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Molly Huscroft

Chelsea Handler, Andre Balazs Split

The comedian and hotelier split after less than a year

Comedian Chelsea Handler and her hotelier boyfriend, Andre Balazs, have parted ways after less than a year together.

No reason was given for the split, but Handler’s rep confirmed the breakup to Us Weekly.

In May, Handler discussed her relationship on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight,” saying that she had very “strong feelings” for Balazs.

“I’m seeing someone now, but, I have spent so much time exposing my personal life to everybody that I finally am in a situation where I feel like it’s disrespectful to another person,” she said.

Balazs, who CBS News reports is behind the The Standard Hotel venture, did not accompany Handler, 36, to Glamour’s Women of the Year awards on Monday in New York. But the couple was spotted together on Halloween weekend.

Handler’s exes include rapper 50 Cent, Animal Planet star Dave Salmoni and Comcast CEO Ted Harbert. Balazs was previously linked to actress Uma Thurman.

For more information on Chelsea, go here.

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Retiring at End of Season

As a result of Sandusky abuse scandal, coach of 60 years to retire

Joe Paterno will end his coaching career at the end of this football season.

According to the Associated Press, Penn State head football coach Paterno has decided to retire at the end of this season, as a result of the recent sex abuse scandal taking over the school, involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

An AP source revealed that an official announcement will be made Wednesday.

The Penn State Littany Lions will face No. 17 Nebraska on Saturday, in Paterno’s final home game. Paterno, 84, is currently in his 46th season as coach of Penn State and his total of 409 victories are the most among major college coaches. He won the university national championship sin 1982 and again in 1986.

The Hall of Fame coach is an iconic figure at Penn State, where he has been an assistant or head coach for more than 60 years. He has raised millions in donations for the school and the library at the university bears his name.

University love of Paterno was made public Tuesday night as several hundred students gathered on the lawn of his home in a support rally after rumors of his possible termination arose. According to ESPN, chants of “We are Penn State!” and “Joe Paterno!” could be heard down the street.

Paterno said, “I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” he said. I’ve lived for this place. I’ve lived for people like you guys and girls.”

For more information on Paterno, go here.

Jessica Chastain to Play Princess Diana in Upcoming FIlm

“Caught in Flight” to feature romance between Princess and Dr. Hasnat Khan

Jessica Chastain is set to take on her biggest role yet – playing the late Princess Diana in the upcoming “Caught in Flight.”

Chastain, who starred in seven films this year, gave critically acclaimed performances in films such as “The Tree of Life” and “Take Shelter.” According to Indiewire, “Caught in Flight” will feature the relationship between Diana and Dr. Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani-born surgeon with whom Diana had a relationship in the mid-90s. The film is said to be a “love story between a princess locked in a tower and an ordinary man,” according to Indiewire.

Khan remained silent about their relationship until 2008, when he gave an interview to the Telegraph newspaper. Khan told investigators that the two had been considering marriage, with Diana going so far as considering a move out of Britain.

Rosa Monckton, a close friend of Diana’s, said in a hearing, “She was very much in love with him. She hoped that they would be able to have a future together. She wanted to marry him.” Monckton added that Diana was “deeply upset and hurt” by her breakup with Khan and was still talking about him when she was dating Dodi Fayed, who was killed in the car crash that also took the Princess’ life.

“Caught in Flight” marks a potential risk – a beloved British figure played by an American. This winter, the risk bears the same potential in “The Iron Lady,” in which Margaret Thatcher, the nation’s former Prime Minister, will be played by Meryl Streep.

The film will be directed by German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel. It is set to go into pre-production in March and will film in Pakistan, Angola and France.

For more information, go here.

Locked Out NBA Players call Michael Jordan a Hypocrite

Players betrayed as Jordan sides with fellow owners for salary cuts

Former NBA superstar and current Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has come under fire for his role as a leader among NBA owners in the current lockout.

Jordan is among those owners pushing to reduce players’ share of the income from 57 percent to 47 percent. Players are outraged by Jordan, who made close to $30 million in his final season with the Chicago Bulls and also told Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin during the last lockout in 1998, “If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.”

According to USA Today, at his Hall of Fame induction in 2009, Jordan said that players, not organizations, win titles. Now that he is an owner, Jordan seems to have entirely switched teams.

According to CBSSports.com, locked-out players have largely criticized Jordan, especially via Twitter. Wizards guard Nick Young tweeted, “I’m not wearing Jordans no more. Can’t believe what I just seen and heard from MJ. Elvis Done Left The Building.”

“Damn MJ. That’s how you feel?,” Indiana Pacers guard Paul George tweeted. Golden State Warriors rookie Klay Thompson replied, “You think the 1996 MJ would pull this? Straight hypocrite bro.”

For more information, go here.

Face of Devil Discovered in Giotto Fresco

Face of devil discovered in fresco of Italy’s Assisi

Art restorers have discovered a figure of the devil hidden in the clouds of one of the most famous frescos by Italian renaissance master Giotto in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, church officials said on Saturday.

According to the BBC, Italian art historian, Chiara Frugoni, a medievalist and an expert on St. Francis, found the devil’s profile in the fresco’s clouds, high up in the basilica. The face, with hooked nose and an evil smirk, is hard to see from the ground. The basilica’s chief restorer, Sergio Fusetti, said the devil image may have been a joke by Giotto aimed at someone he had a quarrel with.

The fresco features a series of images of St. Francis’ life and death and dates from the 13th Century. Giotto di Bondone, is considered to be one of the finest Early Renaissance artists. Among his most noted works are a series of frescoes in Padua, frescoes and altarpieces in Santa Croce church in Florence and a painting of the Madonna which is on display in Florence’s Uffizi Galleries.

