WHOOPI THOUGHT SHE HAD THE SWINE FLU: Co-host returns on Thursday after two-day absence.
*The real story about Whoopi Goldberg's absence on "The View" Tuesday and Wednesday came out on Thursday, as Barbara Walters admitted the Oscar winner was being tested for the swine flu.
Turns out Goldberg only had a bad cold, but she told the audience Thursday that she wasn't taking any chances by assuming she didn't have "the piggy flu," as she calls it.
Walters admitted being less than truthful to the audience on Tuesday and Wednesday when she announced that Whoopi was simply "taking the day off." Her reason? She feared causing unnecessary panic if people knew that her co-host may have the swine flu.
Goldberg said she started getting a cough and flu-like symptoms on Monday and decided to take the advice of government officials and see a doctor. She also did not want to risk the chance of infecting co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is pregnant with her third child.
On Thursday, Hasselbeck thanked Whoopi for her particular concern about the baby.
LEEZZY VS. STANFORD STUDENT OVER TORTURE: Dorm resident gets Rice riled up; she defends waterboarding as legal.
*It was supposed to be a nice, stress-free visit to her alma mater Stanford University, but Condoleezza Rice instead ended up in the middle of a heated exchange with a student over the issue of torture – and it was all caught on tape.
In the clip, the former Secretary of State under George W. Bush attended a reception at one of the dorms on Monday when a student approached her with questions about authorizing the use of torture.
During the clip, lasting just over 7 minutes, Rice said that after watching more than 3,000 Americans die in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the administration was willing to use any "legal" method necessary to get information to prevent any further attacks.
When the young man pointed out that 500,000 Americans died in World War II and Americans did not see fit to use torture, Rice went off. [Scroll down to watch.]
Rice declared that al Qaeda is a greater threat to the United States than Nazi Germany was because Germany "never attacked the homeland of the United States." Also in the defensive exchange, she insisted that the Bush administration had always wanted to hold trials for detainees, but the Supreme Court wouldn't let them:
RICE: Now, the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] also had access to Guantanamo. And they made no allegations about interrogations in Guantanamo. What they did say was that indefinite detention, where people didn't know whether they'd come up for trial -- which is why we tried under the military commissions system to let people come up for trial. Those trials were stayed by who? Who kept us from holding the trials?
STUDENT: I can't answer that question.
RICE: Do your homework first. ... It was the Supreme Court.
Watch the entire exchange below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijEED_iviTA
JEEZY, IFILL CANCELLED OVER SWINE FLU: University of Delaware officials nix separate appearances after suspected infection of 10 students.
*The University of Delaware canceled a concert featuring Young Jeezy and supporting act Drake scheduled for Thursday because 10 students on campus were was suspected of having the deadly swine flu.
The show was originally scheduled for 8 p.m. last night, but UD President Patrick T. Harker announced that the concert, as well as a speaking engagement with noted journalist Gwen Ifill would be canceled due to the suspected outbreak, reports Allhiphop.com.
“While the Centers for Disease Control have not yet confirmed any swine flu diagnoses, I have no doubt that these suspected cases are causing a great deal of concern among the entire campus community,” University of Delaware President Patrick T. Harker said. “The University's first priority is the health and well-being of our students and employees. Therefore, we are working closely with the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) to safeguard student, staff, and faculty health.”
The World Health Organization announced this week that the world is on the brink of a pandemic and raised the global threat level to phase 5, the last step before a pandemic.
Students and fans who purchased tickets to see Young Jeezy and Drake can contact the University of Delaware box office for information of refunds.
COLUMBIA'S 'BUTLER' NABS A WRITER: Danny Strong to pen story about black White House butler Eugene Allen.
*Columbia has hired actor-turned-screenwriter Danny Strong to pen "The Butler," the true story of an African American man who served as a White House butler for 34 years.
Eugene Allen started at the White House as a "pantry man" in 1952 when blacks weren't allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He went on to serve eight presidents and had a unique front row seat as political and racial history was being made, from the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy Jr.
