Game Of Thrones Bad Lip Reading is a post from: The Inquisitr

Stephen Colbert Circumvents Racism is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ha ha, TEENAGERS? You meant twentysomethings, right?

Passive-Aggressive Dad’s Fridge Sign is a post from: The Inquisitr

Things are looking worse and worse for the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder, and even the Obama administration. The reason? A warrant that allowed the DOJ to search Fox News reporter James Rosen’s personal email.

A warrant that was signed off on by Mr. Holder himself.

NBC News‘ Michael Isikoff reported Thursday that Holder actually OK’d the controversial search himself. The report puts a face to the greatest violation of press freedom by a government body in recent memory. That face belongs to Eric Holder.

The warrant named Rosen as a “con-conspirator” in a leak investigation, with the implication that the DOJ was on the verge of criminalizing journalism. The same warrant approved the tracking of Rosen’s movements as well as his communications with his State Department source.

The DOJ said that they never intended to press charges on Rosen, but the warrant is chilling nonetheless. While the AG is required to approve requests to search journalists’ materials, emails are not up for search.

Holder has played coy about his involvement in the Rosen scandal (as well as the Associated Press scandal, the investigation of which he infamously recused himself from), saying that he’s not sure how many times he has authorized the search of journalists’ records.

Fox News chief Roger Ailes personally responded to the revelation in a staff memo.

“We reject the government’s efforts to criminalize the pursuit of investigative journalism and falsely characterize a Fox News reporter to a Federal judge as a “co-conspirator” in a crime,” Ailes wrote.

“I know how concerned you are because so many of you have asked me: why should the government make me afraid to use a work phone or email account to gather news or even call a friend or family member? Well, they shouldn’t have done it.”

Most journalists and media outlets are actually flocking to the defense of Fox News, as well. Left, right or somewhere in between, many have voiced their support for James Rosen and have condemned the Obama administration … if not for instigating the scandals, for standing by and allowing them to happen.

Dear many of our commenters: this is one time when you should be siding with Fox News huff.to/10IM6mT

— HuffPost Media (@HuffPostMedia) May 20, 2013

My experience dealing with @jamesrosenfnc was unpleasant and contentious. And I fully support him against this unwarranted act by DOJ

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 20, 2013

.@marklandler on leaks: “The question is, who sets the tone? It’s difficult for the WH to argue #POTUS is merely a bystander in the process”

— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) May 20, 2013

What do you think of Eric Holder’s role in the Fox News / James Rosen scandal? Is it time for him to resign?

Eric Holder Personally Approved Fox News Email Warrant is a post from: The Inquisitr

Vin Diesel sat down with Jay Leno to talk about Fast & Furious 6, but the topic led away from fast cars   and into slightly more interesting territory.

They started out talking about Diesel’s workout regimen (he’s the cover of this month’s Men’s Fitness), but their chat ended up leading into the question of whether or not Diesel has ever used steroids to get his bulky form.

Diesel admits to the occasional joint, but swear he has never used steroids.

“I have a lot of friends that I grew up with who were bouncers that would do steroids and then have to have their t*ts drained,” he joked.

That was just the start of what turned out to be a pretty atypical interview. At one point, Diesel brought out his own children, and explained that he had his kids with him because Fast & Furious 6 is “all about family.”

Leno eventually brought up Vin Diesel’s belief that Facebook owes him billions of dollars. It’s a tongue-in-cheek claim on Diesel’s part (so far as we can tell), but the idea is that he was one of the first celebrities to switch from MySpace to Facebook.

Diesel used the budding social network to actually engage with his fans and share conversations with them (which most celebrities don’t do, even on Twitter) and earned tons of fans and, he says, attention for Facebook.

You can watch the whole thing for yourself below, in two parts. Are you a fan of Vin Diesel? What do you think of his strange interview with Jay Leno?

[Image via: Featureflash / Shutterstock]

Vin Diesel Sits Down With Jay Leno For Strange Interview [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt has battled off criticism over her weight before, but seems to finally be comfortable in her own skin.

The 34-year-old tells Women’s Running that she’s stronger and healthier than ever, and feels more confident about her voluptuous figure.

“I’m an actress, I live in L.A., I work in Hollywood. But I’ve learned that if you’re too skinny, they’ll say something about it. If you’re not skinny enough, they’ll say something about it,” she said.

“I just try to feel good in my own skin as much as I can.” To stay in shape, Hewitt tries to “go back and forth” between yoga, Pilates and running on an incline.

She was inspired to start running by her mother, Patricia, who passed away in June 2012.

“I enjoy running, but she was a runner. She loved it and was able to go miles and miles and miles,” she says.

“The first time I did a big run was the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon Los Angeles [in 2010]. It was a blast — I absolutely loved it. What you put your body through is incredible, how sore you are the next day is quite crazy. But the benefits of it, cardiovascular-wise, body-wise, toning-wise, all of that, there’s nothing really that gets you in shape like [a race].”

She has also learned to embrace her curves, and is even afraid she’ll lose them if she overdoes it.

“I do find that as a curvy girl, as I guess I’ve sort of been deemed, I don’t think you want to run your curves off, because then you’re just not yourself,” however, running “helps with the badonk-a-donk!”

Are you a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt?

[Image via: s_bukley / Shutterstock]

Jennifer Love Hewitt Works Out, But Likes Being ‘Curvy’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are on good terms, and are even “very good friends,” according to a friend of Pitt’s.

This week saw Brad Pitt give an interview to Esquire in which he made comments about a “dark” period of his life that just so happened to dovetail with his marriage to Jennifer Aniston.

Many interpreted the comment as a dig against his ex, but Jean Black, a makeup artist and friend of the 49-year-old actor, said that the two get along just fine.

Additionally, Black divulged new details regarding Pitt’s first meeting with Angelina Jolie on the set of the 2004 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

“I think Brad was ready to soar when he met Angie. This is not to say anything negative about Jennifer. I was part of that and I know that he and Jennifer are very good friends and he cared deeply for her.”

“But in Angie,” she continued, “he saw a very adventurous person who was grabbing on to life and taking it to its nth degree. It was intriguing because I felt Brad had that in him and wanted to unleash it.”

Pitt and Aniston, 43, divorced in 2006. Though both have occasionally made mild sleights against each other in interviews over the years, they insist that they are amicable.

Still Pitt’s Esquire comments have resulted in criticism for the actor, with many wondering why he would apparently target Aniston again, almost a decade after their divorce.

“It was an epiphany — a decision not to squander my opportunities,” Pitt said of his depression. “It was a feeling of, ‘Get up.’ Because otherwise, what’s the point?”

What do you think? Were Brad Pitt’s Esquire comments insulting to Jennifer Aniston and their marriage together, or is this whole story blown out of proportion?

[Image via: Featureflash / Shutterstock]

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston ‘Very Good Friends,’ Says Pal is a post from: The Inquisitr

President Obama gave a speech on national security Thursday that was interrupted three times by a Code Pink protester who shouted about drones and detainees in Cuba.

Obama had to pause three separate times to talk over the protester, and appeared agitated each time she interrupted his closing remarks at the National Defense University.

“I’m about to address it ma’am, but you’ve got to let me speak,” Obama shouted back at the protester. “Why don’t you sit down and let me tell you exactly what I’d do.”

Though the woman was unidentified at the time of the speech, the antiwar group Code Pink has taken credit for the speech interruption. Founder Medea Benjamin was said to be the woman at the event.

Benjamin shouted, “86 were cleared already. Release them today!” in reference to detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Code Pink frequently interrupts high-profile political events or speeches with vocal protests against out foreign policy or national security.

Although annoyed, Obama did say that he was willing to cut Benjamin “some slack, because it’s worth being passionate about.”

After another interruption, he continued:

“The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to. Obviously I do not agree with much of what she said. And obviously she wasn’t listening to me and much of what I said. But these are tough issues, and the suggestion that we can gloss over them is wrong.”

How do you think President Obama handled the Code Pink activist? Was she right to interrupt him? Watch the video below and leave us your thoughts:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama Speech Interrupted By Code Pink Activist [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

You might recognize prolific actor Christopher Lee from his roles in the Star Wars prequels and the Lord of the Rings series of films, but you probably didn’t know that the 90-year-old is also a budding heavy metal star.

Lee turns 91-years-old next week, and is celebrating with a new heavy metal album called “The Omens of Death.” His freshman effort was called “Charlemagne,” but Lee considers that album a little too soft for his tastes now.

“The first ‘Charlemagne’ album is metal, of course, but what I sang was more symphonic,” the actor said. ”Now on the second one, ‘The Omens Of Death’, it is one hundred percent heavy metal. I’ve done my bits and pieces, and they are heavy metal. I’m not screaming or anything like that, but it is definitely heavy metal.”

Tracks have pretty metal-sounding titles like “Massacre of The Saxons,” “The Ultimate Sacrifice,” and “Let Legend Mark Me As the King.”

