Mitt Romney’s son Tagg signed a surrogacy agreement that gave the surrogate, Tagg and his wife the right to abort her recent pregnancy, according to TMZ. Tagg, the oldest of Mitt’s five sons, had twins this year through a surrogate, and Mitt Romney covered some of the expenses connected with the arrangement. The twin boys, David Mitt and William Ryder, were born on May 4, 2012. Tagg and his wife Jen, along with the surrogate and her husband, signed a Gestational Carrier Agreement dated July 28, 2011. Paragraph 13 of it reads: “If in the opinion of the [physician or obstetrician] there is potential physical harm to the surrogate, the decision to abort or not abort is to be made by the surrogate.” “In the event the child is determined to be physiologically, genetically or chromosomally abnormal, the decision is to be made by the intended parents.” “In such a case the surrogate agrees to abort, or not to abort, in accordance with the intended parents’ decision.” “Any decision to abort because of potential harm to the child, or to reduce the number of fetuses, is to be made by the intended parents.” In other words, Tagg and Jen Romney gave the surrogate the right to abort the fetuses even if her life wasn’t in danger. Only “potential physical harm” was needed. The Romneys had the right to abort the fetuses if they felt they would not be healthy. Mitt Romney was involved in the surrogate arrangement because he paid some of the expenses, but it is unclear if he read the contract or knew the terms. The Republican presidential candidate has said he is in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest and the health and life of the mother. Otherwise, Romney says he’s against abortion, a position he didn’t always hold. Interestingly, Tagg used the same surrogate in 2009, and there was no Paragraph 13 providing for abortion at that time because Tagg and his wife didn’t want it. In 2011, when the second contract was being drafted, it was in there.
Okay now he’s talking good sense. Just weeks after becoming one of the biggest punchlines of the colossal failure that was the 2012 Republican National Convention, Clint Eastwood is speaking out about his role in the festivities. Via US Weekly : “If somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re going to have to take what they get,” the 82-year-old star told Extra earlier this week about his now-infamous August 30 Republican National Convention appearance, during which he addressed an invisible Barack Obama “seated” next to him. Eastwood explained himself further to Ellen DeGeneres during a Tuesday sit-down with the comedienne. “The Democrats who were watching thought I was going senile. And the Republicans knew I was!” joked the legendary actor and director. Eastwood also seized the opportunity to clarify his political views — he’s not a Republican or a Democrat, but a Libertarian. Explaining that fiscal responsibility is what matters most to him, the San Francisco native said his views also extend to social issues, too; Eastwood revealed he takes issue with any government interference in citizens’ personal lives, including attempts to define marriage, same sex or otherwise, through legislation. Said the Gran Torino star, “[It’s] a part of the Libertarian idea: Leave everybody alone!” Later in the show, DeGeneres and Eastwood took a break from talking politics to discuss Mrs. Eastwood and Company, a reality show focused on Eastwood’s wife, Dina, and daughters Francesca, 19, and Morgan, 16. When asked how he feels about the series, Eastwood said he “doesn’t feel much.” “If they want to do a reality show, that’s fine,” the notoriously private star shared. “My only request was to please leave me out of it as much as possible!” Sorry, but as much as good ol’ Clint got clowned for talking to a chair he was still probably the best speaker at the whole RNC. Which ain’t sayin’ much. Do you agree with Eastwood’s Libertarian views? Getty Images
Stop!!! Put the sushi roll down and read this… there’s a new study out there that’s found extremely high levels of arsenic in rice. Consumer Reports already came out with their Apple Juice study earlier this year and now we’re finding out that rice has high amounts of the chemical too?!?! SMH According to the study, rice with the highest levels of arsenic comes from Texas, Louisiana, and portions of the Gulf Coast that used to grow cotton; since arsenic-filled pesticides were used to kill the boll weevil (a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers), the chemical is STILL in the soil after more than a century ago! As the rice grows, arsenic enters and concentrates into the plant. Since the shell is still on brown rice, it’s actually more harmful than white as far as the levels are concerned. In case you didn’t know, arsenic causes lung, skin, and bladder cancer. Rice is a main staple in many cultures AND food ingredients, buyer beware! According to CBS News… …arsenic is also very harmful to babies’ brain development. If a baby is exposed to arsenic in the womb because the mother is eating arsenic or if a baby ingests arsenic in the first months of life in cereal, rice milk or other food, the arsenic could interfere with brain development, reduce the child’s intelligence, and cause behavioral