Variety , the old-media show-business trade publication founded in 1905, has been acquired by Movieline’s new-media parent company, Penske Media Corp. (PMC) The deal was announced today by PMC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jay Penske and Variety ‘s seller, Reed Information, a division of Reed Elsevier. For some insight into what the deal will mean, check out this report by Deadline’s Mike Fleming , who spent 20 years at Variety before joining PMC. The announcement of the sale can be found after the jump.
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
Report says movie will premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, but a rep tells MTV News ‘no announcements have been made.’ By James Montgomery Jay-Z and Kanye West Photo: Jason Squires/WireImage
George Zimmerman failed to identify himself twice and missed opportunities to defuse a confrontation with Trayvon Martin, a detective says in a newly released report. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the February 26 shooting death of Martin, 17, in Sanford, Florida. The report, which Florida prosecutors released Tuesday, includes a video of Zimmerman showing injuries he said he suffered in the altercation with Martin. Zimmerman, 28, told police he shot the teen in self-defense, but many feel he racially profiled Martin and ignored a 911 dispatcher’s advice not to follow him. Among the documents released was a report from a police officer who conducted computerized voice stress analysis tests on Zimmerman following the incident. “Mr. Zimmerman was subjected to two exams, and was found to be classified as No Deception Indicated,” the report said. Also released was an unredacted capias request, a request that someone be taken into custody, prepared by the lead police investigator in the case. Christopher Serino wrote in the report: “Investigative findings show that (Zimmerman) had at least two opportunities to speak with (Martin) in order to defuse the circumstances surrounding their encounter.” “On at least two occasions (Zimmerman) failed to identify himself as a concerned resident or a neighborhood watch volunteer.” The detective also said Zimmerman’s actions “are inconsistent with those of a person who has stated he was in fear of another subject.” In the same report, Serino wrote that Zimmerman’s injuries were “marginally consistent with a life-threatening violent episode as described by him.” The report is one of several key pieces of information, including the Trayvon Martin autopsy report , to be released in advance of the trial. Zimmerman’s defense attorney, Mark O’Mara, filed a motion Wednesday asking that his client be allowed to appear at a Friday bond hearing in “civilian clothing instead of a prison uniform and without restraints.” Zimmerman’s bail was revoked this month after after a judge said he misled the court about his finances. He had been released in April. Video and photos of Zimmerman shackled and wearing jail garb could prejudice prospective jurors, which is a serious concern, O’Mara said. In response to the document release, O’Mara said Tuesday it will be up to a judge and jury to interpret what Serino’s report means to the case. “His suggestion that it’s marginally consistent, again, is up for review. Those people will have to look at it, whether it’d be Judge (Kenneth) Lester in a motion hearing where the jury will also make that determination,” he said. He said a jury will decide “whether or not those injuries give rise to a reasonable belief in George’s mind that he was a victim of great bodily injury or death.” Martin’s family attorney, Benjamin Crump, said he agrees with the detective. http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/27/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html
Luka Rocco Magnotta, a former adult film actor, is alleged to have brutally killed a man in Montreal and shipped at least two body parts to political parties in Canada. He is now the subject of an international manhunt. Thursday morning, INTERPOL issued an international arrest warrant for Magnotta, who may have fled overseas, with France as one possible destination. He is still at large as of this report. Luka Rocco Magnotta News Report The global bulletin follows a Canada-wide warrant issued by Montreal police hours after officers first entered the 29-year-old suspect’s blood-soaked apartment. It was the scene of one of the most gruesome killings in Montreal in recent memory. Investigators found a torso left in a suitcase, while a hand and foot were mailed to the Ottawa offices of the Liberal and Conservative parties. Police have obtained a video allegedly depicting the crime, and are taking steps to have it removed from a website where it was posted. As authorities search for Magnotta, the young man’s past has come under the microscope and Canadians are trying to come to terms with what kind of person might have committed such gruesome acts. Who is Luka Rocco Magnotta? Born in Scarborough, Ontario, in 1982 as Eric Clinton Newman, he changed his name to Rocco Magnotta in 2006. He has also used the alias Vladimir Romanov. According to a neighbor, Magnotta moved to Montreal four months ago. Magnotta is a self-described male model who launched his bisexual porn acting career “doing webcam shows” in Los Angeles when he was 20 years old. Photographs of him – often shirtless, his lips rouged and set in a model pout – are all over the Internet. Magnotta is featured in a number of online interviews about the porn industry and has often professed his love for cosmetic surgery. According to the Montreal Gazette , animal-rights activists worldwide have been after Magnotta since 2010, after a video surfaced that allegedly showed him placing two kittens in a plastic bag and then vacuuming the air out, suffocating them. Two more videos, also depicting the torture and killing of cats, also have been linked to Magnotta. A $5,000 reward was offered to bring him to justice. Police say Magnotta was romantically linked to Karla Homolka, the former wife of convicted killer Paul Bernado. Homolka was convicted of manslaughter in the 1991-92 rape-murders of three young women, including Karla’s sister Tammy Homolka.
