Mel Gibson swears at television reporter –
Mel Gibson swore at a television reporter who questioned him about his controversial past, referring to him as an ——–. The actor and director snapped while being interviewed on Chicago-based station WGN about his alcohol addiction and anti-Semitic rant towards a police officers four years ago. Gibson, 54, aimed his comment at entertainment reporter Dean Richards, thinking that his microphone had been switched off. [Daily Telegraph] Mel Gibson
James Cracknell and Ben Fogle to cross Australia on foot –
James Cracknell and Ben Fogle are to embark on their latest risky adventure, retracing a Victorian expedition to cross Australia which ended in death. After rowing the Atlantic and walking to the South Pole, this time they are planning on walking 4,000 miles across the heart of Australia in the height of summer. They will be following in the footsteps of Irishman Robert Burke and Englishman William Wills, who set out in August 1860 to cross from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north. The pair made the 2,000 mile south-north leg across what was called the “ghastly blank” without too much trouble, heading an entourage that comprised 19 men, 23 horses, 26 camels and 12 tons of equipment, which included four enema kits and 12 dandruff brushes. But on the way back they perished as their support team deserted them. [Daily Telegraph] Ben Fogle and James Cracknell just before the start of the Atlantic Rowing Race 2005
Whitney Houston’s daughter accident –
Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of late American singer Whitney Houston is found unconscious in a bath in a house in Roswell, Georgia. She was taken to a hospital in Roswell where she was said to be breathing. Her mother was found dead in a bath on February 11th 2012 of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease.
Bobbi Kristina Brown and Whitney Houston in 2009
Cumberbatch and Fry sign petition to pardon gays –
Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Fry sign an open letter requesting the government to pardon 49,000 men who were prosecuted for being gay. Family members of the World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing who was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 (and later committed suicide in 1954) also signed the petition. Cumberbatch played Turing in the film “The Imitation Game”.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Balloon flight record broken –
Balloon pilots American Troy Bradley and Russian Leonid Tiukhtyaev complete their crossing of the Pacific in a helium filled balloon with a sea landing off Mexico after 6 days flying from Japan. They claim to have beaten the world distance and duration records by flying for more than 137 hours and travelling more than 5,209 miles (8,383km).
Serena Williams wins 19th grand slam title –
Serena Williams beats fellow American Maria Sharapova to win the Australian Open tennis title. Williams’ 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory gives here a 19th grand slam crown out of 23 finals – the best percentage performance in either the men’s or women’s game.
Serena Williams
Fifty Shades of Grey tying firemen up in knots –
The film version of the erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson premières in London and the London Fire Brigade are expecting a “spike” in people being stuck or trapped in handcuffs or rings. In November, firefighters were called by doctors at King’s College Hospital to cut two steel rings from a man’s genitals, which he had been unable to remove for three days and the brigade was called by a woman whose husband had become locked in a chastity belt. Jamie Dornan at the world première of “Fifty Shades of Grey” Double decker bus saves naked man from fire –
A man trapped in a house fire in Braintree, Essex UK may have had his life saved after a bus driver managed to manoeuvre his double decker bus close enough for the man to jump onto the roof. The man had been taking a shower and jumped from the third-floor window naked onto the bus. After throwing him some clothes the man managed to climb down with minor injuries.
