Reality star Kardashian on prenup: You do the math

Some 3.2 million viewers watched Kardashian, 30, one of the highest earning reality TV stars, wed 26 year-old Humphries in a two-part episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" which aired in the United States this week.

Asked on Thursday whether she had signed a pre-nuptial agreement, Kardashian said: "I don't really talk finances. My father was an attorney and I'm a smart girl -- I'd like to think so -- you can do the math.

"I wouldn't worry about that."

Kardashian, who is in the glitzy Gulf Arab emirates for a series of promotional appearances, began dating Humphries in late 2010. The marriage is her second and his first.

The newlywed, who stars with her two sisters and their mother in their eponymous TV show, is planning a foray into Bollywood and expanding her fashion business to the Middle East.

Kardashian is thought to be the highest-paid reality star on U.S. television with 2010 earnings estimated at $6 million from the show and its two spinoffs, her clothing line, perfume, jewelry, tanning cream and other product endorsements and paid appearances.

"We've had a few offers to help us bring a store out here, to the UK, Australia, all over the place," Kardashian, clad in a sleeveless camel-colored dress and black and gold belt.

via reuters.com

Scotty McCreery debuts at #1 on Billboard 200, sells nearly 200K

Scotty McCreery sold 197,000 copies of his debut album ‘Clear As Day’ last week, landing him at #1 on the Billboard 200. He is the youngest act to open at #1 with their first release. He is also the first American Idol

winner since Ruben Studdard in 2003 to open at #1 with their initial album.

Congratulations Scotty! Baby lock them doors, we have a star!

Scotty just beat Kris Allen (80,000), Lee DeWyze (39,000) and Jordin Sparks’ (119,000) debut numbers on the chart after they won the show. Will Scotty sell a million copies? Or is this it?

From Billboard:

“American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery makes history as his debut album, “Clear as Day,” bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 197,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

McCreery is the first country act to debut at No. 1 with their first studio album, and at 18-years old, the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with their debut release.

Previously, the youngest male to bow at No. 1 with their premiere album was Omarion, who was 20 when “O” started at No. 1 in 2005.

Scotty McCreery Talks ‘Clear As Day’: Video Track-By-Track

Surprisingly, McCreery, who turned 18 on Sunday (Oct. 9), is also the first “Idol” winner since 2003 to hit No. 1 with their first studio set.

‘Billboard’ Magazine Names Taylor Swift As The 2011 ‘Woman Of The Year’

Taylor Swift continues to rack up the accolades as today we learn that the young country-pop singer has been chosen by Billboard magazine as their Woman of the Year this year. With this honor, Taylor becomes the youngest artist to achieve this award … which is pretty impressive, if you ask me. Taylor will be honored this December at the Billboard Women in Music event … click below to read the deets.  

Taylor Swift, the four-time Grammy winner and biggest selling albums artist in any genre for the past 12 months, has been chosen to receive the coveted Woman of the Year Award at the 2011 Billboard Women in Music event on Dec. 2 in New York City. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter is the youngest artist to ever receive the honor, and it comes on the heels of earning several 2011 Billboard Music Awards, among them Top Country Album for the five-time platinum selling “Speak Now.” Swift has spent the past year on the Speak Now World Tour in support of her third album, which debuted last October atop the Billboard 200, selling over a million copies in its first week. All 14 tracks on the country-pop juggernaut were composed by Swift, and she made Hot 100 history by charting 11 songs off the album in a single week. The Pennsylvania native is used to breaking chart records and currently holds another Hot 100 record for most top 10 debuts, with seven. Her self-titled debut, released in 2006, holds the honor of longest-running album in Billboard 200 since 2000. She followed that up in 2008 with “Fearless,” a critically acclaimed set that established her as a skilled songwriter and a procurer of hits, including “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me” and “White Horse.” Swift’s “Fearless” is the longest-running No. 1 album by a female country artist in 200 history. Not surprisingly, the 6-times platinum “Fearless” is the most awarded album in country music history and her overall worldwide sales now exceed 20 million albums and 40 million song downloads. Again, she’s only 21. “Taylor has shown the power of good songwriting with music that has transcended genres, and we’re thrilled to recognize all of her successes over the past year by honoring her with the Billboard Woman of the Year Award,” says Bill Werde, Billboard’s Editorial Director. “At the young age of 21, Taylor has already made a major impact on music and has been an incredible role model for aspiring singers/songwriters and young women everywhere. I look forward to watching her career continue to flourish in the years to come” … Billboard’s annual Women in Music Event, now in its sixth year, celebrates the most powerful and talented women in the music business, coinciding with the publication of Billboard’s Women in Music Power Players list. This year’s event will be taking place on Friday, Dec. 2 at Capitale in New York City. Last year’s honor went to Black Eyed Peas singer, Fergie.

