A Connecticut attorney blames the state for the brutal massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and is looking to sue for $100 million on behalf of one of the survivors. According to the Hartford Courant, Irving Pinsky filed legal documents with the Claims Commissioner, asking permission to sue the state on behalf of a 6-year-old student. The Newtown, Conn., resident (only ID’d as “Jill Doe”) was in another classroom at the time Adam Lanza open fire and suffered emotional and psychological trauma. Pinsky believes that the December 14 shooting was foreseeable, claiming a “fellow like Adam Lanza would have been known as a potential problem to the police.” As a result, he wants permission to sue Connecticut for nine figures. The state is immune from most lawsuits, which is why Pinsky must ask for permission to even file the suit; he could be allowed to and later lose the case itself. Or he could be rejected outright. No decision has been made regarding whether or not the suit will go through, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
After 4 years of admiring him from a far, it finally happened on November 28, 2012. I’ve struggled with insecurities, severe depression, eating disorders, self harm, endless bullying. I won’t go into my full sob story. But, without exaggeration I can honestly conclude that Justin Bieber saved my life & he is the reason I’m still breathing to this second. He’s the reason I didn’t give up in every aspect of my life, he’s the reason no matter how difficult the circumstances were, I refused to give up. His existence had always been my only source of comfort and provided me with the sense that everything would be alright, and he turned out to be right. My experience is all thanks to Youtube and the game ‘Just Dance 4.’ This is the video of the contest announcement that was the start of something amazing. Justin was giving fans their opportunity to upload videos of themselves dancing to “Beauty & A Beat” which was featured in the game, and Justin would personally choose the videos he liked the best. The winners would receive VIP Tickets to his concert along with meet & greets . My automatic instinct was to jump at this opportunity with my only hope and mind set with the sole intention of winning. Regardless of the outcome, I’d be beyond satisfied knowing that no matter what I put every ounce of effort into attempting to make my dream a reality. While recording my gameplay/dance video, I had attempted it over 40 times to get it somewhat decent. My severe insecurities were holding me back because in my mind, I felt as if I was only going to embarrass myself and that I’m too fat to even be dancing. But I wanted this so badly enough that I ignored it and uploaded it anyways. I’m beyond fortunate that the little dreamer inside of me thought otherwise and managed to remind me why I began this contest to begin with. It proved worthwhile in the end. This is my video, 37 seconds was all it took . About 2 months had passed by. I had completely forgotten about the contest. I was casually on tumblr one day and I had my Yahoo tab open. The Yahoo tab had (1) Unread next to it. I shrugged it off and assumed it was probably a spam message or something irrelevant. I was wrong. I switched tabs to check my mail and I quickly skimmed the new email message, the words: “Just Dance to Justin Sweepstakes! CONGRATULATIONS – Jessica Torres!” stood out and made my pupils dilate. On November 21, 2012 at exactly 5:35 PM, it was a congratulatory email from Just Dance stating that I had just won (2) Believe Tour Concert Tickets to MSG & (2) Meet & Greet Tickets. I sat at my computer desk, my hands covering half my face attempting to process what just happened, tears slowly streaming down my cheeks. When I realized this was reality, I starting pacing in circles around the living room, with my mom just inches away cooking dinner in the kitchen. I went up to her sobbing with a waterfall down on my face, gasping for air in between words as I’m trying to explain. She cried with me, she’s the only person who knows just how much I deserve this opportunity. The time arrived for the meet & greet. My wristbands were already ready for me to pick up with my name written on them, anticipating my arrival. Only minutes away from finally meeting my everything, hero, inspiration, role model, and idol. I was in the same room as him, breathing the same air as him, alone was a huge accomplishment. My heart at this point was ready to escape my chest. I tried to keep my emotional composure, the greatest challenge for me personally for holding back the tears. I took a deep breath to let out a little bit of the anxiety building up inside me. I walked up to him as calm as I could possibly remain. There he stood, pure perfection as usual in a beanie with his beautiful bright white smile flashing at me and those chocolate brown eyes making direct eye contact with me. In that moment, it was indescribable. It was as if the entire world had paused and him and I were the only two people in the existence of the entire planet and nobody else was around. In my mind, it was heaven. I returned a wide nervous smile and made eye contact with him as well. I couldn’t help but notice, he was looking down at my shirt, I suppose it’s because we somehow ended up matching with a similar black and gold shirt, I guess it amused him. I then stood directly next to him, hugged his waist tightly not letting him go not even for a second because I was practically holding the entire world in my hands. He smirks and