Celebrity News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Son of China's Bo Xilai graduates from Harvard

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:07:45 -0400

BOSTON (Reuters) - The son of fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai graduated from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on Thursday, capping a tumultuous academic year that also placed him in the center of his homeland's biggest leadership crisis in two decades. Bo Guagua, whose perceived lavish lifestyle overseas has created a firestorm on the Internet back in China, wore a black cap and gown with crimson hood when he accepted his diploma at a commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

Elton John cancels Vegas dates due to infection

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:40:58 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Elton John was treated in hospital in Los Angeles for a serious respiratory infection that forced him to cancel performances this weekend of his "The Million Dollar Piano" show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In a statement posted on his website on Thursday, the British entertainer, whose hits include "Rocket Man," "Your Song" and "Bennie and The Jets," apologized for the decision and told fans he hoped to be performing soon. The singer said he developed a serious respiratory illness while performing on Sunday. ...

Jane Lynch praises Obama on gay rights in campaign ad

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:35:57 -0400

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jane Lynch is lending President Barack Obama a hand after Obama came out in favor of gay marriage. The "Glee" star narrates a new campaign ad for Obama, in which she lauds his push for equality. "In 2008 our country elected a leader who not only acknowledged the LGBT community, but who embraced it," Lynch's narration begins."We elected a man who understood our struggle and who has pushed the nation forward towards equality." Lynch goes on to claim that Obama has made "more significant advances for LGBT Americans than any other president who came before him. ...

Auction of purported vial of Reagan's blood halted

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:49:11 -0400

(Reuters) - The British company that had been auctioning what it said was a vial of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan's blood canceled the sale on Thursday and the owner will donate the material to the Reagan foundation, the company said. "We have negotiated with the consignor to arrange for the item to be withdrawn from the auction and donated to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation," PFC Auctions said in a statement. The halt of the sale came after the foundation expressed outrage over the auction earlier this week. ...

Nancy Reagan recovering from rib fractures: spokeswoman

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:27:03 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former first lady Nancy Reagan is recovering from fractured ribs she suffered in a fall at her Los Angeles home, her spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The injury forced Reagan, 90, to miss a speech by U.S. Representative Paul Ryan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said in a statement emailed to Reuters. "Weeks ago Mrs. Reagan took a fall at her home and fractured a number of ribs," Drake said. ...

Strauss-Kahn accuser adds new claim to lawsuit

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:52:58 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for the hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault added another claim to her civil lawsuit against him Tuesday, taking advantage of a little-used New York City law that applies to "gender-motivated violence." In the amended lawsuit, Nafissatou Diallo claims the former International Monetary Fund chief targeted her out of misogyny under a local law known as the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. ...

With kids, career, no time to direct, says Brad Pitt

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:55:47 -0400

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Brad Pitt, in Cannes to promote his latest movie "Killing Them Softly", has no intention of following fiancee Angelina Jolie into directing, he told Reuters on Wednesday. The 48-year-old, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, hit the red carpet at the film's world premiere on Tuesday, drawing noisy crowds and the world's media to the glitzy ceremony. As well as playing mob enforcer Jackie Cogan in the violent but darkly comic gangster movie, Pitt was one of its main producers, a side of the business he has become increasingly involved in over the last six years. ...

Oprah expands online with Huffington Post

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:52:12 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Media mogul Oprah Winfrey is expanding her online empire by teaming up with the Huffington Post for a section dedicated to the chat show host that will engage her audience, the Oprah Winfrey Network said on Wednesday. The Huffington Post Oprah section will launch in August, and will curate content from Oprah.com, which features the motto "Live Your Best Life" and accompanies Winfrey's OWN TV programming with videos, articles and advice on health, fashion and culture. The section also will develop original content with Oprah. ...

Kazakh socialite "Lady Goga" bags Vionnet

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:07:18 -0400

MILAN (Reuters) - Kazakh billionaire Goga Ashkenazi, best known for her opulent lifestyle and high-society friends, has agreed to buy a majority stake in fashion house Vionnet, the latest acquisition of a European luxury brand by new-money investors. The London-based entrepreneur with interests in the oil industry will help the house, founded in 1912 by French couturier Madeleine Vionnet, grow in a globalised industry, despite headwinds in Europe, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. ...

Berlusconi paid for sex, witness tells court

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:19:40 -0400

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi paid for sex during at least one party at his luxury villa outside Milan, a witness said on Thursday at a trial where he is accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute. Natascia Teatino told the court that a friend named Aris she had accompanied to one of the evenings had said she "received money for (sexual) relations with Berlusconi," adding that she had not specified how much money. "Aris told me that I could stay and have sex with Berlusconi, but I didn't feel like staying," Teatino said. ...

