Author: Amanda Crum

Donald Trump has reportedly spent $1 million researching a run for office in 2016, and, unlike 2012 when he hinted at a bid for the presidency but never ran, this time it could really happen.

“The electoral research was commissioned. We did not spend $1 million on this research for it just to sit on my bookshelf,” Trump’s special counsel Michael Cohen said. “At this point Mr. Trump has not made any decision on a political run, but what I would say is that he is exactly what this country needs. The turnout at these political speeches indicates his following remains very strong and is growing.“

Indeed, Trump can command quite a crowd and even spoke about his political aspirations at the recent Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, saying:

“Everybody tells me, ‘Please run for president. Please run for president.’ I would be much happier if a great and competent person came along. I’d be happy if President Obama did a great job. I’m a Republican, but before anything, I love this country. I would love to see somebody come in who is going to be great.”

Of course, if Trump does run, he won’t be able to keep control of his company; by law, he’ll have to turn it over to his kids or put it into a trust, and that doesn’t seem like something the real-estate mogul would be willing to do. However, he may just surprise us all and jump into the game once and for all. He did mention at the dinner that he believes Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic frontrunner, despite Clinton’s assurances that she’s not willing to put herself in that position.

Amanda Bynes has been all over the headlines this week after being arrested for allegedly smoking pot and then throwing her bong out a window and then showing up in court in an insane wig and then announcing she’s going to “sue everyone”. Yes, that’s a lot to take in. But then she reportedly tweeted out some cruel things to Rihanna, which immediately went viral before quickly being deleted.

“@rihanna you look so ugly tryin to be white,” and “Chris Brown beat you because you’re not pretty enough,” showed up on Bynes’ Twitter feed, but she swears that someone jacked her handle and said those things to start trouble. The 27-year old former child star wrote an extended tweet to defend herself.

“@matthewnewcomen: @AmandaBynes You made the ny post! Bashing riri?” I saw a bunch of mocked up tweets about me bashing Rihanna in my mentions. I’m followed by so many people that someone is always mocking up fake tweets so I feel the need to address them! Rihanna and I met and I’m sure we’ll be in a music video together one day! That’s one of the mocked up images, they took photos of me from outside and morphed them onto someone else’s body. I am allergic to marijuana and alcohol but I smoke tobacco. Why does Rihanna smoke weed and not get in trouble for it but I smoke tobacco and people think I’m on drugs? I refuse to be treated like someone I’m not, which is why I fought for myself and am suing everyone involved. I don’t need to go to rehab. There is never a drug or alcohol in my system! I’m sick of all the lies! What would you do if someone accused you of things you didn’t do and yet you still had to be in jail at all over it! I’m so offended but I am so educated that I know cops cannot illegally enter my apartment, sexually harass me, arrest me, take me to a MENTAL HOSPITAL, then lock me up for a crime I didn’t commit. I’m suing them all for this upsetting nightmare. My lawyer knows I’m a model citizen who doesn’t partake in drugs. He’s going to court this week to set the record straight again on my behalf. Thankfully I’m an educated multi-millionaire who knows better than to speak to perverted unjust cops without my lawyer.

“Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul tied the knot over the weekend, and if you were hoping for some blue rock candy in lieu of a cake, you’ll be disappointed.

The reception was on the theme of a ’20s carnival, complete with a ferris wheel and other rides, burlesque dancers, an antique photo booth, and David Blaine doing magic tricks for the guests. The men in the wedding party wore top hats and bow ties, and the bride–Lauren Parsekian–and her attendants looked lovely in white vintage-style gowns with strings of pearls.

The celebrity couple did their day right, and even managed to get buddy John Mayer to sing a few tunes; he performed “Daughter” during the bride’s first dance with her father.

Paul has always spoken extremely highly of his new bride and credits her with some of his success; in a GQ interview, he said that she is “the greatest woman that has ever existed. No offense to other women on this planet, but she is hands down the best.” He also thanked her in his Emmy acceptance speech last year, and said that when he met her, he knew she was the one.

“You know when people say, ‘When you know, you know’? It was crazy,” he said in an interview. “I couldn’t imagine myself being without her. … I was like, ‘Wait, can this actually exist?’”

