Sunday, February 19, 2012
Niall also gives us a valuable biology lesson...
The combination of One Direction and Friday Download is enough to make us thank the God of All that is Good and Pure, especially after seeing this latest video.
It features the boys and their usual tomfoolery (amazing word), Zayn dances, it’s awkward – quelle shock.
But what really caught our eye and made our ovaries flutter was a moment between Larry Stylinson after Louis won a thumb war. It was intense.
It features the boys and their usual tomfoolery (amazing word), Zayn dances, it’s awkward – quelle shock.
Whitney Houston's journey 'home' ends
For complete coverage of Whitney Houston's death, tune in to CNN and HLN.
Newark, New Jersey (CNN) -- Whitney Houston's
journey "home" ends with a private burial in New Jersey on Sunday as
questions persist about what caused the superstar's death.A crowd gathered at the entrance to Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, south of Newark, where Houston's body arrived at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield late Sunday morning. She was laid to rest next to her father in the cemetery, located south of Newark.
Her burial brings an end to her "coming home," as her family dubbed the invitation-only memorial service held a day earlier at her childhood church in Newark.
The family-only burial is in contrast to the emotionally-charged, star-studded memorial service held at New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston, nicknamed "Nippy," was soloing in the junior choir by age 11.
Witnessing Whitney Houston's success
Fans remember Whitney
So it was fitting that the mourners -- comforted and encouraged by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and R. Kelly -- heard the simple, but powerful, "Jesus Loves Me," this time performed by CeCe Winans.
The mourners inside the church represented an amalgamation of Houston's life, from childhood friends to gospel singers, from music stars to movie stars.
"You literally felt like this was just a girl from New Jersey who had a few famous friends, and it was such a celebration of life," CNN producer Raelyn Johnson, who attended the funeral, said Sunday.
"It is the same church service that will go on in so many churches across the country this morning ... and it was celebration, it was singing, it was praise for three hours." Johnson said. "And it wasn't until the very end that you remembered that this was a funeral and a very sad day for a lot of people."
Kevin Costner, who cast Houston in her first role alongside him in "The Bodyguard," recalled how she questioned whether she was good enough, beautiful enough to be cast in the film.
"It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble in the end," he said.
For her closest friends inside the church, and strangers who continue to draw inspiration from her voice, Costner's words hit a painfully honest note about human frailty.
Years after "The Bodyguard" hit theaters, reports of Houston's struggles with drug addiction and a rocky marriage with Bobby Brown surfaced and her album sales declined.
"The inexplicable burden that comes with fame," Costner said. "Call it doubt. Call it fear. I've had mine. I know the famous in the room have had theirs."
Costner said Houston's own story could help a new generation of young girls who dream big.
"Maybe they're thinking they aren't good enough," he said. "I think Whitney would tell you: Guard your bodies. Guard the precious miracle of your life. Then sing your hearts out, knowing that there's a lady in heaven who's making God himself wonder how He created something so perfect."
One of the most emotional moments in the service came when Keys recalled how Houston helped her and others achieve success.
"She reached back to so many people; she reached back to me, to Monica and Brandy ... and just made us feel strong and capable and loved," she said.
Keys ended her tribute to Houston by singing "Send Me an Angel," her voice soaring into the rafters of the sanctuary.
Oprah Winfrey, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Spike Lee were among those who attended.
"It wasn't until the very last moment that you pinched yourself and said, 'There's Oprah Winfrey with a face full of tears, there's Tyler Perry with a face full of tears," said Johnson, recalling the moment that Houston's casket was carried out of the church. "It all really sunk in and got really, really heavy."
Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, also arrived at the service but left soon after. Brown walked by Houston's casket with his head down before the service began and then left. Brown accused security of treating his family badly and barring him from visiting with his daughter, an account that Houston's family denied.
Brown was expected to attend with two guests but showed up with 10 people and sat in a section reserved for family, a close friend of the Houston family told CNN on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
When Brown refused to reseat his entourage to make room for Houston's mother, the family asked police to intervene, the family member said.
Mourners heard only a few indirect references to her personal battles.
A close family friend told CNN recently that Houston had not used "hard drugs" for several years. Investigators are examining prescription drugs found in her hotel room.
At the time of her death, Houston was in the Los Angeles area for the annual Grammy Awards and was to attend a party hosted by her longtime mentor and record producer, Clive Davis. She was discovered dead in her hotel suite at the upscale Beverly Hilton.
Investigators are contacting doctors and pharmacies across the country, seeking answers about prescriptions found in Houston's hotel room and whether they played a role in her death, a source with knowledge of the investigation recently told CNN. The source spoke on condition of anonymity citing the ongoing investigation.
Houston's death certificate is only fueling speculation after coroners deferred making a determination as to the cause of death pending the outcome of toxicology tests.
