CELEBS GOSSIP


Sarah Jessica Parker - Sarah Jessica Parkers Son Acceptance

Sarah Jessica Parker's son has finally accepted his twin sisters.The 'Sex and the City 2' actress - who has seven-year-old James Wilkie and 11-month-old twins Marion... (more...)
From Contact Music
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Shooting The Shiz With Russell Brand!

Perez + Katy Perry's husband-to-be (above). Fun times!... (more...)
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Charlie Sheen

 

Prosecutor: Agreement reached in Sheen case

AP - A prosecutor says Charlie Sheen has reached an agreement with authorities over domestic violence allegations involving his wife in Colorado.... (more...)
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A Jazzy Wedding for Glee's Jane Lynch

The actress hasn't confirmed it, but the restaurant has: She married psychologist Lara Embry on Memorial Day... (more...)
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*' Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan Lacks Wisdom

Filed under: Lindsay Lohan, Paparazzi Photo, Nurse! Lindsay Lohan just had her wisdom teeth removed in L.A. -- and all she got to show for it was a giant bandage around her face.  Talk about a painful month. Read mor... (more...)
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Gary Coleman

Gary Coleman Laid To Rest This Weekend

A funeral is being arranged for this weekend for the late actor Gary Coleman. His lawyer, Randy Kester, announced this afternoon that the service will take place either on Friday or Saturday, in Salt Lake City, Utah. At this time, the family has yet to decide on whether to have a private family ser... (more...)
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*' Gary Coleman

Gary Coleman - Colemans Parents To Attend Funeral

Tragic actor GARY COLEMAN's estranged parents will attend the late star's funeral in Sandy, Utah this weekend (04/06Jun10).The former Diff'rent Strokes star will be laid... (more...)
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*' Sarah Ferguson

Sarah Ferguson - Fergie My Mistakes Make Me A Better Mum

Embattled former royal SARAH FERGUSON is convinced she's a model mum - because she has made so many mistakes that her two daughters can learn from.In a taped TV chat... (more...)
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*' John Mayer

John Mayer Cancels European Shows Due to Illness

The singer is heading back to the U.S. to recover from an unknown ailment... (more...)
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Adam Lambert - Lambert Calls On Fans To Stop Gifts And Donate

Outlandish rocker ADAM LAMBERT has urged his fans to stop sending him gifts and donate the cash they spend to a charity instead.The American Idol star has taken to... (more...)
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World Cup 2010: Theo Walcott left out of England squad

