Trey Burke After Party: Watch How an NBA Lottery Pick Celebrates on Draft Night

The 2013 NBA draft was filled with nothing but surprises. It all started with the Cleveland Cavs shockingly taking Anthony Bennett over projected No. 1 pick NerlensNoel. After that pick, the draft turned into a frenzy.

One of the biggest names entering this year's draft, Trey Burke, was also a part of the madness. Drafted ninth by Minnesota Timberwolves, he was quickly traded to the Utah Jazz, a team in dire need of his services.

His night may have started with confusion but once he was officially with Utah, the young guard was ready to celebrate with his closest family members and friends. 

Watch now to view highlights from Trey's after party, and hear Trey and his family talk about the next chapter in his life.

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Senate Immigration Reform Bill Passes With Strong Majority

WASHINGTON -- The Senate passed a politically fraught immigration reform bill on Thursday that would give a path to citizenship to some of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., bringing them out of the shadows and preventing continued record deportations that have separated hundreds of thousands of families.

The bill passed 68 to 32, picking up all Democrats and 14 Republicans.

Undocumented immigrants and advocates in the crowd, many of them young so-called Dreamers, broke out into applause and chants of "yes we can!" after Vice President Joe Biden, who came to the Senate to preside over the proceedings, read the results. Senators in the bipartisan "gang of eight" that drafted the bill -- Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) -- patted each other on the back.

Just before the vote Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) dedicated the decision, in part, to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who worked for reform but never saw it signed into law.

"Senator Kennedy knew the day would come when a group of senators, divided by party, but united by love of country, would see this fight to the finish," Reid said. "So the day is today. And while I am sad that Senator Kennedy isn’t here to see history made, I know he is looking at us proudly and loudly."

Although sponsors didn't get to the 70 votes they hoped for, the full support from Democrats and addition of Republican votes was significant. McCain, Rubio, Flake and Graham were joined in voting "yes" by Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Jeff Chiesa (N.J.), Susan Collins (Maine), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Dean Heller (Nev.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).

The bill doesn't please everyone, but its passage is a victory for those who have been working on the issue for years and watched immigration reform fail six years ago. It addresses undocumented immigrants, legal immigration, border security, employer hiring and an entry-exit system so the government knows if foreign nationals leave the country when their visa expires. The path to citizenship is long -- likely 13 years or more -- and arduous, but advocates are thrilled that it would exist at all, given opposition from many Republicans and the failure of bills to carve out such a path in the past. Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, would be able to earn green cards in five years, as would some agricultural workers.

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was formally charged Wednesday afternoon with first-degree murder, more than a week after a body was found near his Massachusetts home.

Hernandez was also charged with several counts of unlawful possession of firearms and possessing a large-capacity firearm. A judge ordered him to be held without bail because of the murder charge.

"He orchestrated the crime from the beginning and took steps to conceal and destroy evidence," First Assistant District Attorney Bill McCauley told the court.

Wearing a white V-neck shirt, red sports shorts, and handcuffs in Attleboro District Court, Hernandez showed no emotion as prosecutors laid out a bruising account of what allegedly happened the night semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd was killed, citing what they say is surveillance camera footage, text messages, and witnesses who were working the overnight shift who heard gunshots as evidence. He wiped tears from his face at the very end of the arraignment.

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Deen Takes to ‘Today’ Show for Tearful Defense

Paula Deen insisted that she was not and never had been a racist, in a tearful interview on the “Today” show Wednesday morning.

Usually bubbly, Ms. Deen, a celebrity chef and frequent guest on the show, appeared tired and subdued as she faced both fans and critics, who have responded passionately since last week, when her deposition in a workplace-discrimination lawsuit came to widespread attention. In it, she admitted to using racist language, and tolerating racist jokes in one of her restaurants.

For the first time, she publicly referred to the plaintiff in the case, Lisa T. Jackson, the former manager at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House in Savannah, Ga. “There’s someone evil out there who saw what I had, and wanted it,” Ms. Deen said.

The show’s host, Matt Lauer, whom she stood up for a scheduled interview last Friday, tried to focus on the threat to her multimillion-dollar business empire of restaurants, products and endorsements, asking, “Are you here to stop the financial bleeding?” Ms. Deen said she disagreed with the recent decisions of the Food Network and Smithfield Foods to end their relationships with her and noted that QVC had not done so.

On Wednesday, Caesars Entertainment announced that it had severed ties with Ms. Deen by “mutual agreement.” There are Paula Deen-themed restaurants at Caesars properties in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and Illinois. “Caesars intends to rebrand the restaurants in the coming months,” the company said.

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Tough odds are the norm for Texas lawmaker Wendy Davis

The 50-year-old legislator overcame hardships as a single teenage mom to graduate from Harvard.