The album will drop  May 27, and features a total of 10 tracks arranged by Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner.

Of working with Lee on the album, Faulkner said:

“Most of the songs were already there, but they needed riffs, drum parts and musical parts that reflected what the guys wanted – which was a metal record with an aim to be played live by a band.

“Some of the tracks didn’t have any music at all and were just Sir Christopher singing his melodies. I remember how surreal it was sitting in my place at the time with Saruman blasting out over the speakers! I’ve no idea what the neighbors thought!”

They probably thought it was totally metal.

Check out a preview of Christopher Lee’s heavy metal album below:

[Image via: LaCameraChiara / Shutterstock]

Christopher Lee Turns 91, Releases Heavy Metal Album Just Because is a post from: The Inquisitr

Abercrombie & Fitch has apologized yet again in an effort to draw some of the “cool kids” back to their stores.

The brand has seen their popularity plummet in recent weeks after Business Insider re-printed quotes from CEO Mike Jeffries given in a 2006 Salon interview.

Jeffries had said that the store and its products were aimed at skinny, attractive “cool kids,” instead of the “not-so-cool kids,” and that their business model is “absolutely” exclusionary.

“Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

The resurfaced remarks have practically burned Abercrombie & Fitch to the ground, with nearly everyone from A-list celebrities on down eviscerating the company’s exclusionary business model and Jeffries’ cruel candor.

Jeffries offered an apology, writing that he is upset that his ”choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense,” but the apology was mocked for being disingenuous.

The company (sans Jeffries) met with teen activists Wednesday who called on Abercrombie & Fitch to embrace a more inclusive model on the back of a Change.org petition which has attracted over 70,000 signatures.

After the meet, Abercrombie & Fitch apologized and offered the following statement:

“We look forward to continuing this dialogue and taking concrete steps to demonstrate our commitment to anti-bullying in addition to our ongoing support of diversity and inclusion. We want to reiterate that we sincerely regret and apologize for any offense caused by comments we have made in the past which are contrary to these values.”

Jeffries’ absence from the meet is worth noting, as well. It seems like most of the criticism was pointed at him, and the company by association.

What do you think of Abercrombie & Fitch’s apology? Will you shop there again if they change?

Abercrombie & Fitch Apologizes Yet Again is a post from: The Inquisitr

Some people just can’t take criticism. “Art Student Freaks Out” is the title of today’s viral video, and it’s one of those things that pretty much is exactly what it sounds like.

In college, art majors usually are required to present their work to their peers and explain things like their inspiration behind certain pieces to the techniques they used.

Part of this process involves peer critique. Basically, everyone in your class looks at your work and tells you what they like or dislike about it. It’s constructive criticism.

Apparently, this art student didn’t get the memo.

In the video, this unnamed art student presents her painting to an unseen group of fellow students, explaining what she herself likes about the painting.

The art student freaks out when the critiques start coming in. While some of the students try to offer practical advice, others are more interested in the art student’s motivation behind the painting and her motivation in taking the course.

One remarks that she was aiming for “outsider” art, which is art made by people without formal training like “inmates and people who are crazy.”

Another said that the painting was of the artist herself and attempted to explain that as a fashion designer, she uses her own body for her art, and that’s when the student interrupts with a profanity-laden rant.

She slams the critique and the review as “f***ing bullsh**” and storms out after destroying her painting.

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about the way the art student freaks out that just … doesn’t feel natural. Is this an elaborate prank, or is this video the real deal? Watch it below and let us know what you think! NSFW:

[Image via: Zorandim / Shutterstock]

Art Student Freaks Out In NSFW Viral Video is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nashville has been picked up for a second season, and is the only freshman ABC drama to do so. Even though that’s a big win for the series, execs are making a few changes for the next season. Like firing everyone.

According to Deadline, line producer Loucas George and production supervisor Don Bensko, as well as their Nashville-based teams, didn’t get their contracts renewed for a second season. Adding insult to injury, the studio didn’t even notify them.

Bensko’s wife Micaela then penned a stern letter to the entertainment industry as a whole to protest the decision and its execution, arguing that the team was fired because of behind-the scenes friction between Los Angeles-based executives and the Nashville-based creative team.

“You know you’ve made it in Hollywood, when a studio replaces your team, and doesn’t even bother to call …

Nashville was a town unrigged for the immediacy of needs by a television series. Lionsgate had never done a network series. It had a star who worried, and a creator who cared so much it broke his heart, a community that was filled with pride, a small cafe with bluebirds that became famous overnight, and in the midst of it all, a life on the crew was almost lost; It happened during a string of endless and exhausting shoot days. This is not new to production, but a string of delayed scripts and tripping storylines kept everyone on edge. Then one of our crew lost his footing while rigging for a huge arena shoot at The Bridgestone Arena. He fell twenty feet and could have died. So he could make a living …

The studios will argue they must shoot long hours because of their budget, the deadlines, the people that call them at midnight. The reality is, nothing is important when the humanity in the process is lost. When the writers’ hands are tied. And when the very people who broke their backs to create something special were never even told they were being replaced. Like my husband and Loucas George. Not a phone call or a thank you for all they had done. I am so tired of seeing the emotional toll the industry takes on so many in production and on the crew who work so hard all for a paycheck and a wrap party they are too exhausted to attend.”

She did note that creator Callie Khouri reached out to them after hearing of their treatment, and told Bensko that he made a difference and mattered to the show.

The Deadline report also alleges that there are tensions between ABC Studios and Lionsgate, as well as a rumor that series star Connie Britton wasn’t too pleased with her experience on the first season.

Production will remain in Nashville, for now. It all depends on tax incentives and such.

But if you’re a fan of Nashville, don’t you worry. The backstage drama of the show probably won’t be very visible in Season 2, as most of the creative and writing team are still intact.

The show debuted to modest ratings.

Are you a fan of Nashville?

‘Nashville’ In For Big Season 2 Changes is a post from: The Inquisitr

Pope Francis caused a stir this week, and we’re not just talking about his apparent public exorcism. During Wednesday Mass in Rome, he declared that everyone, including atheists, are redeemed through Jesus.

He placed an emphasis on ”doing good,” and used a story from the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus’ disciples were upset that an outsider to their group was performing good deeds.

“They complain, ‘If he is not one of us, he cannot do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do good.’ ” Pope Francis said. Jesus corrects them, saying: “Do not hinder him, he says, let him do good.”

Francis explains that the disciples were “a little intolerant,” thinking that “those who do not have the truth, cannot do good.”

But, “This was wrong … Jesus broadens the horizon,” Pope Francis said, continuing, “The root of this possibility of doing good – that we all have – is in creation.”

“The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can… “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”.. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Father James Martin explained Pope Francis’ words in an email to The Huffington Post:

“Pope Francis is saying, more clearly than ever before, that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone. That’s always been a Christian belief. You can find St. Paul saying in the First Letter to Timothy that Jesus gave himself as a “ransom for all.” But rarely do you hear it said by Catholics so forcefully, and with such evident joy. And in this era of religious controversies, it’s a timely reminder that God cannot be confined to our narrow categories.”

Reddit, a social sharing platform with a vibrant atheist subculture, has seemingly responded to the homily favorably.

An article from The Guardian on the story was posted yesterday, and is today’s second most-shared piece.

“He’s making the humanistic aspect of Christianity more important than the dogma and whatnot though. That’s important,” said one user.

“As in [sic] atheist, I’m starting to kind of like this new Pope,” wrote another.

What do you think of Pope Francis’ homily? Is everyone, including atheists, redeemed through Christ?

[Image via: presidencia.gov.ar / Wikimedia Commons]

Pope Francis Says Even Atheists Are Redeemed, Reddit Responds is a post from: The Inquisitr

James Van Der Beek is still trying to break the hold Dawson’s Creek has on his career and admitted in a recent interview that he has been taking cues from another once-typecast actor, Neil Patrick Harris.

Though he has appeared in anti-Dawson roles for some time (2002′s Rules of Attraction comes to mind), he still hasn’t really entered the “next stage” of his career yet, a la Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie to Barney).

His last series Don’t Trust The B—- In Apt. 23 was pulled by ABC in January with the final eight episodes only just now showing up on Hulu.

He has a new CBS show called Friends with Better Lives coming up on CBS, but it’s benched for midseason.

Still, he said that his experience on B—- was a positive one. He played a fictionalized version of himself and said that he took cues from Harris in how to pull it off effectively.

Harris played a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, which helped revive his career.

“It’s funny, I remember the first time I did an episode of How I Met Your Mother,” Van Der Beek tells Vulture.

“I was talking with Neil Patrick Harris. And Neil said something about, ‘Have you learned how to have fun with the whole image, really lampoon it?’ At the time I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I was doing that even while I was on the show.’ And he kind of said, ‘Okay,’ and nodded.

“And cut to [laughs] me on the FOX lot really lampooning the image. It’s just fun to stay in the game. And I think that’s probably the most important thing for an actor, especially one with some success in the past. Just stay in the game. And that’s what Apartment 23 allowed me to do.”

