Why did Bernie Madoff get 150 years in prison? Short answer -- he's a sleaze. Real answer -- lots of reasons.
The Ponzi Scheme operator's conviction yesterday produced the sort of unrestrained glee that was entirely to be expected. Madoff, who is certifiably old, obviously won't see the light of day following a 150-year prison term.
Lee Sorkin, Madoff's attorney, called the sentence "absurd" this morning during an interview with Matt Lauer on "Today": "The justice system is not built on vengeance. It's not built on symbolism."
He continued: "This fraud was collapsing for a number of years before he confessed. He could have very easily gotten on an airplane, wired his money out of the United States. He did not choose to do that."
Nice guy, that Madoff. Here's video of the interview:

Michael Jackson, the onetime child star turned King of Pop, died in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest in his home. He was 50 years old. Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center not far from his rental mansion in the Holmby Hills. The cause of death wasn't known. An autopsy is set for Friday. The entertainer was stricken Thursday afternoon and a 911 call was placed. "His personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics who transferred him," according to a statement from the hospital.
Frantic, Futile EffortsWith an oxygen mask over his face, Jackson was carted to a red ambulance and rushed to the hospital, arriving at 1:14 p.m. "A team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate for a period of more than one hour but were unsuccessful," the statement says. Jackson had been busy rehearsing for a high-stakes comeback tour, set to start within weeks in England, with dozens of dates scheduled and tickets selling out quickly. To prepare for the rigors of performing, he was training with Lou Ferrigno, the star of the TV show The Incredible Hulk.
Questions About His TourThere were some doubts among Jackson's circle about his ability to perform his upcoming concert schedule. "Michael is physically just not ready [for the concerts]," a source close to Jackson said last month. "He weighs even less than he did during his trial, which was almost nothing. He's 50 years old." Famly members, including his mother Catherine, brothers Randy and Jermaine, and sisters Janet and LaToya, arrived separately at the hospital for a tense and tearful vigil. "First, it was chaotic [in the ER] and then absolute silence," says family lawyer Brian Oxman. "Everyone is just heartbroken. I'm heartbroken." During the ordeal, Jackson's three children were left with a nanny, and plans were made for them to stay with Jackson's mother for the time being. "Mrs. Jackson loves the kids and she will care for them now," says Oxman. By the evening, the family left the hospital in five-vehicle caravan for his mother's house in Encino. A teary-eyed LaToya was behind the wheel of a black Mercedes; she was followed by a grim-faced Janet in a droopy suede cowboy hat driving a tan Maserati. Jackson's father, Joseph, was en route to Los Angeles from his home in Las Vegas. Jackson's body was flown by helicopter to the Los Angeles County Cornoner's Office, where the autopsy will be performed.

Maybe Susan Boyle will have an easier time in America. After coming in second on "Britain's Got Talent," landing in a mental hospital for exhaustion and getting off to a rocky start on the "BGT" tour of the U.K., the 48-year old instant celebrity get to grace the stage (and TV screens) on this side of the pond.
According to People, "America's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan — who was one of Boyle's biggest supporters on "Britain's Got Talent" — said on Tuesday that Boyle has been invite to perform on the upcoming U.S. edition of the show.
"If she's up for it and she is well enough," Morgan told the magazine, "our feeling is she probably will [appear on 'AGT']. Absolutely!"
Boyle, who is Scottish, has been viewed more than 200 million times on YouTube and amassed a large following in the U.S. Having Boyle perform in the U.S. would make perfect sense, according to her brother, John, who said that 95 percent of his sister's fan mail comes from the America.
Morgan said fellow judge Simon Cowell, who produces both the American and British versions of the show, already has plans to bring Boyle to the U.S. for some live shows, and having her on the show could only boost her fame. Or, at the very least, it would boost viewership of "AGT," which premiers on NBC on June 23 with new host Nick Cannon.
"Susan singing live to 25 million Americans? That would be great!" Morgan said. "She still gets a bit tired sometimes, but she is 48."
Entertainment Weekly reported that Morgan said the "Boyle effect" resulted in thousands more people auditioning for the American show, and when the show debuts, "there will be two or three acts who could have the same impact. After one group performs, there won't be a dry eye in the house." Morgan said that, as on the UK show, he and fellow judges David Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne won't know the identity of the contestants before they take the stage.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Paris Hilton said she studied the culture of Dubai and promised the Middle East version of her reality show will steer clear of the drinking and the swearing it had in Los Angeles and London.
The remarks came as Hilton, 28, launched the Mideast edition of her "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" series in Dubai, a glitzy sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates. BFF stands for best friends forever.
"I wanted to know everything about this place first because I wanted to make sure everything was OK," the hotel heiress was quoted as saying by The National newspaper Thursday. "I just want to respect everyone here."
The fame-loving Hilton promised to dress conservatively and said her Dubai-based MTV series will be open to women only. There will be no finger pointing and laughing at anybody, the show's producers said.
"I expect to learn a lot here. It's a completely different world," Hilton also said.
Twenty-two contestants will try their best to become Hilton's new BFF in the 20 days she will spend in the Emirates. No air date has yet been set for the Mideast show.
When not filming her reality show, intended for broadcast throughout the Arab region, Hilton will explore the desert, go camel riding, get a henna tattoo and go skiing on Dubai's famed artificial ski slope inside a shopping mall.
The show's producer Michael Hirschorn said that the filming will last some three weeks, while the finale will be filmed in Los Angeles. The plan is to build "My New BFF" into a global franchise, with Hilton searching for BFFs around the world.
Hilton previously filmed two seasons in Los Angeles for MTV and one in London for British television.
Contestants were competing fiercely for the title in the U.K. and the U.S. versions of the show. They drank alcohol and used foul language and tactics to earn it — something producers said will not be allowed in Dubai.

