Sunday, August 5, 2012

Nick Jonas Confirms American Idol Judge Rumors: Yes, 'I Am Being Considered'

Access Hollywood – 3 hours ago

Move over, Nick Cannon -- Mariah Carey may soon have another prominent Nick in her life.

Nick Jonas has confirmed he's in the running to fill the vacant judges' seat alongside the pop star on "American Idol."

PLAY IT NOW: Jason Derulo & Nick Cooper React To Mariah Carey Joining American idol

"The rumors are true... I am being considered to be a judge on 'American Idol,'" Nick Tweeted to his 4.6 million followers on Saturday. "It would be a dream come true if it happens."

The 19-year-old JoBro later thanked fans for their overwhelming support of his possible move to the FOX reality juggernaut, Tweeting, "Loved seeing all your amazing response to #NickOnIdol keep it coming!"

VIEW THE PHOTOS: American Idol Season 11 Finale: Inside The Show

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, in late July, Mariah was confirmed as a judge on "American Idol's" Season 12.

According to Mimi's husband, Nick Cannon, his wife will be the fiercest face to ever sit at the judges' table - maybe even tougher than Simon Cowell.

"She's very serious about music and singing. She'll probably be the toughest judge that's ever been on [the] show," Nick told Access Hollywood backstage at "America's Got Talent" last week.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘American Idol’ Team: Then & Now

"She's going to be amazing... people don't know my wife's sense of humor," Nick continued. "They're about to get the whole Mariah Carey, raw and uncut! And see the woman that I fell in love with."

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Burger King Employee Stands on Lettuce: Busted by Internet

By Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger | Shine Food – Wed, Jul 18, 2012 12:37 PM EDT

Dude, get your feet off my greensEver feel like nothing is secret any more because of the Internet? You may be right. It took 4Chanusers only 15 minutes to track down and bust the Cleveland-area Burger King employee who stood on top of two containers of shredded lettuce and then posted a picture of the gross act. 4Chan is a bulletin board-type website where members post images and comments.

"This is the lettuce you eat at Burger King," wrote the unnamed employee on the evening of July 16. Guess he thought that was funny. Other users weren't laughing: according to Hypervocal.com, Anonymous, the notorious vigilante hacking group, used GPS data embedded in the photo to locate the fast food restaurant's address and reportedly contacted the franchise and FoxNews8. "Whoever this is is getting fired," a morning shift manager named Andrea, told the Cleveland Scene.

Bryson W. Thornton, Director of Burger King's Global Communications, wrote in a statement to Yahoo! Shine:

"Burger King Corp. has recently been made aware of a photo that shows a BURGER KING® restaurant employee violating the company's stringent food handling procedures. Food safety is a top priority at all BURGER KING® restaurants and the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy against any violations such as the one in question. The restaurant where this photo was taken is independently-owned and operated by a BURGER KING® franchisee. The franchisee has taken swift action to investigate this matter and terminated the three employees involved in the incident."

Still, make mine a burger, but hold the lettuce.

Fishing store's name causing controversy

Jul 18, 2012 10:03 AM MDT
ORANGE, VA (WWBT) -
A new business catering to fisherman in the Town of Orange may end up having to close its doors. There's nothing wrong with their product, it's the silly name: the Orange County Master Bait Shop.

The shop was open for just 2 weeks and was the only bait shop in Orange when the complaint was made.

Owner Michael Declue has heard the complaints, but says he chose the name to be memorable. He also claims regardless of whatever innuendo people are suggesting, he's not changing it.

"People are taking the master and also the bait shop and combining them together into a word that's not actually spelled on our business name," said Declue.

In retaliation, Declue says someone unplugged his cooler full of live bait, and others have complained about it to town council. The topic came up at Monday night's meeting.

Still, the mayor of the town of Orange says he's glad the town has a new business.

A Record 150,000 Condoms Will Be Handed Out At This Summer's Olympics

An article in ESPN's Body Issue revealed that the Olympic Village is basically one giant sex-fest.

US women's soccer player Hope Solo was especially vocal on the issue, claiming she slept with a celebrity (that she wouldn't name) and that people are having sex right out in the open... "On the grass, between buildings. People are getting down and dirty."

And the Olympic planners have apparently taken note that there is A LOT of sex going on because they are giving out a record 150,000 condoms to athletes, according to the Daily Mail.

At the last Olympics, there were 70,000 free condoms available, and well, that was not enough.

Have fun and stay safe everyone!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Man Pleads Guilty To Child Neglect, Drunk Driving After Strapping Kids To Hood Of Car

Aaron Stefanski, 29, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of child neglect and driving under intoxication.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A northern Indiana man has pleaded guilty to several charges after driving three blocks with four children strapped to his car’s hood while he was intoxicated.

Twenty-nine-year-old Aaron Stefanski of Fort Wayne accepted a plea agreement with prosecutors Monday. Stefanski was arrested in May after someone called 911 saying he saw Stefanski use a tow strap to secure the children to the car’s hood and drive away.

The Journal Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/OVto5D ) that Stefanski pleaded guilty to child neglect and drunken driving charges and faces six months to three years in prison on each of the four felony counts when he’s sentenced Aug. 3.

Police say Stefanski told officers he thought the children ages 4 to 7 would enjoy the ride and that he was only driving around the corner.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Man Uses Blowtorch To Clear Spiderwebs, Sets House On Fire

The Associated Press

Firefighters on the scene at the home of Eiliya Maida.

While "The Amazing Spider-Man" was red hot at the box office this weekend, just your average spiderweb caused a California homeowner to wreak $25,000 in damages to his home.

Early Saturday afternoon, Eiliya Maida had just finished using a propane-powered blowtorch to set fire to the cobwebs in the backyard of his home in Chico, Calif., theChico Enterprise Record reports.

All was well, until his brother-in-law noticed smoke coming from the attic.

Maida had inadvertently ignited nearby weeds as he was setting the webs on fire, Fire Division Chief Keith Carter told the Huffington Post. The fire spread to household equipment on the lawn before traveling up the outside wall and into the attic.

Maida had not noticed his home was burning until his brother-in-law saw the smoke, according to the Chico Enterprise Record.

Firefighters were able to quell the flames in around 5 to 10 minutes, and they also did not take long to figure out how the blaze had started.

"It was pretty evident," Carter said, because they saw a 5-gallon propane tank with a nozzle lying in the yard.

When firefighters questioned Maida, he quickly admitted what had happened.

Though the fire did about $25,000 worth of damage, the home was not lost. Only the attic suffered serious damage, according to Carter. However, fried electrical wiring has forced the family to move out, at least temporarily.

Carter said he had not heard of anyone using a blowtorch to clear spiderwebs before. However, he pointed out, many people do use blowtorches to burn up weeds and other unwanted plants.

This practice can be dangerous during the heat of summer, the fire chief warns. In Maida's case, the combination of high winds and 100-degree heat on Saturday created particularly hazardous conditions.

Carter does not recommend that anyone use a blowtorch to clear either weeds or cobwebs during the summer. It's "one of those common sense" things, he said.

Scientist names marine parasite after Bob Marley

Associated Press

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A tiny blood-sucking parasite that infests fish on Caribbean coral reefs has been named after Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley.

Arkansas State University marine biologist Paul Sikkel discovered the parasite off the U.S. Virgin Islands a decade ago but it was only recently unveiled as "Gnathia marleyi" as an homage to the singer.

Sikkel says he dubbed the tiny crustacean due to his "respect and admiration" for Marley, who died in 1981.

The National Science Foundation says the creature is a new species within the family of gnathiids, parasites commonly found on coral reefs that are ecologically similar to blood-sucking ticks on land. It infests some fish that inhabit reefs of the shallow eastern Caribbean.

Celebrities such as comedian Stephen Colbert and singer Beyonce have had insects named after them.