Taylor is damn talented and it’s nice that she is getting recognized for her talent. I’m not a big fan of her music, to be honest, but she impresses the Hell out of me. She has already achieved so much at such a young age … I see her to going nowhere but UP UP UP. Congrats on this latest accomplishment, Taylor. I can’t wait to hear what you will accomplish next.

via pinkisthenewblog.com

 

Beyonce 'Countdown' Video Brings Charges Of Plagiarism

In under a week, Beyonce's "Countdown" has amassed over 1.6 million streams on the 'net, but one of those viewers is calling Bey' out on charges of plagiarism. Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker claims that Beyoncé has crossed the line, from referencing to copying.

"This is plagiarism ... This is stealing," De Keersmaeker says in a statement translated from Dutch to English. "What's rude about it is that they don't even bother about hiding it. They seem to think they could do it because it's a famous work."

A video displaying the similarities hit YouTube the same day as "Countdown" and has over 255,000 views and growing.

Despite the charges, De Keersmaeker isn't all mad about the video. "Beyonce is not the worst copycat, she sings and dances very well, and she has good taste!"

Queen B has borrowed from the past. She drew inspiration from Italian pop singer Lorella Cuccarini for her performance of "Run the World (Girls)" at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

Beyonce's BBMA Performance: 'I Never Worked So Hard in My Life'

"My makeup artist showed me the performance of Lorella Cuccarini a year ago, and it inspired me so much," Beyonce told AOL. "I then met with the talented people who worked on it. The technology and concept were so genius. Thank God for YouTube or I would have never been exposed to something so inspiring. I never worked so hard on anything in my life as that performance for the Billboard Awards."

Most recently, Bey' pays tribute to New Edition's "If It Isn't Love" in the video snippet for "Love on Top." One of Bey's Hot 100 No. 1s, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),"  is even said to be influenced by a Bob Fosse performance called "Mexican Breakfast."

Bey' claims to have been inspired by these ideas, and certainly never admits to stealing. What do you think: inspiration or theft?

via billboard.com

 

Arroyo flying to Germany for treatment, says Belmonte

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is planning to travel this month to Germany for medical treatment and to New York to participate in a forum hosted by her former classmate, former US President Bill Clinton.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday told reporters that he approved a week ago the travel authority requested by Arroyo, now a representative of Pampanga province, who has yet to return to work since undergoing a series of surgeries on her neck and spine last month.

Belmonte said he had signed three travel passes for Arroyo, including to Germany and New York.

“Based on our information, she is in discomfort. [But] she’s still very much in control. I urge her to go to the best facilities [here] or abroad because we want her to recover soon,” the Speaker said.

‘Rare disease’

At a press conference, House Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez   said that in a recent meeting with Arroyo at her residence in La Vista, Quezon City, she disclosed that she was suffering from a “rare disease” that only specialists overseas could cure.

“The second operation was successful. There were complications that had nothing to do with the second operation. It’s a rare disease and we are not [allowed] to say it in public,” Suarez said.

