Actor Brad Pitt has filed legal papers in Los Angeles to adopt the children of actress Angelina Jolie, news media ssreported on Friday, adding that this might be a step leading to the couple's marrying. Life and Style magazine said Pitt, 41, has filed to become the legal adopted father of Jolie's two children, Maddox, 4, and Zahara, 10 months. They will go by the last name of Jolie-Pitt when the legal steps are completed, the magazine said, quoting a representative for Pitt.
Oscar-winning US movie star Gwyneth Paltrow is pregnant with her second child, the Web site of US celebrity television show Entertainment Tonight reported Friday.
The 33-year-old star of such films as Shakespeare in Love and Sliding Doors and her British rocker husband Chris Martin of the group ColdPlay are already proud parents of a 19-month-old girl named Apple.
Paltrow's publicist, Steven Huvane, would not confirm or deny the report that the actress was pregnant
Entertainment Tonight did not give any source for the news that the blond star and her 28-year-old husband were expecting a new arrival.
The pair, who met in 2002 and were married secretly in the California town Santa Barbara in December 2003, live in London.
The actress, who also starred as Estella in a movie version of Great Expectations and as US poet and novelist Sylvia Plath in Sylvia, won the best actress for 1998's Shakespeare in Love.
Alias star Jennifer Garner has given birth to her first child, a daughter, with actor-husband Ben Affleck, US Weekly magazine reported on Thursday. A publicist for Garner, 33, could not immediately be reached for comment. Affleck's representative declined comment on the report.
Movie icon Tom Cruise was Friday at the centre of a fresh medical row as experts expressed concern over his purchase of a sonogram machine to perform at-home scans on expectant fiancee Katie Holmes.
Cruise told US television interviewer Barbara Walters last month that he had bought an ultrasound machine to peek at the foetus of his unborn baby with the Batman Begins actress who he has been dating since April.
But medical experts were Friday warning that it is dangerous for untrained Cruise and Holmes to be operating a complex piece of medical equipment such as an ultrasound machine at home.
Both the The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) is up in arms at the Mission Impossible and Top Gun star's admission that he bought the machine that can cost anywhere between US$15,000 and US$200,000.
"The Society is concerned about the safety of Cruise's decision to purchase a medical device and perform a medical diagnostic procedure without appropriate training," the SDMS said in a statement.
"Diagnostic medical sonographers complete educational programs and take national certifi-cation examinations to ensure they can perform sonograms safely and in a manner that obtains accurate results, it added.
Rap moguls Irving and Christopher Lorenzo were found not guilty last week of laundering cash for a New York drug lord after two days of deliberations by a federal jury. The brothers, who called themselves Irv and Chris Gotti after the notorious Gambino crime family, broke into tears as the verdict was read in US District Court in Brooklyn and hugged family members after a successful defense contending the charges were based on guilt by association.
Playboy model-turned-TV personality Anna Nicole Smith turned up drunk and too scantily clad to a Live 8 concert, damaging the reputation of the international charity benefit, a lawsuit filed against a company affiliated with the actress claims. The suit was filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court and alleges that Smith "damaged Live 8's reputation and goodwill in the entertainment industry by her unbecoming and erratic behavior."
The Vatican on Friday defended its decision to exclude Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury from its Christmas concert, saying she had threatened to promote the use of condoms to fight AIDS during the show. "The Vatican decided to exclude Daniela Mercury from the cast not because of her convictions about contraceptives even if they are not in agreement those of the Catholic Church," said Father Giuseppe Bellucci, a priest who organized the show.
He has led civil rights marches, scolded the nation's leaders and even run for president, but the Reverend Al Sharpton now wants to do something completely different -- star in his own television sitcom. Sharpton, in an interview on Friday, confirmed a report in Daily Variety that he would soon be filming a pilot for a family show called Al in the Family that would revolve around his larger-than-life personality.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at