giggles a bit while still looking down at me by his side. I didn’t realize how tightly I was grabbing his waist out of the excitement, he looks at me and then (what sounded so seductive at the time) whispered in my ear, “Loosen up real quick, I want to put my arms around your waist sweetie.” I followed his command and blushed a bit, and he put his arms around me. The feeling was unbelievable. I give him one last hug before leaving the M&G room and that sums up the most memorable 30 seconds of my life. It was a moment where I realized, “I never gave up, it all finally payed off.” After the M&G, I had about an hour or so to regain my mental state of mind because it was time for the concert. This was the first concert of my life considering the fact I could never ever previously afford to buy tickets. It would obviously be an understatement to conclude that this was a dream come true, it was so much more. Justin Bieber absolutely killed the show and exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t have possibly even thought up a more amazingly perfect experience in my mind if I tried, it was like something out of a fan-fiction. I finally met the boy who’s the reason I’m still here, the reason I try my best in everything I do, the reason I haven’t given up on life, the reason I believe in everything imaginable, even when I could barely believe in myself & my own potential. I hope this story inspires people the way Justin inspires me. I’m living proof that everything can be accomplished with effort, dedication, and perseverance. I can’t express this enough, when I say, please don’t ever give up on your dreams. There’s gonna be times when people tell you that you can’t live your dreams, but Never Say Never. Everything’s going to be alright, it really is. I never thought it would, but here I am sharing my story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything, Justin. Much love. – @xoJessicaTorres Read the original here: After 4 years of admiring him from a far, it finally happened on…
Josh Brent may be getting sidelined for real! Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent is facing serious jail time for the DUI accident that killed his homie Jerry Brown earlier this month. Via TMZ reports : Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent has been indicted on one count of intoxicated manslaughter … after allegedly killing his teammate in a drunken car accident earlier this month. Brent was indicted by a Texas Grand Jury today following the December 8th crash that killed his friend and teammate Jerry Brown. Brent was behind the wheel at the time of the accident. Police in the Dallas suburb where the accident took place claim Brent was speeding when his Mercedes struck a curb and flipped over. Officers believe Brent was under the influence of alcohol. Brent is currently out on $100,000 bail and, if convicted, faces up to 20 years in prison. If you ask us people have been VERY VERY nice to Brent since this accident. People weren’t this nice to Brandy when she had her accident and she wasn’t even drinking. Has he been getting a pass because he’s an athlete? Specifically, a Cowboys football player?
Django Unchained may be receiving attention for its excessive use of the N-Word , and the body count in this Quentin Tarantino thriller may be as high as anything the director has ever helmed, but neither of those issues gets to the heart of the film: Two men, one friendship and the way Christoph Waltz was pretty much born to recite words written by Tarantino. Waltz portrays Dr. King Shulz, essentially the same character that earned him an Oscar in Inglourious Basterds . He’s a loquacious, laid back killer who smiles through the most tense situations. Tarantino penned the part for Waltz, and the best parts of the 166-minute movie feature Shulz simply talking: to residents of a town after he kills their sheriff; to Foxx’s slave-turned-bounty-hunter, Django; to Leonardo DiCaprio’s evil plantation owner. Waltz brings Tarantino terrific dialogue to entertaining life. And Foxx is also strong, evolving from a quiet slave to “the fastest draw in the South,” obliterating foes along the way and tracking down his wife (Kerry Washington), who has been purchased by DiCaprio’s Calvin Candle. The movie is Tarantino through and through, from the unusual combination of history and absurdity… to the drawn out scenes (one involving a group of white men complaining about the holes in their KKK-like hoods)… to his need to violently murder almost everyone on screen. Due to the latter point, the film is about 30 minutes too long. Without giving anything away, it easily could have ended around the time of a certain handshake, but Tarantino just can’t resist. He had to up the body count, he had to use up all his red dye budget. Indeed, the closing handful of scenes are cartoon-like in their violence. They’re just examples of Tarantino having fun with fake bullets and slow motion and shredded corpses. But these aren’t the difficult ones to watch. There’s one moment where a man is torn apart by dogs that even Michael Vick from a few years ago would have trouble watching. Overall? Django Unchained is exactly what anyone familiar with Tarantino’s work would expect. It may push the boundaries of good taste at times, and it definitely runs longer than necessary, but it’s a fun two-plus hours. You’re in for impressive visuals, unique characters and a series of fantastic exchanges between great actors. Sound off now with your take and visit Movie Fanatic for another Django Unchained review .