Are you a fan of James Van Der Beek? Did you like Don’t Trust The B—- In Apt. 23? Are you looking forward to Friends with Better Lives? Sound off!

[Image via: Featureflash / Shutterstock]

Van Der Beek Taking Cues From NPH To Break ‘Dawson’ Spell is a post from: The Inquisitr

How many seasons can AMC get out of The Walking Dead? While a working number hasn’t been put on the series just yet, network boss Josh Sapan said that he plans on keeping the show around for as long as possible.

AMC’s original drama pool is drying up quickly with Breaking Bad and even network tentpole Mad Men ending their runs soon, which may have fans wondering about the future of the acclaimed zombie drama.

As long as The Walking Dead keeps bringing massive numbers (12.4 million viewers for the Season 3 finale), AMC’s CEO Josh Sapan says the show will be around indefinitely.

Like, we could literally watch Carl grow up.

“We hope that zombies live forever and we’ve just begun to find out what the post-apocalyptic world is like, so that we’ll be sitting here at the Barclays conference in 2022 discussing the fact that Walking Dead is not over,” Sapan said at the Barclays Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Wednesday.

Is that really realistic, though? Can they pull it off? Well, sure. The comic book series has been going strong since 2003, and they’re only 100-some issues into a 250-300 issue epic.

Additionally, anyone familiar with the comic book knows that aside from Rick, Carl, Michonne and a few others, The Walking Dead has constant cast turnover, with new characters being introduced and killed off regularly.

So yeah, they could keep The Walking Dead going for another ten years. Maybe more.

Sapan also talked a bit about his feelings regarding the end of Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

“We’ll all suffer from some minor heartbreak when these shows come to a natural close … Like some of the best shows in history, there will be a mantle that exists sort of virtually in people’s minds, and in the world maybe they’ll actually put a statue somewhere. We will bring them to a close with the people who created them at the right time.”

Are you a fan of The Walking Dead? How long do you think they can keep the show going? How long do you want them to keep the show going?

‘Walking Dead’ Will Still Be On In 2022, Says AMC Boss is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bad Teacher is headed to CBS.

The show, based on the sleeper 2011 comedy of the same name, has been in development for some time. There was some recent doubt over whether it would be picked up by a network after it was ignored at the upfront presentations last week.

However, CBS announced one week later that it would be picking up Bad Teacher for a 13-episode order.

Adapted from the film by Community‘s Hilary Winston, the TV series Bad Teacher stars funnygal Ari Graynor in the Cameron Diaz role.

CBS describes Graynor’s character as an ”inappropriate, fearless and unapologetic former trophy wife who masquerades as a teacher in order to find a new man after her wealthy husband leaves her penniless.”

Ryan Hansen, David Alan Grier, Sarah Gilbert and Kristin Davis will round out the cast.

The Hollywood Reporter calls her character “a sexy, foul-mouthed divorcee who becomes a teacher in order to find her next husband.”

Though there are still some doubts as to whether Bad Teacher will find success, CBS is bulking up its comedy block, possibly looking for a How I Met Your Mother, which will likely wrap after next season.

Along with Bad Teacher, CBS is testing five new comedies: The Crazy Ones, The Millers, We Are Men, Mom, and Friends With Better Lives which is also benched for midseason.

If there’s one persuasive argument for the show’s success, it’s Ari Graynor. A criminally-underrated comic actress, she has made regular and memorable appearances in various films and TV shows.

Most recently, she starred in For A Good Time Call … after writer and co-star Lauren Miller sent her a letter calling her “one of the only people out there who could be both sexy and vulnerable and funny all at the same time.”

Are you a fan of Ari Graynor? Do you think that Bad Teacher will be a success for CBS? Sound off!

[Image via: Sam Aronov / Shutterstock]

‘Bad Teacher’ To CBS: Ari Graynor Comedy Gets Midseason Order is a post from: The Inquisitr

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for veteran rapper Tim Dog, who died three months ago. Or did he … ?

The New Yorker struggled with diabetes and was widely reported to have died in early February after a lethal seizure.

The thing is, police don’t think that Tim Dog (real name Timothy Blair) is dead at all. His supposed death didn’t leave any sort of paper trail whatsoever.

Mississippi prosecutor Steven Jubera says that he still hasn’t received any proof confirming Tim Dog’s death … no death certificate, no burial details, nothing.

 ”I need proof. I need a death certificate showing that he’s dead because, as far as I’m concerned, he’s alive,” Jubera said.

Jubera said that he has obtained a warrant for the 46-year-old hip-hop star’s arrest.

“Nobody said where he died, nobody said where he was buried, which is very odd for an obituary. … At the bare minimum he would get arrested and sit in jail until his court hearing.”

The warrant issued actually stems from a 2011 conviction for grand larceny. Tim Dog confessed to targeting Ester Pilgrim for money that he wanted to use to kick-start his moribund music career.

He plead out to avoid jail, and was ordered to turn over $19,000 in restitution to Pilgrim. However, he never made good on the debt before he allegedly passed away.

It was actually Pilgrim who raised the first red flag, too. She raised suspicions about the circumstances of Tim Dog’s death, which prompted Jubera to re-open the case.

Of course, we don’t know whether Tim Dog is alive or dead. Erring on the side of caution, they’d better hope he is alive and on the lam.

[Image via: MySpace]

Rapper Tim Dog May Have Faked His Death is a post from: The Inquisitr

Even Fred Phelps has to look at this and admit, “well played … “

Christian Mingle Backfires is a post from: The Inquisitr

“Where’d you learn to put french fries on pizza like this?!”

“From you, dad. I LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU!”

Anti-Marijuana PSA is a post from: The Inquisitr

Texas Republican Senator and frequent Rachel Maddow whipping boy Ted Cruz made strange admission on Wednesday: He doesn’t trust Republicans.

Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate and engaged in a heated dispute with Arizona Senator John McCain, Cruz said that he doesn’t trust Democrats (obvious) but that he also doesn’t trust Republicans.

Cruz, as well as Senators Marco Rubio, Mike Lee and Rand Paul, were called out by McCain, who wanted them to allow the Senate to get a band together in order to work out a federal budget alongside the House of Representatives. This would be the first time they have done their jobs this in four years.

However, Tea Party members have made a strict set of demands or pre-conditions that they want met before such a group is put together. Primarily, they want the conferees barred from raising the debt limit.

McCain balked this condition because he says the group needs room to negotiate. He also said that their resistance made it pretty clear that they don’t exactly trust their fellow Republicans.

You’re damn right, they don’t!

“Let me be clear. I don’t trust the Republicans,” Cruz said. “And I don’t trust the Democrats. And I think a whole lot of Americans likewise don’t trust the Republicans and the Democrats because it is leadership in both parties that has gotten us in this mess.”

“Unfortunately,” Cruz continued, “one of the reasons we got into this mess is because a lot of Republicans were complicit in this spending spree and that’s why so many Americans are disgusted with both sides of this house. … And every Republican who stands against holding the line here is really saying, let’s give the Democrats a blank check to borrow any money they want with no reforms, no leadership to fix the problem.”

You can’t write a face-off this good! You can check out video of Cruz’s comments to McCain below:

Ted Cruz Doesn’t Trust Republicans is a post from: The Inquisitr

Paris Hilton hasn’t been in the news in a while, has she? What has she been up to, anyway? Working on a new album.

Hilton has reportedly signed on with Cash Money Records and is currently working on a new album of house music. Supposedly, it will be release this summer.

The socialite broke the news to Showbiz411 at a party in Cannes, where she is supporting Sophia Coppola’s film The Bling Ring, a film about a group of young adults who robbed a Hilton hotel (part of the film was even filmed at Hilton’s home).

Anyway, the house music album will see Hilton alongside Drake and Nicki Minaj, with Dutch house producer Afrojack involved in some capacity (the two were once rumored to be dating, but he’s now with DJ Bambi).

“This is a lot different than my first album,” Paris said. “It’s really going to be house music.”

Hilton’s new album is a pretty late follow-up to her freshman effort. She first released Paris on Heiress records in 2006, an album, which made the top ten on the Billboard albums chart, but earned mixed reviews.

More recently, Hilton collaborated on a track with Lil Wayne and starred in a Rich Gang music video.

Interestingly, she even has a bit of experience with house music. Hilton has performed a few DJ gigs and is reportedly doing a residency in Ibiza this summer.

Though she has earned plenty of criticism from others in the music industry for her attempts at song writing and producing, Cash Money seems to think she has something with this new house music album.

What do you think? Should Paris Hilton give up on music and go back to … wait, what does she do again?

[Image via: Adam Ziaja / Shutterstock]

Paris Hilton Working On A House Music Album is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ken Jeong made $5 million to reprise his “Leslie Chow” role for the third and final time in The Hangover III.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Jeong took home a cool $5 mil for his involvement in the Hangover finale, once again playing the character that arguably made him famous.