President Barack Obama, annoyed by a fly during a television interview at the White House, took matters into his own hands by killing it.Mr Obama told the persistent fly: “Get out of here.”It did not. So Mr Obama waited for the fly to settle and then smacked the fly dead at the first attempt.Without missing a beat, the president said to CNBC correspondent John Harwood: “Now, where were we. That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker.”The camera crew was still rolling in the East Room. Mr Obama pointed to the vanquished insect on the floor and said: “You want to film that?”

Macau (ANI): The Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer 'Jodhaa Akbar won maximum awards at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) on Saturday in Macau. Double Oscar award winnerA R Rahman won the Best Music Director award for 'Jodhaa Akbar', Javed Akhtar grabbed the trophy for Best Lyrics category for 'Jodhaa Akbar'.
Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan got the prestigious Special Award for Global Impact. Abhishekh Bachchan won the Best Comedian award for Dostana, Shreya Ghoshal got the Best Female Playback singer for 'Singh is Kinng
Yesteryear superstar Rajesh Khanna was honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award at the function. In the technical awards category, 'Jodhaa Akbar' swept through the award function with Ballu Saluja bagging Best Editing award, Nitin Chandrakant Desai got the Best Art Direction award, Neeta Lulla for Best Costume Design.
Resul Pokkutty, who made history by winning an Oscar for his work in Slumdog Millionaire, bagged the Best Sound Recording Award for Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini with Amrit. Jason West for 'Rock On!' grabbed best Cinematographer award, while Best Choreography award went to Farah Khan for her song Desi girl from 'Dostana'.Around 500 Bollywood personalities and an 8,000-strong audience reportedly flown in from all over the world to attend the ceremony at Macau. All the winners, except Farah and Jason, were present at the event.

So in the end she got her way, as she always does.
But it seems the adoption of Malawian orphan Mercy James did not come cheap.
Madonna is reported to have donated £12million to the African state to fund orphan aid projects
One international welfare agency worker told the Daily Mirror: 'It smacks of bribery. How can they refuse her requests when she gives Malawi so much?'
The money has been spent to fund six orphanages as well as paying for shoes, clothes, books and mosquito nets.
It has taken nearly three years, but yesterday Madonna was finally free to take Mercy for a new life in America.
The supreme court in Blantyre overturned a previous ruling that had rejected the singer's petition to adopt the four-year-old girl.
'I am ecstatic,' Madonna said on hearing the news at her home in New York. 'My family and I look forward to sharing our lives with her.'
She expressed thanks to the supreme court's three judges, headed by Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo.
Earlier he had told the packed courthouse: 'Madonna has shown that she is bold and compassionate enough to come forward to adopt Chifundo Mercy James.'
He said there were two options for Mercy: 'To stay at the orphanage without the love of family and live with the possibility of destitution, or be with Madonna where she is assured of love. Every child has the right to love and be loved.'
He said Madonna was 'an intelligent, articulate and outgoing individual of strong character. She is also a determined, independent and hardworking person of compassion from a God-fearing family.
'Since the early age of six when her mother died, she took on the maternal role to her younger siblings, assuming responsibility of house cleaning, cooking and babysitting.'
Malawi's high court had turned down the singer's application in April because she was not resident in Malawi.
But Mr Munlo said this was a 'narrow interpretation based on old laws', adding: 'The matter of residence should be determined at the time of application of the adoption. In this case, Madonna was in Malawi not by chance but by design. She specifically came here for the purpose of this application for adoption.
'And on that day she had already adopted another infant known as David Banda from Malawi. She has plans to travel to Malawi frequently with her adopted children in order to instill in them a cultural pride and knowledge of their country of origin.'
He added that Madonna would easily be able to care for the youngster, concluding that the singer - who is worth some £250million - was 'financially stable'.
Despite Madonna's avowed love for the child, she was unable to make it to Malawi for the hearing and was represented by her lawyer, Alan Chinula.
After the hearing, he said he would arrange for a passport for Mercy, which could take several days, and was awaiting word from Madonna on travel plans for the little girl.
She will join three-year-old David Banda, who Madonna adopted two years ago, at their main home in New York.
Like David, Mercy will exchange the orphanage for opulence. It has been reported that Madonna has just splashed out £25million on a Georgian-style townhouse in the Upper East Side. The 26-room property is said to have 13 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. Instead of being raised in the Christian faith practised by her Malawian family, Mercy will be instructed in Kabbalah, the mystical faith followed by Madonna.
While she was delighted with yesterday's news, it will not have been welcomed by Mercy's grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, who has been unwavering in her resistance to the adoption.
Madonna came across Mercy at an orphanage during her first visit to Malawi in 2006 with her then husband, Guy Ritchie.
She decided Mercy was 'the one', but her grandmother refused to let her go.
So the singer instead returned home with David Banda, whom it proved easier to extricate from his father Yohane.
Lucy's daughter, Mwandida, was Mercy's mother. She became pregnant aged 14 - the father was an older student at their school - and died from complications of childbirth days after Mercy was born.
Mercy's father, James Kambewa, claims he was told that Mercy too had died and only learned the truth after being tracked down by journalists in April. He now says he wants his daughter back.
In an emotional appeal, he told the Mail: 'She is my daughter, she is my blood, she needs parental love.
'She is not an orphan. She lost one parent, yes, but I am still alive and so she is not an orphan. Madonna has millions of dollars but that doesn't make her a good mum. Parental love is more than money.'
Vowing to fight to get his daughter back, he said: 'I will win somehow.'
Last night, adoption charities reacted angrily to the news of the adoption ruling, saying international laws had been breached.
EveryChild, the international children's charity, said it was 'extremely concerned' that the Malawian courts ruled in favour of Madonna.
A spokesman said: 'Malawi has still not ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption which raises grave concerns about the adoption process and appeal.'
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of EveryChild, said: 'The court's decision to allow Madonna to adopt Mercy is disappointing and worrying on a number of levels.
'High-profile adoptions such as this send out the wrong message. It is a shame that so much emphasis has been placed on a celebrity, rather than the real issue of the work being done in Malawi to support vulnerable families to stay together.'

