WEIRD NEWS: Shooting for Perfect Grades
A Minnesota man won't be getting any Father of the Year awards after threatening to blow his daughter's head off when she came home with two B's on her report card instead of the straight A's he'd ordered her to achieve.
Kirill Bartashevitch, who'd recently bought an AK-47 assault weapon due to his fears about gun control legislation being implemented, allegedly pointed the rifle at the teenager and threatened her life. She said she wasn't afraid because she was pretty sure it wasn't loaded, but after she texted a friend about what happened cops were called in to investigate.
Bartashevich, who works for the Minneapolis school district, was charged with making terrorist threats. He admitted that he'd threatened his daughter and didn't apologize for his actions. (LA Times)
WEIRD NEWS: Thou Shalt Not Mess With Cubic Zirconia
A Florida man who tried to rob a group of women having a jewelry party came away with nothing more than a pair of steel bracelets around his wrists – when cops tracked him down after the gals chased him off by shouting "Jesus" at him and refusing to fork over any cash.
Derick Jeremy Lee stormed into the house wearing a ski mask and carrying a pistol, which one of the party-goers slapped away, incorrectly saying she thought it "was just a water-gun." Hostess Jacquie Hagler then ordered Lee to leave "in the name of Jesus," a chant that her guests soon picked up.
Freaked out by the commotion, the often-arrested Lee bolted for the door, but was quickly arrested by cops, who knew exactly who to look for based on a description given by the women. Hagler says she's "forgiven him and prayed for his salvation," but still plans to help prosecute him. (WJXT)
LOUIE ANDERSON: Almost Drowned on Set of Splash
Louie Anderson had a close call this past week on the set of the celebrity-diving competition show Splash -- he nearly drowned.
According to TMZ, Louie was practicing his dives when he became too tired to pull himself up the ladder and out of the pool. He sank to the bottom -- at which point fellow contestant Ndamukong Suh dove in and rescued him. The Detroit Lions star and show mentor Greg Louganis heaved Anderson out of the water, and he sat poolside coughing up water for a few minutes.
Louie's rep says he's totally fine and is looking forward to the competition.
BRADLEY COOPER: I'm Not Playing Lance
Bradley Cooper is denying reports that he's planning to play Lance Armstrong in a tell-all bio-pic.
Last week, he told the BBC that he would be interested in the role, but last night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, he told Access Hollywood, "Oh my God, that's so nuts." Bradley says he "had no idea" what the BBC interviewer was talking about or that producer J.J. Abrams has the rights.
Bradley does have a link to Abrams -- he was in the cast of the Jennifer Garner action series Alias, which Abrams created.
BARBARA WALTERS: Chickenpox
Barbara Walters is re-visiting childhood -- she has chickenpox.
Apparently she never had the disease when she was a kid, and has just gotten infected at age 83. Whoopi Goldberg made the announcement this morning (Monday) on The View, saying, "So now she's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors. and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching. We love you. We miss you. We just don't want to hug you."
Some people have been calling it shingles because of Barbara's age, but that's not correct. Chickenpox and shingles come from the same virus, but chickenpox is the initial infection, and shingles is a flare-up that occurs usually decades after you had chickenpox.
Source: TMZ
KRIS JENNER: Daytime Talk Show Coming in the Summer
The Kardashians are coming to daytime. Momager Kris Jenner's new talk show is getting a test run this summer.
Kris will be a daily one-hour talker featuring celeb guests -- most likely with names beginning in a K -- and discussions about fashion, beauty and lifestyle topics. Kim Kardashian's mom says, "This is something I have wanted to do all my life, so it’s definitely a dream come true! I can’t wait for this new adventure to begin."
JUSTIN BIEBER: Cry Me a River II
Justin Bieber is finally speaking out about his split from Selena Gomez -- in song. The Bieb drops his Believe Acoustic album Tuesday, and one of the new tracks, "Nothing Like Us," is an ode to his former flame.
Justin tells Billboard magazine, "Because at the end of the day, there's nothing like us, you know? That's just it. It is what it is. People are going to relate to that." The magazine says the song "sounds like the heart-broken teenager that Bieber in all probability is."
Justin confirms that he's heartbroken, saying, "I'm not in the happiest place that I've ever been. I'm trying to get through what I'm going through." Then again, he might just be faking for the accolades. His manager Scooter Braun says there's a secondary motive behind the acoustic album. He explains, "This is my reason, not his. But I want him to win a Grammy some day."