Singer Robin Gibb, Bee Gees co-founder, dies at 62

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:34:09 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who with brothers Barry and Maurice helped define the disco era with their falsetto harmonies and funky beats on hits like "Stayin' Alive" and "Jive Talkin'", died on Sunday after a long fight with cancer. He was 62. The singer had colon and liver cancer and, despite brief improvements in his health in recent months, passed away on Sunday evening. Gibb died at the London Clinic surrounded by his second wife Dwina, sons Spencer and Robin-John and daughter Melissa. ...

Michelle Obama shows South Side of Chicago to first ladies

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:24:28 -0400

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Michelle Obama showed off her neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago to some NATO visitors on Sunday, taking five other first ladies to a youth center for lunch and for a musical performance by the children. The women toured the Gary Komer Youth Center, which features a gymnasium, dance studio and a theater. The center provides tutoring, college preparation, training in culinary arts and horticulture for young people in the community, 90 percent of whom come from low-income households. ...

Zuckerberg's post-IPO wedding is smart legal move

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:28:27 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Getting married was a smart business move as well as a personal milestone for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, with the timing of the wedding, the day after the company's initial public offering, potentially proving particularly advantageous, California divorce lawyers said on Sunday. Assuming the couple signed a prenuptial agreement, as most wealthy Californians do, Zuckerberg and Chan would have agreed exactly how to split assets, including his Facebook stock, if their marriage dissolved in future. ...

Foundation objects to auction of purported vial of Reagan's blood

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:39:52 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ronald Reagan's foundation expressed outrage on Monday at a British company's auction of what it says is a vial of the late U.S. president's blood taken at the hospital where he was treated after a 1981 assassination attempt. PFC Auctions, a company based in Guernsey in the United Kingdom, announced on Sunday that it would sell the vial of blood in an online auction set to end on Thursday. The vial was taken at George Washington University Hospital on March 30, 1981, after Reagan was wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., PFC Auctions said on its website. ...

Missing actor Nick Stahl enters rehab: reports

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:16:37 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Terminator 3" actor Nick Stahl, who had been missing for more than a week, has checked himself into rehab, his estranged wife told media outlets on Sunday. Stahl's wife Rose Murphy told E! Online celebrity news website that the actor, who has a history of substance abuse problems, was "really working hard" at sobriety. The 32-year-old American actor had been reported missing to police earlier this month. He sent an email to friends and family on Friday saying he wanted to check into rehab for 30 days, according to TMZ.com. ...

Japanese woman, 73, scales Everest for the second time

Sat, 19 May 2012 09:07:27 -0400

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - For the second time, a 73-year-old Japanese woman has become the world's oldest woman to climb Mount Everest, repeating her own record set 10 years ago, the company that organized the climb said on Saturday. Tamae Watanabe reached the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) summit with a Japanese partner and three Nepali Sherpa guides on Saturday morning, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, who runs the Asian Trekking company, which provided logistics to the team. "Watanabe and other climbers are in good physical condition. ...

Fiat's Elkann gets behind the wheel for Mille Miglia

Fri, 18 May 2012 03:06:39 -0400

BRESCIA, Italy (Reuters) - John Elkann, the media-shy chairman of one of the world's biggest car companies, got behind the wheel and demonstrated his driving skills on Thursday in Italy's legendary four-day Mille Miglia rally race. The 36-year-old head of Fiat, which now control Chrysler and was founded by his great-great grandfather Giovanni Agnelli in 1899, will take turns driving a custom-made 1952 eight-cylinder Fiat 8V with his wife, Lavinia Borromeo, who also has a passion for iconic cars. ...

Venezuelan-born academic named president of MIT

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:14:35 -0400

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday named Rafael Reif, an electrical engineer born in Venezuela who has been the university's provost since 2005, as its 17th president. Reif, 61, replaces Susan Hockfield, the first female president of MIT, who announced in mid-February that she was stepping down after almost eight years leading one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. Reif will take up his post at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university on July 2, the first MIT president not to be a native English speaker. ...

Peter Berg discusses bringing "Battleship" to film

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:36:56 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Peter Berg parlayed successful acting work on TV shows like medical drama "Chicago Hope" to an even greater directing career of movies such as "Friday Night Lights," which later became a TV series, and the Will Smith action flick "Hancock." On Friday, Berg's latest film, alien-invasion actioner "Battleship," steams into theaters. It takes its title from the Hasbro board game in which two players engage in a guessing game to see who can sink the other's naval ships. ...

