Obama National Christmas Tree Lighting 2010
After a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown, US President Barack Obama and his family ushered in the holiday season on Thursday by lighting the nearly 42-foot tall National Christmas Tree growing on the Ellipse, a grassy area just south of the White House. [1]
The Obamas, who many Americans believe are Muslims, braved frigid temperatures to attend the lighting of the Christmas tree. As you know, Christmas is not a Muslim holiday. Mr. Obama made it a point to note that the gathering celebrates an enduring story “that’s dear to Michelle and me as Christians.”
“This is a very proud holiday tradition. Snow or shine, in good times or in periods of hardship, folks like you have gathered with presidents to light our national tree,” he said.
Mr. Obama was joined by his wife, Michelle, daughters Malia and Sasha, and Marian Robinson, his mother-in-law. [2] The First Lady’s coat was designed by Narciso Rodriguez.
Mr. Obama took time to remember the millions of Americans who are out of work this Christmas season. He also mentioned the service members who couldn’t make it home for the holidays.
“We thank their families, who will mark this Christmas with an empty seat at the dinner table,” Obama said.
Celebrity performances included rapper Common, Maroon 5, B.B. King and young Jackie Evancho, whose debut album beat out Rihanna for the #2 spot on the Billboard chart last week.
(Photos JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Thanks to loyal reader Linda A. for sending this in!
Breaking News: Rihanna and Matt Kemp Are Officially Over
According to online reports, pop singer Rihanna Fenty and her baseball player boyfriend, Matt Kemp, have split up.
This news comes as no surprise after rumors of Kemp’s cheating ways hit the Internets recently. Apparently, Rihanna has learned a thing or two from her past dysfunctional relationship. She drop kicked Kemp early on before more problems surfaced.
Rihanna’s fans knew that Kemp was bad news from the very beginning. He seems to be on the prowl for gullible young female celebrities whose heads are easily turned by attractive ball players.
Matt Kemp and Rihanna have been dating for quite a while..Throughout their relationship, rumors of cheating on both sides surfaced daily..Now the baseball star and his pop star girlfriend have called it quits.With Kemp smack dab in the middle of his off-season, and Rihanna traveling the globe promoting her music, the two slowly drifted apart..Kemp’s penchant for clubbing was also partly to blame for the demise of their relationship..My sources tell me Kemp left a Hollywood club last week with two girls in tow and brought them home..My eyewitness who was there, tells me the two girls both crashed in Matt’s room the entire night..I doubt he was reading them bedtime stories..Rihanna was ready to move on as well..Her reported romance with Drake was semi responsible for the fights that eventually lead to the split..I wouldn’t be surprised if they rekindled a few times..but my source tells me it’s officially over. -TO
Photos: Splash News Online
‘Eddie Winslow’ Accused of Beating Ex-Wife, Karrine Steffans
The actor who played Eddie Winslow on the TV sitcom “Family Matters” has been issued a temporary order to stay at least 100 yards away from his ex-wife, Karrine Steffans, after he allegedly beat her savagely with a belt in front of her 12-year-old son.
According to court docs, Karrine claims Darius McCrary “choked me from behind and beat me with a belt” during an argument in February.
Karrine claims McCrary struck again in November — choking her and shoving her into a car in front of a large crowd of people at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in L.A.
Now Karrine is asking the judge to make the restraining order more permanent — she’s scheduled to appear in court next week.
McCrary, 38, and Steffans, 32, divorced earlier this year after almost one year of marriage.
Clearly this is a dysfunctional relationship that isn’t going to end with the issuance of a restraining order. I’m tired of people blaming the men in cases like this when it’s obvious that the female contributes to the abuse in some way.
Both of these individuals are sick people. This isn’t the first time Steffans has accused McCrary of abusing her. She has the means and the resources to get away from him and stay away.
New Couple Alert: Brandy and Terrence J
Singer Brandy seems to be following the trend of sistas who are abandoning masculine brothas for Metrosexual men. BET 106 & Park co-host Terrence J and Brandy were spotted canoodling and whispering in each other’s ears at the Toronto Raptures vs New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden yesterday.