Fabio Capello drops Theo Walcott for 2010 World Cup
Capello drops Walcott for World Cup
Arsenal winger Theo Walcott was the surprise omission from Fabio Capello's 23-man England World Cup squad.
Walcott, 21, who has 11 caps, started both of England's recent friendly victories against Mexico and Japan.
Darren Bent, Adam Johnson, Scott Parker, Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines and Tom Huddlestone also miss out.
Gareth Barry is included after a fitness test on his ankle injury, while Stephen Warnock, Michael Carrick and Ledley King also make the squad.
Walcott was a shock member of former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's 2006 World Cup squad, having never started a Premier League game but he did not feature in the tournament and the then-17-year-old's inclusion was widely criticised.
PHIL MCNULTY BLOG
The right winger has since scored three international goals, all coming in a 4-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Croatia in Zagreb on 10 September 2008.
But after suffering with shoulder, back, knee and hamstring problems he has been restricted to 15 starts for Arsenal last season, with his form suffering as a result.
Walcott said in a statement: "I am very disappointed not to be included in the squad going out to South Africa, but completely respect Mr Capello's decision.
"I would like to wish the team the best of luck and hope they have a really successful tournament."
Former England captain Alan Shearer was not surprised by Capello's decision to select tried and tested players to take to South Africa.
"It was inevitable but I think Fabio said some months ago when he first took the job that players must be in form and playing regularly for their clubs," Shearer told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Joe Cole isn't playing well and hasn't played regularly for Chelsea and Emile Heskey hasn't played well for Aston Villa but on the other hand I can understand why he has done it because they are tried and trusted in his formation and in his squad."
Tottenham skipper King, 29, has been plagued by a chronic knee problem that restricts his ability to train and play back-to-back games in quick succession.
But after proving his fitness with Spurs towards the end of the season, he featured for the first time under Capello against Mexico on 24 May, scoring with a first-half header.
King had previously been named in a Capello squad in March 2009 but withdrew after being assessed by the England medical staff.
Warnock's only England appearance came as an 84th minute substitute in a friendly against Trinidad & Tobago in May 2008.
The Aston Villa defender, 28, has previously played for Liverpool and Blackburn as well as loan spells at Bradford and Coventry, and has been preferred in the squad to Baines, who played against Mexico last week and Egypt in March.
Tottenham defender Dawson and West Ham midfielder Parker did not feature in either of the games against Mexico and Japan while Manchester City winger Johnson only got a run out as a late substitute.
Huddlestone was impressive in Tottenham's midfield as they finished the Premier League in fourth place.
The 23-year-old came on as a substitute against Mexico and started against Japan but did not force his way into the final 23.
Sunderland striker Bent was the third highest scorer in the 2009-10 Premier League season with 24 goals and he expressed his disappointment at missing out.
"I feel really disappointed. I've always said to myself - if you play well and do your best for Sunderland then there's a chance you can go to the biggest tournament in the world," he told Sunderland's website.
"Obviously on this occasion it hasn't worked out.
"Of course I still want the boys to do well. I've got a lot of friends in the England set up. They're a great bunch of lads and even though I won't be there, I'll be supporting them."
However, former England winger Chris Waddle suggested Bent's omission was understandable given the way England play.
"It's hard for Darren Bent," Waddle told BBC Radio 5 live.
"He got 25 goals for Sunderland but England always play with a target man so Rooney and Defoe are always ahead of Bent. Barring injury I never thought he'd be on the plane."
Manchester City midfielder Barry, 29, has not played since he picked up a ligament injury in a Premier League match against Tottenham on 5 May and had an extensive test on his injured ankle on Tuesday morning.
ENGLAND SQUAD - MOST CAPPED PLAYERS
Steven Gerrard - 80 caps
Rio Ferdinand - 78 caps
Ashley Cole - 78 caps
Frank Lampard - 78 caps
John Terry - 60 caps
Wayne Rooney - 60 caps
Emile Heskey - 58 caps
Joe Cole is now fully fit after a serious knee ligament injury and produced an impressive second-half cameo during Sunday's 2-1 win against Japan.
And Waddle, who played for England at the World Cup in 1990, said Cole had benefitted from Johnson's inexperience after Capello decided to leave the Manchester City man at home.
"Adam Johnson has played very well," said Waddle.
"He looked very good in the five minutes in the friendly and I think it was between him and Joe Cole and he's gone for Cole."
England travel to South Africa on Wednesday evening.
The World Cup begins on 11 June, with England's first game coming a day later against the United States in Rustenburg.
England's 23-man squad for the World Cup finals:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).
Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).
Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

Watch highlights of England's World Cup qualifying campaign

New Giant Flying Reptile Found; Hunted on Foot?


New pterosaur likely stalked baby dinosaurs in once lush Sahara.

new-pterosaur-alanqa--s990x606--p.jpg
A newfound pterosaur species soars over the Sahara in an artist's rendering.
A new species of giant flying reptile has been found in the sands of the Sahara, a new study says.
But the 95-million-year-old pterosaur likely preferred life on the ground, spending most of its time stalking prey in what was once a lush wetland.
(See picture: "Giant Flyers Hunted Dinos on Foot?")
The 95-million-year old Alanqa saharicafrom, discovered in 2008 in southeast Morocco, belonged to a pterosaur family that flourished some 70 million years ago.
Jaw and neck bones of the newfound fossil identify it as the oldest known ancestor of the azhdarchids, a type of large pterosaur, said study leader Nizar Ibrahim of Ireland's University College Dublin.
A. saharicafrom had a toothless, beak-like jaw, a long, slender neck, and an estimated wingspan of 19.5 feet (6 meters), the study said.
"That tells us that even these very early azhdarchids were already pretty big and had the same kind of body proportions [as later giant species]," Ibrahim said.
Recent research also suggests that azhdarchids such as A. saharicafrom didn't fly that much. For example A. saharicafrom may have hunted "lizards and little dinosaurs with their long, slender jaws," Ibrahim said—"a bit like a stork or a heron."
"Amazingly Productive" Green Sahara
These winged creatures' light and flimsy bones seldom survive as fossils, and examples from Africa are especially rare.