He said the ailment was “life-threatening.”

But in a statement issued hours after Suarez’s press conference, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo said that his wife’s ailment was “hypoparathyroidism,” and that it was not life-threatening.

The ailment, an endocrine disorder that decreases the level of the parathyroid hormone and affects a patient’s bone structure, was announced by Arroyo’s chief physician, Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, on August 17 at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City.

Pocahontas

Suarez said Arroyo could walk around anywhere inside and outside her residence as long as it was level ground.

He said that he spoke with the former President on Tuesday night and that her voice sounded frail and halting.

“I think she needs our prayers, starting from the media,” Suarez said.

He added that one of Arroyo’s grandchildren observed that with her neck brace, she looked like Pocahontas, the Indian maiden immortalized in literature and lately in cartoons.

At a meeting with fellow members of the House minority, Suarez said Arroyo appeared to have lost considerable weight and showed signs of discomfort during their recent conversation.

But despite being in pain from the neck brace, she will still give inputs to the Lakas-Kampi party’s moves next month, when it will start building up its 2013 senatorial slate to be led by Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., Suarez said.

Exile

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Leyte Representative Sergio Apostol Jr. raised the possibility that Arroyo might choose not to return and go into exile even in countries with an extradition treaty with the Philippines.

“Extradition does not cover political crimes, including charges of corruption and cheating in the elections. She can claim that these were politically motivated,” said Apostol, a former staunch ally of Arroyo.

via newsinfo.inquirer.net

Man Arrested In Hollywood Hacking Investigation

Enlarge Antonio Calanni/AP

American actress Scarlett Johansson poses prior to the start of the Dolce & Gabbana women's Spring-Summer 2012 fashion collection, in Milan on Sept. 25. Nude shots of Johansson appeared on an Internet site earlier this year and TMZ.com reported that hackers stole them from her cellphone.

Antonio Calanni/AP

American actress Scarlett Johansson poses prior to the start of the Dolce & Gabbana women's Spring-Summer 2012 fashion collection, in Milan on Sept. 25. Nude shots of Johansson appeared on an Internet site earlier this year and TMZ.com reported that hackers stole them from her cellphone.

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October 12, 2011

A Florida man was arrested Wednesday on federal charges that he hacked into emails of celebrities including actress Scarlett Johansson, a person familiar with the investigation said.

One person was arrested out of state, Los Angeles FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. She declined to release further details before an 11 a.m. PDT press conference.

However, the person familiar with the investigation, who requested anonymity because the details had not yet been announced, told The Associated Press that a Florida man has been indicted on charges that he hacked into the email accounts of celebrities, including Johansson.

A call to a representative for Johansson was not immediately returned.

The arrest involved Operation Hackerazzi, a year-long FBI investigation of computer hacking that targeted Hollywood celebrities, Eimiller said.

Nude shots of Johansson appeared on an Internet site earlier this year and TMZ.com reported that hackers stole them from her cellphone.

Celebrities and people in the news have long been targets of privacy invasion but concerns have redoubled in the Internet age.

In Britain, publisher Rupert Murdoch closed down the News of the World this year after contentions that the tabloid routinely hacked into people's phones in the hunt for exclusive stories.

The paper, which had published for 168 years, faced allegations of systematically intercepting private voicemail of those in the news including a teenage murder victim.

via npr.org

Congress poised to approve Bush-era trade deals

via reuters.com

The House of Representatives and Senate are expected to back the deals in a series of votes later on Wednesday.

Supporters hope the action marks an end to a long U.S. drought on deals to open trade. Each pact had been stuck at the White House for at least four years.

"We will send a strong signal to the world that America is back on the trade field," said Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, at a rally with business groups.

U.S. farm and manufactured goods exports are expected to rise under all three agreements as tariffs are phased out. The agreements also open new markets for U.S. companies in service sectors such as banking, insurance and express delivery.