The Bieb, of course, received zero nominations for this year's Grammys.
TINA FEY: Working on Mean Girls Musical
Where's Tina Fey going once 30 Rock concludes this week? She hopes it's Broadway.
The comedienne says she developing a Mean Girls musical with her composer husband. Tina wrote the screenplay for the 2004 movie, which starred a pre-trainwreck Lindsay Lohan. Tina didn't talk about who would replace Linds, but she did say she'd like to cast Mariah Carey.
Tina said Mariah apparently knows all the characters following the diva's recent fight with her fellow American Idol judge Nicki Minaj. During the brawl, Mariah was adamant that she was no Regina George, the meanest of the mean girls. Tina agrees. She wants Mariah to play Regina's mother, who was played by Amy Poehler in the film.
SOURCE: NY Daily News
CHRIS BROWN: Frank Ocean Wants Him Charged Over Fight 
Critics favorite Frank Ocean says he wants Chris Brown prosecuted for punching him in their Sunday night brawl over a parking space at a Los Angeles-area recording studio.
Although no charges have been filed, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman said that Ocean "is desirous of prosecution in this incident." Witnesses told deputies that Brown punched Ocean, which differs from TMZ's initial report that said Ocean was the aggressor.
In a more recent report, TMZ is also reporting that Brown threw the first punch, and it came after Ocean rejected his handshake and laughed in his face. They add that as the fight escalated, it moved into the lobby of the studio and the place was wrecked. The studio's receptionist was the person who made the 911 call.
Although Brown's been quiet in the wake of the fight, he did post an image of three crucifixions to his Instagram account with the message, "Painting the way I feel today."
If Brown is prosecuted, it'll be bad news for the singer who is already severing five years probation for his assault of his sometimes-girlfriend Rhianna in 2009. If charges are filed, it's likely that Brown's probation will be revoked.
Brown and Ocean will face off again at the Grammy Awards on February 10th, where they both nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
ASHTON KUTCHER, MILA KUNIS: Moving to London
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are moving to London. But the real question is, Will they return to the States as husband and wife?
Mila will be shooting a movie across the pond for at least six months and Ashton decided he didn't want to be without her for that long. They're currently house-hunting, but rumors are swirling that he's ready to settle down with the actress permanently. First he has to get divorced from Demi Moore. An insider says he'd like to kick-start the stalled divorce proceedings so he can pop the question to Mila.
ANN CURRY: Not Ready for Prime Time Player
Ann Curry is looking for her next gig. Rumors have been swirling that the former Today Show host could land at CNN. After all, her boss at NBC, Jeff Zucker, is the new president of the 24-hour cable news network. But nobody checked with Zucker about these rumors. Inside sources are saying Zucker “doesn't believe Curry is the answer to CNN's problems.” He would never offer Curry an anchor job in a coveted prime time slot. Nor would he meet her salary demands that likely approach $10 million.
Celebs with irthdays today: Heather Graham, Thomas Jane, Edward Burns, Nicholas Turturro, Tom Selleck, Katharine Ross
#HappyBirthday to Oprah Winfrey. The talk-show icon turns 59 today.
TOP CELEBRITY TWEETS
Neil Patrick Harris urging Boy Scouts to go gay tops celebrity tweets.
- Neil Patrick Harris: “Come on, Boy Scouts, do the right thing. Diversity should be honored and valued. There should be a merit badge for it.”
- Joy Behar: “Barbara Walters has the chicken pox. Hey, that's what she gets for interviewing Honey Boo Boo.”
- Rob Lowe: “What's more painful, enduring being captive in Iran or having to relive it as you help campaign for Argo to win an Oscar?”
- Stephen Colbert: “President Obama's second term is only a week old, and already we're one week closer to dying. Welcome to Obamacare."
- Paris Hilton: “You don’t become what you want; you become what you believe.”
- Dane Cook: “If you feel trapped in a crummy relationship just imagine how the other person feels.”
- Kim Kardashian: “So excited to see everyone at my True Reflection fragrance meet and greet in Mississippi next month.”
- Evan Rachel Wood: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek & find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. –Rumi”
- Andy Richter: “Got no sleep because Joe Theismann was in a tree outside my bedroom window yelling about Super Beta Prostate all night long.”
