i apologize i have been MIA the last few days, but bear w/ me as i catch up and stick w/ me as i will soon be reporting from london and the 2012 olympics.... Yah!!! since they are 6 hrs ahead posts will be coming in at odd times, but check back daily through the link... happy reading.

Usher's Stepson, Kile Glover, Passes Away

The 11-year-old son of Usher's ex-wife Tameka Foster has died after been taken off life support following a jet ski accident on July 6 in Georgia. Kile Glover had been declared brain dead by doctors within days after being admitted to hospital in critical condition. A 15-year-old female friend also suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Glover and the girl had been floating on inner tubes in Georgia's Lake Lanier when they were struck by a passing jet ski.

 Sylvia Woods, whose namesake soul-food restaurant has been a Harlem landmark for nearly half a century, died Thursday at her home in Westchester County, N.Y., only hours before she was to receive a special award from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She was 86, and although no cause of death was announced, Woods had been suffering with Alzheimer's disease the past few years. Her family said she was surrounded by loved ones at the time of her death. "We lost a legend today," Bloomberg said Thursday, "Generations of family and friends have come together at what became a New York institution."

Report: Mariah Carey Finalizing Deal to Join American Idol as Judge

Pop diva Mariah Carey is reportedly thisclose to becoming the newest American Idol judge. Carey’s salary would top $17 million for next season – more than departing judge Jennifer Lopez. Lopez and colleague Steven Tyler both announced their exits from the Fox singing competition last week, and Randy Jackson is rumored to be leaving the judge’s table for a mentor position at the show. There’s also buzz about former contestant/pop singer Adam Lambert and The Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie joining Idol for Season 12.

Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith Are 'Absolutely Fine,' Says Source

Are Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith on the brink of divorce? Despite persistent Internet buzz that Banderas, 51, and Griffith, 54, are fighting to save their marriage, two sources maintain all is well with the couple of 15 years. "They seem absolutely fine. Honestly, they seem happy," a source who saw them together recently said. Rumors flew starting this spring, when Banderas, in Cancun to promote a new hotel, was photographed seemingly getting cozy with a blonde at a nightclub. Video has also surfaced of him dancing with actress Mallika Sherawat during a Cannes Film Festival party this year. Last week, Griffith was spotted around town in L.A. not wearing her wedding ring, which caused more speculation about her marital status. But she's also been spotted wearing her ring at recent events, including the Munich Film Festival in early July, which she attended solo. Banderas "is in Budapest filming and they'll be together again as soon as he's done," says another source close to the couple. "They really are very happy together." Banderas and Griffith have admitted their marriage isn't perfect. In September 2011, the actor told AARP The Magazine he and Griffith "have had as many problems as anybody." The couple first met in 1995 while filming Two Much.

 Police have had contact with Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson after her nephew reported her missing over the weekend. Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department says that they have spoken to Katharine, 82, and she is on a planned vacation in Arizona. In a statement, Katherine's son Jemaine blasted the missing-persons report, filed Saturday by Katherine's nephew Trent. "It dismays me that such an alarmist 'missing person' report has caused unnecessary anxiety among Michael's children who will understandably react to what they misunderstand, hear or are told," he wrote. Michael Jackson's daughter Paris – Katherine's granddaughter – previously wrote on Twitter that she was worried about Katherine. "yes, my grandmother is missing. i haven't spoken with her in a week i want her home now," she wrote. The drama reveals tension in the Jackson family after five of Michael Jackson's siblings recently claimed that his will was a fake, that Katherine was being manipulated, and that the executors of Michael's estate should step down. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is reportedly investigating the missing persons report that was filed, asking Jackson family member why the nephew was not aware of Katherine's whereabouts.


Nick Stahl Found Again
Nick Stahl is once again getting treatment after going missing twice this year. The Terminator 3 actor is attending AA meetings and is in contact with his family. Stahl, 32, was reported missing by his wife Rose in May. He resurfaced later that month, only to go missing again in June after a stint in rehab. Rose said in May that her husband was in the throes of the worst addiction cycle of his life. He had turned down acting roles for nine months and lived apart from her and their 2-year-old daughter since February, she said.

'The Dark Knight Rises' makes an estimated $162 million at the box office

The Dark Knight Rises took in an estimated $162 million over the weekend, giving it a slightly better opening than its predecessor, but still less than either The Avengers or the final Harry Potter film. While that number was below some projections of $190 million, it indicates that moviegoers weren’t strongly dissuaded from attending screenings in the wake of the Colorado shooting. (Though pre-sale tickets are certainly a factor as well.)
1. The Dark Knight Rises $162 million
2. Ice Age: Continental Drift $21 million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man $11 million
4. Ted $10 million
5. Brave $6 million

Within hours of news that Fred Willard was arrested for lewd behavior in an adult movie theater, he lost a television job. The comic actor, 72, was dropped Thursday from his voice-over gig on PBS's Antiques Roadshow spinoff, Market Warriors. "Given the unfortunate news reported today, effective immediately, Fred Willard no longer will be involved with the Market Warriors series," Jeanne Hopkins, a rep for WGBH, the Boston public broadcaster that produces the show, said in a statement.