"All the pterosaur material that has ever been found in Africa could fit on a very small table," he said.
But Ibrahim and colleagues got lucky during their expedition: They found similarly aged fossil fragments that belonged to two other previously unknown and unrelated pterosaurs.
(Related: "Pterosaur 'Runway' Found; Shows Birdlike Landing Style.")
These discoveries suggest that several different pterosaur species lived side by side, eating different prey in the ancient river delta.
For instance, one of the two yet-to-be described species had long, thin teeth that may have been used for grabbing fish while gliding over water. (Read about the Sahara's evolution from delta to desert.)
Surrounded by dry land, this wet ecosystem also supported diverse forms of crocodiles and dinosaurs, Ibrahim noted.
"It was such an amazingly productive environment," he said.
The findings were published on May 26 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Hewlett-Packard to cut 9,000 jobs worldwide

Hewlett-Packard logo
Hewlett-Packard cut 6,700 jobs last year to make savings
Hewlett-Packard (HP) says it plans to spend $1bn (£686m) and shed 9,000 jobs over three years as it creates fully-automated commercial data centres.
HP, the world's largest technology company by sales, says the job cuts will be the result of productivity gains and automation.
HP said the resulting "next-generation services" would benefit clients.
The firm said it would record a $1bn financial cost charge in the course of its 2013 financial year.
"As a result of productivity gains and automation, HP expects to eliminate roughly 9,000 positions over a multi-year period to reinvest for further growth and to increase shareholder value," it said.
It said the shake-up would make it annual gross savings of about $1bn and net savings "after reinvestment in a range between $500m and $700m".
HP added that it would replace about 6,000 of the jobs that were lost, adding that the changes to the workforce would be made over time and would vary by country.
And it said the commercial data centres would help its corporate clients run their businesses faster and more efficiently.
The latest job losses come after 6,700 posts were shed last year to make savings.

Elizabeth Taylor Exposes Richard Burton's Love Letters Decades After His Death



Actress Elizabeth Taylor, the video vixen of her day, recently decided to release love letters written to her from her on-again, off-again, beau, Richard Burton. The first letter - and the only one that she decided to keep private - was written to Elizabeth Taylor, just one day after they met on the set of Cleopatra, where Elizabeth Taylor played the title role.  According to Vanity Fair, who Elizabeth Taylor released the letters to, the love letters range from the romantic to the naughty. Richard Burton even called Elizabeth Taylor 'My Lumps' (sounds a little like Fergie's 'Lady Lumps, right?). Here's a snippet of Richard Burton's romantic musings to Elizabeth Taylor:

 I am forever punished by the gods for being given the fire and trying to put it out. The fire, of course, is you,” the actor wrote in one letter.The fundamental and most vicious, swinish, murderous and unchangeable fact is that we totally misunderstand each other ... we operate on different wavelengths. You are as distant as Venus — planet, I mean.


Richard Burton was getting his Shakespeare on for Elizabeth Taylor, wasn't he?

Japan's prime minister says he will resign

 Yukio Hatoyama's decision stems from his failure to deliver on his promise to move a U.S. military base off Okinawa after taking office in September.
Japanese prime minister
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office in September, announces his decision to resign before lawmakers in parliament. (Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP/Getty Images / June 2, 2010)
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ended weeks of internal discontent with his leadership by announcing Wednesday that he would resign, a swift fall from grace for a politician who just eight months ago led his endemic opposition party to a historic victory.
His collapse in approval ratings was prompted largely by his failure to deliver on a campaign promise to move a major U.S. military base off Okinawa's main island. The move was a centerpiece of Hatoyama's campaign for office last year, but its implementation would have required American consent to alter a painstakingly negotiated 2006 deal with the previous Japanese government before the base could be moved to another part of Okinawa.
The U.S. military has been ensconced in the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa since the end of World War II. Home to most of the 47,000 military and civilian personnel in Japan, the base remains crucial to Marine operations in the Pacific. But the accompanying noise and disruption have created a deep current of opposition from many Okinawans.
In elections last year, Hatoyama's pledge to move the base off the island was part of a broader agenda to give Japan more say over security matters in its alliance with the U.S. It struck a chord not only with Okinawans, who contend the base's intrusion on their lives is ignored by politicians in Washington and Tokyo, but also with those Japanese leery at how the U.S. alliance has dragged Japan into conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.