NEW TO VIDEO 
Seven Psychopaths, The Cold Light of Day, Hotel Transylvania and Paranormal Activity 4 are new to video on Tuesday.
- A screenwriter gets wrapped up with L.A. mobsters in Seven Psychopaths with Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Abbie Cornish, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Olga Kurylenko and Tom Waits. It comes with the featurettes "Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths," "Crazy Locations," "Woody Harrelson is Charlie," "Colin Farrell is Marty" and "Seven Psychocats."
- A Wall Street banker finds kidnapping and espionage in Spain in the thriller The Cold Light of Day with Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver. It comes with cast and crew interviews.
- Dracula's lavish resort is invaded by a non-monster in the animated flick Hotel Transylvania with the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi and Cee Lo Green. Extras include deleted scenes, the mini-movie Goodnight Mr. Foot, the featurettes "Meet the Staff and Guests: Voicing Hotel Transylvania" and "Making the Hotel,” as well as the "Problem" music video by Becky G featuring will.i.am.
- It's another round of fear captured on home video when a family takes in the creepy neighbor kid in Paranormal Activity 4 with Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton and Tommy Miranda. It comes with almost 30 minutes of footage not shown in theaters.
- TV that’s available includes the third season of Downton Abbey, and the freshman season of the Cinemax After Dark series Femme Fatales.
ELTON: And So Here He Is...
Elton John and his partner David Furnish have revealed the first official photo of their new son, Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, who was born to a surrogate on January 11th in Los Angeles.
People and Hello magazines have published the photo, with Elton saying, "Elijah completes our family in a most precious and perfect way." Furnish adds, "I would say we feel more secure in our parenting skills now. It's far less scary than the first time."
Their older son, Zachary, was born to the same surrogate in December 2010, using the same egg donor.
CHRIS BROWN: Prepared to Answer Detective's Questions
Chris Brown is ready to set the record straight. Law enforcement officials told TMZ last night that the singer’s attorney has already contacted them. Mark Geragos relayed to Los Angeles detectives that Brown is eager to tell his side of Sunday's incident with Frank Ocean.
Geragos believes the surveillance camera footage proves Chris's innocence. Sources say the legal team obtained the video taken inside the recording studio lobby. It reportedly reveals Chris Brown acting calmly and not throwing a punch. But the same could be said of Frank Ocean, who is also standing on the sidelines. Members of their entourages are seen inside the lobby having a tussle.
Geragos answered another question: Why did Chris hightail it once the cops were called to the scene? He’s reportedly under strict orders by his attorney. Chris is required to immediately evacuate any scene where trouble occurs.
ADAM LAMBERT: Happy Birthday to Him ... and His Charity
Adam Lambert wants you to celebrate his birthday by giving a gift -- to someone else.
Glambert, who turns 31 tomorrow (Tuesday), is asking fans to donate $31 to his We Are Family Foundation. That'll get you a chance to record a private birthday message to be delivered to him. But if you can't spare that much, a donation of any size will allow you to sign what's being billed as the world's largest birthday card.
Adam will be honored this Thursday as the recipient of the Unity Award at the We Are Family 2012 Celebration Gala, where he'll perform a show with '80s stars Nile Rodgers, Taylor Dayne, Sam Sparrow,and Kathy Sledge.
LADY GAGA: Prayers for Brazil
Lady Gaga has reached out to the families of the 200-plus victims of the fire that destroyed a Brazilian nightclub over the weekend.
Gaga Tweeted a photo of herself kneeling at her bedside in prayer, along with the message, "My heart is with you, Brazil. Sending my prayers to the families and friends who lost loved ones in the fire in Brazil. I’m thinking of you today during this tragedy.”
She also sent a personal message to the family of fan Luiz Felipe, who perished in the blaze.
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: More Suits, More Ties
Justin Timberlake has decided to peddle a new line of suits and ties -- just in time for the release of his new single "Suit and Tie."
According to Vogue, Justin is teaming with fashion industry veteran Tom Ford on a high-end line of threads, including the three-piece suit, leather loafers and black onyx cufflinks that he sports in his latest music video. The mag says, "The pair have worked closely together on a series of bespoke tailoring -- including evening wear, shoes and accessories -- that will be a focal point of the 20/20 Experience."
ADELE: Papa Was a Rolling Stone
Adele's estranged dad says he wants to be part of her life again -- just months after he made a quick buck by selling tales about her to the British press.