Anne Hathaway on shooting: 'My heart aches'

Following official condolences from The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan and co-star Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway has released a statement regarding the tragic shooting that took place in a Colorado theater on Friday. The statement reads in full: My heart aches and breaks for the lives taken and altered by this unfathomably senseless act. I am at a loss for words how to express my sorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Christopher Nolan has released a statement following the tragic events in Colorado in the early hours of July 20 — when a gunman opened fire at midnight screening of  The Dark Knight Rises. “Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting, but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families,” the director said. Christian Bale released a statement Saturday afternoon offering his condolences to the victims of the Aurora, Colo. theater shooting that left 12 dead. ”Words cannot express the horror that I feel,” Bale said in the statement. “I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”
 Tom Cruise‘s son Connor is feeling like a rock star, apparently!
The 17-year-old flaunted his new mohawk on Twitter Friday with the caption, “Chopped.” He even went as far to stencil a design onto the shaved sides. The Hollywood D.J. is the son of Cruise and his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman.


Two Guns
Fred Ward is joining the cast of Baltasar Kormakur's action thriller "Two Guns" at Universal Pictures.
Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington play a Navy SEAL and a DEA agent, respectively, who work together to steal millions from the CIA - despite not knowing each is doing so undercover.


The Hangover Part 3
Mike Epps is in negotiations to reprise his role of Black Doug in "The Hangover 3" for Warner Bros. Pictures. In the first film, Epps played the drug dealer who is mistaken for the group's missing friend Doug and gets kidnapped by a gangster played by Ken Jeong.


Red 2
Neal McDonough is in negotiations to join the cast of Dean Parisot's "Red 2" at Lionsgate-Summit. The story has Willis and his retired spy friends searching for a weapon of mass destruction. First though, they must break into an insane asylum to retrieve the man who created the weapon.


Robocop
Jackie Earle Haley is signing on while Jay Baruchel is circling Jose Padilha's "Robocop" remake at MGM. Haley will play Maddox, the man who dispenses the military training to Robocop (Joel Kinnaman). Gary Oldman, Hugh Laurie, Samuel L. Jackson and Abbie Cornish are also set.


TV NEWS
ABC’s Golden Globe-nominated drama Revenge may have ended its first season run with a blast (literally), but the successful suspense thriller promises to start the second season by upping the level of excitement with the introduction of Jennifer Jason Leigh as Emily Thorne’s (Emily VanCamp) mysterious mother. The Single White Female star has been cast as the long thought dead mother of the enigmatic Emily and is described as a “volatile and dangerous woman who suffers from some serious mental issues.” Coming fresh off a recurring role on Weeds as Jill Price-Gray, Leigh’s character will join the series this September in its season two opener titled “Bound,” which will also feature the fate of the devious socialite Victoria Grayson.

Navigating the fallout from her tryst with Ricky C may be the least of Beckett’s problems this season on Castle. Heroes vet Jack Coleman is joining the show’s fifth season as a new antagonist for Stana Katic’s detective. Coleman will play a “well-liked U.S. senator who finds himself in conflict with Beckett.”


American Horror Story is adding another name to its crowded Season 2 call sheet: Clea Duvall. The Carnivàle actress has inked a deal to appear in multiple episodes of the FX thriller’s sophomore run. There’s no official word on who she’ll be playing.

 Zoe Hart is getting a new confidant. Girlfriends actress Golden Brooks is joining The CW’s Hart of Dixie in a recurring role for Season 2 as Zoe’s new gal pal. Brooks’ Ruby makes quick friends with the resident doctor upon her return to Bluebell.

Grace Phipps (The Nine Lives of Chloe King) has landed a plum recurring part on The Vampire Diaries, playing a 16-year-old named April who shares a history with Jeremy and Elena.

 USA Network’s Burn Notice is spying some new additions. Comic actor Patton Oswalt (United States of Tara, Caprica) will guest star in Episodes 14 and 15 as a notorious and quirky smuggler who doesn’t come cheap, while former Body of Proof actress Sonja Sohn will appear on a recurring basis (starting with Episode 13) as a high-level CIA director. Additionally, Antonio Jaramillo (Meet the Browns, Savages) has been tapped as a “slick” Miami PD detective.