Jeong’s memorable villain from The Hangover was so popular that he was a shoe-in for the sequel (even if his presence didn’t make a whole lot of sense) and when the third movie was announced, a third round for Chow seemed inevitable.

“For me to be known for playing ‘crazy villain roles’ is — as a guy in real life who is a mild-mannered doctor — that’s the biggest accomplishment that I could think of,” Jeong told The Huffington Post of the role.

Indeed, Jeong actually started out as an honest-to-goodness doctor (still licensed as a physician in the state of California) while he pursued stand-up comedy.

The 43-year-old was a struggling comic until he was cast by Judd Apatow in a short but memorable role as an OBGYN in Knocked Up.

After that, Jeong took a supporting role in TV’s Community and appeared in The Hangover films, which really helped launch his career.

The first two Hangover films made $467 million and $586 million across the world, with the third projected to take a $73 million opening weekend.

While some stars turn on the roles that defined their early careers, Jeong has nothing but love for Leslie Chow.

“I think other people would look at it like, ‘Oh, he’s typecast as the villain.’ I’m looking at it like, ‘Oh my God, I’m typecast as a villain! It’s amazing!’ ”

Are you a fan of Ken Jeong? Are you looking forward to The Hangover III?

[Image via: Dooley Productions / Shutterstock]

Ken Jeong Made $5 Million For ‘Hangover III’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Don’t call her “Backdoor Teen Mom,” those days are behind her (pun intended). Farrah Abraham wants everyone’s attention focused on her new reality TV show, sorry, a “reality docu-soap” (???) with Spinboi Films.

As we reported earlier today, Abraham has finished counting her seven-figure payout from that incredibly controversial porn video, and has now moved on to a new reality TV show.

But remember, Farrah Abraham is nothing like Kim Kardashian and doesn’t want to be compared to her.

Tuesday was actually a pretty bizarre day for Farrah Abraham, who is more and more a woman of pure contradiction.

Despite her open shame and attempts to distance herself from her XXX tumble with James Deen, Abraham was actually in New York to promote it.

She gave a series of radio interviews, had lunch with an unidentified male, and even stopped in for a visit with Dr. Shawn Sadri, her dentist.

That afternoon, news broke of Abraham’s collaboration with Spinboi Films on a “docu-soap” reality show, and she confirmed it herself on Twitter:

Get ready for better TV The News Is True starcasm.net/archives/220776

— FarrahAbraham (@F1abraham) May 21, 2013

I like my TV just fine, Ms. Abraham.

In any case, it’s all part of a bigger plan for Farrah Abraham who has her sights set on being the next Kim Kardashian changing the world.

“I’m not choosing that life,” she told Us Weekly of her pornographic film. “I’m getting an online master’s in business communication and I want to open a modern fusion restaurant in Austin that has a drunk driving campaign to help people make good choices,” she says.

“I really want to change the world.”

She sure has her work cut out for her.

Are you a fan of Farrah Abraham? Are you excited for her return to reality TV?

Farrah Abraham Wants To ‘Change The World’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

CNN pundit Piers Morgan has inked a deal with Simon & Schuster to write a tell-all book about his career at the troubled network, which he described as “The Newsroom on steroids,” referencing the popular HBO series of the same name.

Morgan’s book will go behind-the-scenes recounting his career at CNN “warts and all,” according to a statement released by his publisher on Wednesday.

The sometimes-controversial pundit’s book will be published in October under the title: Shooting Straight: Guns, Gays, God, and George Clooney.

The book will detail Morgan’s “adrenaline-fueled life at CNN as host of ‘Piers Morgan Live’ including the real time drama of covering huge breaking news stories.”

Such topics will include the death of Osama bin Laden, the Newtown massacre, the controversy generated by his own aggressive gun control coverage, as well as the garden-variety “trials and tribulations of anchoring a nightly cable news show in the world’s most ruthless, competitive, and pressurized media marketplace; and the unpredictable, fascinating, and often hilarious challenge of interviewing the world’s biggest stars and world leaders.”

While that sounds like quite a lot of ground to cover, Morgan will be presenting the book in diary format, hoping that will make the tome a bit more focused and inviting to readers.

Since Morgan is still employed by CNN (so far as we know), it doesn’t sound like his new book will be some sort of scandalous insider expose on the network, but rather more about Morgan’s own quirky and at-times stressful career there.

Publisher Jennifer Bergstrom said of the new book: “I fully expect ‘Shooting Straight’ to enlighten some readers and enrage others. Either way, it will be a thought-provoking book that I’m thrilled to publish.” Gee, that doesn’t sound like Piers Morgan at all.

[Image via: Pete Riches / Wikimedia Commons]

Piers Morgan To Write CNN Tell-All, Calls His Life ‘The Newsroom On Steroids’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Maroon 5 frontman and Voice judge Adam Levine used to do drugs … until one bad night a Denny’s restaurant.

Levine admits he used to use drugs early in his career but quit after a bizarre experience while on the prescription drug Ambien. With fellow Maroon 5′er James Valentine, Levine took the sedatives while on tour, thinking they were something else meant to give him a little pep.

The drug knocked both of them out (because that’s what it does) while they were waiting for dinner.

He recalls:

“We had a brief experience one time with what I guess was Ambien. James Valentine and I, we didn’t really know what it was … It was the first and last time we took this drug. But we were at Denny’s at some shady part of the city of whatever part of the country we were in, and we took it and we ordered the food … and we woke up at the table, what must have been an hour (later) … I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ And James had his head down, so I was like, ‘Hey, man. Hey, we should get out of here.’ We didn’t eat our food. We sheepishly paid our bills and walked out, and everyone’s looking (at us) like, ‘What’s wrong with these guys?’ And then since then I’ve never done drugs.”

In a 2012 interview with Q Magazine, Levine admitted to experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs and seemed to regard it as a positive experience.

“I definitely, firmly believe that the experience I had on mushrooms made me understand certain things about myself that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise,” he said.

“What I took away from that experience was valuable and beneficial to me. It really forced me to look at myself.”

He added that he considered his experimentation to be a one-off, and that he has avoided abusing such drugs since for fear of becoming a  ”f*****g psychotic maniac.”

Are you a fan of Adam Levine?

[Image via: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock]

Adam Levine Quit Drugs After A Bad Denny’s Experience is a post from: The Inquisitr

Wolf Blitzer’s atheist interview has sparked a huge debate online, with many praising the interviewee and condemning the veteran CNN anchor.

On Tuesday, Blitzer was interviewing survivors of the devastating EF-5 tornado that struck Oklahoma Monday afternoon.

Standing in front of the destruction in Moore, Blitzer asked survivor Rebecca Vitsmun, who was holding her 19-month-old son, if she had thanked the Lord for surviving the twister.

There’s a short pause, and Vitsmun replied “I’m actually an atheist,” with an awkward laugh.

Blitzer stumbled, offering a pat on the back and a weird “you made the right call,” before Vitsmun very diplomatically responded:

“We are here, and you know, I don’t blame anybody for thanking the Lord.”

It was a pretty touching moment despite … well … everything, but it sparked a huge debate online over whether it was appropriate for Blitzer to have asked such a question in the first place.

Many on Twitter criticized Blitzer, saying that he’s no better than Glenn Beck or the folks at The 700 Club.

@wolfblitzer Is this CNN? I thought we were in the 700 Club for a moment.

— Chris Dashiell (@cdashiell) May 22, 2013

@thesuperficial wolf blitzer is poor man’s Glenn Beck. it’s only a matter of time til he’s slangin holy water for cash

— Shan Haque (@shan_haque) May 22, 2013

Others chose to focus on Rebecca Vitsmun, applauding her for such a measured and graceful response despite the circumstances.

I wonder if that atheist interviewed by Wolf Blitzer knows that she’s a Twitter hero?

— Ozark Atheist (@OzarkAtheist) May 22, 2013

Though CNN saw a boost in viewership on Monday night due to the storms, Nielsen put the network behind Fox News during Tuesday’s aftermath coverage.

You can watch the video of Wolf Blitzer’s atheist interview below, and let us know what you think: Did the veteran CNN reporter cross the line?

Wolf Blitzer’s Atheist Interview Sparks Huge Debate Online [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Susan Powell’s dad is hiring a private investigator to review the case file on her disappearance after the official investigation turned up little.

Police say they’ve given finding missing Utah mother Susan Powell their best go, but her dad isn’t about to give up on his daughter that easily. With the case file released, he is hoping to bring it to a private investigator with the hope that one might spot something the police missed.

Chuck Cox told reporters Tuesday that a private eye has offered to review the tens of thousands of pages of detective reports, maps, interviews and more that make up the massive case file.

“That’s one of the reasons we wanted it: to find out what (the police) really had, because that would point us in a different direction and give us a place to search for my daughter,” Cox said.