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During the campaign, Hatoyama had mused about the importance of weaning Japan from its dependency on the U.S. for security, suggesting that the country's future lay in a deeper integration with Asia. He also promised to remake Japanese politics by curbing the power of the bureaucracy, which — with its allies in business — has resisted taking direction from elected politicians.
Hatoyama's meteoric fall illustrates the enduring strength of the status quo in Japan. Once in office, he was unable to push the security establishment into reopening the Okinawa deal. His perceived dithering in delivering on his promise came to be seen as the symbol of a waffling leadership style. After months of failed efforts to persuade the Obama administration to revisit the arrangement, Hatoyama was forced to concede last week that he could not fulfill his promise. The admission cost him the support of a small leftist partner in his three-party coalition and prompted a popular outcry from critics and commentators. Polls showed Hatoyama's popularity dipping below 20%. And they showed the governing party sliding into a statistical draw with the Liberal Democratic Party, the political behemoth that had ruled Japan for most of the postwar era but that had grown increasingly sclerotic in power before being toppled last year. Although the loss of its coalition partner did not threaten the government's hold on power in the lower house of parliament, it spooked members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, who face elections for the upper house in July.
The governing party was also beset by financial scandals that engulfed Ichiro Ozawa, its second-most senior figure and its political brain. Hatoyama said Wednesday that Ozawa would also resign, declaring the move an opportunity to clean up Japan's notoriously corrupt politics. Succession speculation focused on Finance Minister Naoto Kan, a fiscal conservative who has been more open to tax measures that could help reduce Japan's high public debt.

(Video) Watch ‘America’s Got Talent season 5 premiere online

Tuttle teenager Blake Henderson will be on this season's "America's Got Talent.” The country music singer said when he first started singing he couldn't "carry a tune in a bucket.” He's obviously improved.
TUTTLE — From not being able to "carry a tune in a bucket,” to appearing on this season's "America's Got Talent,” Blake Henderson has come a long way.

The widely popular NBC summer hit TV game show series is back, ‘Americas Got Talent’ season 5 premiered tonight, and for those of you who weren’t able to catch the premiere you can watch it online.
New this season replacing old judge David Hasselhoff, is comedian and host of ‘Deal or No Deal’, Howie Mandel.
Judge Piers Morgan claims it’s the best season so far, “I can say it as a fact from my nine seasons of doing the British and American shows, in my view the pool of talent on this year’s season of America’s Got Talent is the best that I’ve known on any of the shows, whether it’s Britain or American.”
Join the host Nick Cannon and judges Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan and new judge Howie Mandel as they analyze, critique and pick the most talented American act in America.
You can watch videos of Season five of America’s Got Talent Here
TUTTLE — From not being able to "carry a tune in a bucket,” to appearing on this season's "America's Got Talent,” Blake Henderson has come a long way.
The Tuttle country music singer said he started playing guitar about eight years ago, under the tutelage of his grandfather, who once played in a band. He then took professional lessons before deciding he'd rather sing.
"My grandpa said, 'Well, some people aren't meant to sing,'” the 16-year-old high school senior said with a soft laugh.
But, Henderson said he just kept practicing, and eventually he got better — good enough, in fact, to take him through at least the first round of the television show "America's Got Talent.”
Henderson's contract won't allow him to reveal if he makes it all the way through the Las Vegas round of the show and on to Hollywood.
Tryouts were January in Dallas. Henderson and his family drove through the Oklahoma blizzard to get there, then got up at 4 a.m. to stand in line.
"It's a good thing we went so early, because we later heard about 20,000 people came through,” he said.
As it was, he said he was the first to audition. Then he had to wait three to four weeks for a callback. He went back to Dallas in March to tape for the show. He'll appear sometime in the first two weeks of the season, which starts tonight.
He said the taping was hard work, including 12- to 15-hour days practicing and waiting through other acts.
"It's a lot of hurry up and wait, but it was a blast,” he said. "Once you sing, it's fun.”
Henderson has played at area festivals and concerts. He played for about 300 people at a school fundraiser with his band, and for about 2,500 racing fans, singing the national anthem at the stock car races at State Fair Park. He's also sung at the Rodeo Opry in Stockyards City and with the Oklahoma Opry. But, he said, "America's Got Talent” is by far the biggest deal he's had to date.
"It's really just crazy. You don't really believe it,” he said.
Henderson looks like a typical teenage boy, buzz-cut hair, blue eyes, scruffy jaw line and a farmer's tan peeking below the sleeves of his shirt. If he doesn't win America's hearts singing, he said he will pursue a football career. He's a running back for Bridge Creek High School and has an offer this summer to go to a football camp at University of Nebraska.
But, for now, music is a true love. His biggest musical influence is his grandpa, who taught him a love of country legends such as Johnny Cash and George Jones. Even his guitar came from his grandpa, and when he sings, his voice is as strong and smooth as some of his idols.
Still, he said, even if he wins the national talent show, he hopes he won't let success go to his head.
"The only difference between me and someone else is, I can sing,” he said. It just took a little time.

