Photo by Keith Allison
www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/

Source: People.com

The new cast of Dancing with the Stars was plucked from the headlines of show business and sports. It was announced on Monday that Chaz Bono, David Arquette and Kristin Cavallari will join legal analyst Nancy Grace and soccer star Hope Solo in pursuit of the mirror ball trophy on Season 13. The eleven-member lineup also includes George Clooney’s recent ex Elisabetta Canalis, NBA star Ron Artest, actress Ricki Lake, singer Chynna Phillips, reality star Rob Kardashian, Queer Eye’s Carson Kressley, and soap star and Iraqi war veteran J.R. Martinez. “Doing this show is an opportunity for me to reach a larger more mainstream audience with just a simple message of being transgender is okay and not something to be scared of,” Bono, the show’s first transgender contestant, says. Grace says she thought she was dreaming when she got the call to participate on the show. “I feel like Cinderella that got invited to the ball. I don’t know how to dance,” she admits. “I don’t know what I’m going to wear, but I know I have been invited!” Arquette says that when he asked his 7-year-old daughter Coco what she thought of him doing Dancing with the Stars, “She said, ‘Well, my initial thought is no.’” Laughing, he added, “I talked to her recently after I decided to do it and she said, ‘I’m all right with it.’” The contestants, whose professional dancer pairings will be announced Wednesday on Good Morning America, will square off on the live Sept. 19 season premiere.

Photo by Vivanista1
Source: TMZ.com

Denise Richards has turned down an offer to appear on the premiere episode of “Two and a Half Men,” because she thinks Charlie Sheen would make her life miserable. Sources connected with the production say producers offered Denise a guest starring role for the debut with Ashton Kutcher, but they say she told them she wouldn’t do it because “She would never hear the end of it from Charlie.”

 Photo by david_shankbone
Source: People.com

Kate Winslet’s tropical vacation turned terrifying early Monday morning when a fire broke out at Richard Branson’s Caribbean home where she and her family were staying. The actress, 35, her boyfriend, Louis Dowler, and her children Mia, 10, and Joe, 7, escaped, along with 16 other guests from the eight-bedroom Great House on Necker, Branson’s private island in the British Virgin Islands. Branson reported that the fire broke out around 4 a.m. during a tropical storm. His son Sam, 25, helped guests evacuate, and the house was “completely destroyed” by the fire. The cause of the inferno is still under investigation, but lightning is likely to blame. Winslet’s rep confirmed that the actress was unharmed. 

RICHARD BRANSON SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HOUSE FIRE AND THANKS KATE WINSLET FOR SAVING HIS 90 YEAR OLD MOM

Source: Radaronline.com

Richard Branson thanked Kate Winslet for saving his elderly mother’s life during house fire on Monday. “Many thanks to Kate Winslet for helping to carry my 90 year old mum out of the main house to safety,” Branson said. He also notes that his office was based in the house and that he has lost thousands of photographs and his notebooks. Thankfully, all 20 people escaped unharmed from the fire. “All family and friends are well – which in the end is all that really matters,” The Virgin boss said on his blog. Adding, “We will rebuild the house as soon as we can. We have a wonderful staff here and we want them to stay employed. There’s a lot of damage but we’ll create something even more special out of the ruins. Thanks again for all the kind messages you have sent – they mean a lot.  Currently just huddled up with family and friends in the continuing tropical storm realizing what really matters in life.”

Photo by asterix611

Source: TMZ.com

Beyonce just joined the growing list of A-listers performing at the upcoming MJ Tribute Concert in Wales, but unlike the rest of the line-up, she will be performing via satellite. Sadly, Beyonce couldn’t perform live due to scheduling issues.

Photo by americanistadechiapas
Source: People.com

After starring in the new horror movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Katie Holmes admits she’s afraid of the dark. “When I read the script, I was scared and I had to turn on all the lights in my house,” the actress, 32, says in regards to her latest horror film. Adding, “I thought I heard noises. And I held Suri really close.” Particularly putting Holmes on edge, she says, are the furry creepy crawlers in the movie, which is part of the reason why she now sleeps with the lights on.