AUSTIN — Wendy Davis, the fearless state senator who became an Internet sensation with her filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill that ground the Texas Legislature to a halt, has faced tough odds all her life.

"She's a total fighter," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late Texas governor Ann Richards. "And the thing about Sen. Davis, she says she's going to do something, she gets it done."

The daughter of a single mom, Davis, 50, overcame her own hardships as a divorced teenage mother to graduate with honors from Harvard Law School.

At 19, Davis decided to become the first member of her family to go to college after hearing of a two-year paralegal program from a co-workers.

At the time, she was in a trailer park and raising her daughter by herself. "We were the working poor," she told The New York Times.

Davis clerked for a federal judge, practiced law and was CEO of a title company before getting into politics with her election to the Fort Worth City Council in 1999.

After unseating a longtime Republican incumbent in 2008 for state senator from Fort Worth, Davis, a Democrat, was named "Rookie of the Year" by Texas Monthlymagazine and was re-elected in 2012.

ABORTION LIMITS: Texas bill misses deadline

On Tuesday night, Davis' 10-hour filibuster of an abortion regulation bill came to an end when the chairman ruled she had gone off topic. Fifteen minutes before midnight, the Senate chamber's packed gallery erupted in raucous shouting, disrupting the proceedings and effectively killing the bill when the midnight deadline for passage came and went.

"I'm rising on the floor today to humbly give voice to thousands of Texans who are being ignored," she said when her speech began, later adding: "These voices have been silenced by a governor who made blind partisanship and personal political ambition the priority of our state."

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'They're going to kill me,' Michael Jackson told son

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson often cried after talking to AEG Live executives as he prepared for his comeback concerts, his oldest son testified Wednesday.

"After he got off the phone, he would cry," Prince Jackson testified. "He would say 'They're going to kill me, they're going to kill me.'"

His father told him he was talking about AEG LIve CEO Randy Phillips and his ex-manager, Dr. Tohme Tohme, Prince said.

Prince, 16, began his testimony Wednesday morning in his family's wrongful death lawsuit against Jackson's last concert promoter, AEG Live.

His first 30 minutes on the stand were filled with videos and photographs of Jackson with his children, but then the questioning by Jackson lawyer Brian Panish focused on the last weeks of his father's life.

Prince testified that Phillips visited Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion and spoke aggressively to Dr. Conrad Murray the night before his father's death.

"He was grabbing his elbow," Prince said. "It looked aggressive to me. He was grabbing by the back of his elbow and they were really close and he was making hand motions."

He couldn't hear what Phillips was saying to Murray, he said.

Michael Jackson was not there because he was at his last rehearsal, Prince said. He called his father from the security guard shack telephone to let him know Phillips was there. His father asked him to offer Phillips food and drink.

Prince said that was his last conversation with his father.

Prince was 12 when the pop icon died, but he said his father confided in him about whom he trusted and didn't trust and what he feared as he prepared for his comeback concerts.

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Who is Wendy Davis?

You know, the Fort Worth Democrat who stood for eleven hours to filibuster a bill in the Texas State Senate that would place new restrictions on abortion clinics and ban the practice after 20 weeks of pregnancy? Here’s what you need to know. [UPDATE: She stood long enough to kill the bill, Texas' Lieutenant Governor ruled at 3:01 a.m.]

She knows about single motherhood, and poverty. The 50-year-old Davis had to care for her three siblings at the age of 14 for her single mother, and became a single mother herself at the age of 19.

She knows the law. Davis became the first person in her family to graduate from college, with a degree from Texas Christian University and then Harvard Law School. She clerked, litigated, and spent a few years in the title insurance business before starting her own practice for federal and local government affairs, real estate, and contract compliance.


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Richard Matheson dies: A look back at his big-screen legacy

Science-fiction writer Richard Matheson died on Sunday at age 87, leaving a legacy of some of the best genre storytelling in literature, television and film.

Matheson’s prolific career includes dozens of novels and more than 100 short stories, not to mention screenplays for the big and small screens. Among Matheson’s works are “A Stir of Echoes,” “Ride the Nightmare” and his 1954 novel “I Am Legend” (on which no less than three movies were based, including the 2007 Will Smith feature), as well as many of “The Twilight Zone’s” most memorable episodes, such as “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” Matheson also wrote several Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, including “House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Raven,” for filmmaker Roger Corman.

Matheson had been scheduled to receive the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’ Visionary Award during the Saturn Awards on Wednesday. The award will be presented posthumously, and the event will now be dedicated to him.