Luka Rocco Magnotta, a former adult film actor, is alleged to have brutally killed a man in Montreal and shipped at least two body parts to political parties in Canada. He is now the subject of an international manhunt. Thursday morning, INTERPOL issued an international arrest warrant for Magnotta, who may have fled overseas, with France as one possible destination. He is still at large as of this report. Luka Rocco Magnotta News Report The global bulletin follows a Canada-wide warrant issued by Montreal police hours after officers first entered the 29-year-old suspect’s blood-soaked apartment. It was the scene of one of the most gruesome killings in Montreal in recent memory. Investigators found a torso left in a suitcase, while a hand and foot were mailed to the Ottawa offices of the Liberal and Conservative parties. Police have obtained a video allegedly depicting the crime, and are taking steps to have it removed from a website where it was posted. As authorities search for Magnotta, the young man’s past has come under the microscope and Canadians are trying to come to terms with what kind of person might have committed such gruesome acts. Who is Luka Rocco Magnotta? Born in Scarborough, Ontario, in 1982 as Eric Clinton Newman, he changed his name to Rocco Magnotta in 2006. He has also used the alias Vladimir Romanov. According to a neighbor, Magnotta moved to Montreal four months ago. Magnotta is a self-described male model who launched his bisexual porn acting career “doing webcam shows” in Los Angeles when he was 20 years old. Photographs of him – often shirtless, his lips rouged and set in a model pout – are all over the Internet. Magnotta is featured in a number of online interviews about the porn industry and has often professed his love for cosmetic surgery. According to the Montreal Gazette , animal-rights activists worldwide have been after Magnotta since 2010, after a video surfaced that allegedly showed him placing two kittens in a plastic bag and then vacuuming the air out, suffocating them. Two more videos, also depicting the torture and killing of cats, also have been linked to Magnotta. A $5,000 reward was offered to bring him to justice. Police say Magnotta was romantically linked to Karla Homolka, the former wife of convicted killer Paul Bernado. Homolka was convicted of manslaughter in the 1991-92 rape-murders of three young women, including Karla’s sister Tammy Homolka.
Ohio Deputy Gets Fired For Ordering Inmates To Dance To Usher’s “Yeah” SMH at the inmates doing the worm and the robot to use the phone: Some inmates did the worm, others chose the old school robot. Each dance was performed to the beat of hip-hop artist Usher on command from a now-fired Summit County deputy. The inmate prize: use of a jail microwave. The charges are revealed in an internal affairs report released Wednesday. Deputy Dominic Martucci, 35, was fired for violating the department’s policies, including a mandate that inmates be treated humanely. Martucci is accused of ordering five inmates dance to Usher’s Yeah! song and then inviting other deputies to watch during an early evening shift on April 11. The inmates danced their way to regaining use of a microwave that they had lost earlier that day. Another inmate won the right to use the phone and commissary items for his old-school robot dance routine. Martucci blared the music from a smartphone, the report said. “I did what I had to do so I could use the phone,” the inmate told investigators. A family member had died and he needed to contact relatives, he said. At one point, Martucci signaled a fellow deputy to watch the dance. “Stop and watch this, it’s going to be funny,” he said, according to the report. One inmate said as many as five deputies looked on during the dance. They were also looking to make sure a supervisor was not nearby, investigators said. The inmate said some dancers were rewarded with commissary items, but not him. The inmate was told he “messed up” and faced a trip to the hole. The inmate alleged Martucci demanded he dance “one minute to my liking.” The inmate was eventually let out of lock down, the report shows. The allegations came out through an inmate’s memo to a sergeant sent days later. “[Martucci] told the inmates that if they wanted out of lock up and the microwave back, that they would have to dance for him,” an internal affair report noted. “He let out the [five inmates] and told them to entertain him by dancing…” Martucci was suspended April 23. This week, Sheriff Drew Alexander fired the deputy on departmental charges of mistreating the inmates, misconduct and having a cell phone in the jail. In his defense, Martucci told investigators he forced the inmates to dance in order to regain day room privileges lost earlier in the shift. The inmates did not touch each other. During the internal investigation, investigators said Martucci admitted his actions were wrong, but that he intended only to “lighten the tension” in the jail pod. Another deputy who saw the dancing said the inmates were laughing during the song. SMH. Do you think he deserved to get fired? Source More On Bossip! Get Ya Mind Right! 10 Ways To Tell That Everyone You Know Thinks You’re A Ho You’re The Worst: The 10 Biggest A-Holes In Sports Happy 40th Rocky! Let’s Celebrate The Rock’s Birthday By Looking At His Most Scintillating Pics, Ladies Caption This: Rihanna In The Strip Club