June 13 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who heightened tensions with the West during his first four years in power, was set for a second term after he took an insurmountable lead in election vote counting.
Ahmadinejad, 52, took 64 percent of the vote in yesterday’s presidential poll, compared with 32.6 percent for his main rival, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, with 78 percent of the votes counted, state television cited the Interior Ministry as saying. Shortly after polling closed Mousavi, 67, claimed he was the winner and warned that he would “follow up” to investigate any fraudulent voting.
An Ahmadinejad victory over rivals who favored warmer relations with the U.S. will hinder efforts by President Barack Obama to resolve the West’s dispute with the Persian Gulf nation over its nuclear program. The U.S. and several major allies including Israel say the program is a cover for the development of a weapon. The government in Tehran denies the charge, insisting the program is peaceful and designed to generate electricity.
Ahmadinejad’s re-election is “a major obstacle to U.S.- Iran confidence building,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“He pushes the worst possible buttons; his diatribes toward Israel and his Holocaust denial make it far more difficult for any U.S. administration to acquiesce on enrichment of uranium” in Iran, Sadjadpour said.
Tehran Clashes
Police clashed today with Mousavi supporters in Tehran, Agence France-Presse reported. “They have ruined the country and they want to ruin it more over the next four years,” shouted the crowd as policemen beat protesters with batons outside Mousavi’s campaign office, the news wire reported.
Mohammad Sahadatfar, a spokesman for Ahmadinejad’s campaign office in Tehran, said in a telephone interview he was not surprised by the vote.
“We had expected these results,” Sahadatfar said. Ahmadinejad’s last address on state television on June 10 “was instrumental in securing the votes. He stated all the facts clearly and countered accusations of lies that opponents had made against him.”
‘Certainly Victorious’
The other two candidates in the race made little impression, according to the official results. Former Parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, 71, got 0.9 percent of the vote, while 2.5 percent voted for Mohsen Rezai, 54, a former Revolutionary Guards commander who appealed to many of the same voters Ahmadinejad was courting.
About 35 million of the 46.2 million eligible voters cast their ballots yesterday, the Interior Ministry said. The incumbent needed more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a second round run-off. There were no international monitors.
In a news conference held in Tehran after polls closed and before results were known, Mousavi’s campaign aides said he expected to capture 25 million votes.
“Based on reports from provinces, Mousavi will certainly be victorious with a large lead in this very first round,” Abolfazl Fateh, Mousavi’s campaign manager, said.
Iran is under three sets of United Nations sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can generate fuel for a nuclear power reactor or a weapon. The country increased uranium production during the last three months and continued to stonewall inspectors investigating whether it is concealing a weapons program, the UN’s nuclear agency said on June 5.
Israel Tensions
Ahmadinejad has further worsened Iran’s relations with the West by questioning Israel’s right to exist and the extent of the Holocaust. His speech attacking Israel at an April 20 United Nations conference in Geneva prompted European delegates to walk out.
The government in Tehran has supported militant Islamist movements such as the Gaza Strip-based Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The U.S. also accused Iran of arming militant groups in neighboring Iraq that have killed American soldiers.
During the campaign, Karrubi and Mousavi accused Ahmadinejad of squandering years of rising crude oil prices through mismanagement that fueled an inflation rate that reached 24 percent in January and unemployment of 10.5 percent.
All three of Ahmadinejad’s challengers said that his flaunting of the country’s nuclear program and his confrontational rhetoric with the West backfired, with Iran starved of investment to boost crude oil production by U.S. and UN sanctions imposed because of its refusal to halt its nuclear work.
‘Nuclear Peaks’
Ahmadinejad made his defense of the nuclear program against international pressure one of the cornerstones of his campaign.
“The Iranian nation has reached the nuclear peaks,” Ahmadinejad said in a campaign rally in Tehran on May 22. “It has broken the chains of sanctions. In these four years, despite international pressure, the Iranian nation proved that it can progress. The path of the future is this very one.”
Ahmadinejad focused his campaign on buttressing support in the more religiously inclined rural areas where about a third of Iran’s 70 million people live. It was a constituency that helped secure his surprise victory four years ago on a promise to redistribute oil wealth. Since taking office in 2005, he has visited each of Iran’s 30 provinces twice.
The former Tehran mayor had expanded handouts to Iranians as the price of oil jumped from $60 a barrel to a high of $147 last July. Spending on subsidized products such as sugar, wheat and cooking oils rose more than 50 percent from 2005 to 2007.
Young People, Women
With oil now down to $72 a barrel, Iran -- holder of the second-largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia -- faces widening budget deficits, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
Mousavi, who is respected by many Iranians for steering the economy through the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war as prime minister, appealed mainly to the urban middle-class, young people and women. He was endorsed during the campaign by former President Ali Khatami, who dropped out of the contest to avoid taking votes away from Mousavi.
The former prime minister said he was open to talks with the U.S. that would ease three decades of hostility between the countries. He promised unspecified confidence-building measures to allay international concerns about the atomic program, though the nuclear effort would be continued.
‘New Possibilities’
President Obama had underlined yesterday his ambition to secure better relations with Iran.
“You’re seeing people looking at new possibilities,” Obama said in response to a question at the White House. “Whoever ends up winning the election in Iran, the fact that there’s been a robust debate hopefully will help advance our ability to engage them in new ways.”
Ahmadinejad had the implicit backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 69. On May 18 Khamenei, who has the final say on all affairs of state, urged voters to shun candidates who might yield to “bullying Western powers.” Ahmadinejad supporters cited Khamenei’s call for a president who “understands the people’s woes.”
State institutions were deployed to silence critics. Several anti-Ahmadinejad newspapers were closed and bloggers arrested. On May 23, Iran temporarily blocked social networking. On May 23, Iran temporarily blocked social networking Web sites Facebook and Twitter, used in their campaigns by Mousavi and Karrubi.
A Mousavi presidency would have made “it easier from a public relations side for Obama,” said Alex Vatanka, a U.S- based expert on global security at Jane’s Information Group. “From the U.S. point of view, it is hard to stomach someone such as Ahmadinejad with his baggage and rhetoric on the Holocaust.”