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Photo by jode1115
Source: Radaronline.com

Sugarland performed at Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Hard Rock Pavilion Thursday night – it was the duo’s first performance since high winds caused a stage to collapse at the Indiana State Fair, killing five people and injuring more than 45 others. Taking the stage, the country duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush called for a moment of silence for the injured “and the beautiful lives that were lost.” With most of their set and musical instruments destroyed in the incident, the band played on a generic set with new instruments. “This incredible machine is more than a tour and more than a set,” the Grammy-winning pair said in a statement on their website Tuesday. “We have always celebrated music as a healer and while music cannot change the events and losses at the Indiana State Fair, it can hopefully serve as a ritual and a balm to provide comfort and facilitate healing in this time of great sorrow,” they said. Nettles posted an emotional statement after the tragedy happened, which read, “Moved by the great heroism as I watched so many brave Indianapolis fans actually run toward the stage to try and help lift and rescue those injured. Moved by the quickness and organization of the emergency workers who set up the triage and tended to the injured. There are no words to process a moment of this magnitude and gravity. There are only prayers for peace in the hearts of the bereft, and prayers of thanksgiving for those who were spared or safe,” Nettles wrote. “A piece of our heart is left in that grandstand.” Adding, “May God provide peace and healing to the people of Indianapolis.” The victims of the tragedy are: Alina Bigjohny, 23, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Christina Santiago, 29, of Chicago, Illinois; Tammy Vandam, 42, of Wanatah, Indiana; and Nathan Byrd, 51, and Glenn Goodrich, 49, both from Indianapolis, Indiana.

*Sadly, a sixth victim was added to list this morning (8/19/11) 22 year old Jenny Haskell.

Photo by bungledb
Source: The Hollywood Reporter 

Organizers have cancelled Belgium music festival Pukkelpop after a sudden storm killed at least 5 people and injured 40. “Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathize with the families and friends of the victims. Words are not enough,” the festival wrote on its homepage. Clouds darkened a sunny sky Thursday and turned into a furry. Within 10 minutes, strong winds had knocked down trees and torn down two of the festival stages as well as speakers and huge projection screens. Several trees were torn up by the roots. British artist, Skin, described it as the scariest moment he had ever seen or felt in his 20 years of being an artist.  The storm hit on the first day of the three-day Pukkelpop fest. Bands scheduled to play that have now cancelled included Eminem, The Foo Fighters and The Offspring.The Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Joel Madden and Chuck Comeau were among the many musical artists who Tweeted their condolences for the victims. Organizers have set up a Facebook page for people to pay their respects for the victims of the storm. But the festival denies it could have prepared better for the tragedy. “What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted,” organizers said. The Pukkelpop disaster is the fourth stage collapse at a music festival this summer and comes after a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair just before Sugarland was about to play.

Photo by Public Domain Photos
Source: New Miami Times

The alternative weekly’s Short Order food/restaurant blog has listed the worst celebrity tippers when it comes to dining. Tiger Woods ranked as the worst celebrity tipper, with LeBron James not far behind at No. 4. Tiger Woods says he doesn’t always tip well because he doesn’t carry cash. The blog also reveals an instance of where Woods “pulled a mulligan” by revoking an extra $5 from a waitress after “realizing he had tipped her earlier in the evening.” When it comes to LeBron James, the blog claims the basketball star once made a Cleveland steakhouse stay open until 4 in the morning so he could finish his feast. The bill: $800. The tip: $10. 

Here’s the complete list of Short Order’s top 10 cheapest celebrity tippers:

1. Tiger Woods, golfer

2. Madonna, singer/actress

3. Barbra Streisand, singer/actress

4. LeBron James, NBA player

5. Jeremy Piven, actor

6. Usher, singer

7. Mariah Carey, singer/”actress”

8. Sean Penn, actor/activist

9. Bill Cosby, actor/comedian

10. Racheal Ray, TV personality

The Train / Maroon 5 concert has been moved from the fairgrounds to Conseco field house for tonight’s show.  Both bands have generously donated all of their performance fees to the Fair Victim Assistance fund. In fact, everyone working tonight’s concert is donating their time and the management of Conseco Fieldhouse will also donate all of the concert proceeds to the fund. All told, estimates are that $500 thousand dollars will be raised tonight as Hoosiers come together in the face of tragedy to help one another.  If you can’t make it to tonight’s show, but would donate, click here