Britney is back - and so are the brickbats

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:20:04 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Britney Spears hasn't even taken her seat as the new judge of "The X Factor," but the pop icon is already getting a lesson in the media glare of live, talent show television. Spears had barely wrapped up an appearance in New York confirming she is joining the singing contest before the celebrity knives were out, raising the question of how well the singer, who went through a public meltdown in 2007, can handle all the newfound attention. ...

Second Travolta accuser drops suit, hires celebrity attorney

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:45:13 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The second masseur who accused John Travolta of sexual battery dropped his lawsuit against the Hollywood star on Thursday and hired celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who said she may file a new complaint in a different court. Allred now represents the Atlanta-based man, known as John Doe No. 2, as well as the original Travolta sexual battery accuser, a Texas masseur known as John Doe No. 1. "We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court and, therefore, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice," Allred said in a statement. ...

Status update: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg gets married

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:51:24 -0400

(Reuters) - Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wed longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday, announcing the nuptials through a status update on the social networking site. The 28-year-old billionaire's wedding took place a day after Facebook's initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday. More than 280,000 people "liked" Zuckerberg's status change, which was accompanied by a photo of the smiling couple in wedding attire in a small, verdant outdoor setting with a string of lights behind them. ...

Mexico pays tribute to Carlos Fuentes before French burial

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:28:30 -0400

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans bid farewell to renowned author Carlos Fuentes on Wednesday in an emotional tribute attended by the president and the country's most prominent intellectuals before a planned burial in France. Fuentes, who died suddenly on Tuesday at 83 after an internal hemorrhage, was one of Latin America's best-known novelists and was still active until the very end of his life working on books and participating in events. ...

Okada bets to win with fine dining and casinos

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:43:51 -0400

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Kazuo Okada, the Japanese billionaire engaged in a fierce legal battle with Las Vegas casino tycoon Steve Wynn, is diversifying his pachinko company with a string of his own restaurants and is negotiating to build a casino resort in South Korea. On Tuesday, Okada opened a 25,000-square-foot fine dining complex in Hong Kong, the first step in an expansion plan that includes an Okada restaurant in Shanghai scheduled to open in September, and a dining complex in Tokyo due to open in December. ...

Booker T. & the MGs bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn dies at 70

Mon, 14 May 2012 05:29:27 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, a member of Booker T. & the MGs whose thick bottom grooves anchored many of the classic soul hits from the 1960s, has died on tour in Japan, his friend and bandmate Steve Cropper said on Sunday. Dunn was 70. Dunn, an integral part of the Memphis soul sound as bassist for the MGs, the house band for Stax and Volt records, died Sunday morning after finishing two shows at the Blue Note Night Club in Tokyo, Cropper said in a posting on his Facebook page. ...

Venezuela challenger woos Chavez's rural heartland

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:38 -0400

SOCOPO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Deep in the rural home state of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that has for years been off limits for opposition politicians, rival candidate Henrique Capriles struggled to push through a throng of screaming supporters. Small-time ranchers and farmers swarmed the muddy streets of Socopo, where the Venezuelan plains meet the Andes mountains, jostling to catch a glimpse of the candidate in a chaotic tumult reminiscent of the cattle herding typical of the region. ...

Fiat's Elkann gets behind the wheel for Mille Miglia

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:41:46 -0400

Celebrity hair stylist Vidal Sassoon dead at 84

Wed, 09 May 2012 22:02:42 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Vidal Sassoon, hair stylist and fashion world pioneer who created a natural look in the 1960s and built a multimillion-dollar business on his name, died on Wednesday after a long battle with leukemia. He was 84. Sassoon died at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by loved ones and his wife of 20 years, Ronnie, his family said in a statement. "He will be greatly missed," they said. ...

Obama-Clooney fundraiser rakes in celebrity dollars

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:27:03 -0400

LOS ANGELES (The Wrap.com) - If President Obama has ever acted cool in courting celebrities, on Thursday he'll be dropping that act and heading for the mother lode. In what's shaping up to be one of the biggest one-off fundraisers in the history of the presidency, Obama will pitch to a houseful of boosters from Hollywood's inner circles at a sold-out event in Studio City. And it's not just any house - it's George Clooney's 7,354-square-foot crib. ...

Travolta accuser hires celebrity lawyer Allred

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:19:08 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The masseur whose $2 million sexual battery lawsuit against Hollywood actor John Travolta was dismissed earlier this week hired celebrity attorney Gloria Allred on Wednesday and could file a new claim. Allred, who numerous high-profile cases over the years have included representing women involved in the Tiger Woods sex scandal, said on Wednesday that she is now the attorney for "John Doe No. 1" and will be consulting with the masseur on his next steps in the case that has made headlines worldwide. "Mr. ...