I’m Holly, I’m from Scotland and I met Justin Bieber in London on Thursday September 13th, 2012. I never, ever thought that one day I’d be writing my very own Bieber experience, so to be able to do this is just WOW. I’m grateful beyond words. I’ve been a Belieber since 2009 and most people know me as “the girl who loves Justin Bieber.” Despite Justin telling us to Never Say Never and to Believe, I always felt that my dream of meeting Justin was always going to remain a dream, I was proven wrong. I’ve entered so many Bieber related competitions and I’ve never been lucky, at times I even wondered what point was there of even entering them if I wasn’t going to feel nothing but disappointment when I didn’t win. When I had found out about the Clyde 1 In Demand Scotland Contest I thought I would give it a try, even though I was positive I wouldn’t get anywhere . I did as the competition said, I liked the picture of Justin they uploaded on their Facebook page and I waited. When the next day came I was picked as the first finalist! What?! Was this really happening to me? As the week went on two more finalists were picked, then on the final a 4th one was picked. We had to answer a question: “How many copies of Justin Bieber’s album Believe were sold in the UK?” I had no clue whatsoever, I took a guess and guess what? I WON. I WAS MEETING MY IDOL AFTER 3 WHOLE YEARS OF WAITING. I felt so lucky, so blessed and I was so grateful. I travelled to London on the 12th of September. I genuinely couldn’t believe that the next day I would be meeting my idol. I didn’t even know where I was meeting him, it was all kept very secretive. On the morning of the 13th I woke up feeling so sick with nerves, as I did every morning in the run up to the big day! In order to pass time my mum and I just chilled outside Justin’s hotel with all the Beliebers and I met so many amazing people that I hope I stay in contact with! I met Dan Kanter at Pret A Manger in Oxford Street and he was so sweet, we spoke and I got a picture with him. Then we got a phone call telling us we were to go back to Justin’s hotel where someone would come out and get us. After waiting for what seemed like forever in the cold we got another phone call telling us to walk into the hotel, so we did . I think loads of the Beliebers were probably like “What the hell is that girl doing?” but others were shouting “GO HOLLY!!” I was smiling so much. I was taken up to the floor Justin was staying on and on the way up, I met Kenny and I said hi and he said hi back. The radio interviews were running late so me and my mum had to sit out at the lifts and wait. The lift door opened and out walked Moshe and went to Justin’s room. When he came back he asked if I was the competition winner and I replied yes. My mum said to him that Justin must be tired with all the interviews and the busy schedule and Moshe smiled and said, “It’s all part of the job.” We were then taken to stand outside Justin’s room. I could hear him talking, laughing, at one point he even sang part of ‘As Long As You Love Me.’ I was dying, I was so nervous. Eventually the big moment came, it was my time to meet Justin, I could not believe it! I walked into his hotel room and a photographer was taking pictures of Justin. OMG he was so flawless, he didn’t even look real. This may seem weird but he was like a wax work figure – he was just that perfect!! While he was getting some quick photos Kenny shook my hand and spoke to me about Scotland. Justin began to walk over, smiling so big and when he looked into my eyes, it was unbelievable, I was at my happiest. He said “Heyyyyy, it’s nice to meet you,” with the biggest smile and took me into his arms. IT WAS THE BEST HUG EVER . My arms were wrapped around him and his arms were wrapped around me, it was so perfect! It was a long hug and we were squeezing each other tight. I didn’t want to let go of him ever! I told him how I couldn’t believe this was finally happening! We then got photos taken, he looked at me smiling and said, “I’ve got my One Time hoodie on today” and he seemed so happy about it because he knows how much the hoodie means to both him and us Beliebers . We got photos taken by the photographer and I had my arms wrapped around his waist, and his hand was on my back, and then he asked if I had a camera so we could get more photos together. He pulled me in closer to him and his face was touching mine and he was holding me, inside I was screaming. After the photos, we hugged again. When he spoke his voice was heavenly, I never thought I’d be speaking to the boy that inspires me so much. He asked me if I wanted him to sign anything so he signed my Bieber experience photo album. He wrote: ‘Holly, Believe Justin Bieber.’ He made sure it was the correct spelling of my name and he took his time to make it perfect! We spoke some more, I don’t remember exactly what about though cause I was so nervous, just like about Believe Tour etc. He gave me another big hug and went over to my mum and said, “Mom give me a hug?” She was only expecting a handshake but she got a hug, she was starstruck to be honest. I said thank you to Justin for everything, and to who organized it as well. I gave him my letter and said if he had the time to read it then that would be amazing. He said, “Awwww of course!” We said our goodbyes and when I walked out of his room I got all emotional, it was so overwhelming and I was in so much shock. I was so grateful and it was the best 10 minutes of my life! Justin’s smile was just so real, warm and when I hugged him I felt so safe. I’ll carry the memory of meeting Justin with me in my head and heart throughout the rest of my life! I’m so grateful to have had an opportunity like that and I’ll never take it for granted. To all you Beliebers who think you’ll never meet Justin trust me, you WILL. Anything is possible if you just believe. Dreams DO come true, mine did and yours will too, NEVER SAY NEVER. – @cuddlemejustin See the article here: I’m Holly, I’m from Scotland and I met Justin Bieber…
If you and the fam headed to the multiplex to watch one of the season’s big new releases this week , chances are you caught Tom Hooper ‘s epic weepie Les Miserables or Quentin Tarantino ‘s Django Unchained . (Or maybe the in-laws dragged you to Parental Guidance , in which case, my condolences.) We’ll get spoilery all over Django later, but for now let’s get to hashing out the answer to the question that’s been on every showtune-lover’s mind for months: Which Les Miz cast member totally nailed the live-sung suffering for the big screen (and whose warblings made us les miserables )? I’ll start: Anne Hathaway ? NAILED IT. I’ll admit I was tres apprehensive at first listen when the trailers featuring her tremulous Fantine cry-singing hit the web. Watching the whole film, however, it’s clear Hathaway and Hugh Jackman are leading a masterclass in sing-acting for the entire Les Miserables cast, and in context the breathy imperfect perfection of Hathaway’s “I Dreamed A Dream” is downright heart-wrenching. It’s been said before, but the Oscar already belongs to that hitch in her voice that hits as she’s choking on tears while wailing about her miserable prostitute life with Hooper’s camera all up in her face — one of the only performances in the film riveting and emotional enough to sustain those damned extended close-ups . Runner-up for best performance in Les Miserables goes to Jackman, who wows in Jean Valjean’s pre-bath scenes with a filthy, feral energy that I honestly didn’t think he had in him. Pacing back and forth in the bishop’s chapel during “What Have I Done?” Jackman is riveting; you can see Valjean’s confused, broken mind reeling as Jackman spits and cries out in song, and Hooper’s camera work actually fits the number. It’s a shame, then, that the nearly three-hour running time of Les Miserables suffers from Jackman fatigue by the time Valjean’s singing his umpteenth song. On second thought, I’ll give Jackman a tie for runner-up with the little kid who plays Gavroche. (His name’s Daniel Huttlestone. He’s 12. He started his career on the West End. What have you done with your life lately?) Talk about making the most out of a handful of screen minutes; I’d trade a dozen of Jackman’s blah Valjean scenes for more of the impish street urchin who fights on the front lines with the students. I’d watch Gavroche picking pockets, or scamming rich folk, or stealing hearts up and down the dirty streets of Paris. In fact, can we just make him the Han of Les Miz and give him his own Fast & Furious -style prequel where he goes on a Moonrise Kingdom -esque adventure that never ends? (Also great: Samantha Barks as Eponine , the patron saint of girls harboring unrequited life-and-death crushes on boys who are too dumb to see what’s in front of them, and Aaron Tveit AKA Tripp from Gossip Girl as Enjolras.) Now for the not-so-great performances. Let’s just say that Amanda Seyfried ‘s birdlike soprano trill is totes fine, but I daresay she was wasted in the role of Cosette, AKA The Most Boring Girl In All Of France. I can take or leave Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers, whose slapsticky numbers took some folks out of the abject misery of Les Mis but didn’t move the needle for me in either direction. Russell Crowe did himself no favors in my book