Critics say the pacts will harm U.S. employment, but the Obama administration and other proponents think the pacts will support tens of thousands jobs.

The biggest gains are expected from the pact with South Korea, a longtime ally and a $1 trillion economy in a region increasingly dominated by China. The agreement will help anchor the United States in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region so it can share in its growth, analysts say.

The House and Senate action comes just a day before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, a visit that has given lawmakers an added impetus to move the deals.

President Barack Obama sent the three agreements to Capital Hill just nine days ago, four to five years after they were negotiated. The deals had foundered primarily on Democratic Party concerns over labor practices abroad and the potential for increased competition to cost U.S. jobs.

OPPORTUNITIES LOST

While U.S. farmers and big agricultural exporters are excited about new sales opportunities for beef, pork, poultry, corn, wheat, soybeans and other food products in the three markets, they lament the long delay as a lost opportunity as other countries nailed down bilateral deals.

"We can't underestimate how much U.S. agriculture has lost out," while the current pacts were stalled, said Devry Boughner, director of international business relations for the food, agriculture and risk management giant Cargill.

"Corn, soybeans and wheat exports from the U.S. have gone from a 78 percent market share in the Colombian market to 28 percent, owing in part to the fact that Canada got to Colombia first," Boughner said.

The White House is negotiating a regional trade agreement known as the Transpacific Partnership pact with eight other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but any congressional action on that deal might be delayed until after the 2012 election even if it is concluded next year.

The Obama administration also has been unable to conclude the Doha round of world trade talks, which will soon enter their 11th year, and has begun no new bilateral trade negotiations during its nearly three years in office.

KOREA PACT LARGEST SINCE NAFTA

The deal between the United States and South Korea, the world's largest and 14th largest economies, respectively, would be the biggest U.S. trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into force in January 1994.

In a study in 2007, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimated the pact would lift U.S. imports from Korea by $6.4 billion to $6.9 billion a year, with gains in areas such as clothing, leather goods, footwear, electronics and cars.

A study by the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute estimates the Korea deal will cost about 159,000 jobs over seven years; the White House says that it will help create or maintain more than 70,000 and congressional Republicans estimate as many as 250,000 new jobs.

All three agreements were negotiated and signed during the administration of former President George W. Bush, who was unable to win their approval from the Democratic-controlled Congress before leaving office in 2009.

The oldest and most controversial pact, the one with Colombia, was signed in November 2006 and the other two accords in mid-2007. Since then, other countries have negotiated scores of new trade agreements around the world.

Two rival deals between the European Union and South Korea and between Canada and Colombia were negotiated, signed and implemented during the period when the U.S. trade pacts were stuck at the White House.

A broad coalition of farm, manufactured and services industry groups have pushed ceaselessly for the agreements, and found a more favorable environment after the 2010 elections when Republican regained control of the House.

Ted Austell, a vice president at Boeing, said the aircraft manufacturer expects to benefit both directly and indirectly from the free trade agreements.

"When commerce increases, downstream that turns into aircraft orders. More movement of people and certainly of goods opens up more opportunity to sell aircraft," Austell said.

Support for the Colombia pact has been the weakest of the three because many Democrats believe Colombia needs to do more to stop killings of trade unionists and prosecute those responsible.

My Heart Belongs To Mickey - Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton paid a visit to the Portofino Beverly Hills spa and tanning salon this morning, and the heiress smiled sweetly for photographers as she made her way back to her car.

P rocked a pair of velour lounge pants and a Mickey Mouse tee, and while this casual and cute getup isn't anything like the wild animal print dress she rocked the other night, she still looks fab!

In other Paris fashion news, she recently Tweeted that she went Halloween costume shopping. "Got so many cute outfits, I can't wait for Halloween! #YES!" she wrote.

We can't wait to see what she's going to wear for the upcoming holiday.

 

What would you like to see Paris dress up as for Halloween?