“Breaking Bad” resumes this summer for one last season and there’s no doubt it will go out with a bang. The actor, who plays “Jesse Pinkman” on the hugely popular AMC show, is riding high on success and the beginning of a new life with his woman, but it’s sure to be a bittersweet year as he says goodbye to the show that made him famous.

And so it begins. #mrmrspaul twitter.com/aaronpaul_8/st…

— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) May 25, 2013

A day will never go by without me reminding you how special you are. Thanks for last night my pretty… instagram.com/p/Z0r0OyOILG/

— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) May 27, 2013

Image: FameFlynet

Papa John’s has issued a public apology after a delivery driver accidentally left a racist voicemail for a customer in Sanford, Florida, an area known across the country as the home of Trayvon Martin.

Somehow, the driver butt-dialed the customer after he left the man’s home and was recorded while complaining about his tip to a co-worker.

“I guess that’s the only requirement for being a [insert N-word] in Sanford. Yeah, they give me five bucks there — fine outstanding African-American gentleman of the community,” the driver said.

The driver also made up a tune about the customer and his wife which was laden with expletives and racial slurs. The customer uploaded a video to YouTube chronicling the incident in which you can hear the driver’s message.

John Schnatter, CEO of Papa John’s, issued an apology on the company’s Facebook page, and both employees have been terminated; as of now, the customer hasn’t had any other comment.

Friends, I am extremely concerned to learn about the reprehensible language used by two former employees in one of our restaurants. Their thinking and actions defy both my personal and the company’s values, and everything for which this company stands. The employees responsible for this absolutely unacceptable behavior were immediately terminated.

John Schnatter

Mermaids have captured our imaginations for years now. From eerie stories about wild creatures luring sailors to their deaths to lovely fantasy tales about long-haired beauties grooming themselves on rocks, people can’t seem to get enough. When Animal Planet aired a documentary last year about a mermaid body being found inside a great white shark, viewers went nuts. And now, the Discovery channel has aired another special which shows what mermaids would look like if they were real.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association issued a statement last year declaring mermaids fictional creatures, just to be on the safe side.

“Mermaids – those half-human, half-fish sirens of the sea – are legendary sea creatures chronicled in maritime cultures since time immemorial. But are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.”

The synopsis for the newest doc reads:

Once upon a time, there lived a little mermaid in an underwater kingdom. She ventured to surface, longing to communicate with people on land…

What if there’s a kernel of truth that lives beneath the legend of the mythic mermaid? Now, in MERMAIDS: THE BODY FOUND, premiering Sunday, May 27, from 9-11 PM ET/PT, Animal Planet brings viewers into the world where the legend is real. The film blends real-life events and phenomena with the story of two scientists who testify they found the remains of a never-before-identified sea creature. Spectacular CGI animates a world where mermaids really do swim below the water’s surface, cooperatively hunt with dolphins and may continue to survive in an intricate society where they stay hidden in fear of their Earth-bound relatives.

They may not be real, but you can pretend they are while watching CGI versions on the show. Check out Monster Week until tomorrow, May 28th.

A husband and wife who lost control of their car early this morning on a California highway caused a major accident which injured several people and left the woman dead. Her husband is in the hospital with critical injuries.

Both were reportedly drinking, but their blood alcohol levels haven’t been released. When the car spun out of control, it swung around to face the wrong way on the highway and was hit head-on by a party bus, injuring ten people inside. At least two of those were moderate injuries. The bus driver suffered minor injuries.

The accident is currently under investigation; authorities are asking anyone who may have witnessed it to call (650) 369-6261.

Sadly, this isn’t the first major, tragic accident on a California roadway in recent weeks; a new bride was killed along with four of her friends when a limo they were riding in erupted into flames on a San Francisco bridge.

A 62-year old skydiver fell to his death yesterday in California after he became entangled in his parachute, officials say.

Ken Oka of Mira Loma was attempting a multiple-person jump when the parachute got snared; he was unable to free himself midair and fell into a suburban backyard.

Local police and the FAA are both conducting investigations; eerily, another 62-year old man fell to his death in a similar way just earlier this month in Deland, Florida. Officials say Santiago Rosell died during a jump with two other people after landing in a grassy field near the runway.

“It was a passion that he shared with everyone around him,” said friend Lisa Kittrell of Rosell. She said he often went skydiving. “He always had a bright smile on his face when he came back, said, ‘I just went skydiving!’”