with his mismatched 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts belting , but Hooper made it worse with those CG crane shots of Javert, wailing existential above the sewers in a dead-armed stance. I love me some Russell Crowe, but by the time he finally jumped to his death with a sigh of despair, I was rooting for it. Sweet, sweet relief. So, Movieliners: Did you hear the Les Miserables cast sing? Who made your heartstrings ache the hardest? Who sung the sweetest through the tears? Which cast members would you let warble their most miserable miseries in your castle on a cloud? READ MORE ABOUT LES MISERABLES : ‘Les Misérables’ Hits High Notes, But Also Skitters Great Moments In ‘Les Miserables’ Mania: Katie Holmes Sings ‘On My Own’ On ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Early Reaction: Oscar Race Heats Up As NYC Screening Of ‘Les Miserables’ Prompts Cheers & Tears Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Kevin Federline’s brother Chris says he not only had an affair with Britney Spears, but fathered her oldest son Sean, according to a new bombshell tabloid report. Christopher Federline, as reported by the National Enquirer, filed for a restraining order against Britney on December 18 in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla. Claiming The X Factor judge stole from, blackmailed and harassed him. Obvi. “She is out-of-control and a maniac,” Chris Federline said in the court docs. Say what now? Well, he explains, or at least tries to … Chris claims Britney recently “went to Kevin’s house to pick up Sean Preston and Jayden James , and [his] wallet was on Kevin’s coffee table.” Britney, he says, “opened it up and stole [his] Capital One credit card.” C-Fed says Britney racked up $4,500 in charges, and also “laughed at me [and] told me my brother Kevin ruined her life, and made fun of me and told me I have a small penis.” That covers all bases right there. As for the illegitimate he claims he fathered, Chris says he got the pop star pregnant while she was married to K-Fed – and that SHE threatened to expose it. “She also blackmailed me and told me if I tell the police that she stole my credit card, that she will tell the world I’m the true father of Sean Preston, not Kevin.” “I do confess I slept with Britney, and I am the true father, but the public does not need to know,” he admitted … to a f–king celebrity gossip magazine. Makes perfect sense to us. Yet, when he asked for his card back, she “just laughed” and “threatened to tell Kevin she and Chris had sex while she was married to Kevin … and tell everyone.” It’s unclear how many times they allegedly fornicated while both were married, but Chris says he regrets the affair with Britney and didn’t want it to get out. An insider says, “Chris says the fling was a mistake” and he “always felt bad and kept it to himself because he didn’t want Alisha, his wife at the time, to know.” If the recent Britney split rumors are true, she and Jason Trawick are on the rocks. Maybe she and Chris can patch up their differences … in the sack!
Despite a unique set of circumstances that made the idea feasible and rumors of his political ambitions, Ben Affleck will not be running for U.S. Senate. “I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office,” the Argo director wrote on his Facebook page Monday, December 24. “We are about to get a great U.S. Secretary of State and there are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat,” he added. “I look forward to an amazing campaign.” “Right now it’s a privilege to spend my time working with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), supporting our veterans, drawing attention to the great many who go hungry in the U.S. every single day and using filmmaking to entertain and foster discussion about issues like our relationship to Iran.” Rumors ran wild last week that Affleck would run for U.S. Senate in his native Massachusetts, replacing soon-to-be Secretary of State John Kerry. Hillary Clinton, currently the head of the U.S. State Department, made it clear she’d step down as soon as President Obama’s replacement is sworn in. A special election will be held in 2013 to fill Kerry’s seat in Congress’ upper chamber. During an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation last week, the actor-director played coy about the possibility he could throw his hat into the wide-open ring. “Well, one never knows,” he said. “I do have a great fondness and admiration for the political process, but I’m not going to get into speculation about my political future.” The husband of Jennifer Garner and father of three joked, “I’ve got a lot on my plate.”