Apple's Jobs says iPad idea came before iPhone

RANCHO PALOS VERDES — Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs shared a secret with is audience at a technology conference outside Los Angeles Tuesday: The idea for the iPad came before the iPhone.
The idea to ditch the keyboard for what Jobs calls a multi-touch display came about in the early 2000s, although the company was working on a telephone at the time, he said. That's when a prototype came to him that used the device's now-famous scrolling mechanism.
"I thought, 'My God we can build a phone out of this,'" Jobs said at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference in Rancho Palos Verdes.
But the tablet product was put on the shelf, the iPhone went into development for several years before making its debut in 2007, and Apple started selling the iPad tablet computer in April.
Although he acknowledged the popularity of the iPhone has caused network troubles at carrier AT&T, Jobs said the problems would have happened to any wireless phone company with that many iPhone and iPad users.
He said many places in the U.S. will have much better reception by the end of the summer. He did not rule out having the iPhone operate on other carriers in the future.
Ahead of a major developers conference scheduled to begin June 7 in San Francisco, Jobs was characteristically tightlipped Tuesday about what, if any, new features would be on new iPhone models.
As for the iPad's stunning popularity, Jobs said the device was beginning to erode the usefulness of the personal computer.
"We like to talk about the post PC era," he said. "I think we're embarked on that. Is it the iPad? Who knows? Will it happen next year or five years from now or seven years? Who knows?"

Naomi Trial Bid 'Just A Publicity Stunt'

The request for Naomi Campbell to appear at the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been branded a "publicity stunt" by his lawyers.

(FILES) -- File picture dated July 25, 2Prosecutors want the supermodel to testify at the war crimes trial in The Hague over claims she was given a so-called "blood diamond" by Taylor during a reception in South Africa in 1997.
But the former Liberian president's lawyers have opposed the motion, claiming the evidence was "tangential to the real issues".
The request for Campbell to appear as a witness at the trial follows allegations by actress Mia Farrow and the supermodel's former agent Carole White, who were at the same event in South Africa.
In a written statement to the court, Farrow said Campbell told her she had been woken up in the middle of the night by two or three men who "presented her with a large diamond which they said was from Taylor".

Actress Mia Farrow
Meanwhile, White said she heard Taylor say he was going to give Campbell diamonds and saw them being delivered.
Campbell has said through her lawyer that she does not want to get involved in the case.
But according to prosecutors, Campbell's testimony would provide "direct evidence of the accused's possession of rough diamonds from a witness unrelated to the Liberian or Sierra Leone conflicts".
Taylor is charged with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soliders and terrorism in his role backing rebels in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war.
Campbell recently stormed out of an interview with ABC News after she was quizzed about receiving the alleged gift.
She later told US chat show host Oprah Winfrey that she did not want to get involved.
"He [Taylor] has done some terrible things, Campbell said. "I don't want to put my family in danger."