Millions of tourists have visited the basilica in Assisi since the fresco was painted without noticing the devil’s face. It was only discovered during restoration of the fresco.
Frugoni said it was previously thought that the first artist to conceal a portrait in clouds was Andrea Mantegna in the 15th century. His paint of St. Sebastian, finished in 1460, has a cloud from which a knight on horseback appears.

The Assisi basilica was last restored in 1997, after it suffered severe damage in an earthquake.

For more information, go here.

Hilary Swank Dumped from PR Firm after Chechnya Scandal

The Oscar winner faces tough after math of Kadyrov birthday

After receiving a month’s worth of bad press for attending the birthday party of Chechen president and alleged human rights violator Ramzan Kadyrov, actress Hilary Swank has been dropped by her PR team at 42West.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the publicity firm decided to part ways after a disagreement with the two-time Oscar winner on how to best deal with the aftermath of the Oct. 5 event.

Also in attendance at the scorned birthday were actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, singer Seal and English violinist Vanessa-Mae.

After being widely criticized by human rights groups for making a paid appearance the event, the 37-year-old actress promised to donate the fee to charity. Eventually Swank fired her manager of eight years, Jason Weinberg, along with two of his associates that had also done work for her. Swank surprisingly did not fire her lawyer, Jeff Bernstein, who reportedly played a large role in arranging the Chechnya visit.

Swank has issued a statement of apology for attending the event. “If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently indended to be, I never would have gone,” she said.

In 2009, Kadyrov announced his approval of honor killings, based on his belief that women are the property of their husbands. Kadyrov is suspected of being involved in several cases of torture, abduction and murder.

For more information, go here.

Lindsay Lohan Released from Jail

Thea actress serves only hours of 30-day sentence

Actress Lindsay Lohan was released from a Los Angeles County jail less than five hours after she turned herself in to serve a 30-day sentence for violating probation.

According to Fox News, the “Mean Girls” actress was booked into Century Regional Detention facility in Lynwood, Calif., at 8:50 p.m. on Sunday. Lohan was released early Monday, with news crews who swarmed outside of the jail clocking her exit at 1:40 a.m. A short stay at the jail was anticipated due to overcrowding in California’s prison system.

Lohan had until Nov. 9 to report to jail. The actress was given an additional week to turn herself in in order to complete a nude photo shoot for Playboy Magazine. Reports say that had the actress been unable to complete the shoot, for which she had been paid almost a million dollars, she would have been in breach of her contract. The spread will be featured in the men’s magazine’s January 2012 edition.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered jail time because Lohan violated court orders by getting kicked out of the women’s shelter at which she was to perform her community service.

The judge has since told Lohan that she will have to perform all of her community service at the county morgue or risk additional jail time. Lohan will have to serve 423 hours at the morgue, where for nearly two weeks she has been mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms and washing dirty sheets.

Sunday marks her fifth jail sentence since being arrested twice for drunken driving in 2007.

For more information on Lindsay, go here.

Jessica Simpson is Pregnant

After much speculation, the singer confirms pregnancy rumors.

After weeks of unconfirmed rumors, Jessica Simpson has announced it today – she’s pregnant with her first child.

“It’s true I am going to be a mummy!” the actress wrote on her official website Monday afternoon. Both Simpson and her fiancé, former pro football player Eric Johnson, are reportedly thrilled to be expecting their first child.

Simpson and Johnson began dating in May 2010. “I definitely see myself having a family with him, so that’s exciting to think about,” she told People.com in November of that year after Johnson proposed.

The singer’s refusal to set a wedding date led to speculation that she might be pregnant for awhile. Johnson’s divorce from his first wife was finalized a little over a year ago. Simpson’s divorce from singer Nick Lachey was final in 2006; Lachey has since remarried to MTV host Vanessa Minnillo.

For more information, go here.

Albert Finney to join cast of Bond 23

Finney joins stellar cast of unnamed James Bond film

Acting legend Albert Finney has reportedly signed on to co-star in the upcoming James Bond film.

According to the Daily Mail, Finney, 75, will join the cast of fellow Brits Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes, as well as Spaniard Javier Bardem in what could be the most talented cast in the history of Bond films.

Finney will play a high ranking intelligence official, with powers suspected of including supervisory duties over M, played by Dench. Bardem has been confirmed as one of the villains in the Sam Mendes directed film, while speculation has Fiennes squaring off against Bond as well.

Finney, one of entertainment’s most decorated stars, has several awards under his belt including multiple BAFTAs, Golden Globes and an Emmy. He has been nominated for five Academy Award but has yet to win an Oscar. He already has great experience with espionage films, with his participation in the “Bourne” series and 1967’s “Gumshoe,” in which he played a private eye.

For more information, go here.

Kim Kardashian Files For Divorce

Kardashian divorcing after only 72 days of marriage

After only 72 days of marriage to Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian is filing for divorce.

“She wanted the fairy tale and got caught up in it all,” says a source close to Kardashian to People.com, “She felt like the pressure of the TV show just isn’t what they could have handled.”

Kardashian, 31, has hired celebrity lawyer Laura Wasser. Sources reveal that she is not seeking an annulment and will cite “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split TMZ reports. The date of separation will be listed as today, October 31, 2011.

For Halloween Kardashian, dressed as Poison Ivy, hosted a party alone and told People that her husband was not around because she was headed for Australia this week.

The filing comes after weeks of rumored trouble in their marriage which was documented on the second season of “Kourtney and Kim Take New York.” In previews for the show, fans get a look into the short-lived marriage. “How I am going to have my career and live in Minnesota?” Kardashian asks Humphries when he suggests moving to his hometown.

For more information, go here.