Bonham Carter strips for fish –
Helena Bonham Carter has also got naked and hugged a 27kg tuna between her legs despite claiming to have a fish phobia. The photoshoot was in aid of a Blue Marine Foundation campaign against over-fishing. Bonham Carter separated from her partner Tim Burton on December 24th 2014. Helena Bonham Carter
Apple says tattoos can cause watch problems –
Apple has said some of the functions on its new smartwatch may not work properly when its worn over tattoos. Darker-coloured artwork and even changes in darker coloured skin types can fool the light sensors on the back of the watch. The problem is not exclusive to the Apple Watch, which performed well in independent tests. But it does show the manufacturer has not solved the sensor problem. “Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can… impact heart rate sensor performance,” Apple said on a support page on its website. “The ink, pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.” [BBC] The Apple Watch range
Tesla’s $3,000 Powerwall Will Let Households Run Entirely On Solar Energy –
Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk unveiled ‘Tesla Energy’ — a new business arm that is focused on ending our dependence on grid power and switching instead to solar energy. The first Tesla Energy product is ‘Powerwall Home Battery,’ a stationary battery that can power a household without requiring the grid. The battery is rechargeable lithium-ion — it uses Tesla’s existing battery tech — and can be fixed to a wall, removing much of the existing complexity around using a local power source. For one thing, the company’s batteries cost $3,500 for 10kWh and $3,000 for 7kWh. They are open for pre-orders in the U.S. now; the first orders will be dispatched “in late summer.” [Techcrunch.com] On March 31 2015, Musk tweeted about a new product and shares in the electric car jumped to nearly 4 percent in just 10 minutes – adding a staggering $900 million (£600 million) to the company’s market cap in just 115 characters. Elon Musk
Messenger’s Mercury trip ends with a bang, and silence –
Nasa’s Messenger mission to Mercury has reached its explosive conclusion, after 10 years in space and four in orbit. Now fully out of fuel, the spacecraft smashed into a region near Mercury’s north pole, out of sight from Earth, at about 20:00 GMT on Thursday. Mission scientists confirmed the impact minutes later, when the craft’s next possible communication pass was silent. Messenger reached Mercury in 2011 and far exceeded its primary mission plan of one year in orbit. That mission ended with an inevitable collision: Messenger slammed into our Solar System’s smallest planet at 8,750mph (14,000km/h) – 12 times quicker than the speed of sound. The impact will have completely obliterated this history-making craft. And it only happened because Mercury has no thick atmosphere to burn up incoming objects – the same reason its surface is so pock-marked by impact craters. [BBC] Artist’s rendering of the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury Date Source
Video of the Day –
Biggest Trick In Action Sports History – Triple Backflip – Nitro Circus – Josh Sheehan
Kanye West tells MTV Video Music Awards he wants to ‘run for president’ –
Kanye West stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards by declaring that he will run for US president in 2020. He was given the lifetime achievement award but during his speech said he’d “decided in 2020 to run for president”. Cheered on by his wife Kim Kardashian, Kanye got an extended standing ovation when he was picking up the Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award. He also appeared to confess to smoking weed before taking the stage. “I will die for the art, for what I believe in and I ain’t always gonna be polite. “I rolled up a little something. I got the answer. We’re the millennials bro.” [BBC Newsbeat] Kanye West
Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger announce split –
Avril Lavigne has announced that she’s separating from Chad Kroeger after two years of marriage. The singer posted a statement on her Instagram account alongside a happy photo of the couple on their wedding day. “It is with a heavy heart that Chad and I announce our separation today,” she wrote. “Through not only the marriage, but the music as well, we’ve created many unforgettable moments.” The 30-year-old married the Nickelback frontman in July 2013.