I’m not surprised. Insecure women like Brandy, with a history of failed relationships, need a man like the timid Terrence J, who she can dominate and tell what to do.
Good luck to the happy couple!
Photos: Wireimage/Getty
Breaking News: Soulja Boy missing in action on Twitter
An APB (all points bulletin) has been issued for the missing rapper, Soulja Boy, who was last seen bragging about his $3 million in gold chains on Twitter.com.
That was before the sobering news hit the Internets yesterday that his album, The DeAndre Way, only sold 13,360 copies.
On Tuesday, an insider at Interscope Records told me that SB’s album would only do 15,000 in sales and that “shocked” staffers were “in meetings all day” with DeAndre.
“He’s not taking [the disappointing sales] well,” says the staffer. “His ego is crushed.”
Soulja Boy had bragged in interviews that his 3rd studio album would be the biggest of his career.
Somebody check the roof of the Colony Square building in midtown Atlanta where V-103 radio station is based. That’s the same roof where a depressed teen threatened to jump before being talked down by rapper T.I. in October.
According to RhymesWithSnitch:
Soulja Boy, who has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, normally tweets all day every day but once news his new cd ‘The DeAndre Way’ was projected to move only 13,000 copies in it’s first week, Soulja Boy’s online presence has all but disappeared. Somebody go check on the boy and make sure he’s alright.
Ciara’s ‘Basic Instinct’ CD Unwrapped
For those of you who can’t wait to tear open Ciara’s Basic Instinct CD next Tuesday (Dec. 14), Rap-Up.com has got you covered with these hawt pics from the CD insert!
The R&B hottie shows off her ASSets in the sizzling images, photographed by Gomillion and Leupold—basking in the sun, posing in her bra and panties, and dancing in the rain. Take a peek at CiCi’s goodies!
The smartest way to lure consumers back to the record stores is by providing goodies in the CD packaging that can’t be downloaded from the Internet — at least not in high quality.
Click Link for More Pics
Wesley Snipes heads to prison
Wesley Snipes’ long, arduous ordeal with Uncle Sam ends today when he reports to a Pennsylvania prison to begin serving a 3-year sentence for failing to file tax returns. Snipes, 48, was acquitted of tax evasion and fraud, charges that would have sent him to prison for many years.
He has until noon today to turn himself in to the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Lewis Run, PA.
Snipes, who is best known for his roles in the “Blade” action films, appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” on Tuesday, where he claimed he was unfairly singled out by prosecutors.
“It does seem to be rather unusual and rather bizarre when you had a prosecutor come into the sentencing and say that this is the biggest tax trial in the history of the IRS,” Snipes said. “I think there is a certain amount of selectivity going on here.”
One juror, Frank Tuttle, gave “Larry King Live” a written statement that three other jurors had made up their minds that Snipes was guilty before the trial began. [1]
The juror said they “compromised” with those jurors by not convicting Snipes on the more serious tax evasion charges. “We did not think he would go to jail,” Tuttle said, suggesting that Snipes received favorable treatment because of his celebrity status.
Snipes, who was sentenced in 2008, blamed his legal problems on Eddie Ray Kahn (pictured right with Snipes). Khan is a cult leader tax expert who advised Snipes and 4,000 other “clients” how to avoid paying their taxes.
Khan operated the Guiding Light of God Ministries out of a 2nd floor office in downtown Mount Dora, Florida. [2]
Snipes and his family were members of the ministry.
The main purpose of the ministry, aka American Rights Litigators, was to help rich people evade paying taxes. Khan had Snipes and others apply to become one-person, religious organizations so they would benefit from tax-exempt status.
Khan was sentenced to 20 years behind bars as Snipes’ co-defendant in the 2008 trial. By comparison, Snipes got off easy.
At the time, Snipes believed wholeheartedly in Khan’s teachings. Snipes claimed that as a “fiduciary of God, who is a ‘nontaxpayer,’” he was a “‘foreign diplomat’” who was not obligated to pay taxes.
Of course, now he’s singing a different tune.
Snipes earned $37 million between 1999 and 2004. A goodly portion of his income went to Khan’s ministry.
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