Susan Powell disappeared in late 2009, and husband Josh Powell was a prime suspect in the case. He killed himself last year, along with the couple’s two young sons, in a house fire in Washington state.

Investigators then turned their attention to Michael, Josh Powell’s brother. They now believe that Michael helped Josh dispose of Susan’s body.

Michael committed suicide himself by jumping off a Minneapolis parking garage three months ago. With no direct suspects left, authorities announced this week that they had decided to close the active investigation.

Despite bizarre alibis and other circumstantial evidence pointing to Josh and Michael Powell, authorities said they never had enough hard evidence to prove their involvement, even while they were alive.

But a fresh look from a private eye might be able to connect just enough of the dots for Susan Powell’s family to at least have some closure.

“In some ways, circumstantial evidence is the best evidence,” said Cox’s attorney,  Anne Bremner. ”With direct evidence, you can have a witness lie. With forensic evidence, you can have problems with collection. But circumstantial evidence never lies and you can’t change it.

“They could have arrested him, and they should have, based on that evidence,” she concluded.

What do you think? Will a private investigator be able to solve the Susan Powell case?

Susan Powell’s Dad Turns Case Over To Private Eye is a post from: The Inquisitr

Though it sounded an awful lot like Brad Pitt slammed his marriage to Jennifer Aniston in a recent interview, the actor now says that his words were taken out of context by the media.

In an interview with Parade, Pitt talked about life before Angelina Jolie, meaning that his 5-year marriage to actress Jennifer Aniston was inevitably going to come up. While with Jen, it seems, Pitt was in a dark place, unsure of himself and of his future, and he seemed to blame his marriage for his emotional state.

“I think my marriage [to Aniston] had something to do with it: trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t.”

Naturally, the gossip media made hay with this little blurb. Though all parties are forgiven and moved on now, Aniston is still seen as the “wronged woman” in the fallout of her marriage to Pitt.

At the time, numerous reports suggested that he was cheating on her with Jolie, and though none of that had been verified, Pitt and Aniston did ultimately dissolve their marriage.

So, Pitt slams Aniston marriage? Not such a great attitude.

That’s probably why his representatives shot a statement from the actor to E! Online, suggesting that the New York Post had taken his words out of context.

“It grieves me that this was interpreted this way. Jen is an incredibly giving, loving, and hilarious woman who remains my friend. It is an important relationship I value greatly,” Pitt back-tracked, according to The Examiner.

He added, “The point I was trying to make is not that Jen was dull, but that I was becoming dull to myself — and that, I am responsible for.”

The Post amended to include Pitt’s statement.

Pitt also gushed about how satisfied and fulfilled he feels now with Jolie, and how much he loves her and the family they have built, but that’s the boring stuff!

What do you think? Did Brad Pitt’s statement amend that apparent dig on his marriage to Jennifer Aniston?

UPDATE: Seems we got our wires crossed, kids. Brad Pitt did recently grant an interview to Esquire, in which he said the following:

“For a long time I thought I did too much damage-drug damage. I was a bit of a drifter. A guy who felt he grew up in something of a vacuum and wanted to see things, wanted to be inspired … I spent years f-ing off. But then I got burnt out and felt that I was wasting my opportunity. It was a conscious change. This was about a decade ago. It was an epiphany.”

… which has been interpreted by many media publications as a dig on his marriage to Jennifer Aniston (though that’s a bit of a stretch, in my humble opinion).

The quote printed above, as well as Pitt’s apology, actually stemmed from a 2011 interview with Parade. It’s a trending story today, and we’re not the only publication who has made the mistake of re-printing old information (though it looks like we’re the only one to acknowledge it thus far). It happens!

[Image via: Tom Sorensen / Wikimedia Commons]

Pitt Slams Aniston Marriage? Actor Says Words Were ‘Taken Out Of Context’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Barbara Walters’ daughter was arrested for DUI this week, and was reportedly so out of control that she had to be “taken to the ground” so that she wouldn’t accidentally run into traffic.

TMZ obtained a police report detailing the arrest of Jacqueline Walters Danforth, the 44-year-old daughter of Barbara Walters. After breaking the story of Walters’ daughter being arrested, the snarky celeb site managed to dig up a few more details from the May 19 incident in Naples, Florida.

Jacqueline was reportedly driving a Honda Pilot, and was stopped by cops at 1:24am after they had received reports about an SUV stopped on the highway with its lights turned off.

According to police, both Jacqueline and a male passenger (thought to be her boyfriend) were extremely intoxicated.

Though Barbara Walters’ daughter was arrested ultimately, cops say that she was unruly and even violent before they managed to subdue her.

They tried to put cuffs on her boyfriend, causing Jacqueline to grab one of the officers and begin “shouting” at him.

“I was afraid that the suspect may run into traffic on the highway, so she was taken to the ground due to her unpredictable behavior, then secured in handcuffs,” the arresting officer said in the report.

She eventually took a breathalyzer test, and blew a .218 which is over twice the legal limit. She was arrested for DUI and released several hours later on a $1,000 bond.

Jacqueline Walters Danforth is most famous for various TV specials in which she discussed her troubled teenage years with her own mother.

Barbara Walters’ Daughter Arrested, Was Reportedly Abusive With Cops is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hallelujah!

Courtside Jesus is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nice, church. I see what you did there.

Clever Church is a post from: The Inquisitr

The ballad of Schwarzenegger and Shriver is not yet over.

TMZ reports that Arnold Schwarzenegger and his estranged wife, Maria Shriver, have not yet made any meaningful action toward ending their 20+ year marriage.

They speculate that there are only two possibilities: Either they’re so rich that the difference between married and divorced is negligible, or they’re leaving the door open for reconciliation.

Sources tell the site that Schwarzenegger and Shriver aren’t rushing their divorce and that they don’t really even feel any urgency to make their separation official. All of their money and custody issues have been worked out, because their massive wealth, $400 million, can easily be split down the middle.

Basically, the finer points of their divorce have already been worked out. Putting it on paper doesn’t make any difference to their day-to-day lives.

So why not just put a hatchet in it and call the time of death? That’s why some publications are theorizing that they’re still considering getting back together.

Sources say that both Schwarzenegger and Shriver have been sending mixed signals to their friends and family, and, indeed, Arnold has continually said that he still loves his wife and family (even if he’s dating someone else).

Sometimes they’ll talk about making the divorce final among family and friends, when other times, they’ll talk about how they still feel longing for each other.

What do you think? Will Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver get back together? If not, why are they dragging their feet through their divorce? Sound off!

[Image via: Joe Seer / Shutterstock]

Schwarzenegger & Shriver Not Divorced … Yet is a post from: The Inquisitr

Speaking before a sold-out New Hampshire Republican Party dinner on Monday, Senator Rand Paul highlighted the need for GOP supporters to embrace diversity if they want to win the White House in 2016.

“We need to be like the rest of America,” Paul said. “We’re going to win when we look like America.

“We need to be white, we need to be brown, we need to be black, we need to be with tattoos, without tattoos, with ponytails, without ponytails, with beards, without.”

Paul also advocated a reshaping of the party image. In front of New Hampshire Republicans, Paul called for the GOP to become the “party of opportunity.”

“We need to be that party that can express it in a way that shows that we care about people,” Paul continued.

“We need to care about people even if they are on government assistance.”

Paul also donated $10,000 to the New Hampshire GOP, which was announced publicly hours before the Monday night event.

This appearance, coupled with a handful of others in recent weeks, further stoked speculation that Paul is himself eyeing a run for the Republican nomination to face off against Hillary Clinton a Democratic opponent in 2016.

Paul also made news recently over his increased interest in the IRS scandal plaguing the Obama administration this past week.

The depth of the scandal is not yet known, but Paul said on Sunday that he believes there exists “written policy” which would prove that the IRS was “targeting people who were opposed to the president” as a specific directive under President Obama.

Such a memo, if it does exist, has not materialized.

What do you think of Rand Paul? Do you think he’s angling for a run in 2016?

[Image via: Gage Skidmore]

Rand Paul Pushes Diversity With New Hampshire GOP is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sandwich, MA – An Episcopal priest has been placed on administrative leave after he was accused of plagiarizing his Sunday sermons from a book he ordered off sermons.com.

Reverend John McGinn was suspended by officials at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cape Cod after it was discovered that he had apparently delivered, word for word, over a dozen sermons from a book called Dynamic Preaching. He had even published some of the sermons as his own.

The 65-year-old had more than 300 families in his “flock,” all of whom received a letter from Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts which read, in part:

“This is a serious breach of the pastoral relationship between John and each of you. I am sorry that this matter has caused pain and will likely cause further pain in the parish. As difficult as this situation is, we know that truth telling helps to bring about healing, and our renewal follows repentance.”

McGinn was first suspected of plagiarism a year ago when he was approached by church elders. He told them at the time that he was not cribbing sermons from elsewhere, so the Diocese “investigated further.”