The film is based on the Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election," written by Wil Haygood and published on Nov. 7, just days before the historic election of Barack Obama. Allen and his wife of 65 years talked and marveled at the idea that a black man could be president. But on Election Day, Allen cast his vote alone; his wife died the day before.
Strong was best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Doyle on "The Gilmore Girls, " He scored an Emmy nomination for writing "Recount," HBO's film about the 2000 presidential election.
7-YEAR-OLD USHER IN B&G CAMPAIGN: Childhood photo joins similar images of Denzel, Shaq and Joyner-Kersee to raise awareness.
*A huge billboard depicting R&B star Usher as a 7-year-old was unveiled over one of Atlanta's busiest streets Wednesday as part of the Boys & Girls Club of America's new national youth advocacy campaign.
"I can only imagine how many accidents are going to happen in result of this being here," the 30-year-old Usher joked as he glanced at the image during a ceremony.
The singer's picture will also be used at airports and in public service announcements for the campaign. He joins others with childhood billboards for the club — Denzel Washington, Shaquille O'Neal, Martin Sheen, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Gen. Wesley Clark.
"This is an opportunity for people to learn more about us," said Roxanne Spillett, Boys & Girls Club of America's president. "I hope this effort can spark more alumni to contribute and become a role models."
Usher, who was a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs for four years in his home state of Tennessee, hopes his billboard can have a positive affect on another child's life.
"It made a difference for me," he said. "Being great doesn't start in the later moments of life. We could be speaking to tomorrow's Barack Obama or Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson or Usher. These clubs are valuable to the community. Hopefully my billboard can help inspire someone."
TNT SETS DATE FOR PINKETT SMITH DRAMA: J. August's 'Raising the Bar' also on schedule for summer run.
*TNT's freshman drama "Hawthorne," starring Jada Pinkett Smith as a single mom and the director of nursing at a southern hospital, will debut on Tuesday, June 16, at 9 p.m. preceding the return of Holly Hunter's drama "Saving Grace" at 10.
The network announced the Tuesday night pairing this week as part of its summer schedule. Pinkett Smith plays Christina Hawthorne, the tough-but-caring head of the nursing unit at Richmond Trinity Hospital.
"When a patient’s care is at risk, she will not hesitate to violate hospital protocol, defend her staff against egotistical doctors or firmly stand up to apathetic administrators who seem to have forgotten a hospital’s true purpose," the network stated.
Recently widowed, Christina also has to take on her equally important role as a mother to a willful, rebellious teenage daughter.
Meanwhile, "Raising the Bar," co-starring "Angel" vet J. August Richards, will begin its second season on Monday, June 8 at 10 p.m.immediately following the fifth-season return of Kyra Sedgwick's hit "The Closer" in its regular Monday 9 p.m. slot.
The Steven Bochco series follows a group of friends who work as lawyers on opposing sides – the public defender’s office and the district attorney’s office. Richards plays Marcus McGrath, a sharp, quick-witted lawyer who possesses an extremely strong sense of justice, even if it may go against his client's best interest.
"His goal is pure truth, not some foggy, manipulated version concocted in order to win a case," the network said of Marcus.
TNT also announced the Wednesday, July 15 premiere of its sophomore heist drama "Leverage" at 9 p.m., followed by the new Jerry Bruckheimer cop series "Dark Blue," which follows undercover cops in the Los Angeles Police Department.
MAN CONVICTED OF STALKING TYRA: Brady Green faces 90 day jail sentence after decision by Manhattan judge.
*The Georgia man accused of stalking Tyra Banks was convicted on Thursday by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who tried the case without a jury.
Brady Green, of Dublin, Ga., was found guilty of stalking, harassment, criminal trespass and attempted aggravated harassment, according to the Associated Press. He faces up to 90 days in jail at his sentencing, scheduled for June 18. His lawyer plans to appeal.
Authorities said Green, 39, repeatedly called Banks' studio, showed up there, and sent her flowers and letters. He was arrested March 18, 2008, at a McDonald's restaurant near Banks' studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. He told officers he and Banks "had a thing together," police said.