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What Is Cutis Laxa? Zara Hartshorn, Teenager With Rare Genetic Disorder, Gets Facelift At 16

A British teenager with an inherited genetic disorder that has made her look middle-aged practically since she was a child says she is thrilled with the results of a pioneering facelift. Zara Hartshorn, 16, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was given a free facelift after a doctor heard of her condition, and she said the results have given her a new lease on life.

Hartshorn has endured a lifetime of being picked on and mistaken for someone twice her age due to an extremely rare genetic condition called cutis laxa. The University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Human Genetics defines it as “a disease of prematurely loose, redundant, inelastic and wrinkled skin.” In addition to causing loose skin, cutis laxa can also cause heart and lung problems, and weaken joints.

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Ouya Looks to Make a Dent in Game Console Market

Ouya, maker of a bite-sized game console that runs Google's Android operating system, wants to take a bite out the video game triumvirate of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

The console, which went on sale Tuesday for $100, lets players try games for free before buying them, a selling point Ouya (pronounced oo-yah) CEO Julie Uhrman often makes to underscore that gamers who use consoles made by "the big three" can't test games before they spend as much as $60 to purchase them.

"We are definitely disrupting the console market," Uhrman says. "I mean, there's been no startup that has had a meaningful impact on the market in decades, and we're the first. We offer something different."

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Missing red panda from National Zoo found in DC

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Twitter photo and phone tip from a resident helped animal keepers track down a red panda in a Washington neighborhood after it went missing from the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

The male named Rusty was captured Monday in a tree near a home in the Adams Morgan neighborhood Monday afternoon, said National Zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson. It had traveled across the leafy Rock Creek Park, perhaps crossing a road or under a creek bridge to reach a residential area nearly ¾ of a mile from the zoo.

Senior curator Brandie Smith said animal keepers surrounded the area where he was found and called Rusty's name to calm him before capturing him in a net.

"We just had to approach him carefully," she said. "We are surprised by the distance he was able to cover."

The animal was taken to the zoo's animal hospital for a checkup and will remain there for several days.

How Rusty escaped is still a mystery, though. Zoo officials began reviewing security footage Monday morning to see if there is any evidence of how he escaped or whether he may have been taken by a human and then set loose. No security cameras are pointed directly at the red panda exhibit, though, and the zoo plans to add more cameras.

Curators have cut back several long tree limbs that may have aided the skilled climber with the escape.

"There is no obvious point that Rusty could have gotten out of the enclosure," Smith said, adding that it had held red pandas for years. "We all know that young males like to test boundaries."

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Monica Lewinsky Negligee For Sale, But Not Infamous Blue Dress

Personal items, including a negligee, once owned by White House intern Monica Lewinsky and obtained during a federal investigation into her affair with President Bill Clinton are going on sale.

Among the letters and clothing items are an extra large black negligee and a large blue velour hoodie, but not the infamous blue dress, which played a role in proving the president and the intern had an inapropriate relationship in the 1990s.

The 32 items at one point belonged to Andy Bleiler, another married man with whom Lewinsky allegedly conducted an affair while she interned at the White House. In conducting his investigation into the president, special prosecutor learned of Lewinsky’s affair with Bleiler and took the items “to examine as potential evidence,” according to auction house Nate D. Sanders.

The lot is believed to be worth between $25,000 and $50,000. Online bidding concludes June 27. By Tuesday afternoon, the highest bid was $2,750.

In Photos: KFC’s Col. Sanders’ White Suit Fetches $21,510 and Other Pricey Auction Items

Many of the items, including a birthday card Lewinsky asked the president to write Bleiler, as well as White House Matches and chocolates, were given to Bleiler by Lewinsky as gifts.

Star “examined each of the items in this lot as evidence in [the] impeachment case against Bill Clinton,” Sanders said in a statement.

The items are currently owned by Kate Nason, Bleiler’s now ex-wife.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on perjury and obstruction of justice charges in 1998, but acquitted by the Senate and completed his term.

Lewinsky is currently believed to be living in the United Kingdom. Emails to her known representatives were not immediately returned.

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Blackhawks return to Chicago champions again

The greatest -- or at the least the most publicly accessible -- victory lap in all of sports has picked up where it left off three years ago, with the Blackhawks trotting the Stanley Cup around Chicago as the city celebrates its second NHL championship since 2010. 

And this time the fans are ready.

Hundreds waited behind fences at O'Hare International Airport to welcome the bleary-eyed team home from Boston. The team plane carrying the Blackhawks and their championship trophy touched down shortly after 4 a.m., taxiing between fire trucks shooting water into the air and coming to rest in front of a small throng of fans. 