Bishop M. Thomas Shaw said that the investigation turned up “documentation that not only did he continue to copy sermons and preach and publish them verbatim, in print and online, as his own, but he had been doing so for many years.”

On behalf of local parishioners, Sean Randall, a senior warden of the church, issued a statement:

“For 17 years Fr. John McGinn has raised thousands of dollars for local charities and provided pastoral care for hundreds of people on the Upper Cape. Our prayers are with him as the diocese, St. John’s Church and Fr. McGinn work to resolve this.”

When McGinn himself was approached, he made it sound like he was using “administrative leave” as an opportunity to begin the early stages of his retirement.

“I’m going to retire,” he said. “I loved my time at the parish. That’s all. I think I did a good job.”

[Image via: Stephen Rees / Shutterstock]

Priest Suspended, Plagiarized Sermons From Sermons.com is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amy’s Baking Company, the Scottsdale, Arizona restaurant featured on Kitchen Nightmares earlier this month, held a job fair over the weekend in an effort to hire 30 new employees including dining room and kitchen staff.

The notorious restaurant shuttered last week after the episode aired and business owners Samy and Amy Bouzaglo had some sort of apparent meltdown on their Facebook page.

They planned for a grand re-opening to take place on May 21 (today) coupled with a press conference to answer the community’s criticisms regarding their unflattering portrayal on Gordon Ramsay’s show.

We know now that the press conference and grand re-opening won’t be happening and that the PR company hired by Amy’s Baking Company no longer represents them.

However, the job fair held Sunday apparently went well, according to restaurant spokesman Mike Scerbo. He told The Huffington Post that Amy’s Baking Company had “lots of applicants. We are about halfway to our goal.”

It is unknown how many staff Amy’s Baking Company had employed at the time of the episode’s filming, or how many they managed to retain after the fallout.

One of the waitresses from the episode (the one who was fired) did a Reddit IAmA in which she explained that she was the only server, along with he other girl shown in the episode. We also saw a sous chef and a few dishwashers in the episode.

What they’re going to do with 30 staff, we don’t know.

In any case, many applicants were likely put off after the May 10 episode of Kitchen Nightmares which apparently revealed that the owners keep their wait staff’s tips and that they had fired over 100 employees just recently.

Amy’s Baking Company Now Hiring is a post from: The Inquisitr

Is Pope Francis an exorcist? Some are speculating that he may indeed be after performing what appeared to be an exorcism on Sunday.

Francis laid his hands on the head of a young man in a wheelchair after Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, and what happened next was pretty strange. The young man began to heave heavily, he shook, and then he slumped over as Francis prayed.

It was a bizarre scene, with Italian media surveying actual exorcists for their thoughts. They all seemed to agree that there was “no doubt” that Francis either attempted to perform an exorcism, or succeeded in performing an exorcism.

The Vatican was a bit more ambiguous, releasing a statement Tuesday that said Francis ”didn’t intend to perform any exorcism. But as he often does for the sick or suffering, he simply intended to pray for someone who was suffering who was presented to him.”

Whether or not you believe in that sort of thing, Francis’ actions seemed consistent with what Catholic officials expect out of an exorcism. Reverend Giulio Maspero, a Rome-based systematic theologian who has witnessed or participated in over a dozen exorcisms, believes that Pope Francis had performed an exorcism.

He said specifically that Francis’ placement of hands on the man’s head was the “typical position” for an exorcist.

“When you witness something like that — for me it was shocking — I could feel the power of prayer,” he said of his own experiences.

Sunday was also the Pentacost, a date of significance in Catholicism during which Jesus’ apostles received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  Maspero seemed to imply that the symbolism was not a coincidence.

Your last piece of creepy coincidence: According to Italian newspapers reporting on the event, the late Pope John Paul II performed an exorcism in 1982 in the exact same spot.

Judge for yourself! Do you think Pope Francis’ exorcism was the real deal, or do you not go in for that sort of thing?

Did Pope Francis Perform An Exorcism In Public? [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

You remember that Kitchen Nightmares couple, Samy and Amy Bouzaglo of Amy’s Baking Company? Of course you do. It was the story all week. You couldn’t get away from it if you wanted to.

They’ve decided to cancel their planned press conference during which they pledged to tell their side of the story.

The fallout from their appearance on Kitchen Nightmares was somehow worse than their portrayal on the show, which famously saw Chef Gordon Ramsay walk out for the first time … well … ever.

After the bizarre Amy’s Baking Company episode, the owners seemingly had a complete meltdown on their Facebook page.

They spewed vitriol in every direction, angry over their portrayal on the popular program and the new wave of criticism they had received (oh yes, they’ve been in the press for the wrong reasons before).

Then suddenly, on May 15, their Facebook page showed a fairly concise statement declaring that Amy’s Baking Company would re-open for a special event on May 21 (today) which would include a press conference.

There, Samy and Amy Bouzaglo would tell their side of the story and answer questions about their unflattering portrayal on Kitchen Nightmares.

They would also explain how their Facebook and other social media handles were compromised, hence the strange online meltdown following the episode.

But now none of that is happening.

Why?

Interestingly, Amy’s Baking Company hired a PR firm to help them sort out their public image problem. You can see their influence in that well-tailored May 15 post on their Facebook page – any inquiries about the grand re-opening as well as reservations were to be sent to sjones@rosemoserallynpr.com.

That long domain belongs to Rose+Moser+Allyn Public & Online Relations. They no longer represent the couple.

Details are still sketchy, and indeed, we may never know the full truth. But Samy and Amy Bouzaglo were reportedly threatened by Kitchen Nightmares lawyers not to bad-mouth Gordon Ramsay’s show … or else.

Is this intimidation? Does this mean that Amy’s Baking Company’s unflattering portrayal isn’t entirely their fault, but also a product of manipulative editing and/or production?

Possibly, but probably not. You see, they signed a very strict disparagement clause before the cameras ever started rolling. Basically, if the Bouzaglos say anything bad about the show, they could be fined $100,000 each.

I’d say that it does indeed smell fishy, because what does Kitchen Nightmares really have to fear from Amy’s Baking Company? But their PR firm left them too, just like Ramsay. Did they come to similar conclusions about the Bouzaglos? Can these people just not be helped?

It sure seems that way.

Sound off! Did you see the Amy’s Baking Company episode of Kitchen Nightmares? Are you surprised that they have cancelled their press conference?

Kitchen Nightmares Couple Press Conference Cancelled: Amy’s Baking Company Silent … For Once is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lance West, a veteran reporter in Oklahoma City, said that the hardest part of his job is “reporting on the tragic death of a child.”

Yesterday, Mr. West proved that old addage “actions speak louder than words” true when he broke down in tears in the midst of reporting from the Plaza Towers Elementary School after the devastating and deadly tornado came through.

West is a pro, but even an Emmy-winning newsman isn’t immune to his own feelings when faced with the harsh reality of the tornado’s biblical destruction of Moore, Oklahoma, which included no less than two schools flattened, destroyed, and gone.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my 18 years covering tornadoes here,” West muses, seemingly overwhelmed by the scene. “This is, without question, the most horrific…”

At that point, West breaks down in the midst of his live report and never recovers. He begins to weep, perfectly underscoring the tragedy of the historic destruction and the pain felt by Moore residents as the story continues to develop.

The anchors at the studio do their level-best to snap him out of his hysterics, summoning that old journalistic dogma, that religion, which dictates that the people need to know no matter what.

West somewhat recovers, rushing to the scene, but this extremely emotional event, this Hindenburg moment, has stood out among the non-stop news cycle and hundreds if not thousands of media following every minute of the Oklahoma tragedy.

His anchors at the studio applaud West and list his accomplishments, but reason that such a scene is very emotional when you’re on the ground, and that Lucas West is “only human like the rest of us.”

You can check out the video below. Lucas West begins to break down around the 1:30 minute mark.

Lance West, Vet Oklahoma Reporter, Breaks Down In Tears Live [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lizz Winstead’s tweet from yesterday is still earning the comic a deluge of criticism, thanks to its perceived insensitivity regarding the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma.

Winstead, the co-creator of The Daily Show, is generally known for her sharp political commentary and frank opinions.

Not one to mince words, like … ever, she made one of those “too soon” jokes on Twitter about yesterday’s tornado.

“This tornado is in Oklahoma so clearly it has been ordered to only target conservatives,” she wrote.

Uh oh.

“How long has Obama known about this Tornado?” she added later.

No, don’t keep going!

“Tornado just bumped me from MSNBC. #Benghazi”

Ahhh, just stop!

But she kept going. Mostly in response to her critics, who ranged in tone from “too soon” to “STFU B****.”

Many threatened to un-follow, but Winstead defended herself against her critics, explaining that they just don’t understand satire and hypocrisy in media.

But tweets like this one …

The kids trapped in a school think you’re hilarious. MT @lizzwinstead: This tornado in OK has clearly been ordered to target conservatives.

— Brian Winkeler (@brianwinkeler) May 20, 2013

… probably caused her to slow her roll.