The investigation also sparked questions on her behavior during her final days, with authorities examining video from her television appearances as well as other reports to determine her physical state leading up to her death on the eve of the Grammy Awards, the source said.
Syria: Bashar al-Assad's 'ghost gangs' that haunt Damascus
President Bashar al-Assad enforces his control of Damascus using an army of thuggish corner boys to kidnap, torture, beat up and menace residents suspected of sympathies to the rebels.
Derived from the Arabic for "ghost", the word Shabiha has come to
embody the latest repressive twist of Syria's
minority dictatorship.
In neighbourhoods such as Moaddemiya, a rebellious suburb near the capital
brutality meted out by the Shabila has become a powerful source of fear.
A video from there shows Shabiha, who are mostly recruited from the
president's Alawite sect, standing above bloodied corpses. "Say Bashar
al Assad and the Alawites will forever rule," said a man in the video,
moving the jaw of the corpse with his shoe.
The Shabiha are armed, and paid a daily rate of 2000 Syrian pounds, with extra
for working on Friday, the weekend day when the largest demonstration has
traditionally taken place.
"They have weapons and a licence to kill," said Omar al Khani of
the Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union. "The government brings these
gangs to protests.
"Most are recruited by the intelligences services. They are given a free
hand to do what they want. If they kill for job no questions are asked,"
added Khani. "It is the policy of the Free Syrian Army to kill the
Shabiha,"
Faced with a nationwide uprising it has failed to quash, the regime is unrestrained in its attacks on the civilians who seek to cast off its control. Yesterday it was reported that victims of unrelenting shelling on the Baba Amr district of beseiged Homs were being treated by a vetinary surgeon. The only medical professional administering life saving treatment to the wounded was relying on his knowledge of sheep anatomy to those brought to his makeshift field hospital.
In the capital the battle lines are not yet drawn in such stark definition. For the most part the Shabiha lounge in Damascene streets, monitoring passers-by and keeping a tally of local movements.
But their patrols frequently take a sinister turn, especially in the capital's hostile suburbs.
A group of Moaddemiya women recounted a litany of terrors the Shabiha has inflicted on the community.
"They imprisoned Nasser Serir, a peace activist for six months. Five days after he was released, a gang broke into his home and shot him in front of his children and his mother. They pushed his body from the balcony of the second floor apartment," said 'Obeida', a middle aged women.
"Two weeks ago they entered into a family friend's home. They held the men at gunpoint and trampled on them," interjected 'Hala'. "They punched the handicapped son in the stomach. Really, you cannot imagines these things!" The day before, a group had arrested her 60 year old father said Bola, a student in the group. Insisting that he had never before been to an anti-government protest, she said she could not fathom why he was taken.
"He was leaving the mosque after praying. He is a peaceful man, he is frightened of the security forces," she said. "I cannot go to him. If I did they might take me too," added Bola.
The Shabiha, which the international community has long condemned as outsourcing oppression, are not always easy to discern, said Damascus residents. "They give them military uniforms so that people cannot differentiate between them and the army. Some of the soldiers are very kind, but if you want to speak one in the street you should know if they are Shabeha or military," warned Obeida.
Faced with a nationwide uprising it has failed to quash, the regime is unrestrained in its attacks on the civilians who seek to cast off its control. Yesterday it was reported that victims of unrelenting shelling on the Baba Amr district of beseiged Homs were being treated by a vetinary surgeon. The only medical professional administering life saving treatment to the wounded was relying on his knowledge of sheep anatomy to those brought to his makeshift field hospital.
In the capital the battle lines are not yet drawn in such stark definition. For the most part the Shabiha lounge in Damascene streets, monitoring passers-by and keeping a tally of local movements.
But their patrols frequently take a sinister turn, especially in the capital's hostile suburbs.
A group of Moaddemiya women recounted a litany of terrors the Shabiha has inflicted on the community.
"They imprisoned Nasser Serir, a peace activist for six months. Five days after he was released, a gang broke into his home and shot him in front of his children and his mother. They pushed his body from the balcony of the second floor apartment," said 'Obeida', a middle aged women.
"Two weeks ago they entered into a family friend's home. They held the men at gunpoint and trampled on them," interjected 'Hala'. "They punched the handicapped son in the stomach. Really, you cannot imagines these things!" The day before, a group had arrested her 60 year old father said Bola, a student in the group. Insisting that he had never before been to an anti-government protest, she said she could not fathom why he was taken.
"He was leaving the mosque after praying. He is a peaceful man, he is frightened of the security forces," she said. "I cannot go to him. If I did they might take me too," added Bola.
The Shabiha, which the international community has long condemned as outsourcing oppression, are not always easy to discern, said Damascus residents. "They give them military uniforms so that people cannot differentiate between them and the army. Some of the soldiers are very kind, but if you want to speak one in the street you should know if they are Shabeha or military," warned Obeida.