'Hell's Kitchen Recap' Impossible is nothing


Gordon Ramsay had a dream. He wanted to push the boundary of Possible. He wanted to turn myth and history into Mystery. “Representatives of the media,” he proclaimed, “I officially guarantee that we will complete the opening night dinner service at Hell’s Kitchen.” Commence teeth-chattering and eyebrow-cocking, new contestants! “It’s never been done before,” said Autumn. “Has he lost his damn mind?” asked Jason. “Roar!” said the tiger shark that lives on Mikey’s head.
And just like that, season seven of Hell’s Kitchen was off and running. The new chefs had forty-five minutes to create their signature dish. We learned a little bit about some of the chefs:

Stacey: A celebrity chef, she namechecked several people who will probably never call her again: “I’ve cooked for Nathan Lane, Martha Stewart, Martin Short, Don Rickles, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, and they’ve all loved my food.” Pause to visualize a dinner party with only those people in attendance. Now pause to imagine that they’re all locked in a mansion, and every hour, another dinner guest dies. Who’s the murderer? I’m going with Rickles.
Holli: “I’ll play that cute factor. Let’s put it this way: I’ll work just as hard as everyone, but I’ll look better doing it.” Holli proceeded to trip over her high heels.
Salvatore: A pizza chef, Sal has maintained an impressive Italian twang despite having lived in America for 21 years. Why? “For woman. Girls like [my ridiculous accent] in America.” Sal, meet Holli. Holli, meet Sal. Sal and Holli, meet Hot Tub. Hot Tub, meet Airsick Bag.
Andrew: “When I win this competition, I’m gonna buy two walk-in coolers. That’s all I really want. Two. Walk-in. Coolers.” Christened by Gordo as “the Hell’s Kitchen Hannibal Lecter.” (Personally, I get more of an adorable, wannabe-sociopath Dwight Schrute vibe.) Farmer Andrew noted several times that his number one hobby is butchering animals. Viewers, I’m calling Andrew the (very) dark horse.
To kick off the first challenge, Gordo called up a bookish stay-at-home cookbook author with zero kitchen experience. She made a veal scallopini that looked like baby vomit, but earned her a “delicious.” “Relax! Relax!” Gordo said cheerily, massaging her shoulders with his brutish fingers before forcing himself upon her. Bookish Cookbook Mom pulled her face off, Tom Cruise-style, and revealed herself to be Mrs. Ramsay. “Job well done,” he told the Missus, hopefully referring to the scallopini.
The teams split up by gender. Holli’s “North Indian” food couldn’t impress Gordo, even with high heels thrown in. Jamie mixed a toothpick into her meal. Mikey and Siobhan had an awesome-hair faceoff: Mega-Hawk vs. Ginger Dreads. (GRimsy gave them both a point. I’m betting these two go far. Since Mikey’s Hell’s Kitchen tattoo indicates a zealot-level devotion to the show, I’m going to make a ridiculous wager that he wins it all.)
The boys beat the girls in a nail-biter. While the females licked their wounds and the males gave each other friendly backslaps, Gordo sweetened the deal by announcing the stakes: the winner of this season gets to be the Head Chef at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant at the Savoy Hotel in London. Everyone acted like this was incredible news. Jason: “In rap terms, that’s like Jay-Z!” (Which means the Savoy Hotel used to be cool, but it’s been super lame and corporate ever since it got married to a former member of Destiny’s Child.)
Now, a quick internet search informs me that the Savoy is currently closed. It’s supposed to reopen this year, but I like to imagine that Gordo is setting up these contestants for a horrifically depressing finale, where he drops off the winner in their new kitchen…and it’s a barren construction zone. Twist! Shyamalan!