An Oregon teen has allegedly been planning in detail an attack on his high school and was hiding bomb makings in his room, including napalm.

17-year old Grant Acord will be charged with attempted aggravated murder after police–acting on a tip–found the napalm, pipe bombs, drain cleaner bombs, and Molotov cocktails in Acord’s bedroom, where he’d been hiding them under the floorboards. The teen reportedly had well-drawn plans to attack his school and wanted it to be on a bigger scale than the deadly Columbine shootings in 1999, when two teens shot up their school and killed 12 students and a teacher.

Acord’s “goal was to model the Columbine shootings with some adjustments that would make it a greater success,” District Attorney John Harlodson said.

West Albany High School has been searched as a precautionary measure, but officials will go through once more with bomb-sniffing dogs before students are allowed to return after the weekend.

Acord has been planning the attack for some time, and had diagrams and checklists in his bedroom which laid out his plans for the bombs as well as guns.

“This was a very methodical process,” said Haroldson. “He took time to even get to this point. “I can’t say enough about how lucky we are that there was an intervention. When I look at the evidence in the case, I shudder to think of what could have happened here.”

There’s nothing travelers like to hear more right before a holiday weekend than a bunch of weapons being confiscated at airports across the country.

The TSA reported that 54 loaded guns were found this week during checks at different airports, along with various other types of weapons. Reportedly, 19 of the guns had rounds chambered. One man was found to have been carrying a loaded gun strapped to his prosthetic leg and was arrested ion a concealed weapons charge.

“Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds,” the TSA shared in a statement. “Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $7,500.00. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that’s for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.”

Also, apparently people think it’s okay to bring hand grenades on airplanes. Really?

“We continue to find inert hand grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a realistic bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited – real or not. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays in checkpoint screening. I know they are cool novelty items, but you cannot bring them on a plane.”

In other words, travelers, have a nice 3-day weekend and make sure you stow your weapon safely at home before you leave.

After the Justice Department called Fox News reporter James Rosen a “co-conspirator” while investigating a leak about North Korea’s nuclear program last week, Fox News’ Andrea Tantaros had quite a bit to say about the Obama administration.

Tantaros grew angry while talking about the scandal on Thursday’s radio show, commenting on the fact that the Justice Department obtained phone and email records for 7 other journalists during a separate investigation.

“Let me tell you how people and journalists are being treated these days,” she said. “They are being stalked. They are being spied on. In Missouri, a news station fired an anchor who talked about the IRS shakedown. Yeah—fired. This is how corrupt the left is. This is what’s happening to our press. This is Obama’s America. It’s like the Soviet Union. He said he would change the country. He said it … and a lot of people voted for him. And if you see any of those people today, do me a favor and punch them in the face.”

Swedish artist Johan Andersson found inspiration in Angelina Jolie’s recent admission that she’d had a preventative double mastectomy after finding out she carries a gene that makes breast cancer highly likely.

Andersson created what is now a highly-controversial portrait of Jolie which depicts her topless after the surgery. He says that having something in common with the actress/ambassador led him to the oil painting.

“My mother had aggressive breast cancer when I was 15, the thought of her having to have a mastectomy really scared me and she was fortunate enough to have surgery without the mastectomy. The recent news about Angelina stirred an anxiety within me leading me to paint this portrait, There is an underlying awkwardness in her demeanour in juxtaposition to the natural beauty of her face.”

Jolie announced earlier this month that she’d secretly undergone the operation after watching her mother suffer through breast cancer, to which she ultimately succumbed.

“My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56,” Jolie wrote in a New York Times piece.. “She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was. They have asked if the same could happen to me.”

Andersson’s painting is expected to fetch over $20,000 at auction and proceeds will go to the Falling Whistles campaign, a charity Jolie supports for peace in the Congo.

Brad Pitt has one of the most memorable faces in the country, but don’t expect him to remember yours should you ever meet the superstar.

Pitt says he’s always had a huge problem remembering faces, even if he’s had a lengthy conversation with someone. It tends to make people angry.