problems. Landrigan recommended in the coming months and years that parents avoid rice altogether or just rice that was grown in Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri. “Stay with California rice, stay with Asian rice or when in doubt go with barley, go with oatmeal,” he said. “The smart thing to do is to be concerned and not do it. … Just avoid the rice.” Asked about adults eating rice, Landrigan said it’s smart to limit the amount of rice you eat, but that you don’t have to cut it out entirely. If you’re asking yourself why you’re just hearing about this now…blame the FDA. They don’t warn consumers about this kind of isht because there are NO federal standards for how much arsenic is allowed in food!!! The FDA has released a statement on arsenic, saying, “Based on the currently available data and scientific literature the FDA does not have an adequate scientific basis to recommend changes by consumers regarding their consumption of rice and rice products” That’s right! The Food And Drug Administration has got nada to say about rice and high arsenic levels. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg actually said that consumers shouldn’t stop eating rice, though she does encourage a “diverse diet”, you know, just in case : “Our advice right now is that consumers should continue to eat a balanced diet that includes a wide variety of grains — not only for good nutrition but also to minimize any potential consequences from consuming any one particular food,” she said. We all know the FDA doesn’t have consumers best interests in mind. If you can’t regulate isht because corporations control you then we’ll have to keep spreading the word on crucial news like this on our own! Images via shutterstock
Paul Dano says he plays “a bit of a prick” in So Yong Kim’s For Ellen , but pricks are humans, too. And in this making-of clip, Dano’s character — a rock musician who’s hit the skids named Joby Taylor — appears ready to regain some of his misplaced humanity. After agreeing to sign divorce papers in order to make some money off the sale of the marital home, Joby discovers that the agreement requires him to forfeit custody of his six-year-old daughter Ellen (newcomer Shaylena Mandigo). With his lawyer (Jon Heder) unable to modify the terms, Joby makes an eleventh-hour visit to his daughter and estranged wife’s home to figure out if he is able to walk away from his child or somehow reconcile with his wife. In this exclusive featurette, Dano and the director describe shooting one of the climactic scenes between Joby and his young daughter in For Ellen, which is available nationwide on video on demand beginning today . Spoiler alert: the crew had a serious cast of moist-eye after Dano and Mandigo shot the scene. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Rupert Everett has stirred up quite a bit of controversy with comments made to The Sunday Times Magazine in Great Britain. The actor, who came out of the closet at age 18, told the publication that his mother has met his boyfriend and gets along with him very well – but would prefer if her child came home instead with a wife and kids. “She thinks children need a father and a mother and I agree with her,” Everett said. “I can’t think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads. Some people might not agree with that. Fine! That’s just my opinion.” Expecting backlash, Everett added: “I’m not speaking on behalf of the gay community. In fact, I don’t feel like I’m part of any ‘community.’ The only community I belong to is humanity and we’ve got too many children on the planet, so it’s good not to have more.” Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall (a British gay rights group) reacted swiftly to Everett’s comments, releasing a statement that reads: “Rupert should get out a little bit more to see the facts for himself. There is absolutely no evidence that the kids of gay parents suffer in the way they are being brought up or in how they develop.” What do you think of Rupert Everett’s anti-gay parenting stance? It is…
Siohvaughn’s got a whole lot of isht to get off of her chest. The ex of NBA Baller Dwayne Wade just gave a very detailed interview where she spit about her marriage, the abuse, and nasty divorce/custody battle. Siohvaughn basically alleges that Dwyane’s public persona is bogus and that he was abusive during her pregnancy with their child… Though the pair began dating in their teens, Sioh, with her arm in a cast, says their love went downhill shortly after he got drafted and had a few dollars in his pocket. Her mother later joined in the conversation and talked about the sacrifices she and her family made once Dwyane moved in with them….and how he now treats them poorly. On Dwyane abusing her while pregnant: I was pregnant with Zion. Shortly before being hospitalized I was in Florida and I woke up in the middle of the night because I was sick, obviously with the pregnancy. I noticed that Mr. Wade wasn’t in the house. I was calling him and calling him because it was probably like, two or three o’ clock in the morning and we went to bed together which means he must have gotten up out of the bed and just left in the middle of the night without telling me. I was looking for him. I looked around the