It’s starting to appear that Katy Perry and John Mayer are taking things to the next level. He went home with her … to her parents’ house on Christmas! The couple, after dating for a few months, spent Christmas together. “They’re both very happy together and with her family for the holidays,” says a People source. “John really likes getting to know Katy’s family better.” The couple are also getting serious about their relationship. “They’ve spent a lot of time together and really enjoy each other’s company ,” says the source of the two singers. “John is entirely focused on Katy.” As for recent celebrity gossip reports that the d-bag has been flirting with other women and that Perry discovered text messages on his phone? “That is absolutely not true. John would never do that to her.” “Katy really trusts John.” Never seems like a bit of a stretch, given the 35-year-old’s track record, but we’re glad they’re happy at least, especially after her 2011 Christmas. Last December around this time, the 28-year-old and her then-husband Russell Brand filed for divorce. Their marriage officially ended this past July. John Mayer and Katy Perry : Hot or not? So HOT! So not. View Poll »
My name is Sophie, I’m 18 and I have been supporting Justin for 3-4 years now. I seriously don’t know what I would be doing with my life right now if it wasn’t for Justin. I always knew that in my mind I would meet Justin, even if it took 10 years, I would. I always got bullied for supporting him and always got told: “you’re never going to meet him Sophie” or “he will never know you exist so just stop!” or “step into reality and stop telling everyone your going to meet him because your not!” But the thing is, I always used to laugh and say, “You watch I’ll prove you wrong one day!” and guess what…I DID, TWICE. I met Justin at his hotel the day before, and at a meet & greet the day after. I live in Australia and I travelled 25 hours halfway across the world JUST to see Justin perform at the Believe Tour. It wasn’t just to see him because I ended up with MEET & GREET tickets at the Barclays Centre on the 12th November 2012. We got to New York and it’s beautiful. We woke up on the 12 th November and that was the day of Justin’s concert. We were sitting in the lobby stealing the wifi and my e-mails went off and I had about 20 e-mails, so I just flicked through and deleted all of them until I realized when I clicked delete, I saw “Congratulations Sophie!” and it was from Bieberfever! I went into deleted items and brought the e-mail back into my inbox to read that I WON TWO MEET & GREET PASSES TO JUSTIN’S CONCERT THAT NIGHT. I cried and my heart was beating so fast, even though we already had meet & greets. I was thinking…what am I going to do with them. While I was lining up for the M&G I told my dad to find two girls so he went up to 2 young girls and said, “Have you got tickets to the show?” and confused they were like “Yes, yes we do! Why?” He said, “My daughter won 2 M&G passes for Justin Bieber and she already has meet & greet tickets, would you like them?” It was honestly the most amazing thing I have ever heard. (I was on the phone with my dad at the time) . One of the girls started to cry while the other one screamed “ARE YOU LYING? OH MY GOD PLEASE DONT LIE!” When it was true, they just kept saying, “OH MY GOSH THANK YOU SO MUCH, THIS MEANS SO MUCH FOR MY GIRLS” and they walked into the entry to go meet Justin. Justin is so nice, and so amazing. I walked in and he said, “Hello ladies” and I felt so faint! I said “HI JUSTIN!”, he hugged me and we got a photo! I said, “We came from Australia, just for you!” and it was the best moment of my life . He is just flawless and I love him. After the show, Lauren and I got interviewed by some documentary people outside. We got filmed for about 10 minutes, they were asking us questions about how long it took to get to NY, how much we love Justin, why we love him etc. It was a great way to end an AMAZING night. -@SimplyBieberr View post: My name is Sophie, I’m 18 and I have been supporting Justin for…