Romney inability to clear field leads to possibility of contested convention, more GOP names Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/19/clearing-field-unlikely-as-talk-contested-convention-brings-out-more-gop-names/#ixzz1mqytSn3P
In the Republican presidential primary race, enthusiasm frequently turns toward the candidates not in the race.
And as the August Republican national
convention hastily sneaks up on the field, the fact that one candidate
hasn't yet run away with momentum has the media, pundits, even the
candidates themselves talking about generating the appeal to defeat
President Obama in November, or having someone else jump in the race.
"Just when you thought this race for the
nomination couldn't get any more volatile. it seems like it potentially
could," said Shane D'Aprile, editor of Campaigns and Elections
Magazine.
Romney has been the presumptive frontrunner
throughout the seemingly interminable campaign season, but despite his
hometown roots and his father having been governor of Michigan for three
terms, Romney's numbers in the state are dragging ahead of the Feb. 28
vote. Michigan, with 30 delegates after being penalized for voting early
holds its election alongside Arizona one week before the March 6 Super Tuesday mega-vote.
Santorum has been up by three to 10 points
in Michigan in the last four polls tracked by Real Clear Politics. On
average, Santorum gets 36.6 percent of polling compared to Romney with
30 percent in the state, according to RCP. Nationally, Santorum is up by
an average 6.6 points in an average of national polls tracked by RCP.
The former Massachusetts governor is now retooling, planning a big economic speech this week at the stadium where the Detroit Lions play. In the era of "go big or go home," Romney is doing both.
But will it be enough?
"If Romney can't find a way to turn this
thing around and win Michigian I think this question of a brokered
convention a contested convention, whatever you want to call it, is a
much more salient question," D'Aprile told Fox News.
Romney challenger Gingrich, without
referencing the possibility of a brokered convention, agreed that the
struggle will be tough for anyone who loses at home.
"If any of the three loses our home state --
if Santorum loses Pennsylvania, Romney loses Michigan, or I lose
Georgia -- you have, I think, very, very badly weakened candidacies."
But could a brokered -- or contested --
convention be in the cards? And could New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie,
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels or anyone else come in to save the day?
"I don't see how that can happen," Ryan,
R-Wis., the chairman of the House Budget Committee, told NBC's "Meet the
Press." "It's just too late, I think."
"I've heard it, but, man, that is an
unbelievable scenario. It'd be really hard to achieve that," former
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Fox News in a recent interview.
"I think it's about as remote as life on Pluto," said Karl Rove, George W. Bush's chief strategist and a Fox News contributor.
A brokered convention results when a
candidate fails to obtain a majority of delegates and a feverish bout of
backroom negotiating goes on to obtain the support needed to push a
candidate over the top.
The last brokered convention for Republicans
was in 1948, when the party nominated Thomas E. Dewey on the third
ballot -- in case anyone remembers how that headline turned out, Dewey
did not defeat Harry Truman in that party contest.
To avoid anything resembling a replay in 2012, a GOP
candidate needs to secure 1,144 of the 2,286 delegates. So far,
according to The Associated Press count, Romney has 123 delegates,
Santorum has 72, Gingrich 32 and Paul 19.
A contested convention could be
"disastrous," D'Aprile said, because delegates chosen by their
candidates "feel very strongly about their candidate,"
"You've got a deadlock scenario," he said.
"I think it's significantly harder for someone to walk on the convention
stage out of nowhere, given the makeup of the delegates they may be
facing. I think that's a scenario for potential disaster for the party. I
don't know how you come out with an actual consensus candidate from
there."
Before that happens, the candidates will plod along to create whatever intensity they can generate.
"We don't know when the end is, whether it's
going to be May, June, July or August," Paul told CNN on Sunday. "So we
just have to, you know, wait and see so that, in my mind, I anticipate
it's going to go on for a while."
"You know, I have been through Tim Pawlenty, then Michele Bachmann, and then Herman Cain one, and then Rick Perry,
then Herman Cain the second time, and now we have Santorum," Gingrich
told "Fox News Sunday." "And we're just going to keep moving forward
gathering delegates. We're looking forward very much to Super Tuesday." .
Putting to rest the notion of a weakened
GOP, Daniels told CNN that whoever it is -- and whenever a candidate is
nominated --the race will return to "a binary choice between a failed
presidency" filled with policies "detrimental to job growth and
investment and risk taking" and a Republican alternative.
CUP: Gordon Survives Wild Ride
On a night filled with hard impacts, frayed tempers and even Kevin Harvick’s car catching fire, no one had a scarier Budweiser Shootout than four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon.