Video of the Year: Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” — WINNER
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Best Male Video:
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” — WINNER
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
The Weeknd – “Earned It”
Nick Jonas – “Chains”
Best Female Video:
Beyoncé – “7/11” Taylor Swift – “Blank Space” — WINNER
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Sia – “Elastic Heart”
Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
Best Hip Hop Video:
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen” Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda” — WINNER
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Big Sean ft. E-40 – “IDFWU”
Best Pop Video:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” Taylor Swift – “Blank Space” — WINNER
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
Best Rock Video:
Hozier – “Take Me To Church” Fall Out Boy – “Uma Thurman” — WINNER
Florence + the Machine – “Ship To Wreck”
Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
Arctic Monkeys – “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”
Artist to Watch: Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen” — WINNER
Vance Joy – “Riptide”
George Ezra – “Budapest”
James Bay – “Hold Back The River”
FKA Twigs – “Pendulum”
Best Collaboration: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” — WINNER
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
Video With a Social Message:
Jennifer Hudson – “I Still Love You”
Colbie Caillat – “Try” Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend – “One Man Can Change the World” — WINNER
Rihanna – “American Oxygen”
Wale – “The White Shoes”
Song of the Summer:
David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Afrojack & Bebe Rexha – “Hey Mama”
Demi Lovato – “Cool For The Summer”
Fetty Wap ft. Monty – “My Way”
Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It” Five Seconds of Summer – “She’s Kinda Hot” — WINNER
Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – “Lean On”
OMI – “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)”
Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky – “Good For You”
Silento – “Watch Me”
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
Best Art Direction:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Charles Infante) Snoop Dogg – “So Many Pros” (Jason Fijal) — WINNER
Jack White – “Would You Fight For My Love” (Jeff Peterson)
The Chemical Brothers – “Go” (Michel Gondry)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Best Choreography:
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Chris Grant, Additional choreography: Gabriel Valenciano) OK Go – “I Won’t Let You Down” (OK Go, air:man and Mori Harano) — WINNER
Chet Faker – “Gold” (Ryan Heffington)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Nappy Tabs)
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Keone and Mari Madrid)
Best Cinematography: Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Larkin Sieple) — WINNER
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” (Daniel Pearl)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Christopher Probst)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Justin Brown)
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free” (Mike Simpson)
Best Direction:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Joseph Kahn)
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars and Cameron Duddy) Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” (Colin Tilley & The Little Homies) — WINNER
Hozier – “Take Me To Church” (Brendan Canty, Conal Thomson)
Childish Gambino – “Sober” (Hiro Murai)
Best Editing: Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Ed Burke, Jonathan Wing) — WINNER
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Jacquelyn London)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Chancler Haynes at Cosmo Street)
A$AP Rocky – “L$D” (Dexter Navy)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Best Visual Effects:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Ingenuity Studios)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Gloria FX, Tomash Kuzmytskyi, and Max Chyzhevskyy)
Childish Gambino – “Telegraph Ave.” (Gloria FX) Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer) — WINNER
Tyler, The Creator – “F****** Young/Death Camp” (Gloria FX)
Wikipedia concludes a large-scale operation blocking hundreds of users centered on networks of for-pay edits violating the encyclopedia’s guidelines. (BBC)(The Guardian)(Ars Technica)
The death toll from a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a Quincy, Illinois veterans home rises to at least seven with more than the current number of 32 sickened expected since the incubation period for illness can be up to two weeks. (Reuters)
Thousands of refugees arrive in Germany’sMünchen Hauptbahnhof from Budapest. Police and firefighters on the scene provide them with food, water and medical aid even as more continue to arrive. (thelocal)
Lake County, Illinois authorities seek three suspects, believed to be two white men and a black man, who killed a police officer from the Fox Lake, Illinois Police Department, Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran of the force who had been a mentor to many youths in the area and one of the most decorated officers in his department. (Chicago Tribune)
EU deal gives UK special status, says David Cameron –