Banks testified this week that she feared for her safety, and for that of her staff and family after learning he had entered the studio. She said that her company has hired more security staff and that her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly, since being aware of his presence.
Green testified that Banks' shows on racism and homelessness had moved him and he wanted to contact her. He said his attempts to get tickets for her show had been misunderstood. He also said he never threatened Banks, never intended to scare her and never tried to date her.
Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon got Green to admit that he rode a bus for four days from Los Angeles to New York, where he had no friends, relatives and no job, and that the first he thing he did was go to the building that houses Banks' daytime talk show.
CHRIS BROWN'S LAWYER TRYING TO DISMISS CASE: Geragos accuses police of leaking Rihanna's beating photo.
*Chris Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos said he intends to file a motion to dismiss the felony assault case because of police leaks in the investigation, apparently a reference to Rihanna's injury photo that surfaced on TMZ.com.
At a hearing on Wednesday, L.A. Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg granted Geragos a delay in the case and set the next hearing for May 28, according to People.com.
Brown, 19, who has pleaded not guilty, was not required to appear at the hearing and was not present.
As previously reported, Rihanna was also granted the return of her jewelry during Wednesday's hearing. Her attorney Donald Etra had sought the return of $1.4 million in jewelry taken into evidence. All sides agreed that the items were to be photographed by police and returned to Rihanna, who had them on loan from jewelers.
The next step in the case is setting a preliminary hearing – in which Rihanna, 21, could be subpoenaed to testify – so the court can determine if there's enough evidence for a trial. If that hearing goes forward, it will happen within eight court days of May 28.
But the case may wrap up before then. Legal experts say Brown could strike a plea deal with prosecutors, that may include some jail time, at any time.
MALAWI'S CHIEF JUSTICE TO HEAR MADONNA'S APPEAL: Case 'important' enough for nation's highest judge to take 'special interest.'
*Madonna's appeal to adopt 3-year-old Merci Chifundo James from Malawi will be heard by a three-judge panel lead by the African country's head of the judiciary.
Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo and two other judges will hear the case on May 4. "Since this involves an infant it will be heard in chambers," High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal spokesman Joseph Chigona told People.com. "This is an important case; that's why the chief justice himself has taken special interest."
Madonna, 50, is not required to attend the hearing although she may if she wishes. Her appeal follows High Court Judge Esme Chombo's dismissal of the singer's application to adopt James on the premise the entertainer does not have a permanent residence in Malawi. Madonna, who last year successfully completed her adoption of another Malawian toddler, David Banda, also 3, has visited Malawi three times.
Madonna's Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula appealed Chombo's ruling, calling it "erroneous." Chinula contended the judge relied on an "archaic law" of more than 50 years ago. "We are hopeful the Supreme Court of Appeal will overturn Justice Chombo's ruling," he said.
BOLT DROPS TRACK MEET AFTER CRASH: Jamaican Olympic sprinter slightly injured following accident in BMW.
*The world's fastest man was unable to escape injury this week following a car crash, and has thus decided to pull out of a track meet scheduled for Saturday.
Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt lost control of his car on a Jamaican highway Wednesday and crashed his BMW, according to reports. A police officer said he apparently had been speeding.
Bolt's agent, Ricky Simms, says the main injuries were to Bolt's left foot when he stepped on thorns as he got out of the wrecked car, reports the Associated Press.
Simms said on Thursday that Bolt will skip Saturday's Kingston International as a precaution and that it is too early to say whether other races will be affected. Bolt's next scheduled competition is a 150-meter street race in Manchester, England, on May 17.
The 22-year-old Jamaican sprinter won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, all in world record times.
DMX ORDERED TO PAY IN ASSAULT CASE: Rapper pretended to be FBI and pulled over family at JFK.
*A judge has ordered jailed rapper DMX to pay $240,000 in damages to a man he assaulted at New York's JFK airport.
In 2004, Port Authority officers arrested the artist for posing as an FBI agent and using a fake police siren to pull over Sergei Priporin and his family at the airport.
X, whose real name is Earl Simmons, claims he pulled them over for making him late for a flight. In any case, he was in possession of crack, Oxycodone, Diazepam and a billy club at the time of his arrest.