house. I was calling his phone he didn’t answer. He finally got back several hours later, it was well into the next day and I was very upset. I was asking where was he and why he [would] just leave without saying anything. His response was at first to be verbally abusive. He was cursing, he was calling me names, he was telling me to shut the ‘f’ up.He picked me up and held me over his head literally in midair and threw me down in our bathroom. We had an ottoman in the bathroom and he slammed me down so hard that when my back hit the ottoman it broke into four pieces and my back and head hit the concrete, the marble floor, excuse me, in the bathroom. After that I got up and immediately went — there’s a cordless phone in the bathroom, I immediately went to that phone and I was crying, I was hysterical, I went to go call the police. At that point more hell broke lose because I suppose he was in fear of being exposed because I certainly was going to call the police. I picked up the cordless phone, he snatched it out of my hand and he threw the cordless phone against my body so hard that the phone literally broke into pieces. On when the relationship went downhill: It started to get really bad the summer right after he’d been drafted. I was over the phone with him and he had said something to me very, very, angrily, and I had something to him about speaking to me and being disrespectful and he told me, ‘Do you wanna go and live in your mother’s house? ‘Cause that’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna end up back living in your mother’s house.’ I was very shocked. It was a very, very awful feeling. We stayed together but now that I can look back, from that moment it went downhill. Siohvaughn’s mom speaks about Dwyane moving in: The night he came to me, he had two black garbage bags and he knocked on the door late at night. He asked me, did I mean what I said when I said that I would never let a kid be out in the street with no place to go. ‘You would never let a kid go hungry and you would always help them if they needed something for school’, and I said yeah, I meant what I said. And he said, ‘Mama, I’m home.’ So I was like, okay. Siohvaughn On Dwyane and Gabrielle Union dating AND the lawsuit: Separated and divorced are two different things. I’m not certain when it happened or when she happened but I know that I was very married. I know that me and Dwyane at that time had talked about reconciliation going back and forth. I was still even intimate sometimes with my then husband. So, does that constitute sleeping or having an affair with somebody’s husband? Yes. To me, divorce and separation are always two different things. The lawsuit was about her having a negative effect on my children….That’s what that lawsuit was about. Her behavior and the things she did and said began to effect my sons, that’s when I opened my mouth and did something about it. Wow! If this is true then Dwayne and his new book need to step aside and let Siohvaughn see her babies. SMH Source Images via youtube/WENN
What the hell??? Can we go a month without some angry athlete assaulting his girl ? According to TMZ… Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Bryant was arrested Tuesday morning … for allegedly strangling his baby mama back in April. A warrant was issued for Bryant’s arrest in South Florida on Tuesday … stemming from a domestic violence incident that allegedly occurred April 10 between Bryant and the mother of his child, Dianne Helne. According to reports … Helne told the police Bryant pushed her in the face … put his hands around her neck while she was holding their young child … and then continued to kick and punch her, after she put the child down. Shortly after the warrant was issued, the 31-year-old turned himself over to police. He was charged with domestic battery by strangulation, domestic violence and culpable negligence. Bryant — who played in the NFL from 2002 to 2009 for the Cowboys, Browns, 49ers and the Buccaneers — was later released on $15,000 bail. Bryant had a workout with the Seattle Seahawks this summer, but was released after suffering a leg injury. Images via twitter
In Monday’s round-up of news briefs, a quick look at weekend pick ups at the Toronto International Film Festival including The Place Beyond the Pines , Aftershock , Great Expectations and more that will head to a theater (hopefully) near you. Also Beasts Of The Southern Wild takes a top prize at the Deauville Film Festival in France. Focus Features Takes Toronto’s The Place Beyond the Pines The new drama starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes will be released in the U.S. via Focus Features. Directed by Derek Cianfrance ( Blue Valentine ). A World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film explores the consequences of motorcycle rider Luke (Mr. Gosling)’s fateful decision to commit a crime to support his child. The incident renders him targeted by policeman Avery (Mr. Cooper), and the two men become locked on a tense collision course which will have a devastating impact on both of their families in the years following. Toronto’s Great Expectations Heads to U.S. Theaters The Toronto Gala starring Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jeremy Irvine, and Holliday