David Cameron says a deal struck with EU leaders will give the UK “special status” and he will campaign with his “heart and soul” to stay in the union. The agreement, reached late on Friday after two days of talks in Brussels, gives the UK power to limit some EU migrants’ benefits. It also includes a treaty change so the UK is not bound to “ever closer union” with other EU member states, he said. EU exit campaigners said the “hollow” deal offered only “very minor changes”. [BBC] David Cameron
John McAfee offers to unlock killer’s iPhone for FBI –
Anti-virus software creator John McAfee has said he will break the encryption on an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino killer Syed Farook. Mr McAfee made the offer to the FBI in an article published by Business Insider. Apple has refused to comply with a court order asking it to unlock the device, dividing opinion over whether the firm should be compelled to do so. Mr McAfee said he and his team would take on the task “free of charge”. The offer came as Mr McAfee continues his campaign as a US presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party. “It will take us three weeks,” he claimed in his article. Security expert Graham Cluley cast doubts on Mr McAfee’s idea that he could use “social engineering” to work out the pass-code of Farook’s locked iPhone. This is a process by which hackers try to find out login credentials by tricking people into giving them away. “In a nutshell, dead men tell no tales,” said Mr Cluley. “Good luck to Mr McAfee trying to socially engineer a corpse into revealing its pass-code.” “The FBI isn’t interested anyway, they want to set a precedent that there shouldn’t be locks they can’t break,” he added. [BBC] John McAfee
Yahoo Inc. says that it has created a committee of independent directors that will explore strategic alternatives, notably the sale of its core internet business. (Reuters)
Serbia closes its southern border with Macedonia to migrants from countries not affected by war as part of measures to prevent illegal immigration. (RT)
John McAfee, creator of the anti-virus software McAfee, Inc. and former CEO, offers to unlock an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino attackerSyed Farook for the FBI for free after Apple Inc. refused to comply with a court order asking it to unlock the device. McAfee said “It will take us three weeks,” with access to a super-computer in an article published by the Business Insider. (BBC)
Opposition leader Kizza Besigye is arrested again just before a planned press conference. Police raid Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party headquarters and fire tear gas at the FDC supporters. Partial results from the electoral commission show a lead for incumbent president Yoweri Museveni. (BBC)
Harriet Tubman to be first African-American on U.S. currency –
Anti-slavery crusader Harriet Tubman will become the first African-American on the face of U.S. paper currency, and the first woman in more than a century, when she replaces former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday that Tubman, who was born into slavery in the early 1820s and went on to help hundreds of slaves escape, would take the center spot on the bill, while Jackson, a slave owner, would move to the back. Introduced alongside a slew of changes to the $5 and $10 notes as well, the redesign gives the Treasury “a chance to open the aperture to reflect more of America’s history,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said. A new $10 bill will add images of five female leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, including Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, to the back, while keeping founding father Alexander Hamilton on the front. The reverse of a new $5 note will show former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., officials said. Former President Abraham Lincoln will remain on the front. [Reuters]
Victoria Wood dies aged 62 after cancer battle –
Comedian, singer and writer Victoria Wood has died after “a short but brave” battle with cancer aged 62. Her publicist said the star “died peacefully at her north London home with family” on Wednesday. Wood’s long-time comedy partner Julie Walters said she was “too heart sore to comment – the loss of her is incalculable”. Wood found fame in the 1980s and was best known for her BBC sketch Acorn Antiques and comedy Dinnerladies. She won five Baftas including two for her one-off ITV drama Housewife, 49. [BBC] Victoria Wood in 2012
“Sexual harassment at work. . . is it a problem for the self-employed?”
“My children won’t even eat chips because some know-all bastard at school told them a potato was a vegetable.”
“My boyfriend had a sex manual but he was dyslexic. I was lying there and he was looking for my vinegar.”
“Jogging is for people who aren’t intelligent enough to watch television.”
“People think I hate sex. I don’t. I just don’t like things that stop you seeing the television properly.”
“In my day we didn’t have sex education, we just picked up what we could off the television.”
“We’d like to apologise to viewers in the north. It must be awful for them.”
“I sometimes think that being widowed is God’s way of telling you to come off the Pill.”
“I once went to one of those parties where everyone throws their car keys into the middle of the room. I don’t know who got my moped but I’ve been driving that Peugeot for years.”
“Life’s not fair, is it? Some of us drink champagne in the fast lane, and some of us eat our sandwiches by the loose chippings on the A597.”