For the first time in his two-decade long Sprint Cup career, the four-time series champion found himself upside down after a terrifying crash with two laps to go. Fortunately for Gordon, he was uninjured.
The incident occurred with two laps to go in the scheduled 75-lap distance at Daytona International Speedway. Heading into Turn 3, Gordon was directly behind second-place Kyle Busch and leader Tony Stewart.
As they transitioned from Turn 3 to Turn 4, Gordon made contact with Busch’s bumper, sending the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota down to the apron. Gordon, meanwhile drifted to the outside and hit Kurt Busch, the cars four-wide at this point.
When Gordon and Kurt Busch made contact, they both turned hard right into the wall at the exit of Turn 4. Behind them, Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson was tagged by Marcos Ambrose, sending Johnson’s car into Busch and Gordon.
That turned Gordon onto his driver’s-side door, where he slid for about 1,000 feet before doing three barrel rolls and ending up on his roof on the frontstretch tri-oval. Gordon was able to escape under his own power.
After a quick check at the Daytona infield medical center, Gordon was released.
“It was just getting down to the end of the race and it was time to go,” said Gordon. “Me and Jimmie were looking good there. We knew those guys were coming, and once Kyle got in front of me, I was just trying to keep Jimmie on me and trying to stay with Kyle.”
That ultimately proved impossible.
“Every time I got to Kyle’s bumper, he just started getting so sideways, like he was a lot tonight,” Gordon said. “And I thought he was going to wreck. I saw him start to spin, so I went wide, not knowing someone had gotten to my outside. That got me into those guys and into the wall and along for a ride. And then Kyle wins the race, so it was a pretty wild and crazy way to get it all started. It was certainly an exciting finish, but not the way our Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet wants to get the 2012 season started.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
For the first time in his two-decade long Sprint Cup career, the four-time series champion found himself upside down after a terrifying crash with two laps to go. Fortunately for Gordon, he was uninjured.
The incident occurred with two laps to go in the scheduled 75-lap distance at Daytona International Speedway. Heading into Turn 3, Gordon was directly behind second-place Kyle Busch and leader Tony Stewart.
As they transitioned from Turn 3 to Turn 4, Gordon made contact with Busch’s bumper, sending the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota down to the apron. Gordon, meanwhile drifted to the outside and hit Kurt Busch, the cars four-wide at this point.
When Gordon and Kurt Busch made contact, they both turned hard right into the wall at the exit of Turn 4. Behind them, Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson was tagged by Marcos Ambrose, sending Johnson’s car into Busch and Gordon.
That turned Gordon onto his driver’s-side door, where he slid for about 1,000 feet before doing three barrel rolls and ending up on his roof on the frontstretch tri-oval. Gordon was able to escape under his own power.
After a quick check at the Daytona infield medical center, Gordon was released.
“It was just getting down to the end of the race and it was time to go,” said Gordon. “Me and Jimmie were looking good there. We knew those guys were coming, and once Kyle got in front of me, I was just trying to keep Jimmie on me and trying to stay with Kyle.”
That ultimately proved impossible.
“Every time I got to Kyle’s bumper, he just started getting so sideways, like he was a lot tonight,” Gordon said. “And I thought he was going to wreck. I saw him start to spin, so I went wide, not knowing someone had gotten to my outside. That got me into those guys and into the wall and along for a ride. And then Kyle wins the race, so it was a pretty wild and crazy way to get it all started. It was certainly an exciting finish, but not the way our Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet wants to get the 2012 season started.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
Whitney Houston laid to rest in N.J.
WESTFIELD, N.J. - Whitney Houston is being laid to rest at a private ceremony in New Jersey.
Houston died Feb. 11 in California at age 48. No cause of death has been determined.
She is being buried Sunday at the cemetery in Westfield where her father was interred in 2003.
Whitney Houston's voice still soars
Complete Coverage: Death of a pop diva
Onlookers were gathering along the route to her gravesite as the police-escorted motorcade headed toward it and the hearse carrying her casket entered the cemetery.
The pop star was mourned at a funeral Saturday at the church in Newark where she sang in the choir as a child.
The invitation-only service featured a tribute by some of the biggest names in the music, including Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. Kevin Costner and music mogul Clive Davis were among those who spoke.
Houston died Feb. 11 in California at age 48. No cause of death has been determined.
She is being buried Sunday at the cemetery in Westfield where her father was interred in 2003.
Whitney Houston's voice still soars
Complete Coverage: Death of a pop diva
Onlookers were gathering along the route to her gravesite as the police-escorted motorcade headed toward it and the hearse carrying her casket entered the cemetery.
The pop star was mourned at a funeral Saturday at the church in Newark where she sang in the choir as a child.
The invitation-only service featured a tribute by some of the biggest names in the music, including Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. Kevin Costner and music mogul Clive Davis were among those who spoke.
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