AFP - Manchester United have agreed to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a world record 80 million pounds (130 million dollars, 94 million euros), the club said Thursday. "Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of 80 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid," said a statement on its website, under the headline "Reds accept £80m Ronaldo bid." The statement continued: "At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player. "Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice." Ronaldo has long been a target for the Spanish giants, whose returning president Florentino Perez vowed earlier this week to do "everything possible" to take the 24-year-old to the Bernabeu. The news comes just days after Real clinched the 56 million pounds transfer of Brazilian playmaker Kaka from Italian side AC Milan as they look to compete with arch-rivals Barcelona on the domestic front and such as Manchester United and Chelsea in the Champions League. United fans have repeatedly been told no deal had been agreed for the sale of FIFA's world player of the year in the face of regular statements from Spain the former Sporting Lisbon star was bound for the Bernabeu. There was no immediate statement from Real Madrid

Leonardo DiCaprio and his Israeli-model girlfriend Bar Refaeli have broken up.Leonardo DiCaprio and his Israeli-model girlfriend Bar Refaeli are still an item.Both descriptions are true, depending on whom you believe.
"They're taking time off for the time being, they've split," a source told People magazine. "It could just end up as a break but for now they're doing their own thing."People says that over the weekend the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, 23, walked the red carpet at Hollywood Life's Young Hollywood Awards solo, refusing to speak about DiCaprio. Meanwhile, the "Titanic" star, 34, hit the hot Manhattan club Avenue, where he was seen chatting with another woman.However, Usmagazine.com asserts that they're still an item, noting that they had been photographed Monday shopping together in Hollywood.http://today-world.blogspot.com/search/label/Entertainment

MILAN (AP) — Former AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini said Wednesday the club has no chance of winning the Champions League next season after selling Kaka to Real Madrid.
The Brazilian confirmed his move to Madrid for a reported euro65.5 million (US$92 million) on Monday, saying he hoped his sale would help ease Milan's financial woes.
Maldini said that while the move may have made financial sense, it had undoubtedly weakened the side's chances of adding to it's seven European Cups.
"Milan winning the Champions League without Kaka is a dream," Maldini said on Milan's Web site on Wednesday. "Looking at the bank account is logical, but at the start of the season you need to set obtainable objectives and without Kaka the Champions League is a dream.
"He is one of the five best players in the world along with (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The other four aren't moving and Milan can't buy them. Selling Kaka was a big blow to his teammates and the fans."
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Ronaldinho A.C. Milan Paolo Maldini Kaká
In his 24-year career with Milan, the former Italy captain was in the vanguard of Italian dominance in Europe. He won the Champions League five times and helped the club to a further three finals.
However, he now feels that Italy has slipped behind other leagues in Europe.
"Kaka is the first player of that level to be sold. In the past such an idea would never have been taken into consideration," Maldini said.
Maldini does feel that new coach Leonardo will not have to look too far to find a replacement for the 2007 World Player of the Year.
"Ronaldinho will have a lot of responsibility next season. Last year he didn't surpass himself, but I think this responsibility will do him good."

AskMen.com, the largest online men's magazine, today announced its 9th annual list of the “Top 99 Most Desirable Women.” AskMen readers cast more than ten million votes to rank the women who best represent the qualities of the ideal girlfriend or wife. And guess who came out on top? Miss Eva Mendes! Speaking about the honor, she told AskMen.com: "Of all the qualities I find attractive in a man, paying me such a compliment tops my list. Thanks, guys!” Check out the top ten Most Desirable ladies below: 1. Eva Mendes, actress and model2. Megan Fox, actress 3. Marisa Miller, Victoria’s Secret model 4. Keeley Hazell, British model 5. Anne Hathaway, Golden Globe® Awards nominee actress 6. Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model7. Scarlett Johansson, newlywed and actress8. Rihanna, GRAMMY® winning singer actress9. Kristen Bell, screen actress10. Kate Beckinsale, screen actress

Haifa Wehbe may take a legal action against Al Azhar Scholars Board ASB, who called her a whore.

An unprecedentedly strongly worded statement issued by ASB, which was circulated shortly, attacked Khaled Youssef’s new movie Dokkan Shehata, Producer Kamel Abu Ali convened swiftly with Youssef to discuss the move carefully.

ASB is a hardliner dissident front within the Islamic institution, seen as an opposition to its prostate official leaders.