The plaintiffs, who originally sued for $4 million each, are getting a total of $240,000 in damages, reports TMZ.com.
X's lawyer, Richard Corde, told the Web site: "Mr. Simmons still feels justified in pulling them over when they didn't get out of his way...he's not apologizing for that. The gentleman driving should have gotten out of his way."
The rapper is currently serving a 90-day jail sentence in Arizona for theft, drug possession and animal cruelty.
J-HUD ATTENDS FIANCÉ'S WRESTLING MATCH: Singer posted up at David Otunga's FCW event in Florida.
*So what does Jennifer Hudson do during downtime on her current tour? On Wednesday, she spent the free hours supporting her fiancé David Otunga in his budding wrestling career for the WWE.
TMZ.com posted video of the Oscar winner in the crowd at a Florida Championship Wrestling event, where Otunga, who has a law degree from Harvard, has been competing under the stage name Dawson Alexander, Esq (the D.A.).
Word has it that he already has a signature wrestling move called "the closing argument."
In October, he took a leave of absence to be with Hudson after the murders of her mother, brother and nephew.
Otunga, also known as "Punk" from the first season of VH1's "I Love New York," fought his debut match in early February and appeared at a FCW TV taping several weeks later to help break a post-match brawl between wrestlers DH Smith and Tyson Kidd.
Last month, Hudson was in the stands again as Otunga took part in a tag match, earning a victory alongside Jon Cutler and Barry Allen over Abraham Saddam Washington and The Secret Service.
PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING RUINED EXTENDED AGAIN: Lynn Nottage's work now running through June 28 in NY.
*Manhattan Theatre Club has announced another extension of Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The production will now run through June 28 at New York City Center Stage I, the producers announced. This is the sixth extension of the play, which opened off-Broadway on Feb. 10.
A co-production of MTC and Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Ruined is set in a small mining town in Democratic Republic of Congo. The play follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman in a land torn apart by civil war. But is she protecting or profiting by the women she shelters? How far will she go to survive? Can a price be placed on a human life?
The cast features Condola Rashad, the daughter of stage and screen star Phylicia Rashad and her ex-husband Ahmad Rashad.
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Ruined has received five Drama Desk Award nominations including Outstanding New Play, five Outer Critics Circle Award nominations including Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, two Drama League nominations and three Lucille Lortel Award nominations.
BANK OF AMERICA RUN BY EX-MOREHOUSE PREZ: Walter E. Massey named chairman after shareholders vote.
*The former president of Morehouse College has been named chairman of Bank of America, the nation’s second largest commercial bank.
The announcement came Wednesday after shareholders voted to create an independent chairman, ousting former chair Ken Lewis and leaving him as president and chief executive officer, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Massey, 71, was president of the Atlanta-based college from August 1995 to June 2007, and was a director on the BankAmerica Corp. board from 1993 to 1998. His ascension to Bank of America’s chair came as Lewis’
responsibilities were reduced by a slim margin by the board. The vote was 50.3 percent in favor of creating the new independent chair, with 49.7 percent opposed, bank officials said.
Lewis, who had been the bank’s chair, president and CEO since 2001, conceded shareholder’s frustration over the company’s $50 billion acquisition of Merrill Lynch and Co.
“Let me acknowledge that 2008 was a very difficult year for the economy, for the financial services industry and for our company in particular,” Lewis said in a statement released by the bank following Wednesday’s shareholder meeting. “Our company’s shareholders have carried a heavy burden recently. We are doing everything within our power every day to fight through today’s adversity and drive toward tomorrow’s promise.”
Both Lewis and Massey are native Mississippians with Atlanta connections. Massey was born in Hattiesburg, Miss., and Lewis was born in Meridian. Lewis, 52, is a finance graduate of Georgia State University, and Massey received his bachelor’s degree in physics and math from Morehouse.
Massey formerly was on the board of directors at Delta Airlines, Motorola and BP PLC, and was named by former President George H.W. Bush as director of the National Science Foundation, an organization that led the government’s support of research and education in mathematics, science and engineering.