Mark Evans tells Britain's Daily Mail, "I’ve left messages on her phone, I’ve written to her, and I’ve sent her birthday and Christmas cards, but it’s like I’m dead to her. I’m not interested in her celebrity status or her money. I just want my daughter back and I want to be a proper grandad to the little one."
Evans, who left Adele and her mother when the singer was just three years old, has had a roller-coaster relationship with her over the years. He says she cut off contact after he did an interview that he presumed she'd given her OK to. He says, "It’s so sad it’s come to this, and all over an honest account of my feelings for her. I’ve never said a bad word about Adele, and I’m absolutely gutted she’s cut me out of her life."
BRAZIL NIGHTCLUB FIRE: Three People Arrested
Police in Brazil have arrested three people in connection with the nightclub fire in Santa Maria that killed more than 230 people.
Authorities have not released the names of those arrested, but they will be held for five days while the investigation continues. A police official says, "We concluded that it was necessary to hold them prisoner temporarily, because we need their statements to help us clarify the incident."
The nightclub's license to operate had expired in August, though its owners insist that it had been inspected by the fire marshal.
Source: CNN
WEIRD NEWS: A Whopper of a Tribute
The family of an elderly Pennsylvania man decided to let him have it his way one last time before his burial -- by steering his funeral procession through the drive thru of a local Burger King that was his favorite restaurant.
David S. Kime reportedly ate fast food every day for 25 years before dying earlier this month at the age of 88. So as part of his sendoff, his children decided to buy burgers for all of his mourners – and add one more to be placed on his coffin before it was lowered into the ground.
One of his daughters said, "His version of eating healthy was the lettuce on the Whopper Junior. My mother kind of kept him in check. When she died, for a while, he would eat with us. But he considered us health freaks because we ate things that were green, like broccoli." (York Daily Record)
BOY SCOUTS: Considering Lifting Ban on Gays
The Boy Scouts of America are considering lifting their ban on openly gay scouts and scout masters. The word comes about six months after senior national scout leaders said that the ban was in the best interests of the organization.
Now, however, the national headquarters is ready to let the local chapters to decide whether they want to admit gays. Boy Scouts of America spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement, "The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members or parents. This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization's mission, principles, or religious beliefs."
Source: The New York Times
IMMIGRATION REFORM: Obama to Announce Plan
President Obama is expected to announce some details of his immigration reform plans on Tuesday during an appearance in Las Vegas. The proposal is expected to be more liberal than the bipartisan plan in the Senate and will likely include a quicker way for illegal immigrants to become citizens.
In making his announcement, Obama is expected to praise the plan that was introduced Monday the eight-member Senate group, according to an administration official.
Republicans balked at previous immigration reform attempts in 2007 and 2010 because they thought a path to citizenship rewarded those who broke the law. Now, however, four senators for each party are endorsing such a deal.
Source: The Washington Post
"DON'T HONK" SIGNS: Removed in New York City
New York City is putting up the white flag in its war against honking. The New York Times reports that the city is taking down "Don't Honk" signs and they'll probably be all gone by the end of the year.
Since everyone seemed to ignore the signs and the law that makes honking illegal was rarely enforced, city officials decided to take the signs down in an effort to rid the streets of the clutter.
Source: The New York Times
TRENDING NOW
Justin Bieber’s Selena ballad, the Frank Ocean-Chris Brown brawl and Jennifer Lawrence’s wardrobe malfunction are trending on Twitter and Google.
- Justin Bieber: Word is the“Nothing Like This” single from his album Believe Acoustic is about his old romance with Selena Gomez.
- Frank Ocean: He wants Chris Brown charged over the parking-lot brawl.
- Rick Ross: The sound of gunfire caused the Teflon Don to crash his silver Rolls Royce into an apartment building on a Fort Lauderdale street on Monday.
- Jennifer Lawrence: She showed thigh with a wardrobe malfunction at the SAG Awards.
- Tiger Woods: He sailed to victory at Torrey Pines. His 75th PGA tour victory has him closer to all-time champ Sam Snead with 82.
- L.A. Lakers: They play New Orleans in L.A. on Tuesday.
- School closings: Winter storms are bearing down on the country's Northeast.
- Andrew Bogut: The Golden State starting center returned in Monday's game against the Toronto Raptors after missing the last 38 games with a bum left ankle.