The newlywed Lebanese singer, Wehbe, who was singled out in the statement as a debauchee whore, called the filmmaker and producer from her home country, furious and exceptionally alarmed, asking them to act urgently and strictly, saying the offence is not also aimed at her husband, the steel magnate, Ahmed Abu Hashima.

A tension between the filmmaker and censors has hardly been settled as the new inflammatory statement came.

New York, June 10 (ANI): Thomas Beatie, the transgendered man who created history last year by being the first “pregnant man”, has given birth to a healthy baby boy during natural childbirth, it has been reported.
20/20 reports that Beatie’s wife, Nancy, is reportedly planning to breastfeed the couple’s newborn, as she did with their 1-year-old daughter, Susan Juliette.
Beatie, 35, who was originally born a woman named Tracy, became a media sensation last year when photos of him with a beard and a pregnant belly were made public, reports The New York Daily News.
When questions regarding the medical mystery emerged, Beatie told Barbara Walters that he had sex-reassignment surgery, while still keeping his female reproductive organs, a decision that later benefited the couple as Nancy, 46, was not able to bear children.
During this conversation with Walters, Beatie revealed that he was expecting the couple’s second child.
During this conversation with Walters, Beatie revealed that he was expecting the couple’s second child.
“I feel good. I had my checkups with my hormone level, as far as the HCG. And everything is right on track,” he said.
In a bid to have another baby, Beatie did not go back on the male hormone testosterone after his daughter’s birth, who was also delivered naturally. (ANI)

AC Milan star Kaka is expected to sign for Real Madrid after undergoing a medical exam in Brazil on Monday, Spanish newspapers reported
Real Madrid's new president Florentino Perez hopes to make the signing official between Monday afternoon and Tuesday, after sending representatives to Brazil to close the deal, said the sports newspaper AS.
The midfielder is to undergo a medical exam by a Real Madrid doctor in Brazil, after which he will hold his first press conference as a Real Madrid player," said another sports newspaper, Marca.
AS said he will be presented as a Real player on June 30.
The Brazilian 2007 world and European player of the year would be the first major signing by Perez since he returned as president on June 1 vowing to make Real "the best club of the 21st century."
The Spanish press had earlier said Real will pay around 65 million euros for Kaka.
That would make the second most expensive signing by Perez, who approved the transfer of Zinedine Zidane from Juventus for a world record 75 million euros in 2001.
Perez led Real from 2000 to 2006, when it earned the nickname "Los Galacticos", winning the Primera Liga twice and European Champions League with such stars as Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham and Michael Owen.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are reportedly planning to quash split rumours with a wedding by the end of the summer.
Hollywood's hottest couple has been dogged with break-up rumours for some time, with reports suggesting that their four-year-old relationship is over. Jolie is said to be so furious with the rumours that she has decided to end them once for all with the marriage.
They are planning the wedding by the end of the summer once their current filming commitments are out of the way, Mirror reported online.
"Usually it's Brad who wants to talk marriage. But this time it was Angie. An aide sent them all the Press clippings about their 'relationship problems' and Angelina said it was probably best if they married to put an end to the stories. Brad's face lit up, he was thrilled," a friend of the couple told the newspaper.

Barack Obama's ex-brother-in-law says he wants to challenge for the Conservative seat left vacant by MP Andrew MacKay in Bracknell.
Ian Manners, who was married to the US president's half sister, is responding to David Cameron's call for candidates from non-political backgrounds.
The 56-year-old businessman says he is "lifelong Conservative" who was angered by the MPs' expenses scandal.
Mr MacKay is standing down following revelations about his allowances.
Mr Manners, who lives in the constituency, said he had sent a letter to Bracknell Conservative association expressing an interest in the vacancy, after friends had persuaded him he would be a "good candidate".
'Morally wrong'
He said he thought Mr MacKay had done a "good job" as the Berkshire town's MP but he had been shocked by the expenses revelations.
He is probably on the other side of the fence politically, but some of our values are similar
Ian Manners
"I think it is pretty disgraceful. They say it is within the rules, but MPs have been setting their own rules," he told the BBC News website.
He said he would only consider standing as an MP if the expenses system was changed as he thought it was "morally wrong".
He said he would step back from the day-to-day running of his luxury marquee hire company, which employs nine people.
He said he agreed with Conservative policies, such as "strong family values", and has also said he shares Mr Obama's commitment to fairness and racial equality.
He is a former accountant and restaurant owner, who also worked for a time as Castrol Oil racing competitions manager, alongside champion motorcycle racer Barry Sheene.
Mr Manners was married to Auma Obama Manners, Mr Obama's half-sister, whose mother Kezia Obama was the first wife of the president's Kenyan-born father.
'Public service'
The couple divorced in 2000. Mr Manners said he used to play golf with Mr Obama, and the future US president attended his stag night in Bracknell and his wedding in 1996 and his daughter attended the inauguration.
He said: "There is a family connection. I haven't spoken to him for a long time but there is no bad feeling.
"He is probably on the other side of the fence politically, but some of our values are similar. I am sure he would wish me well."
Andrew MacKay has one of the Conservative Party's safest seats, with a majority of more than 12,000 at the 2005 general election.
But he was forced to stand down after it was revealed he and his wife, Julie Kirkbride, Tory MP for Bromsgrove, both claimed second home allowances.
Ms Kirkbride has announced she too will be standing down at the next election.
Conservative leader David Cameron announced at the weekend that he was re-opening the Conservative candidates list in the wake of the expenses scandal.
He said anyone could apply to stand even if they have not had anything to do with the Conservative Party before.
The Tory leader told the BBC he wanted people who "believe in public service".