Players mingled briefly with supporters but did not address the media before boarding a team bus. Just as they did three years ago, the players stopped first at Harry Caray's in Rosemont to celebrate with their families. Roughly 1,000 fans dressed in bright-red Hawks gear waited outside the Italian steakhouse hoping to catch a glimpse of the team. 

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Michael Jackson Death Anniversary: Remembering The King Of Pop 4 Years After His Untimely Death

It's been four years since Michael Jackson died, on June 25, 2009, from cardiac arrest caused by a lethal combination of prescription drugs. His death, later ruled a homicide, shocked fans and musicians across the world.

Jackson rose to fame in 1964 as the youngest member of his family's Motown group, the "Jackson 5," and continued to dominate the music industry with best-selling hits such as "Thriller," "Billie Jean" and "Beat It."

Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael Jackson II, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson.

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George Lucas marries Mellody Hobson

The longtime loves tied the knot at Skywalker Ranch.

You know the Force will be with these two.

Star Wars powerhouse George Lucas and CBS News finance and economy analyst Mellody Hobson exchanged vows on Saturday at his famous Skywalker Ranch, confirms Amy Miller, a rep for Lucas. Bill Moyers officiated the ceremony and former Senator Bill Bradley walked Hobson down the aisle.

"Let's give a Galactic shout out to Master George Lucas & his bride Melodie on this, their wedding day," tweeted Samuel L. Jackson.

And Ron Howard tweeted that their ceremony "was a joy to behold." He added, "Bill Moyers service was beautiful, nothing short of profound. Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Lucas."

Lucas, 69, and Hobson, 44, got engaged in January, after dating since 2006.

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Jodie Sweetin splits from third husband

The 'Full House' star married Marty Coyle in March 2012.

Full House star Jodie Sweetin, 31, has filed for separation to end her third marriage.

She filed documents Monday in Los Angeles seeking a legal separation from husband Morty Coyle, reports TMZ. They married in March 2012.

According to the court papers, Sweetin wants their 2000 Toyota Avalon, and she's asking they split their $200 Kohl's credit card balance.

Sweetin, who detailed her troubled past and her battles with meth and alcohol problems in a 2009 memoir, and Coyle have a daughter, Beatrix, 2, together.

Sweetin also has a daughter, Zoie, 5, with ex-husband Cody Herpin. Her first marriage was to Shaun Holguin. It lasted from 2002 to 2006.

On Monday, the day she filed papers, Sweetin tweeted: "Hope you are all having an awesome Monday! A new week, a new beginning :)."

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Remembering Richard Matheson

Yesterday, we learned that the great Richard Matheson, who helped bring an amazing maturity and cleverness to fabulist storytelling, had passed away. His longtime editor, Greg Cox, shared with us some remembrances of his collaborations with the grandmaster.

Top image: I Am Legend concept art.

Over the years, I’ve preached the gospel of Richard Matheson to anyone who would listen. There’s a spiel I used to do at Tor sales conferences, whenever we were presenting a new Matheson title, which went something like this:

“Even if you’ve never read one of his books or stories, or recognize his name, you know Richard Matheson. It was impossible to grow up in America and the world without being exposed to his work. The gremlin on the wing of the plane? Matheson. That Star Trek episode where Kirk split into two people? Matheson. The Incredible Shrinking Man, Somewhere in Time, Duel, The Night Stalker, What Dreams May Come? Matheson. That new robot boxing movie? Matheson.”

And that’s not even mentioning all those cool old Vincent Price movies he scripted for Roger Corman. Or the story that was turned into an episode of Family Guy. (Really.) Or all times his work has been parodied on The Simpsons. It was almost impossible to imagine what the genre would be like without his many, many contributions.

Richard and I began working together in 1992, when I eagerly volunteered to edit his new novel,Seven Steps to Midnight, which had just been acquired by Tor. I confess to being a bit intimidated at first. Richard was a living legend who had literally been writing classics before I was born. Heck, I had celebrated my high school graduation by seeing The Legend of Hell House at a Seattle movie theater and had been arguing for years that I Am Legend was the most important vampire novel since Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But I soon discovered that Richard was anything but intimidating. In the twenty-plus years we worked together, he was always remarkably soft-spoken, courteous, and open to editorial suggestions. He was no prima donna.

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Rusty the red panda is eating well, sleeping well, officials report

Fresh off his caper on the streets of Northwest Washington, Rusty the red panda is showing signs of good health, officials at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo said Tuesday morning.

“Rusty is sleeping well, eating well, hydrating well and — this is probably too much information — he’s pooping well,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson reported cheerily. “I spoke to the vet this morning and she said Rusty is ‘bright and alert.’”

Rusty, one of two red pandas at the National Zoo, disappeared from his enclosure sometime between 6 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 a.m. Monday. By 8 a.m., alarms had been sounded and a city-wide panda hunt began.

Finally, around lunchtime Monday, a woman spotted Rusty on the run in Adams Morgan. She tweeted some photos and called the zoo, which sent animal curators to scour the area. Rusty was captured shortly after 2 p.m. and taken to the zoo’s animal hospital where he could be examined.

“One of our concerns was, did he eat anything funky?” Baker-Masson said. A hearty appetite and regular bowel movements indicate that Rusty didn’t ingest anything toxic. “We care a lot about poop around here, with good reason,” Baker-Masson said with a chuckle.

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Between the Lines of the Voting Rights Act Opinion

The decision in Shelby County v. Holder revolves around Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which establishes a "coverage formula" to determine which states and local governments fall under Section 5, and therefore need to get approval before changing their voting laws. The justices ruled that Section 4 is unconstitutional, and that the formula used for decades — revised and extended several times by Congress — can no longer be used to establish those "preclearance" requirements: "The conditions that originally justified these measures no longer characterize voting in the covered jurisdictions."

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Antoni Gaudí: a doodle for the master architect of the Sagrada Familia

The Catalan architect's iconic buildings have left an indelible mark on Barcelona as work continues on his masterpiece

Antoni Gaudí's 161st birthday is celebrated with a Google doodle. Photograph: Other/Google

Google's latest doodle celebrates the 161st birthday of Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect whose iconic buildings have left an indelible mark on Barcelona.

Gaudí, who met his untimely death under the wheels of a city tram in 1926, took with him to the grave his vision for his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia church.

Work continues on the vast Roman basilica and visitors flock to Barcelona every year to see it and his other works, including Park Guell, a steep garden complex with architectural elements and Casa Batllo, a mansion on the city's Passeig de Gracia.

Research suggested in 2011 that Gaudí used the garden of a psychiatric hospital as a testing ground for his revolutionary designs, with the patients serving as his artisans. The grounds of the hospital at Sant Boi, south of Barcelona, are littered with Gaudí-esque constructions, the most outstanding of which is a bench similar to those in Park Guell, finished with broken tiles in a style known as trencadis that was pioneered by Gaudí.

The relative crudeness of the work had previously suggested that the works were copies, but research published in the magazine Sapiensshowed that they pre-date Gaudí's signature buildings and were in fact prototypes for features in Park Guell, the Sagrada Familia and the nearby Colonia Guell, all of which Gaudí was working on at the time.

While Gaudí was part of the art nouveau movement, he was also a revolutionary structural engineer. He made an upside-down model of the Sagrada Familia to test his structural theory, which he then tested in practice when he built Colonia Guell.

Known as "God's architect", Gaudí's deep Catholic faith has left admirers lobbying the Vatican to have him beatified.

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KATE UPTON SUPER TOPLESS ... On a Horse

Here's video of Kate Upton topless ... all the way topless ... on a horse.

You're welcome.

Now for some background: The video was taken during a recent modeling shoot ... Kate begins the session in the hopes she can keep her breasts covered by her hand -- but quickly realizes, there's just no way.

Eventually, she lets the girls loose ... and it's everything we always hoped it would be.

Unfortunately, we can't show you the completely uncensored version

Producer of Discovery show Naked and Afraid claims it is not 'exploitative' to film contestants nude but that it creates a 'pure survival experience'

An executive producer behind new reality show Naked and Afraid - which involves contestants being dropped in the jungle without food, water or clothing - has said that nudity on the program was never mean to be 'exploitative'. 

Each week, a new pair of complete strangers - one man and one woman - find themselves stranded in and, quite literally, exposed to some of the world's most extreme weather environments. 

An executive producer on the Discovery show, which started last Sunday, explained that the nudity on the show is not exploitative but merely part of creating a realistic wilderness experience.

Scroll down for video

Grimy: The contestants on Naked and Afraid had never met before being teamed up to survive in the jungle. Kim Shelton and Shane Lewis can't hide their exhaustion

Survival of the fittest: Nude castaways star on Discovery's Naked and Afraid. 

When asked if she thought that nudity would get more people watching the show, Discovery producer Denise Contis told salon.com: 'Well, we didn’t develop the show to be exploitative, ever. 

'We always developed it with our filter being ''how do we protect and it make it a pure survival experience?'''

The contestants private parts are blurred when the show is broadcast. 

Naked and Afraid is billed as taking 'survival of the fittest' to the next level - and dubbed 'the Everest of survival challenges'.

Each duo is left high and dry with no food, no water and and no clothes. They must survive on their own for a full 21 days, with nothing but one personal item each.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2347815/Creators-Discovery-Naked-Afraid-claim-exploitative.html#ixzz2XCTxNKoC
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'Juno' star Ellen Page says video game 'ripped off' her likeness

Ellen Page doesn't appreciate having her likeness appropriated in the recent zombie video game "The Last of Us," the actress revealed in a Reddit AMA on Sunday.

If you've played Sony and Naughty Dog's new masterpiece of a zombie video game "The Last of Us," you might have noticed that one of the main characters, a 14-year-old girl named Ellie, bears an uncanny resemblance to "Juno" and "Inception" star Ellen Page. Apparently, Page herself noticed the similarity too. And as she explained in a Reddit AMA this past Sunday, she's not happy about it.

"I guess I should be flattered that they [Naughty Dog] ripped off my likeness," she wrote in response to a question about her feelings toward "The Last of Us" and her similarities with the character Ellie. "But I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond: Two Souls, so it was not appreciated."
The game that Page mentioned she is acting in is another highly anticipated title that Sony is producing exclusively for the PlayStation 3 console. Due out in early October, "Beyond: Two Souls" is also set to be released just four months after "The Last of Us" first appeared on the PS3.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Actress Ellen Page arrives at the premiere of IFC Midnight's 'Super' at the Egyptian Theatre on March 21, 2011 in Hollywood, California.

While this doesn't necessarily mean that the "Beyond" developer, the French studio Quantic Dream, is necessarily in cahoots with its fellow PS3-exclusive developer Naughty Dog, the movie buff in me has to wonder if it's really possible thatnobody at Sony could have noticed that the company was publishing two games featuring remarkably similar-looking (and sounding) female protagonists right at the end of its current-generation console's life-span.

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Essential or irrelevant? Zimmerman prosecutor fights to reveal previous calls to cops

A Florida judge will decide Tuesday whether calls George Zimmerman made to a police dispatcher in the months before he killed Trayvon Martin can be admitted as evidence.

A jury on Monday afternoon heard one of the calls to a non-emergency police number, in which Zimmerman previously reported a suspicious person in his neighborhood — before the defense objected and said it was irrelevant.

Prosecutors said the prior calls would give the jury insight into Zimmerman’s state of mind when he encountered Martin in a gated community of Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012.

Judge Debra Nelson called a recess in the trial to give both sides to prepare arguments about whether the jury can hear and consider the calls in deciding Zimmerman’s fate.

While the defense contends that the prior calls have nothing to do with the issue at hand, prosecutor Richard Mantei said the calls support a case about Zimmerman's state of mind -- important for proof of second degree murder, which in Florida requires proving a so-called "depraved mind."

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Portage Central and Northern see drop in ACT, MME scores for 2013

PORTAGE, MI -- About 26 percent of students in Portage Public Schools' Class of 2014 recently tested as fully "college-ready" compared to 31 percent of the Portage Class of 2013 when they were tested last year.

The drop in test scores was evident almost across the board at Portage Northern and Central highs schools, based on an analysis of results from the 2013 Michigan Merit Exam, which is administered to high school juniors in March. The MME includes the ACT college entrance exam.

On Monday, the Michigan Department of Education released three sets of results: Passage rate on the MME, which is the state assessment test; average scores on the ACT, and "college-readiness" numbers, which is the percent of students who scores at or above the ACT college-readiness benchmarks in math, reading, science and English.

The good news for Portage: Results for Central and Northern remain well above the state average, and both high schools are among the top performers in southwest Michigan.

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However, Central High School did not improve its ACT scores or MME passage rates in any subject. Northern fared a little better, improving its MME passage rate in math and science and its ACT results in English.

By contrast, Community High School -- Portage's alternative program -- improved its results across the board, although those scores are considering below the state average. In fact, none of the Community High students tested as college-ready in all four subjects, although that is not unusual for alternative education programs.

Statewide, the passage rate on the MME was down slightly, while most ACT results were up slightly.

Among the highlights of the Portage data:

• Compared to Central, Portage Northern had the better results in terms of MME passage rates. That's a change from last year, when Central outperformed Northern. This year, Central saw its passage rate on the MME reading test drop from 75 to 64 percent and its passage rate on the MME social studies test drop from 61 to 49 percent.

•  However, on average ACT scores, Central did slightly better than Northern this year, which was also true last year.

• In terms of college-readiness in math, English, science and social studies, Central once again outpaced Northern, even though both schools saw some big drops compared to 2012. College-readiness in science dropped from 42 to 35 percent at Central and from 42 to 33 percent at Northern. College-readiness in math dropped from 57 to 49 percent at Central, while Northern stayed about the same at 48 percent.

• Overall on college readiness, 28 percent of Central students and 25 percent of Northern students tested as college ready in all four academic subjects, compared to 35 and 29 percent respectively in 2012.

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Singer Bobby "Blue" Bland has died at the age of 83, his son said Monday.

Bland's son Rodd told CNN that failing health had forced his dad off the stage earlier this year. "He had a hole in his stomach that had become tumorous, and it was emptying into his bloodstream."

He said Bland passed away from natural causes at his home in Germantown, Tennessee. "He was in my arms," his son said. "But I'm not going to lie. I could have used at least 20 more years."

A website in Bland's name credits the singer with being "one of the main creators of the modern soul-blues sound."

"He never b**ched about not getting his due," said his son, who formerly was a drummer in his father's band. "When I took him to Beale Street for ribs and catfish, fans would come up to him. He was always courteous, polite and kind. And humble. That's what I admired."

Bland's song "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" was sampled on Jay-Z's 2001 album, "The Blueprint."

According to his website, Bland was born in 1930 in Rosemark, Tennessee, outside Memphis. He began his career singing with a gospel group before joining the blues group the Beale Streeters, which included such future stars as B.B. King, Junior Parker and others.

Bland was drafted into the Army in 1952. After his release from the service in 1954, he resumed his musical career as a solo act and established a long-term professional relationship with Duke Records. Soon he had hits racing up the R&B charts, including "I Pity the Fool" and "That's the Way Love Is."

Bland often toured with his former bandmate King, and King was on hand to help induct the singer into the Rock and Roll Hall of Famein 1992.

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Supreme Court raises bar for affirmative action in college admissions

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed affirmative action to survive in college admissions but imposed a tough legal standard, ruling that schools must prove there are “no workable race-neutral alternatives” to achieve diversity on campus.

While the ruling was not a sweeping pronouncement on the future of affirmative action, it amounts to a warning to colleges nationwide that the courts will treat race-conscious admissions policies with a high degree of skepticism.

By a 7-1 vote, with one justice recusing herself, the court sent a case about the University of Texas admissions policy back to a federal appeals court for review, and directed the appeals court to apply an exacting legal standard known as strict scrutiny.

The case was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white woman who applied to the university in 2008 and was denied, and claimed that her constitutional rights and federal civil rights laws were violated.

“I am grateful to the justices for moving the nation closer to the day when a student’s race isn't used at all in college admissions,” Fisher said in a statement.

The appeals court sided with the university. But the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court did not hold the university to the “demanding burden of strict scrutiny.” Instead, the lower court “presumed that the school had acted in good faith” and required Fisher to show otherwise, the high court found.

While the ruling was favorable to Fisher, civil rights advocates were “really breathing a sigh of relief,” said Tom Goldstein, the publisher of SCOTUSblog and a Supreme Court analyst for NBC News.

“There was the potential that the justices would issue a really major ruling headed in a conservative direction, limiting or eliminating affirmative action,” he said on MSNBC. “Instead the justices did something more modest.”

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Armie Hammer Jokes About Working With Co-Star Johnny Depp

Armie Hammer & Johnny Depp star as vigilante cohorts in ‘The Lone Ranger,’ due in theaters July 3. At the L.A. premiere, HollywoodLife.com spoke with Armie and he revealed why he loved working alongside Johnny!


What’s it really like to work with Johnny Depp? Well, The Social Network’s Armie Hammer talked to HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY at the L.A. premiere of The Lone Ranger and he joked around about his legendary co-star!


Armie’s Take On Tonto

Johnny’s back on Disney turf in The Lone Ranger, starring as spiritual Native American warrior Tonto who joins up with the Lone Ranger (Hammer) to fight for justice in the American West.

His crime-fighting partner, Armie, told us what it was like to work with Mr. Depp:

Terrible! Hated it, hate him and never want to see him again in my life! No, it was great!

Oh, Armie. Such a jokester! We’re sure these two stars got along great as they filmed this epic adventure.

When we saw the first picture producer Jerry Bruckheimer tweeted back in 2012 of the crime-fighting duo, we could barely contain our excitement for the film. Armie and Johnny were spot-onin their looks of the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

The Lone Ranger is to be released July 3 — just in time for the Independence Day weekend. What better to celebrate America that a swashbuckling tale of the Wild West?

What do you think about Armie’s comments about co-star Johnny? Will you go see The Lone Ranger? Let us know what you think!

WATCH: ‘The Lone Ranger’ Trailer

Would you eat a 'Dexter' cupcake?

I dig Dexter. I crave cupcakes. But would I bite into a sweet treat inspired by Showtime's serial killer?

Hmm, I'm not so sure ...

Today Showtime announced the arrival of a special cupcake created in partnership with Magnolia Bakery. The red velvet Dexter cupcake is "spattered with caramel 'blood' and sugar 'glass' shards." I'm including an image, which looks both appetizing and disturbing.

If this sounds like it's exactly what your season-premiere viewing party needs, note that you can purchase the cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery locations (in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) and on Sho.com. They're only available until June 30, so act fast.

Dexter's new season premieres June 30 at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. Expect lots of blood — and not the caramel variety ...

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Nadal Loses to 135th-Ranked Player in the First Round

WIMBLEDON, England — Relentlessly competitive and ultimately unbeatable on the red clay at the French Open, Rafael Nadal could not win so much as a set on the grass at Wimbledon this year.

It was the first time Nadal, the great Spanish champion, had lost in the first round in singles at a Grand Slam event, and his unlikely tormentor on Court 1 on Monday was Steve Darcis, a Belgian veteran ranked just 135th who spent part of this season competing in the minor leagues of professional tennis, the challenger circuit.

But against the fifth-seeded Nadal, the flashy Darcis was too much to handle, producing winners with his forehand, timely first serves and defense off the full stretch that often appeared to catch Nadal by surprise on the slick grass that is part of the equation on opening day at Wimbledon.

In the end, Darcis’s 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory seemed surprisingly straightforward, almost shockingly so, for what was one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history. It was also the second year in a row that Nadal had given an aggressive outsider a chance to make a bigger name for himself.

“Nobody was expecting me to win today,” Darcis said.

A year ago, Nadal was beaten in the second round by the 100th-ranked Czech Lukas Rosol on Centre Court, with the fifth set being played under the closed roof. Nadal, because of knee problems, did not play another match for seven months before returning in February.

It has been a remarkably successful comeback, with Nadal winning seven of the nine tournaments he had played before Wimbledon, including his eighth French Open little more than two weeks ago. But in an attempt to protect his left knee, he played all but one of those nine tournaments on clay.

Though he had originally planned to play a warm-up tournament on grass in Halle, Germany, he withdrew from that event and elected to spend the week resting in Majorca instead. He arrived at Wimbledon last Tuesday and was unable to make up for missed grass-court matches.

“Obviously I wanted to play,” Nadal said of Halle. “But today, yes, we cannot come back. We cannot come two weeks before. That’s what happened. I didn’t have that chance. I tried my best. Was not possible. That’s all I can say, just congratulate the opponent. At the end, it’s not a tragedy. That is sport.”

It was an inadvertent echo of a long-ago quote from Boris Becker when he was stunned in the second round of Wimbledon by the Australian journeyman Peter Doohan in 1987: “No one died out there,” Becker said. “I just lost a tennis match.”

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Jurors hear F-bomb, knock-knock joke as George Zimmerman murder trial begins

The prosecutor cursed and the defense attorney told a joke as both sides laid out opening arguments in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, the man who killed Florida teen Trayvon Martin in what his lawyers say was self-defense and authorities say was a case of fatal profiling.

The all-female jury of six took in both unconventional statements, alternately stunned, taking notes and at times appearing to nod in agreement. Jaws in the jury box dropped when prosecutor John Guy electrified the courtroom with a short, but profanity-laced and impassioned argument that sought to paint the defendant as an angry and out-of-control vigilante who was stalking Martin when he shot the teen in the gated community in Sanford, where he lived.

“F---ing punks,” prosecutor John Guy said in open court, quoting Zimmerman's own words to a non-emergency police dispatcher. “These a--holes, they always get away.”

The language -- rare for open court -- appeared to stun the six female jurors who must decide whether Zimmerman shot and killed the 17-year-old African-American teen in self defense, or if he stalked the youth and provoked the deadly 2012 confrontation.

“And excuse my language, but those were his words, not mine.”

- Florida Prosecutor John Guy

“Those were the words in that grown man’s mouth as he followed, in the dark, a 17-year-old boy who he didn’t know,” continued Guy, as jurors in the Florida courtroom listened intently, some taking notes. “And excuse my language, but those were his words, not mine.”

When Guy said Zimmerman "made a decision that brought us all here today," the juror identified as E6 nodded her head in apparent agreement

Zimmerman appeared to show no emotion inside the courtroom as Guy made his statements.

Guy discounted the expected defense version of events, that Zimmerman was on the losing end of a violent confrontation and pulled his registered gun in self-defense, calling it a "tangled web of lies." 

The prosecutor said Martin had no blood or DNA from Zimmerman on his hands or under his fingernails, and he wrapped up his statements in about a half-hour, telling jurors Zimmerman "did not shoot [Martin] because he had to, but because he wanted to."

Don West followed with opening statements on behalf of Zimmerman, offering a knock-knock joke that fell flat before the stone-faced jurors.

"Who's there?" West said. "George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Okay, good. You're on the jury."

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