Margaret Thatcher, Britain's 'Iron Lady,' dies

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died Monday morning following a stroke, a spokesman for the family said. "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning," Lord Tim Bell said. Britain's only woman prime minister, the tough, outspoken Thatcher, 87, led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous period in office by a British prime minister since the early 19th century. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday it was with great sadness he had learned of Thatcher's death, his predecessor as Conservative leader and prime minister."We have lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton," Cameron said in a statement shortly after her family announced her death. Cameron cut short a trip to Spain and France upon hearing the news Queen Elizabeth also expressed sadness and said she would be sending a private message of sympathy to the family. The grocer's daughter became Europe's first female prime minister in 1979, four years after the Conservative Party surprised itself by making her its leader. Typically, she jumped into the leadership race while more prominent male colleagues dithered, and then proved unstoppable. Thatcher led the Tories to a landslide victory in 1979, followed by easy wins in 1983 and 1987. She loved the jokes claiming she beat her all-male Cabinet ministers with her handbag, and reveled in being the "Iron Lady," a nickname coined by the Soviet press.  In 1951, she married Denis Thatcher, a wealthy businessman 11 years her senior. Their children, twins Mark and Carol, were born in 1953. She called Denis, who died June 26, 2003, her rock and her great support.
 Annette Funicello, the 1950s and '60s-era "Mickey Mouse Club" Mouseketeer who went on to star in a variety of beach movies with Frankie Avalon, has died from complications related to multiple sclerosis. She was 70. Disney confirmed the death on Twitter on Monday, and then released the following statement: Actress Annette Funicello, long-time Disney and "Beach Party" star, passed away on Monday April 8 at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., at the age of 70. She died peacefully from complications due to multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled for over 25 years. Beloved by television viewers in the '50s for her stint on Disney's original "The Mickey Mouse Club," and by film buffs for her numerous roles in a series of popular teen-oriented movies in the '60s, Funicello became a pop culture icon. After leaving the "Mickey Mouse Club," Funicello was the only Mouseketeer to remain under contract to Disney and appeared on the TV shows "Zorro" (1957), "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca" (1958), and starred in the Disney feature films "The Shaggy Dog" (1959), "Babes in Toyland" (1961), "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" (1964) and "The Monkey's Uncle" (1965). In the early 1960s, Annette starred in a series of beach party movies with teen idol Frankie Avalon, including "Beach Party" (1963), "Muscle Beach Party" (1964), "Bikini Beach" (1964), "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965) and "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965). During this time, she recorded a series of hit top-40 pop singles, including "Tall Paul," "First Name Initial," "How Will I Know My Love," and "Pineapple Princess." Her string of successful record albums included such favorites as "Hawaiiannette" (1960), "Italiannette" (1960) and "Dance Annette" (1961). In 1987, Funicello again teamed up with Frankie Avalon to co-produce and star in Paramount's "Back to the Beach" as parents of a pair of troublesome teenagers. In 1989 and 1990, Avalon and Funicello staged a nostalgic concert tour, performing the beach party music and pop hit singles they made famous in the 1960s. In 1987, Funicello was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a degenerative neurological disease, and in 1992 went public with her illness. Later that year, she established The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases.  It is dedicated to funding research into the cause, treatment and cure of multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases, and continues to be an active charity. Despite battling MS, in the 1990s Annette launched the Annette Funicello Teddy Bear Company, marketing a line of collectible bears on QVC, and developed her own perfume line, Cello, by Annette. In 1992, on her 50th birthday, she was named a Disney legend. However, as she became more debilitated by MS, Annette retreated from public appearances in the late 1990s and has been cared for since that time by her second husband, rancher Glen Holt, whom she married in 1986. She was previously married to Jack Gilardi from 1965 until their divorce in 1981. She has three children from her first marriage; Gina, Jack Jr. and Jason, and three young grandchildren.

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Michael Clarke Duncan's sister investigating Omarosa's will inclusion

Michael Clarke Duncan's sister has launched an investigation over allegations the actor's former fiancée Omarosa Manigault manipulated the "Green Mile" actor into rewriting his will in the months leading up to his death. The 54-year-old passed away in September, following a heart attack, and now his sibling Judy Duncan has hired a lawyer to determine whether the actor was of sound mind when he altered his estate plan in April 2012 and declared Manigault the main beneficiary. However, reality TV star Manigault insists she has had nothing to do with the actor's estate, and has made allegations of her own against Duncan. She says, "I don't control the estate or the finances and Judy knows it. "If you saw all of her emails and texts to me, you would see that she is just trying to get money from me, and threatened going to the press if I did not give it to her, and that is a crime!" Manigault is also locked in a dispute with singer La Toya Jackson, who suggested the reality star was been involved in Duncan's death during an exit interview on the TV show "The Celebrity Apprentice," on which the two women were recent rivals. Manigault has threatened to sue Jackson if she does not make an official apology for her remarks.

 The Talk co-host Sara Gilbert shared some good news on the show Monday – that she and girlfriend Linda Perry are tying the knot! Gilbert told her costars and the studio audience about her engagement that happened "about a week ago." Perry – who is a singer, songwriter and producer – planned a musical picnic to pop the question, which Gilbert called "magical and amazing." Gilbert said she decided to share the news on The Talk because of the support she gets from the show's viewers and fans.

Chris Brown and Rihanna Broke Up Again
Chris Brown and RiRi are done – for the millionth time. Rihanna has supposedly said she is now refocusing her life on her career and not Chris.
 Former "Cold Case" actress Kathryn Morris and her boyfriend of three years, actor Johnny Messner. "We're beyond excited and doubly blessed!" the happy couple said of their twins-to-be. Morris, 44, is best known for her role as Detective Lilly Rush on the now-defunct hit CBS series, which came to an end in 2010. Morris and Messner have another big reason to celebrate: She's currently wrapping up filming for a CBS drama pilot for "Surgeon General," and he's just finished shooting for "The Outsider" with Jason Patric and James Caan.

 Ciara and Future are rumored to be engaged. Ciara didn’t get a ring though. The word on the street and internets is that Ciara got her man’s initial tatted on her ring finger. Futurre’s real name is Nayvadius Wilburn! Whew – that’s a doozie. I don’t know about that one. Anyway, Ciara’s got “N” tatted on her ring finger and now people are talking.

TV NEWS
A&E’s Bates Motel will keep the lights on for another year. The network just renewed the creepy horror-drama for a 10-episode second season. The show has maintained strong ratings since its premiere a few weeks ago. Bates Motel debuted to 3 million viewers on March 18 (now up to 4.5 million counting DVR), making it the network’s most-watched drama debut ever. The second and third week kept Bates in the same ballpark, with both nights generating 2.8 million viewers in the overnight numbers.

NBC is re-airing Hannibal‘s pilot episode in Chicago Fire‘s time slot this Wednesday at 10 pm.

Mad Men returned for its sixth season nearly matching last year’s performance. Sunday night’s premiere garnered 3.4 million viewers, almost equaling last year’s 3.5 million viewers, which was a series high for the show.

Syndicated sensation Judge Judy — currently in its 17th season — has been renewed through 2017.

History’s The Bible keeps settings records: The epic miniseries sold a stunning 525,000 units during its first week of release on home video. According to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, The Bible ranks as the fastest-selling TV title released on home video in the last five years, and ranks as the top miniseries title ever during its first week of release.

Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie) and Marla Sokoloff (The Practice) have been tapped to appear in Season 3 episodes of Melissa & Joey. Elizabeth will play Mel’s college roommate, while Sokoloff drops by as a potential love interest for Joe.