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| Elvis Presley, The Beatles top list of most-forged autographs Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:40 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Elvis Presley and The Beatles top the list of most-forged celebrity signatures in 2012, with less than half of their autographs for sale certified as genuine, memorabilia authenticators PSA/DNA said on Thursday. The King and The Fab Four British rockers, who topped the list two years ago when it was last released, joined notable figures such as former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and late pop star Michael Jackson on the list of most-forged celebrity signatures. Late American astronaut Neil Armstrong landed at No. ... Full Story | Top |
| Film explores African-Americans' unhealthy "soul food" habit Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:29 PM PST  (Reuters) - After interviewing food historians, scholars, cooks, doctors, activists and consumers for his new film "Soul Food Junkies," filmmaker Byron Hurt concluded that an addiction to soul food is killing African-Americans at an alarming rate. The movie, which will premiere on January 14 on U.S. public broadcasting television, examines how black cultural identity is linked to high-calorie, high-fat food such as fried chicken and barbecued ribs and how eating habits may be changing. In the deeply personal film, Hurt details his father's fight and eventual death from pancreatic cancer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stallone did not copy screenplay for "The Expendables": judge Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 04:22 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has reaffirmed his decision to dismiss a lawsuit accusing actor Sylvester Stallone of copying someone else's screenplay to make his popular 2010 movie "The Expendables." U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan on Thursday rejected claims of copyright infringement damages by Marcus Webb, who contended that the movie's screenplay contained 20 "striking similarities" to his own "The Cordoba Caper. ... Full Story | Top |
| DirecTV to increase fees by 4.5 percent in 2013 Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 02:54 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Satellite television provider DirecTV Group said its service fees will rise by an average of 4.5 percent in February due to increasing programming costs. DirecTV has to pay about 8 percent more for programs, since almost all of its providers are hiking their rates, it said on Thursday. The company, which recently resolved a bitter price dispute with programmer Viacom Inc, said it is doing all it can to make sure customers "do not suffer unfair price increases as a result of unreasonable demands." The new fees will go into effect on February 7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former President George H.W. Bush remains in intensive care Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 02:38 PM PST  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush remained in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital on Thursday, according to a hospital spokesman. Bush, 88, a Republican who during his one term in office led a coalition that ejected Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991, was admitted to Methodist Hospital November 23 for bronchitis. He was transferred to intensive care on Sunday after setbacks including a persistent fever, family spokesman Jim McGrath has said. "I don't have any guidance so far today except to say no news is good news," McGrath said on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| R&B singer Brandy engaged to music executive Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 01:53 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer and actress Brandy Norwood is engaged to music executive Ryan Press, a spokeswoman for the singer said on Thursday. This will be the first marriage for the singer, who goes by the moniker Brandy. Press is an executive with music publisher Warner/Chappell Music. A date for the wedding has not been announced publicly. Norwood, 33, has a 10-year-old daughter with her former boyfriend, music producer Robert Smith. ... Full Story | Top |
| Taylor Swift's "Red" tops Billboard chart after holiday season Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 01:01 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country pop darling Taylor Swift retained the top spot of the Billboard 200 album chart on Thursday after strong sales during the holiday season that saw her album "Red" mark its sixth week at No. 1 since its release two months ago. "Red" sold 275,000 copies last week ahead of the holidays, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. Swift, 23, was able to hold off rapper T.I.'s new album "Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head" from the top spot. The rapper came in at No. 2 after selling 178,000 copies. T.I. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Rescue Me" singer Fontella Bass dies aged 72 Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 11:20 AM PST (Reuters) - American soul singer Fontella Bass, who topped the R&B chart in 1965 with the song "Rescue Me," died in St. Louis. She was 72. Bass died in hospice care on Wednesday night from complications of a heart attack she suffered three weeks ago, her daughter, Neuka Mitchell, told Reuters. Bass had also suffered from strokes in recent years. "She's going to be missed," Mitchell said. "Her big personality. Her love for family. Her big, giving heart and her cooking." She was known as the "queen of soul food" to her family, Mitchell said. Bass was born into a singing family in St. Louis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Andrew Solomon defies conventional wisdom in "Far From the Tree" Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 08:08 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - In his latest book "Far From the Tree," National Book Award winner Andrew Solomon turns the conventional wisdom that children are composites of their parents on its head, but says that is not a bad thing. In the 700-page tome that explores the lives of families with children with conditions ranging from autism to deafness, Solomon says having a child is an act of production rather than reproduction that "abruptly catapults us into a permanent relationship with a stranger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soprano Bartoli: My voice has more colors, shadow Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:42 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has released a year-end blockbuster that is part mystery story, part research project and shows off a voice which only seems to improve with age. Bartoli's latest deluxe-packaged album "Mission" (Decca) is devoted to the music of the late 17th-century Italian composer, diplomat and perhaps spy, Agostino Steffani. Steffani may have been a bit overlooked as a result of his appearance at the end of the Renaissance and at the beginning of the Baroque periods - until Bartoli's interest alighted on him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Piano maker Steinway takes down "for sale" sign Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:32 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steinway Musical Instruments Inc, the famous manufacturer of pianos, saxophones and trumpets, said on Wednesday it had decided not to sell itself following a 17-month-long exploration of strategic alternatives. An American icon synonymous with handmade grand pianos, Steinway has struggled to keep its production margins competitive amid stagnant sales, and has seen its shares plunge 10 percent year-to-date. Still, its third-quarter earnings last month offered signs that cost-cutting was paying off. ... Full Story | Top |
| British actress Kate Winslet marries for third time Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 04:33 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has married for the third time, her publicist confirmed on Thursday. The 37-year-old, best known for her starring role in the 1997 blockbuster "Titanic", married Ned RocknRoll, a nephew of music and aviation tycoon Richard Branson. The private ceremony was attended by Winslet's two children from previous marriages and "a very few friends and family", according to the publicist, and took place in New York earlier this month. "The couple had been engaged since the summer," Winslet's spokeswoman said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Billy Crystal channels real-life role in "Parental Guidance" Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 03:03 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After a decade away from the big screen, funnyman Billy Crystal has mined his real-life experiences as a grandfather and is back in the holiday season movie "Parental Guidance." The film, which opened in U.S. theaters on Christmas, stars Crystal as a recently fired baseball announcer, who agrees to watch his three grandchildren with his wife (Bette Midler), while his daughter and her husband go on a business trip. Crystal, 64, sat down with Reuters to talk about the film, being a grandparent and why he won't host the Oscars ceremony anymore. ... Full Story | Top |
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