“So many people hate me because they think I’m disrespecting them,” Pitt said in a recent Esquire interview. “I took one year where I just said, This year, I’m just going to cop to it and say to people, ‘OK, where did we meet?’ But it just got worse. People were more offended. …You get this thing, like, ‘You’re being egotistical. You’re being conceited.’ But it’s a mystery to me, man. I can’t grasp a face, and yet I come from such a design/aesthetic point of view. I am going to get it tested.”

Carnegie Mellon University has invited Pitt to be tested, in fact, and put out a press release about it:

“Carnegie Mellon is one of the very few places that can both test for face blindness and perform the brain imaging in our state-of-the-art imaging center,” the statement read.

The actor has been getting quite a few headlines this week; after the interview came out, excerpts were leaked online in which he talked about how he felt like he was “drifting” through life during the time he was married to Jennifer Aniston. However, he has also said he blames himself for the feelings and called Aniston “an incredibly giving, loving and hilarious woman.”

Julianne Moore never realized that she was having a wardrobe malfunction while walking the red carpet at Cannes until she got home and saw the pictures online.

Due to a busy night and a long dress, Moore never noticed that her toes were popping out the sides of her heels.

“I didn’t feel a thing — not a thing,” she said in a recent interview. “I felt fine! I was just walking along, like, ‘Hiiiii, I’m at Cannes’ and my toes are hanging off [my shoes]!”

The embarrassing moment led to her declaration that she had no option for avoiding another incident in the future but to cut her toes off.

“I did what every reasonable person would do,” she told Jimmy Fallon. “I needed to prevent this from happening again, so I cut my toes off.”

So far this year, the film festival has been fairly drama-free (off-screen, that is). Other than audience members booing Ryan Gosling’s movie, “Only God Forgives”, the incident being labeled “Toemageddon” is perhaps the most talked-about happening.

Image: David Silpa

Amanda Bynes, you’re making me worry about you.

The 27-year old former actress showed up in court this morning after her arrest on Thursday for allegedly throwing a bong out a window and she looked a bit…disheveled, to say the least. Wearing a long blonde wig and no makeup, Bynes reportedly looked nervous and constantly fidgeted throughout proceedings. Her attorney says she threw a vase, not a bong, but the judge wasn’t amused no matter what the story is. Since last year, the young star has been in heaps of legal trouble, including alleged hit-and-runs and drug accusations.

Bynes is currently on probation for driving without a license, and Burbank DA Danny Wei says he may file a motion that Bynes is in violation of that. If she’s found guilty, she could face jail time and multiple fines. She was taken to a hospital this morning for a psychiatric evaluation, and rumor has it her parents may apply for a conservatorship to take control of her finances and major decisions.

“We get info from the prosecuting agency, in this case the NYPD, and we will review the report and make the determination whether to file a probation violation with the court,” he said.

Image: SplashNews

A UK man claims he’s innocent of the charges of shoplifting leveled against him, and says he was simply “moving” a roast beef to get it out of his sight because it reminded him of his grandma.

51-year old John Casey, an unemployed father of eight, was busted on security cameras while putting the roast into his backpack, and after he was arrested, chose to stand trial for the accusations rather than be seen in lower court.

Judge Milford, who oversaw the case, said “Ordinarily this is a case that would be dealt with in the lower court but he has elected trial. He has the right to be tried by a jury and he has been.”

Casey maintained his innocence throughout the trial, but he was found guilty by jurors in just an hour’s time. He was given two years of probation.

“You have caused a huge amount of unnecessary expense to be incurred by electing trial and you have got no means from which you can cover the costs of this expensive trial,” Judge Milford said. “If you come in front of me again I will be a lot less sympathetic.”

Casey said the combination of the beef and blood reminded him of his grandmother, who died when he was just a child.

“Every day my grandmother is with me, I remember her, but this was not like any other,” Casey said. “I was re-living it, it was like I was there with her again. The blood in the bag was bringing it on, it was like I was there, like I was living it.”

With technology growing every day, many things are becoming a lot easier. Finding a nearby restaurant on your smartphone, for example. Or, cheating on a test. For that reason, a Canada high school issued statements to parents recently after school staff conducted a strip-search to find a missing cell phone.

The incident happened during Cap-Jeunesse High School’s final exams; each student had been instructed to hand over their phones to the teacher before class to prevent cheating. When one of the phones went missing, teachers thought it prudent to make the students strip down in an effort to find it.