Grainger, will head to theaters in North America via Outsource Media Group. Directed by Mike Newell, Great Expectations is a retelling of the classic and beloved Charles Dickens story of the young orphan Pip, who is given a chance to rise from his humble beginnings thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Moving through London’s class-ridden world as a gentleman, Pip uses his newfound position to pursue the beautiful Estella, a spoilt heiress he’s loved since childhood. Michel Gondry’s The We and the I Heads to N. American Theaters French director Michel Gondry’s Cannes Directors Fortnight opener The We and the I , which is having its N. American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, will open in theaters in the U.S. and Canada in early March. Distribution partners 108 Media and Paladin acquired the rights to the film that follows a group of Bronx high schoolers who board a city bus on their way home. With summer break ahead of them, and feeling more liberated than usual, this broad array of kids–the cool ones, the outsiders, and everyone in between–act out as only teenagers can and, in the course of one afternoon, their friendships, rivalries, ambitions, and anxieties are revealed. Strand Nabs In the Fog U.S. rights to Sergei Loznitsa’s In the Fog are headed to Strand Releasing. The film follows three men three men who find themselves deep in a forest during World War II and face a moral conflict. It received a FIPRESCI prize in Cannes. The film is currently playing Toronto. Leviathan Heads to Cinema Guild The doc by Lucien Castaing-Taylor will open theatrically in early 2013. The film takes a look at the commercial fishing business in the North Atlantic. It is having its North Americna premiere in Toronto and will have its U.S. debut at the upcoming New York Film Festival. Around the ‘net… Beasts of the Southern Wild, Una Noche Win Top Deauville Prizes Benh Zeitlin’s debut film won the Grand Prize at France’s Deauville Film Festival as well as the Cartier Revelation Award, while Lucy Mulloy’s “day in the life Cuban drama” took the Jury Prize. The International Critics Prize went to Michel Gondry’s The We and the I , THR reports . Dimension Scores Eli Roth’s Aftershock and Clown Dimension picked up rights to Aftershock , which is screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is an earthquake thriller scripted by Roth, Nicolas Lopez & Guillermo Amoedo. The label headed by Bob Weinstein also picked up rights to Eli Roth’s Clown , which is based on a fan-made trailer that grabbed Roth’s attention after it went viral, Deadline reports .
With Tameka Raymond hoping to reopen their child custody battle that she lost recently, singer Usher has filed a motion that he hopes will prevent that from happening. Deets…
Aww po’ thang… Social Worker Claims Reporting Mariah Carey’s “Drinking” Got Her Fired After learning that a celebrity mom breastfed her premature twins while drinking alcohol and taking medication, a social worker cried foul and lost her job, she claims in court. Believing that the conduct amounted to child abuse, Mela Ferrer says she reported the celebrity to the Department of Child and Family Services on May 10, 2011. That same week, celebrity Nick Cannon told journalist Piers Morgan that he and Mariah Carey had just been visited by the department based on allegations that there was “some drinking and drugs and all that going on while in the hospital.” The department reportedly determined quickly that there was no merit to the allegations concerning Carey’s twins, who were born prematurely at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center on April 30, 2011. But Ferrer says the hospital was worried that her duty-bound report would deter other celebrities from using their facilities. They urged Ferrer to “cover it up to protect the image of the celebrity mother,” according to the complaint. Neither Carey, Cannon nor their twins are named in the complaint, which refers only to a “well known celebrity.” Ferrer’s lawyer David Olan said he could neither confirm nor deny the identity of the unnamed star. As entertainment news outlets covered the investigation into Carey last year, the couple said Carey drank Guinness because hospital staff said it would promote lactating. But Ferrer, who was working there on temporary assignment, says “that she was a mandated reporter and was obligated to report the matter to DCFS.” “Some (sic) the medications the celebrity mother was taking were not recommended and/or were contraindicated for use by nursing mothers and/or in combination with alcohol,” the complaint states. Ferrer says one of her supervisors at the hospital, Marcia Colone, reprimanded her on May 11 for filing the report before consulting with the social work supervisor, Josephine Kaplan. On May 12, two days after Ferrer filed the report, Kaplan called the 68-year-old Ferrer into her office and fired her. Ferrer says she later learned that she had been let go under the pretense of not following “protocol.” But the hospital never had set rules or procedures for filing complaints to the department, and it was only interested in protecting its celebrity clientele, according to the complaint. Snitches get stitches fired. Image via WENN/GSI Source