OPENING THIS WEEK: Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
For movies opening May 1, 2009
by Kam Williams
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Battle for Terra (PG for violence and mature themes) Animated sci-fi adventure about the peaceful inhabitants of a distant planet who face annihilation when desperate human invaders declare war in the wake of the destruction of Earth. Voice cast includes Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Amanda Peet, Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette, James Garner and Chris Evans.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and drug use) Romantic comedy about a confirmed bachelor (Matthew McConaughey) who finds himself confronted by the disembodied spirits of the women he’s seduced and abandoned on the eve of his brother’s (Breckin Meyer) wedding. Cast includes Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Lacy Chabert, Robert Forster, Emma Stone and Anne Archer.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PG-13 for intense violence and partial nudity) Latest installment in the Marvel Comics franchise focuses on Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) search for Sabertooth (Live Schreiber) in order to exact a measure of revenge for the death of his girlfriend, Silver Fox (Lynn Collins). With Will i. Am, Ryan Reynolds and Danny Huston.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
Eldorado (Unrated) Unlikely-buddy comedy about a Belgian auto dealer (Bouli Lanners) who befriends the young burglar (Fabrice Edde) he catches in the act of robbing his house. (In French with subtitles)
Home (PG-13 for disturbing images) Female empowerment flick, set in the Sixties, about a breast cancer survivor (Marcia Gay Harden) stuck in a bad marriage to an emotionally-unsupportive jerk (Michael Gaston) who makes the most of a bonding opportunity with her 8 year-old daughter (Eulala Scheel) during a life-transforming road trip the two take together over the summer.
Ice People (Unrated) South Pole documentary, directed by Anne Aghion, chronicling four months of the day-to-day lives of explorers who have dedicated their careers to the scientific study of climate-change in Antarctica’s extremely challenging environment.
The Limits of Control (R for profanity and graphic nudity) Jim Jarmusch directs this surrealistic crime thriller about a mysterious loner (Isaach De Bankolé) with trust issues making his way across Spain to pull off a job. Cast includes Jarmusch veterans Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Alex Descas, John Hurt and Youki Kudoh, along with Gael García Bernal and Paz De La
Huerta.
The Merry Gentleman (R for profanity and violence) Michael Keaton makes his directorial debut and handles the title role in this romance drama about a young woman (Kelly MacDonald) who flees to Chicago to escape an abusive marriage only to become involved with a suicidal hit man (Keaton) on the run from the law. With Bobby Cannavale, Darlene Hunt and Tom Bastounes.
Revanche (Unrated) Crime saga, set in Austria, revolving around an ex-con (Johannes Krisch) determined to avenge the shooting of his prostitute girlfriend (Irina Potapenko) by a cop (Andreas Lust) during a bank robbery. (In Russian and German with subtitles)
The Skeptic (Unrated) Horror flick about a cynical lawyer (Tim Daly) who finds a big surprise when he moves into his recently-deceased aunt’s (Sara Weaver) house which is rumored to be haunted. With Zoe Saldana, Tom Arnold and Edward Herrmann.
Three Monkeys (Unrated) Stuck in denial drama about a family of four who would rather play deaf, dumb and blind than confront the serious problems that are splitting them apart. Ensemble includes Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, Rifat Sungar and Cafer Kose. (In Turkish with subtitles)
A Wink and a Smile (Unrated) Ecdysiast documentary about ten ordinary women from different walks of life (including a doctor, a housewife, an opera singer and a college student) who take a six-week course in striptease at Seattle’s Academy of Burlesque before trying their hand, I mean feet, at exotic dancing onstage.
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"Some defeats are only installments to victory." — Jacob A. Riis
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
May 1: Singer-songwriter Ray Parker Jr. is 54. Actor Darius McCrary ("Family Matters") is 32.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
In this tutorial created by Kyle Lambert, you will learn all the steps to create a digital painting of President Obama, it also comes with a video. Go here: www.iedava.notlong.com.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
May 1, 1867: Howard University in Washington, D.C., named for General Oliver O. Howard, opened. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)