BOSTON (Reuters) - The expansion of legal gay marriage across New England could deliver an economic windfall by attracting a youthful "creative class" of workers to a region with an aging population.
In the past year, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have joined Massachusetts, which in 2004 became the first U.S. state to allow same-sex weddings, in blessing gay and lesbian weddings.
That makes the region the first in the United States where same-sex couples can move from one state to another while retaining marriage benefits.
New arrivals include John Visser and Nick Keffer, who recently moved to Hartford, Connecticut, from Raleigh, North Carolina. They plan to wed later this month.
"The sole, only reason why we moved was because it was now legal for us to get married here," said Visser, 42. "No other reason whatsoever other than marriage equality. We were perfectly happy in North Carolina."
New England has long burnished an image of tolerance. Early European settlers in the 17th-century escaped religious persecution, although they imposed their own stern doctrines and sometimes expelled dissenters. Later, the region led the right for the abolition of black slavery.
Five out of the region's six states now endorse gay weddings after New Hampshire legalized same-sex marriage on Wednesday, leaving Rhode Island as the sole holdout.
The spread of gay marriage could serve as a recruiting tool for universities, health care companies and financial services firms that dominate the region's economy, experts said.
"It will be a selling point when it comes to trying to lure people with same-sex partners who are being wooed for a job," said M.V. Lee Badgett, a University of Massachusetts economist who studies gay and lesbian issues.
Same-sex couples in the so-called "creative class" were 2.5 times more likely to move to Massachusetts in the three years following the approval of same-sex marriage than they had been in the three prior years, according to a study released in May by the Williams Institute of the University of California.
That study also found that migrants relocating to the state were more likely to be younger and female than before same-sex marriage was approved.
Research shows that heterosexual members of the "creative class" -- a group that includes financial whizzes, software programmers and educators -- tend to regard states that allow gay marriages as more appealing places to live.
"It broadly suggests you have an environment in which people who are seen as different are accepted," said Gary Gates, the UCLA demographer who was the study's lead author.
Outside New England, the only other U.S. state to allow gay marriage is Iowa. California for six months last year allowed same-sex weddings before voters put an end to the practice.
REASON TO STAY
The first economic effect Massachusetts felt from gay marriage was a boost in business related to actual wedding ceremonies performed over the past five years.
The 12,167 same-sex couples that have wed and their guests have spent about $111 million on weddings, from flowers and cakes to hotel rooms and meals for out-of-state guests, another Williams Institute study found.
Over the longer term, there could be a greater economic effect if gay couples decide they are unwilling to leave the region to move to states where their marriages would not be recognized. Forty-two of the 50 U.S. states have laws on their books prohibiting same-sex marriages.
"Once these states offer marriage to these families, they will not quickly, willingly or easily accept new assignments, transfers and promotions to states that don't offer them," said Bob Witeck, chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications, a Washington-based marketing firm that focuses on gay and lesbian issues. "They're creating an economic wall in the region that is going to impact the ability of all national employers to move talent around."
Some married gay people said they would not consider moving to a state where their marriage would not be recognized.
"I just wouldn't do it. It's pretty straightforward," said Mike Swartz, 41, a vice president at a software company who lives with his husband in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Some couples said another key factor influencing where they would move is how states recognize their role as parents.
Marie Longo, 45, moved to Massachusetts before the state allowed gay marriage because its laws allowed her now-wife Allison to adopt Longo's twin daughters.
"Portability is a big issue for those of us now who have lived in a state where we have been legally married and respected and treated just like any other couple," said Longo, who works as a fund-raiser for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a group that lobbies for gay marriage.
Knowing they could move from state to state and still have their marriage recognized made it easier for Visser, an interior designer, and Keffer, a real estate agent, to start a new life in the north, Visser said.
"Connecticut is a very small state," Visser said. "Hartford is the center and it only takes an hour to get to the state border in any direction, so for us to be able to establish ourselves in the surrounding states, it broadens our opportunities. We feel less restriction."
New England has a graying population, particularly in Maine where 14.7 percent of the population is 65 or older, compared to 12.5 percent for the nation as a whole, according to U.S. Census data. Economists and academics say this will take a toll on the region's economy, both by limiting innovation and growing the demand for government services.
(Editing by Alan Elsner and Jason Szep)

Susan Boyle, who's set to perform for President Barack Obama, has been released from Priory Clinic in London, where she was treated for emotional exhaustion, and has been offered $30,000 to sing at Demi Moore's wedding anniversary event in Los Angeles (hey, I thought hubby Ashton Kutcher was supposed to plan this?).
At any rate the American offers are starting to pop up for Boyle. Meanwhile, Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden said on Larry King Live on Tuesday of this week, that the show was not at fault for Boyle's problems stating that the contestants are all "extraordinarily well looked after."
Are you kidding me? Really, Amanda? So why did this happen if that's so? Moreover, I don't think Holden would have come on King's show were it not to do damage control regarding Boyle's horrible treatment. I still think she should have quit early and I said so here:

It's time for Oprah Winfrey to call in the spin shock troops, because she's officially been kicked out of the No. 1 spot as the most powerful celebrity in the world on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Who is the new top dog in Famousville? None other than Angelina Jolie.
The list, an aggregate of entertainment-related earnings and (more importantly) media exposure, says Jolie's $27 million in the last year and three flicks -- Kung Fu Panda, Wanted and the upcoming Salt -- are waaaay better than Oprah's $275 million from her multimedia empire. We're guessing our numerous items on Angie in the last year are what did the trick.
Rounding out the top five are Madonna ($110 million), Beyonce ($87 million) and Tiger Woods ($110 million). Angie's boyfriend and baby daddy Brad Pitt clocked in at No. 9.
And while the roster includes actors, models, chefs, athletes and musicians, it also includes authors. that earns President Barack Obama a debut spot at No. 49, with $2.5 million in book sales. That gives us hope, indeed.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai coroners completed an autopsy on Friday on the body of actor David Carradine, a day after the star of the U.S. television show "Kung Fu" was found naked and hanging dead in his luxury Bangkok hotel room.
Coroners at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn hospital said they had not yet determined the cause of the 72-year-old's death and were waiting for the results of a toxicology screen.
"We are now running tests and then we will decide the cause of death," the hospital's chief coroner, Nantana Sirisap, told Reuters.
"This certainly was not a natural cause of death," she said.
A maid found Carradine hanging naked by a rope in the closet of his hotel suite at the plush Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel on Thursday, police said.
They said there was no indication other people had been in the room, where Carradine had stayed during the shooting of a film called "Stretch."
A U.S. embassy official in Bangkok said he had no details of the police investigation.
Carradine, from a family of performers and the eldest son of character actor John Carradine, enjoyed a long career on Broadway, television and in movies such as director Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."
While some media reports speculated his death may have been a suicide, a spokeswoman said neither they nor his family believed Carradine was capable of killing himself.
FAMILY SHOCKED
"His family is in shock," said Tiffany Smith of Carradine's management firm, Binder & Associates. "They have the same belief we have. There was no way David did this to himself."
Carradine wrote in his 1995 autobiography "Endless Highway" that he had tried to kill himself when he was 5 years old. The book also documented his alcoholism and extensive use of drugs, from LSD to cocaine.
He worked on Broadway in "The Deputy" and "The Royal Hunt of the Sun" and made his mark on Hollywood in the 1960s in TV westerns such as "Wagon Train," "The Virginian" and a TV version of the hit western movie "Shane."
He was made most famous by his role in the U.S. series "Kung Fu" where he played Kwai Chang Caine, a half-Asian martial arts specialist, which earned him an Emmy nomination.
The role of Caine led to parts in more than 200 productions and his turn as the villainous Bill in Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" led to his fourth Golden Globe nomination.
Carradine was married five times and had two daughters from previous marriages.
src:reuters

Debris recovered from the Atlantic by Brazilian search teams is "sea trash" and not from a lost Air France jet, a Brazilian air force official has said.
Brig Ramon Borges Cardoso contradicted earlier reports, saying "no material from the plane has been recovered".
Teams found buoys and a wooden pallet and spotted a fuel slick, and are now searching for an airline seat and a chunk of metal seen earlier this week.
Relatives have been told that there is no hope of survivors being found.
In Paris, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon and Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta briefed passengers' relatives in a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport where they have been waiting for news.
Mr Gourgeon said the Airbus A330 jet, which was carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, broke apart either in the air or when it hit the sea.

CAIRO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world on Thursday but offered no new initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, an omission likely to disappoint many.
"We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world -- tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate," the U.S. president said in a major speech at Cairo University.
"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect," he said. "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition."
Obama's speech was an effort to restore the tarnished U.S. image among many of the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world, damaged by former President George W. Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the treatment of U.S. military detainees.
It coincided with the release of new remarks by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden aimed at trying to undermine his message.
Bin Laden told Muslims alliances with Christians and Jews would annul their faith and urged them to fight Western allies in Muslim countries.
The choice of Cairo for the speech underscored Obama's focus on the Middle East, where he faces huge foreign policy challenges, from trying to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to curbing Iran's nuclear program.
Obama, who is hoping to build a coalition of Muslim government to back his diplomatic moves, offered no new proposals to advance the Middle East peace process, saying Palestinians "must abandon violence" and urging them acknowledge Israel's right to exist.
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," he said. "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."
Before the speech, the U.S. president met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"We discussed how to move forward in a constructive way to bring peace and prosperity to people in the region," Obama told reporters after the talks with Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt since 1981 and kept a tight lid on opposition.
(Additional reporting by Cynthia Johnston in Cairo and Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran; Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

London The hectic pace of US seems to have tired Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie, who is reportedly house hunting in Portugal.
The 'Changeling' actress who raises six children with partner Brad Pitt, is keen to embark on a more sedate lifestyle which has reportedly prompted her to find a place in the country, Femalefirst reported.
"She loves Portugal and wants to raise her kids there. She wants to move there as soon as possible," a source close to Jolie said.
The 33-year-old actress is said to be considering buying a property looking onto the beach in the village of Lagos, in the southern Algarve area of the country. It is not known whether Jolie will use her new home as her main residence or whether Pitt will move with her.
"Let's put it this way, they have an open relationship. Every day is a new day with them. I love them both dearly but I must confess things have been hard for them the past few month," the source said.

LONDON - STAR of the Harry Potter film franchise, Daniel Radcliffe, thinks sex scenes are boring, reported British media on Tuesday.
The actor, who had his first love scene in December Boys with Teresa Palmer in 2007, expected the encounter to be 'amazing' and was stunned to discover how tedious the process was.
'You wonder how those actors manage to control themselves but when you're doing it and there's people watching you, there's nothing sexy about it at all.
'It is not in the least bit exciting, no matter how beautiful the girl is,' he reportedly said. -- Reuters

The ‘Friends’ star is so fond of her pooch that she brings him to set when she is shooting ''The Baster'', reports the China Daily. "Norman is important in Jennifer's life, but the crew is fed up with having to dote on him. Jennifer needs him around all the time and she won't stand for him being chained up. So the dog has his own chair near the director, and Jennifer also has a doggy masseuse tend to Norman every day," a source told the National Enquirer magazine. The 40-year-old actress ensures that Norman is walked three times a day, and is given meals from the actors'' catering van. The source added: "She even insists that Norman eat with the crew and that he's fed organic, human-grade food. So Jennifer's assistant has special plates made up by the caterer with free-range white meat chicken and organic rice. Norman eats healthier and better than most humans." Jennifer's love for the 13-year-old corgi-terrier has always hit headlines, be it for the dog’s 250 dollars a week massages or acupuncture treatments to combat his aching joints.

Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that his ambition in coaching was to take charge at Real Madrid - and he believes his appointment is a dream that has now been fulfilled.The Chilean trainer was chosen by the club's new president, Florentino Perez, after a stunning spell in charge of Villarreal that saw him help transform the modest Valencian outfit.

New releases every week, glamorous Hollywood-like premieres and intense advertising have characterized the fiercely competitive summer season for Egypt’s cinema industry. For the past decade or so, summer has been the most lucrative season for Egyptian films, with more than one-third of annual productions released in June, July and August.
But last year’s summer season was cut short with the holy month of Ramadan starting on Sept. 1, and this year the season will get even shorter with Ramadan starting on Aug. 22.
Since this won’t be changing anytime soon — with the holy month beginning earlier every year — the cinema industry has had to re-strategize. One insider even said that summer’s no longer the “hot” season and that distributors are trying to cash in all year round.
Two major distribution companies in Egypt, Oscar/El Nasr/Massa and Misr Al-Arabeya have created an earlier schedule for their releases, kicking-off the season in May with “Youm Ma Et’abelna” (The Day We Met) and “Dokan Shehata” (Shehata’s Store) as well as four other movies lined up for the summer.
“Every year we say the season is getting shorter, but when you look at it, it’s only getting shorter by one week so it doesn’t have such a big effect,” Abdel Gileel Hassan, spokesperson of Misr Al-Arabeya Production and Distribution Company, said.
“Summer is no longer the top season of the cinema industry, nowadays the season is all year with new releases coming out without considering the date. This is all to the benefit of the viewers,” Hassan added.
The current average grosses of what can be branded a blockbuster are LE 15 million and summer has traditionally been the safest season to reach that multi-million-pound mark. With a lot of time on their hands during the summer months, viewers sometimes watch the same movie more than once, which means robust revenues for the industry.
But that way of doing business is quickly changing. Big names no longer keep their movies locked up until the summer and revenues are high at other times of the year. For example, Ahmed El-Sakka released his movie “The Island” during the 2008 winter vacation and it was quite a hit. Mohamed Heneidy’s “Ramadan Mabrouk Aboul Alamein Hammouda,” released earlier this year, also broke all records.
“With Ramadan eating up the summer — and it will be coming even earlier in the coming years — this opened up the season more and it is no longer confined to June, July and August,” Sayed Fathi, director of the Federation of the Egyptian Cinema Industry, said.
Prominent film critic Rafiq El-Sabban said that this change is of great benefit to the audience. The short season has forced producers to release exceptional films, distinctive enough to face the fierce competition.
In the past couple of years, Egyptian audiences have had a wide variety of movies to choose from — no longer a few comedies led by longstanding box-office champs such as Adel Imam.
The competition has intensified as production and marketing costs escalated, propelled by a flood of aspiring young actors appearing on screen every year.
“Since last summer we have been seeing many surprises,” El-Sabban said, noting that last year producer Ahmed Sobky, notorious for making some of the worst reviewed films in the past decade, surprised critics and audiences with the highly-acclaimed “Cabaret.”
“This year we are also expecting a lot of great movies. Already there is ‘Dokan Shehata’ and ‘Ibrahim El-Abyad’ — two major productions,” he added.
There are only two conglomerates controlling movie distribution in Egypt, the Misr Al-Arabeya and Oscar/Al-Nasr/Al-Massa, and rumors of their rivalry always abound.
But Hassan refutes this claim. “Just because we are two companies in the market doesn’t mean we are rivals,” he said, “each company shows its movies in the theaters it owns and both companies are satisfied with this current state.
“There aren’t any losses — if no one is losing and no producer is hurt by our competition, then at the end of the day it is in the benefit of the film industry and our culture.”
Fathi concurs, saying that “there aren’t any problems between the distribution companies as each of them have their movies lined up to be released in the company’s own theaters,” he said.
Because of the relatively short length of last year’s season, no new films were released during Eid El-Fitr and the summer movies continued playing in theaters. This year will be different with new movies lined up for the holiday and some summer movies staying on.
Experts, critics and players in the market all believe that a good movie will survive and succeed no matter when it is released.
“A good movie, even if it doesn’t have any big name [actors] or is released at a peak season, will attract the audience and will succeed no matter what,” said Hassan.
At the same time, “fans will make time to go watch their favorite star’s movie at any time of the year,” Fathi said.

Saddened by the continuing racist attacks against Indians in Australia, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan has refused to accept an honorary doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
The University’s highest honorary award was to be conferred on Big B at a major public event on July 30, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, to recognise his outstanding contribution to creative industries over several decades. Expressing his distress on the issue, Amitabh, in his latest blog post, said, "I have been witnessing with great dismay and shock, the recent violent attacks on Indian students in Australia, on the electronic media the entire day." "I mean no disrespect to the Institution that honours me, but under the present circumstances, where citizens of my own country are subjected to such acts of inhuman horror, my conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen," he added. Amitabh is only the second person from India, after IT leader Narayan Murthy, to be chosen for such an honour from QUT. Australia has recently seen a series of attacks on Indian students, the most serious being the assault of Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh who is battling for life in a hospital here after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured.