Pennsylvania Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Six More Weeks Of Winter via Huffington Post The handlers of Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said Monday the furry rodent has forecast six more weeks of winter. Members of the top hat-wearing Inner Circle announced the “prediction” Monday morning. A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early. The forecast was also announced on Twitter, as was referenced in the official proclamation read by Jeff Lundy, the Fair Weatherman of the Inner Circle. “Forecasts abound on the Internet, but, I, Punxsutawney Phil am still your best bet. Yes, a shadow I see, you can start to Twitter, hash tag: Six more weeks of winter!” Shutterstock
Joy Behar will soon be on her way out of The View . Might NeNe Leakes be on her way in? With changes afoot at the ABC talk show, Wet Paint caught up with Behar this weekend in NYC and the departing host excitedly supported the prospect of this Real Housewives of Atlanta member taking her spot in the fall. “I love NeNe!” Behar said . “I think she’d be very good… She’s fun!” It’s unclear if ABC has given any thought to Leakes. Brooke Shields, Jenny McCarthy and Ali Wentworth are reportedly the leading candidates to take over for Behar. It also remains unknown whether a pair of new panelists will be coming on board, as sources say Elisabeth Hasselbeck is toast . What do you think of NeNe Leakes on The View? Would she be a solid co-host? Heck yes! God no! NeNe who?!? View Poll » Elisabeth Hasselbeck
Bill Deeley, the President of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle and Punxsutawney Phil’s chief handler, is taking the blame on this one. The beloved Pennsylvania rodent rightly predicted six more weeks of winter last month, but Deeley says he incorrectly interpreted Phil’s “groundhog-ese.” As a result, the Ohio prosecutor who light-heartedly indicted Punxsutawney Phil for his botched early spring prediction is now considering a pardon. “I’m the guy that did it; I’ll be the fall guy . It’s not Phil’s fault,” Deeley said in Phil’s defense. Butler County, Oh., prosecutor Mike Gmoser told the AP he is now reconsidering filing charges in light of the new evidence and may drop the case. “Frankly, he is a cute little rascal, a cute little thing,” Gmoser said, of Phil, not Deeley, 63. “And if somebody is willing to step up to the plate and take the rap, I’m willing to listen.” The Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, a small town about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pa., attracts worldwide attention each year. On February 2, he predicted spring would come early this year. So much for that. Weary of snow, wind and cold more than six weeks later, Gmoser announced issued a criminal in indictment of Phil for his 2013 Groundhog Day prediction . “Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early,” Gmoser’s indictment said. Facetiously (we hope), he alleged that Phil deliberately mislead the people of Ohio and should be brought to justice, preferably by the death penalty. Good thing Bill stepped up and got him off the hook. Interestingly, this is two years in a row Phil has dropped the ball. After predicting six more weeks of winter last year, it was one of the warmest on record. Pressure’s on in 2014, buddy.
Groundhog Day 2013 is upon us. Tens of thousands braved temperatures in the single digits last night and this morning in the Weather Capitol of the World, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The occasion? That magical moment when Punxsutawney Phil rises from Gobbler’s Knob, accompanied by his tuxedo-clad handlers, to predict winter’s duration? Will it be six more weeks of snow, wind and cold before the respite of spring? Will a reprieve come sooner? Only Phil and his shadow can say for sure. And he has, just moments ago: NO SHADOW! “Not a shadow to be found. Spring is sprung. RIP Winter! #earlyspring!” That’s according to Phil’s official Twitter (gotta love modern technology)! It’s only the 16th time in 127 years that Punxsutawney Phil , who emerged from his burrow to find overcast conditions in Western Pa., has decreed such a thing. So will the great prognosticator be vindicated by a milder February/March? Debatable at best. But the accuracy of his prediction is secondary, of course. The real point of Groundhog Day is a silly excuse to get out in the elements and submit to the power, mystery and majesty of nature is what it’s all about. It’s basically humans throwing up our hands and declaring we’re not in control … and a big excuse to stay up all night drinking outside in frigid conditions. And recite Groundhog Day quotes . That movie’s hilarious.
The claws have come all the way out for Adrienne Maloof and Brandi Glanville. After last week’s Us Weekly chronicled how Glanville has actually befriended Maloof’s ex-husband, Paul, the latest edition of Life & Style goes into depth concerning another point of contention between the reality stars: Glanville revealing last spring that Adrienne’s twins were born via surrogacy. “I would think Brandi, being a single mother, would have a heart and understand my feelings, where I’m coming from,” Maloof says of her decision to wait before telling this fact to her kids. “Brandi took away something so precious from our family.” Bravo edited out Glanville’s mouth vomit on last year’s episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills . But the private matter still went public via the Internet. “Brandi did destroy our family,” Maloof says. “Right now I’m really hurt and upset, especially because I’ve stuck up for Brandi as a mother in the past.” But is Glanville sorry? Yeah, right. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what I said. We all knew it already. She would always lie about it. It’s not that big of a deal. They’re still your children, just somebody else had to carry them.” Choose a side in this feud: Team Adrienne! Team Brandi! Team I Don’t Care! View Poll »
Will there be six more weeks of winter after tomorrow morning? Or will spring come early to a nation reeling from wild weather swings in January? Only Punxsutawney Phil knows the answer. February 2 is Groundhog Day, of course, when the affable, titular rodent emerges from his Gobbler’s Knob home and sees his shadow … or doesn’t! If there’s a shadow sighting by Phil at daybreak Saturday, six more weeks of winter will be upon us. But if there’s no shadow, early spring baby! In the past 115 years, Punxsutawney Phil has foreseen the coming of “early spring” a mere 15 times, not surprising since he lives in Western Pennsylvania. However, the forecast for tonight is overcast with a chance of snow, so here’s hoping! Share your Groundhog Day prediction : Shadow No Shadow View Poll »
Tia Carrere, Arden Myrin and Amanda Michalka were all out in Beverly Hills today. We asked them their thoughts on Groundhog’s Day. The general consensus was that it doesn’t matter to California! For those of you in cold weather states, the legendary Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, which should mean more winter is on the way!
