India's 1994 Miss World winner originally took up modeling as a part time job to get her through school. She was studying to be an architect, but due to her obvious talent on stage and in front of the camera,--most notably in a wildly popular Pepsi campaign--the starlet began accepting the movie offers that had been pouring in. She began her reign as Bollywood's favorite leading lady in the film Iruvar, following it up that same year with ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya. They both earned her critical praise and the latter brought her a Best Female Debutante Award. More awards would follow, including Best Actress by FilmFare and Zee Cine for 2000's Straight from the Heart.

As the actress put more and more films under her belt, her position as India's darling cemented. Her role in 2002's Devdas was especially auspicious: the movie was the most successful in Bollywood history and received a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival--the first Bollywood film to receive such an honor. The next year found Rai making still more headway for Bollywood when she became the first Indian member of the grand jury at Cannes. By 2004 she'd appeared in well over 20 films in just seven years, and it was finally time for her to star in her first English language film. The Hollywood/Bollywood crossover hit Bride and Prejudice reworked Jane Austin's classic love story Pride and Prejudice with the Bollywood film style, bringing together Eastern and Western actors, as well as themes. The film proved to be yet another successful example in Rai's history of helping to bring India's culture and film into the world spotlight, delighting fans all over the world. Having sampled Hollywood, Rai was now ready to make a serious foray into American films. She signed on to star with Collin Firth and Ben Kingsley in 2007's historical epic The Last Legion as well as French director Coline Serreau's remake of her 2001 film Chaos, which would cast Rai alongside Meryl Streep. The actress had no intention of abandoning the cinema of her heritage however, and simultaneously jumped on board with Indian movies like the The Heart of India and the historical romance Jodha-Akbar--in which she would play the title role of Mungal king Emperor Akbar's Hindu wife and queen. By this time, her success as an actress unwilling to compromise her love and devotion to her national background had made her the highest paid actress in Bollywood history. Her fame had also buffered her image as the face of India, helping bring the art of her home country into the world-consciousness through countless magazine covers in multiple countries, a listing in Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World Today," as well as Hello Magazine's "Most Attractive Women in the World" and Rolling Stone's "Hot List". She even joined actresses Catherine Deneuve and Andie MacDowell as a member of L'Oreal Cosmetics' Dream Team, acting as an ambassador around the world.

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