A magnitude-6.1 aftershock has struck off the coast of Ecuador at 3:33 a.m. local time, the US Geological Survey says, in the same area as the massive earthquake on Saturday. (USGS), (Reuters via Asia-Pacific News)
People in Ecuador start burying their dead as the death toll from the earthquake passes 500. (AP)
Up to 500 people are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean last week, in what would be the deadliest migrant shipwreck in months. (The Guardian)
NATO reopens informal talks with Russia for the first time in nearly two years. According to the Secretary General of NATOJens Stoltenberg “NATO and Russia have profound and persistent disagreements, today’s meeting did not change that.” (Euronews)
The U.S. state of Utah declares pornography a “public health risk” in a move Governor of UtahGary Herbert says is to “protect our families and our young people”. The bill, signed by the governor, does not ban pornography in the state but does call for greater “efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction”. (BBC)
The first criminal charges are laid against three people, two state officials and a municipal official, involved in the Flint water crisis. (New York Times)
Two people are burned alive amid xenophobic riots in Lusaka, Zambia. The riots started after rumours spread that Rwandans were behind recent ritual killings in the city. More than 250 people have been arrested after more than 60 Rwandan-owned shops were looted in two days of violence. (BBC)
Yasri Khan, a senior member of Swedish Green Party (part of the Government coalition), who was refusing to shake hands with a female reporter on grounds that it violated his Muslim faith, announces that he is quitting politics. (The Local)
Protests continue against President Gjorge Ivanov in Skopje, Macedonia. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev said he will only take part in EU-brokered negotiations with the government if certain conditions are met. (The Irish Times)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
Carrie Fisher heart attack –
Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher is currently in intensive care after suffering a massive heart attack on a plane from London to Los Angeles.Passengers performed CPR on the 60-year-old after she went into cardiac arrest on the United Airlines flight yesterday, TMZ reported. Actress Anna Akana was on board the aircraft when Carrie went into medical distress and she described the upsetting scene in a series of tweets. Akana wrote that the actress wasn’t breathing “for 10 minutes or so” and CPR was administered until the plane landed at LAX. Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, and her beloved dog Gary were both spotted at the UCLA Medical Centre as the star received treatment. [Mirror] Fisher with fellow Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, July 2015
The bodies of over 100 Syrian ArmyPOWs are reportedly found in what was the last rebel held territory of East Aleppo. Syrian Army officers claim they were executed by rebel forces. (Al-Masdar News)
An Afriqiyah Airways flight originating from Sabha, Libya, is hijacked and forced to make an emergency landing in Malta. Hijackers threaten to blow up the aircraft with grenades, but the standoff ends peacefully with all hostages released and both hijackers surrendering. (Chicago Tribune)
Arts and culture
Carrie Fisher, the actress best known for the role of Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, suffers a massive heart attack while on a flight and is rushed to a hospital near Los Angeles International Airport in critical condition. (Mirror)
Business and economy
As new Libyan production comes on line, the world price of crude oil falls below $55 a barrel. (Reuters)
Bonanza Creek Energy says it plans to file for bankruptcy on or by January 5, 2017 and hopes to exit the process quickly, within the first quarter. (Reuters)
Best motion picture – (musical or comedy) – La La Land
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – (musical or comedy) – Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – (musical or comedy) – Emma Stone – La La Land
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture – Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Nocturnal Animals
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture – Viola Davis – Fences
Best director – Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Best original screenplay – La La Land
Best motion picture – foreign language – Elle – France
Best motion picture – animated – Zootopia
Best original song – City Of Stars – La La Land
Best original score – Justin Hurwitz – La La Land
Television
Best television series – drama – The Crown
Best television series – musical or comedy – Atlanta
Best performance by an actor in a television series – Billy Bob Thornton – Goliath
Best performance by an actress in a television series – Claire Foy – The Crown
Best performance by an actor in a television series – musical or comedy – Donald Glover – Atlanta
Best performance by an actress in a television series – musical or comedy – Tracee Ellis-Ross – Black-ish
Best performance by an actor in a limited series or motion picture made for television – Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager
Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television – Sarah Paulson – The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television – Olivia Colman – The Night Manager
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television – Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager
A truck rams into a group of Israeli soldiers in a deliberate attack in East Jerusalem, killing four and wounding 21. The perpetrator was previously convicted of terrorism and was jailed for 10 years. (CNN)(The Guardian)
Pakistan has decided to impose official prohibition on Jundallah and splinter groups that claim responsibility for terror attacks. (The News)(Daily Times)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
Mel Gibson
Ben Fogle and James Cracknell just before the start of the Atlantic Rowing Race 2005
.jpg)