She ultimately did apologize, tweeting:

Made a political joke, Twas before devastation revealed. In hindsight, had I understood, I would have refrained. Beyond sorry. #LetMeHaveIt

— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) May 20, 2013

A few of her fans attempted to throw some “it wasn’t that bad” cold water on her critics, but she totally owned the awfulness of the tweets, writing:

No, it’s worth giving me shit. I was an idiot. RT @mrpeterconlon: @jonahnroit’s almost not even mentioning this stupid comment!

— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) May 20, 2013

After that, her thread is mostly re-tweets of Oklahoma relief info and Red Cross donation pushes. Mea culpa accepted, Winstead. That’s how you turn a poorly-timed joke around.

Interestingly, guess who stood up for Lizz Winstead?

Leave lizz winstead alone.Clearly bad joke.How many of us has made a joke we wished we could take back?She has to feel awful.#castfirststone

— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) May 21, 2013

What do you think of Lizz Winstead’s tweet? Did she make up for it appropriately? Sound off!

‘Daily Show’ Co-Creator Slammed For Insensitive Oklahoma Tweet is a post from: The Inquisitr

George Michael’s recent hospitalization has more conflicting reports than Benghazi. A new witness, Katherine Fox, says that she was driving behind Michael and that his injuries went beyond the “superficial cuts and bruises” line we were sold.

Katherine Fox’s George Michael story was told to The Sun. Fox says that Michael actually fell out of his car while it was going 70mph down M1, and that he tumbled for some time, picking up some pretty gruesome injuries along the way.

“He was lucky he didn’t die,” the 23-year-old said of Michael’s accident.

She pulled over after seeing his car slam into the carriageway, and saw him laying on the highway dazed and covered in blood.

“There was a nasty cut on his forehead and the back of his head. There was blood all down his face and on his teeth,” she said. “He was breathing and conscious but in shock.”

She and other drivers came to a screeching halt after Michael took his tumble, and she specifically recalled seeing blood all over the street, thinking a jaywalking man had been hit.

“I asked what had gone on and was told he tried to open the car door and shut it again because it wasn’t shut properly and apparently fell out at 70mph,” she said.

“George didn’t say anything, he just seemed in shock. He was sitting down against a car and in the arms of his friend. The guy holding him was quite scared. He kept saying to George, ‘Are you all right mate?’ ” she recalled.

“I think George was lucky he didn’t die,” she said.

Originally, it was reported that George Michael had been in an accident, but that his injuries were superficial. His boyfriend, Fadi Fawaz, told the press “I’ve spoken to him and he’s good,” shortly after the accident.

Michael has since been released from the hospital.

What do you think of Katherine Fox’s George Michael story? Could his accident have been more serious than we were led to believe? Sound off!

[Image via: Mark III Photonics / Shutterstock]

George Michael Tumbled Out Of Car Trying To Adjust Door is a post from: The Inquisitr

Port St. Lucie, FL – You know when you’re in the middle of a police chase and you think, “Man, I could really go for a beer?” Andrew Fatzinger knows that feeling all too well, and it might have cost him his escape.

Only in Florida.

Anyway, this all went down early Sunday morning after Fatzinger was nabbed in the middle of looting a Lighthouse Point home, trashing it with mustard and, I quote, “illegible scribblings.”

Okay, so we’re off to an appropriately bizarre start.

Police officers arrived to investigate after neighbors reported crashing and other loud noises from the empty home (the folks were on vacation) and saw Fatzinger pacing in and out of the house wearing a t-shirt over his head.

An officer ordered him to stop, but he took off running, jumping over a fence.

Cops lost him, but spotted him walking a few blocks away from the break-in. This is the part where “alleged” comes in, because we don’t really know whether Fatzinger was the same guy from the break-in.

But innocent people generally don’t run, and Fatzinger did, so police gave chase once more.

During the chase, he was spotted by helicopter hopping a fence and disappearing into a house briefly. He then re-emerged carrying two bottles of Heineken beer (or “war juice”). As he ran, he tossed the bottles, presumably after chugging them.

He then got into a confrontation with a K-9 unit. He punched the dog, but ultimately he lost the melee and suffered injuries specific to the encounter.

He trashed the house, smashing TVs and writing strange messages on the walls with mustard. Outside, he had a suitcase filled with laptops, electronics, and medications. The damage to the home was estimated to be over $5,000.

The owner of the two Heinekens also wants to press charges.

[Image via: ollyy / Shutterstock] Andrew Fatzinger not pictured above. He looks like this:

Alleged Burglar Hits ‘Pause’ On Police Chase To Grab A Beer is a post from: The Inquisitr

Airplane farts. We’ve all been there, whether on the giving or receiving end. When you’re 30,000 feet in the air for a four hour stretch with no layover, well … let’s just say that nature happens.

But we are humanity, marching endlessly onward to the drum beat of progress, so why haven’t we solved this age-old dilemma? Doctors several months ago said “just do it,” but as you can imagine, that solution wasn’t exactly embraced.

They went back to the drawing board and actually came up with an airplane farts solution we can work with: Charcoal seats.

Holding in flatulence is unhealthy, but common courtesy and recycled air dictate that we do so. That’s why Doctors at Herlev Hospital in Denmark came up with an outside-the-box solution.

Putting charcoal into plane seats will actually neutralize the odor, according to Herlev docs. There are other things we can do, as well. Airlines could eliminate high-fiber in-flight meals and single out passengers with methane breath tests at the gate, though we don’t know what the implication of that would be … farting-only flights?

But our last bastion, indeed our last line of defense could be charcoal-filled seats.

The following is the official proposal from the Herlev doctors. As serious as it sounds, we can’t imagine them writing this with a straight face. They either busted up laughing like seventh graders in study hall, or one of them had a really bad experience on a recent flight.

“Flatus is natural and an invariable consequence of digestion, however at times it creates problems of social character due to sound and odour. This problem may be more significant on commercial airplanes where many people are seated in limited space and where changes in volume of intestinal gases, due to altered cabin pressure, increase the amount of potential flatus.

“Holding back flatus on an airplane may cause significant discomfort and physical symptoms, whereas releasing flatus potentially presents social complications.To avoid this problem we humbly propose that active charcoal should be embedded in the seat cushion, since this material is able to neutralise the odour.

“Moreover active charcoal may be used in trousers and blankets to emphasise this effect. Other less practical or politically correct solutions to overcome this problem may be to restrict access of flatus-prone persons from airplanes, by using a methane breath test or to alter the fibre content of airline meals in order to reduce its flatulent potential. We conclude that the use of active charcoal on airlines may improve flight comfort for all passengers.”

What do you think of this airplane farts solution? I actually can’t tell if they’re really serious about this.

[Image via: ARENA Creative / Shutterstock]

Airplane Farts: Finally, There’s A Solution To Your Nightmare At 20,000 Feet is a post from: The Inquisitr

Pasadena, CA – Margit Arrobio’s Powerball ticket could have earned her $360 million in lottery winnings … had she bought it an hour earlier.

This tragic story is brought to you by: Cruel and twisted fate.

Margit Arrobio’s Powerball ticket was a welcome piece of exciting news when she discovered that she had all of the winning numbers for a $360 million jackpot, but before she could plan a vacation in Aruba and quit her job, she discovered that she had purchased the ticket an hour after the deadline and wouldn’t be getting any money for the worthless ticket.

“I called my gas station where I bought the ticket and I said, ‘I don’t get it. I have every number and yet they say there’s no winner,’” Arrobio recalled.

The person at the gas station asked her when she had purchased her ticket, one of five hopefuls, and she said 8pm. The attendant then told her that she had unfortunately bought it one full hour after the numbers had been announced.

Even worse, the Powerball jackpot shot up to a record $590.5 million just a few days later.

There has only been one reported winner, an individual from Florida, who will be taking home the entire jackpot by themselves.

Arrobio said that she was at first shocked, and the painfully disappointed.

Since the chances of winning the lottery are already so slim to none that it’s barely even worth playing, I’d just stop buying tickets if I were Arrobio. She came too close to the sun and got burned in this case, and sadly, this is the closest she’s ever likely to come.

Poor gal.

What do you think of Margit Arrobio’s Powerball story? Should the lottery grant her part of the pot, even though she was an hour late? Sound off!

[Image via: Anne Kitzman / Shutterstock]

Margit Arrobio’s Powerball Ticket Was A Winner, But Bought An Hour Too Late is a post from: The Inquisitr

Cult British band The Fall apparently didn’t get the memo that Twilight is a series of books and films that feature sparkly teenagers who live forever, attend school for no reason, and stalk the sh** out of each other. It’s not a horror story featuring terrifying supernatural creatures by anyone’s standard.

So when they turned in a song for the film adaptation of Twilight, producers understandably rejected it for being “too scary.”

The group’s frontman Mark E. Smith revealed in a recent interview that producers of the blockbuster teen drama held meetings with The Fall’s reps to apparently get the band to write a song for the soundtrack to one of the early movies in the film franchise.