“They put us in a small room,” an unnamed girl said. “(They said) ‘take off your bra, then raise your arms.’ They even tapped us on the back.”

The school board didn’t comment on whether the teachers responsible will face disciplinary action, but said an investigation is ongoing and released a statement.

“It was a disproportionate action under the circumstances,” spokeswoman Nadyne Brochu said. “These are not measures that are recommended by either the school or the school board. In the heat of the action, the decision seemed the best. Once officials heard what had happened, they immediately contacted the students’ parents to explain the situation.”

Authorities in Luxor, Egypt say that ten men are accused of beating a woman and her two daughters to death in what they call an “honor killing” after the women were accused of infidelity.

The women were reportedly beaten with sharp objects and strangled before their bodies were wrapped in sheets, weighted with stones, and thrown into the Nile River. At least one of the men has been arrested and is in custody; police are searching for the remaining suspects. So far, only one of the women has been found.

The man who was arrested on Thursday freely admitted to the murders and said they’d done it to protect their family’s honor because the women were accused of having affairs.

Despite being against Egyptian law, these so-called “honor killings” are rampant in the Middle East. Last year, a husband and wife were thrown in jail in Pakistan after they murdered their 15-year old daughter by throwing acid on her. They said it was because she dishonored their family by looking at a boy.

In recent months, as violence against women grows more and more tension in the Middle East, females are starting to speak out about their rights, especially when it comes to sexual violence.

An 18-year old girl who impersonates Taylor Swift to earn extra cash was recently bullied by some classmates, and she says it’s because of who she looks like.

Xenna Kristian says she’s bruised and possibly has a broken jaw after a girl allegedly pulled her by her ponytail out of her chair and kicked her repeatedly. The college student says things have gotten ugly since her classmates found out she’s a professional Taylor lookalike.

“Some girls at college had started making nasty comments, but it escalated really quickly,” Kristian said. “It just came as a complete shock.”

Kristian says her friends eventually intervened in the altercation, but not before she suffered several injuries to her face. Police are investigating the incident.

“I never expected anything like this to happen. It’s not nice to see people being nasty about you. Since I started being a lookalike people have been saying stuff. They must be jealous that I’m going off to do something with my life,” she says.

The pain of the violence will eventually go away, but for now Kristian says she’s upset that she has to cancel appearances until the physical marks go away.

Image: Caters News Agency

Tim Curry, the beloved British actor who rose to fame in campy style with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, is recovering from a stroke in his Los Angeles home.

Curry reportedly suffered a “major” stroke but is said to be in good spirits despite rumors that he was having trouble speaking.

“Tim is doing great,’ said his longtime Los Angeles agent Marcia Hurwitz. “He absolutely can speak and is recovering at this time and in great humor.”

At 67, Curry has had a long and fruitful career; however, in 2011 he backed out of a role in “Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead” due to ill health.

Very sad to hear. RT @usatodaylife Tim Curry is recovering after suffering a major stroke at his home in Los Angeles. usat.ly/16T8xKq

— Josh Spiegel (@mousterpiece) May 24, 2013

Damn. Wishing him the best. MT @usatodaylife: Tim Curry is recovering after suffering a major stroke at his home usat.ly/16T8xKq

— Eric Goldman (@EricIGN) May 24, 2013

Oh no! “Rocky Horror star Tim Curry ‘suffers major stroke’ – (good thoughts) independent.co.uk/arts-entertain… @independent“

— Bethan Jones (@memories_child) May 24, 2013

Keep him in your thoughts: “ROCKY HORROR star Tim Curry ‘suffers major stroke’.” @theindyarts: ow.ly/lmqZt

— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) May 24, 2013

Kate Upton was kind enough to check her schedule after a Los Angeles teen boldly asked her to prom, but it turns out she won’t be able to make it. Nina Agdal, Sports Illustrated‘s “Rookie Of The Year”, is going to fill in for her.

Jake Davidson made his proposal in a video back in March and it quickly went viral; luckily for him, because it made its way to Kate.

“You can call me Katie if you want! How could I turn down that video! I’ll check my schedule (wink),” she wrote on Twitter.

Her full schedule is Jake’s gain, however, as Agdal has confirmed she will be attending the dance with him and even went dress shopping on “Inside Edition”.

US News | Weird News | More ABC News Videos

Image: GQ Magazine