The culinary gang retreated to the dorms for a night of studying. The Red Team (Ladies) studied good. The Blue Team (Guys) studied bad. A fire alarm went off. The cooks went into the lobby, and were assaulted by a video of Gordon Ramsay cooking Lobster Risotto. “Praise be to you, Chef Ramsay,” the chefs exclaimed, as they retreated to their bedrooms for quiet meditation. Cue the fire alarm, which went off again, and again, and again, throughout the night.
You have to love the gusto the HK narrator injects into lines like this: “After an exhausting night of lessons, the Red Team’s Sous-Chef Andi wakes her team earlier to inform them of their punishment for losing the signature dish challenge.” The punishment in question: serving the boys breakfast in bed. “Thanks, ladies!” said Salvatore. “Is this every morning thing?”
Finally, the anointed night arrived, and the cooking started. Some highlights:
-Stacey’s scallops did not pass muster. “I asked you to season them with curry powder, and you macerated them. You’re gonna blow someone’s mind off!” exclaimed Gordo.
-Benjamin accidentally dipped his tasting spoon back into the food. “You can’t stand there and eat the food, and dip all your BLEEPing slobber in there! I’m not serving that!”
-Fran, a 44-year-old with 30 years of experience, mixed crab in the lobster risotto. “Can someone explain to Fran what the BLEEP a lobster looks like!”
-Maria had a sudden giggle-attack. Gordo re-enacted the Goodfellas “How Am I Funny?” speech, and promptly kicked Jamie, Maria, and Fran out of the kitchen. Up in the dorm, Maria and Fran tried to one-up each other’s crazy confessional faces. Jamie demurely sipped some red wine. (Seems to me that she just got caught in the line of fire.)
-Mikey didn’t let the halibut cook, which led to the Gordo Nuclear Implosion of the night: “Raw f—ing halibut! Raw! RAAWWWW! RAW! F—! RAW!” Mikey was ultimately kicked out of the kitchen. “And get your f—ing hair done!”
-Salvatore and Benjamin were thrown out of the kitchen, one for cooking with a cold plate, one for making risotto without rice. Salvatore played the “He doesn’t like my accent” card, followed quickly by the “He doesn’t like Italians” card.
-Scott and Autumn both made moves to seize the leadership of their respective teams. The plan seemed to backfire: Mikey and Fran both seemed a bit miffed by their teammates’ attempt to assume control. When Gordo pulled a reverse-Solomon and mashed the two teams together, Ed instantly swooped in and assumed control of the chefs. He even earned a stamp of approval from Coach Ramsay: “Bring it together, Ed!” Ed’s leadership guided the team through the rest of the night. After it was all over, when everyone else was ready to faint, Ed simply said, “That was awesome.” Clear Frontrunner Alert!
Gordon Ramsay’s beautiful dream became a terrible reality. Dinner service was served. (Admittedly, considering that the Beef Wellington took about two hours, Gordo basically had to shackle them to their table.) The ladies lost, setting a bad track record early in the competition. I might have been wrong about Autumn: her nominations to go home were Fran and Stacey, and they were the team’s ultimate picks. It seems to me that Autumn is playing a dangerous game here: trying to seize political power makes sense in most gameshows, but it’s not that helpful when the competition is presided over by a roaring elephant-dragon with a thick Scot-Brit accent.
Fran couldn’t say how many legs a Lobster has: “I was a kosher chef.” But Fran’s not boring. (When Gordo asked, “Do you have any EXPLETIVE?!?!” she fired back at him, “I’ve got EXPLETIVE, Chef! I’ll show ‘em to you!” Graphic.) That meant Stacey, aka Nathan Lane’s favorite chef, was the first contestant sent home.
What’d you think of the premiere, viewers? Are there any other contestants who you thought showed a lot of promise? Are you excited to see how many more crazy faces Maria can make in the confessional booth? Can we all agree that every reality show would be better if there were more people in Mission Impossible-style disguises? Sound off below!