The Fall reportedly turned in a really bizarre track which consisted of a haunting two-note riff with Smith shrieking and grumbling over top. The producers turned the track down.

Smith told Radar Magazine:

“Our publisher got this deal with that film Twilight. They said they’d give us $50,000 to come up with a song. So I said, I’ll give them some horror… (But) they don’t know anything about horror, do they? It might frighten the children. But it is frightening, isn’t it? I‘ve fulfilled my bargain with Satan… ”

So it more or less sounds like Mark E. Smith might have been wise to Twilight‘s plot all along and wrote his strange song deliberately to mess with producers. So punk rock.

“There’s no way they’re going to put that in Twilight,” he continued. “But if they were good, they would. Orson Welles would’ve done it. It’s horror. Their horror is some (young) guy… wandering through a forest with his eyes glazed.”

What do you think of Mark E. Smith’s comments about the Twilight films? Would you have liked to hear The Fall’s Twilight song?

‘Twilight’ Film Rejected Song Because It Was ‘Too Scary’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Pro tip: When your baby is 12 months old, he/she is also 1 year old. Math is fun: USE IT.

Weird Nonsensical Baby Ages is a post from: The Inquisitr

Welcome to the Midwest.

Lightning Strips Bark Off Tree is a post from: The Inquisitr

On Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan said that he doesn’t know whether or not President Barack Obama intentionally misled the public with doctored talking points after the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Though many Republicans believe that the Obama administration intentionally misled the public as to the nature of the now-understood terrorist attack on the Benghazi consulate, Ryan has shown restraint on the issue, amending his previous comments that the administration had indeed manipulated the official talking points purposely.

“What we now know from congressional testimony is that the number two man in Benghazi, the deputy chief of mission, informed his superiors including the secretary of state that this was a terrorist attack,” Ryan said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“Those of us who have had the briefings, seen the videos, know there was no protest involved. To suggest afterwards that this was the result of a spontaneous protest, we now know is not the case. So the burden of proof here is on the administration’s side. It is — why did they continue to push this kind of a story when they knew nearly immediately afterwards that that was not the case?”

When asked if he believed that the Obama administration manipulated the talking points in order to help them win the election, Ryan responded:

“I don’t know the answer to that question. Rather make a conclusion before an investigation has been completed, we just need to investigate this for the sake of good government.”

Though Ryan has as recently as last week continued to push the Benghazi coverup narrative, he may be showing some restraint as part of what seems to be a wider GOP strategy as the Obama administration deals with no less than three scandals in one week.

Though these scandals represent a gift horse to Republicans, instead of over-playing their hand (as they have been wont to do lately), GOP leaders have actually urged restraint this week.

According to Rep. Tom Cole, a close ally of House Speaker John Boehner, the GOP is well aware that they accidentally generate sympathy for Obama with nakedly political attacks without a factual foundation.

They hope to change that in the face of such dramatic and damning scandals against the Obama administration.

What do you think? Are Republicans starting to play softball with President Obama? Do these scandals speak for themselves? Sound off!

[Image via: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons]

Paul Ryan Not Sure If There Was A Benghazi Coverup [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Though it won’t come as a surprise to many, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin doesn’t really buy the global warming argument. Over the weekend, Palin highlighted the issue on her Facebook, pointing to the fact that was snowing in Alaska in May.

“Global warming my gluteus maximus,” Palin colorfully wrote on her Facebook page along with a picture of her youngest daughter, Piper, playing in the snow after graduation.

“This is what ‘Grad Blast’ means in Alaska!” Palin wrote. “We’ll move our graduation b-b-q indoors and watch the mini-blizzard from ’round the fireplace.”

Palin has long been a vocal critic of global warming. She referred to studies that support climate change models as “snake oil,” and, while she was a vice presidential candidate in 2008, she said that people don’t influence changes in climate.

The Facebook argument is a little sketchy though because she uses “global warming” where she should probably mean “climate change,” but, even then, weather and climate are not necessarily the same thing.

Short-term weather conditions aren’t part of the argument. Scientists base climate change arguments on larger trends over long periods of time and over broader areas.

However, a recently-released study shows that global temperatures aren’t heating up as much as we previously thought, or as quickly. However, researchers still advocate intervention to prevent catastrophic damage in the future.

According to a Reuters report on the study, extreme warming is less likely in the coming decades, but it’s still on track to breach a goal set by world governments to limit the increase in temperatures.

What do you think? Do you agree with Sarah Palin that global warming is a myth? Do you think it’s a potentially devastating reality? Somewhere in between? Sound off!

[Image via: David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons]

Sarah Palin: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

A supposed Saudi cleric has warned against women using air conditioning, calling the modern convenience “immoral” when used by women in the absence of their husbands.

The cleric was identified on Twitter as Abul Ala, and he claims to be a Salafist-Wahhabist cleric. Salafist-Wahhabists are ultra-conservative Sunni Muslims from Saudi Arabia and frequently issue fatwas. For that reason, we’ll play softball with this supposed cleric.

Anyway, Abul Ala supposedly decreed that ”turning on the cooler ventilator is prohibited for women in the absence of their husbands” because “the woman’s act is very dangerous, and may bring about immorality in the society. When she turns the cooler on, someone may notice her presence home, and this might bring about immorality.”

Iran-based Al-Alam news reported the story, and noted that Salafist-Wahhabists ”have a distorted reading of Islam” and furthermore, that their rulings are “incompatible with common sense.”

That’s from Iran’s state-run media, so that should give you some indication as to where the Salafist-Wahhabists fall in the Muslim food chain.

These types of bizarre decrees are common from the sect as well.

In April, one such cleric called Skeikh Yasit al-Aklawni posted a video to YouTube claiming that the rape of non-Sunni and non-Muslim women is totally fine by Koran standards.

He claimed: “Legitimate fatwa for Muslims waging war against Mr. Assad and trying to put in place a Sharia government to capture and have sex with Alawites and other non-Sunni, non-Muslim women.”

Interestingly, Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, the senior religious authority in Saudi Arabia, has actually cautioned against the use of Twitter, which was how Abul Ala was identified.

He said that any Saudi who uses Twitter “has lost this world and his afterlife,” so if Abul Ala has been using the microblog, we’ve got a genuine religious disagreement on our hands. How air conditioning is forbidden and Twitter is allowed, well … we’re confused, to say the least.

What do you think? Is the Saudi cleric’s warning against women using air conditioning legitimate?

[Image via: GSPhotography / Shutterstock]

Saudi Cleric Bans Women From Using ‘Immoral’ AC is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Nugent brothers disagree on a pretty major issue in the gun control battle.

There’s nothing quite like a hearty disagreement between brothers, and the Nugent family has just that. While Ted Nugent and ex-Revlon CEO brother Jeffrey are both staunch gun enthusiasts, Second Amendment advocates and NRA members, they differ on one major issue: Background checks.

In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Jeffrey Nugent explains that he is all for expanded background checks, arguing that not everyone “is qualified to own a gun.”

“I believe strongly that expanding and improving mandatory background checks will keep a lot of people who aren’t entitled to Second Amendment rights from having easy access to guns,” Jeffrey Nugent writes.

“Every gun transaction must include a thorough background check. Why would responsible gun owners want to protect people who threaten not only our safety but our gun rights?

“The NRA has it wrong: Irresponsible gun owners are bad for everyone. If you shouldn’t have access to a gun, then there should be no way for you to access a gun! Can anyone argue with that?”

The Nugent brothers disagree on this issue, and Jeffrey mentions early on that it’s the only place he parts ways with his brother.

Ted, meanwhile, has long been a vocal critic of any form of gun control legislation, and wrote a rebuttal to his brother’s piece in which he says his stance on expanded background checks is “dead wrong.”

Though the piece is titled “My Dear Misinformed Brother,” Ted actually lays out a pretty respectful rebuttal that includes more data appeal than Jeffrey’s, but more or less re-emphasizes what has become a classic pro-gun talking point: That criminals don’t care about the law.

“Paroled thugs or bug-eyed psychotics could not care less about any gun laws. The bold and ugly reality is that they will always gain access to a weapon. I believe at his core, my brother knows this.

“So, knowing that evil will always have access to weapons, the point of universal background checks, denying or restricting Americans the right to own standard semi-auto weapons, high capacity magazines or various inademate hardware are all moot, irrelevant points.

“In fact, the only people who would comply with universal background checks are law-abiding folks who already comply with more than 20,000 federal, state, and local gun laws.”

We know the Nugent brothers disagree on expanded background checks, but which one do you agree with? Like Jeffrey, do you think that not everyone is qualified to own a gun, or do you side with Ted, believing that gun control laws will only hurt law abiding citizens? Sound off!

[Image via: Harmony Gerber / Shutterstock]

Nugent Brothers Disagree On Expanded Background Checks is a post from: The Inquisitr