Bill Clinton returns to Haiti on recovery mission

LEOGANE, Haiti – Bill Clinton returned to Haiti on a new mission Tuesday to invigorate recovery from January's devastating earthquake and help millions end lives of poverty and danger.
On his first visit since becoming co-chairman of the committee overseeing more than $5.3 billion in international reconstruction aid, the former U.S. president visited the seaside town of Leogane, next to the Jan. 12 epicenter. Less than a fifth of its buildings survived, and thousands of residents are at risk from floods and high winds.
Clinton arrived on the first official day of hurricane season, with experts warning this year's could be intense because of warm Atlantic waters and a waning the El Nino effect.
Standing under a blazing sun a few yards from dozens of homeless people and their overheated shelters, Clinton said he was not happy with the pace of recovery so far but expressed optimism that conditions could rapidly improve.
"Our attitude is we want to do all this yesterday. But I do think that you will begin to see much, much more rapid activity," he told reporters, standing beside his co-chairman on the aid committee, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.
Probably the biggest outstanding need is shelter. Tarps are pitched in flood zones, aid groups have been slower to build transitional shelters than originally promised, and disagreements with owners over land rights have slowed efforts.
Meanwhile, more people are streaming into homeless camps because they can no longer pay rent or they need food, medical care and other aid. Camp populations are now estimated at 1.5 million, nearly double some of the earliest post-quake counts.
Clinton visited a trio of small, house-shaped shelters built by CHF International with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Aid workers plan to build 125,000 of the shelters at a cost of $1,300 each.
The tarp, steel and wood homes are quake- and hurricane-resistent but residents complained they get too hot inside.
"I'm going to see if there's any affordable solar-powered fans to put in there," Clinton said. He also discussed building communal shelters near camps to provide protection in the case of a hurricane or large storm.
Earlier Clinton proposed credit programs for small businesses at a meeting of community leaders and aid officials. The community leaders told him about areas still not receiving aid. Aid workers complained of conflicts over available space for relocation camps. He pledged to help both, by better coordinating the aid effort and negotiating with landowners.
The Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission was empowered under an 18-month emergency declaration by Parliament passed shortly before most members' terms expired and the body essentially dissolved. President Rene Preval has veto power over the commission's decisions.
During his four-hour visit, Clinton pledged $2 million from his personal foundation for recovery — $1 million for disaster preparedness and the rest to fund the commission's work. The Haitian government is putting up $1 million for the commission. Its first meeting is Wednesday, at the posh Punta Cana resort in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
The panel is viewed as a check on corruption and inefficiency and a guarantor of aid pledges. The funds the commission will oversee could equal Haiti's $7 billion annual gross domestic product. Many Haitians were pleased to see power taken away from a government that has lost their trust.
But others have doubts. On Tuesday, several hundred people in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, protested the commission as infringing on their sovereignty, hoisting signs that read "Down with Clinton" and "Down with Preval."
Clinton said the commission is not usurping the power of the state.
"I don't feel myself at odds with the Haitian government. I see that I'm an advocate for it," Clinton said.
The prime minister quickly echoed: "We need that help."
In Leogane the official motorcade zigzagged through the collapsed city center, kicking up dust on the cracked brick roads as U.N. peacekeepers from Sri Lanka guarded the way. Some locals shouted for joy when they spotted Clinton, but others barely gave the passing motorcade a passing glance.

Mathematical Genius Visualizes Numbers, Solves Problems in Blink of an Eye

On the outside, 31-year-old Daniel Tammet is an unremarkable young man. But behind Tammet's bookish exterior lies a superhuman gift: one of the most extraordinary brains our planet has ever seen. He is a mathematical genius, capable of astronomical calculations in the blink of an eye. And he's a gifted linguist, speaking nine languages, including one he created called Manti.
Daniel Tammet explains his unique ability to see numbers as shapes and colors.
Tammet says he was born with the ability to experience numbers in an exceptionally vivid way.
"The numbers are moving in my mind," he says. "Sometimes they're fast, sometimes they're slow. Sometimes they're dark. Sometimes they're bright. That emotion, that motion, that texture will be highly memorable for me."
The phenomenon is called synesthesia, a mixture of the senses that results in a heightened sensory experience. Tammet is able to see and feel numbers. In his mind's eye, every digit from zero to 10,000 is pictured as a 3-dimensional shape with a unique color and texture. For example, he says, the number fifteen is white, yellow, lumpy and round.
Watch the full story on "SuperHumans!" a special edition of "20/20" Tuesday, June 1 at 10 p.m. ET
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Synesthesia occurs when regions of the brain associated with different abilities are able to form unusual connections. In most people's brains, the recognition of colors, the ability to manipulate numbers, or language capacity all work differently in separate parts, and the information is generally kept divided to prevent information overload. But in synesthetes, the brain communicates between the regions.
Tammet doesn't need a calculator to solve exponential math problems such as 27 to the 7th power -- that's 27 multiplied by itself seven times -- he'll come up with the answer, 10,460,353,203, in a few seconds.
Tammet visualizes numbers in their unique forms and then melds them together to create a new image for the solution. When asked to multiply 53 by 131, he explains the solution in shapes and textures: "Fifty-three, which is round, very round...and larger at the bottom. Then you've got another number 131, which is longer a little bit like an hourglass. And there's a space that's created in between. That shape is the solution. 6,943!"
Tammet first discovered his mathematical abilities as a child, the eldest of nine children in his family in England.
"I learned to count, like anyone else, at a young age, and when I did I would see colors," he said. "I would see pictures in my mind. I assumed at the time that everyone saw numbers as I did."
Tammet didn't do math as it was taught in school. Instead, the answers just came to him.
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