Is Rupert Murdoch’s iPad-Only Newspaper The Future Of Journalism? – Apple and News Corp are reportedly set to launch The Daily, the first iPad-only news publication. Can Rupert Murdoch and Steve Jobs usher journalism into a new digital age?The joint “newspaper” will have no website and no print edition; the only way to get it will be to download The Daily via iPad application. Each new edition will cost $0.99 to download. According to Women’s Wear Daily, the publication will have, “a tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence.” [mashable]
Top Gear Tries To Make It In America, Again – After a string of failures in the US market, the international TV phenomenon that is Top Gear will try, once more, to have itself translated into Americanese. The first episode is due to air on the History Channel on Sunday 21 November, and will not be featuring Clarkson, Hammond, or May. Which may be a welcome relief for some of us, and a potential disaster for the producers. [dailymaverick]
Justin Bieber Dominates American Music Awards – The teen idol dominated the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning four trophies to go with ear-piercing squeals from the girls at L.A.’s Nokia Theatre. “I can’t stop smiling,” says Bieber, who won for pop/rock male, breakthrough artist, album of the year for My World 2.0 and artist of the year. In becoming the youngest artist to win the top AMA honor, Bieber invited Usher to the stage, calling the R&B star “not only my mentor but my best friend and my big brother.” [people]
Padayachie Cans Broadcasting Bill – Communications minister Roy Padayachie has withdrawn the controversial Public Service Broadcasting Bill which among other things proposed a 1% tax to fund the SABC, according to reports. Padayachie’s decision follows complaints from concerned groups at public hearings held in Midrand last week.The draft bill had called for, among other things, the scrapping of TV licences and for an amendment to the Income Tax Act that could have resulted in up to 1% of personal income tax being set aside for the SABC. [businessday]
Palace Frustrated And Queen In The Dark Over Wedding Plans – The decision by Prince William to oversee every last detail of his wedding has caused friction and complicated the preparations, sources claimed last night. They said William has insisted his four-strong team of aides take charge – and has kept Buckingham Palace, which would normally play a key role, ‘largely in the dark’. [dailymail]
North Korea Not Shy Of Nuclear Power – American defense officials said Sunday that the revelation of North Korea’s new uranium enrichment facility confirmed longstanding suspicions that the country was seeking a second route to build atomic weapons. They dismissed the North’s claim that it was simply trying to build nuclear power plants denied to them by the West. The description emerging of the new facility at Yongbyon, the North’s main nuclear plant, raised a number of critical questions that American and Asian intelligence agencies were struggling to answer. [nytimes]
Anne Hathaway Impersonates Katie Holmes – Know what’s pretty cool? A new ‘Miley Cyrus Show’ sketch, starring cast newcomer Vanessa Bayer as the Disney darling, stole the show again (check out the first clip if you missed it) on ‘Saturday Night Live’ this weekend.This time, the faux talk show features an interview segment with sleekly styled Katie Holmes, impersonated to a T with an intense-yet-vapid breathlessness by ‘SNL’ host Anne Hathaway. [popeater]
Birth Of ‘Mini Star’ Could Solve Energy Crisis – In a bid to solve Earth’s energy woes, scientists are contemplating building the world’s first “sustainable fusion” reactor by creating what they claim is a miniature star on our planet. Following a series of key experiments over the last few weeks, the 2.2-billion-pound project has inched a little closer to its goal of igniting a workable fusion reaction by 2012. Sick! [timesofindia]
Irish Government Backs Bail Out – The Republic of Ireland will make a formal request for international aid to shore up its finances later on Sunday. Finance minister Brian Lenihan put no figure on how much may be borrowed, but told RTE radio it would be “tens of billions” of euros. BBC business editor Robert Peston said the request to the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) would not be refused. [bbc]
Wesley Snipes Going To Jail For Three Years – Actor Wesley Snipes is remaining “strong and positive” ahead of his three-year jail sentence for tax evasion, according to his lawyer. The “Blade” star was found guilty of failing to file returns when he stood trial in 2008, but his lawyers appealed the verdict and he was freed on bail to challenge the ruling. On Tuesday, November 16, Snipes’ lawyer Daniel Meachum argued jurors in the 2008 trial had been biased against the star. Judge Hodges rejected the case for a new trial on Friday and Snipes was told he must turn himself in to federal authorities immediately to begin serving his sentence. [aceshowbiz]
New Harry Potter Hits New Heights – Harry Potter has cast his biggest opening-weekend spell yet, thanks largely to fans who rushed to midnight screenings late Thursday. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” sold $125.2 million of tickets this weekend, according to an estimate from Warner Bros. That’s 23% higher than the previous biggest first weekend for a “Potter” film, though ticket prices have risen over the years and the last two sequels opened on a Wednesday, not a Friday. [latimes]
Judge Orders Cops To Stop Harassing Superheroes – You’d think Wolverine, Batman, Superman, Catwoman and Iron Man would collectively hold enough superpower to keep the cops at bay. But with the Hall of Justice unavailable, a group of street performers nicknamed the Hollywood Characters aired their beef against the Los Angeles Police Department in federal court. And on Wednesday, a judge ordered the LAPD to stop harassing and arresting them as they perform on Hollywood Boulevard for pocket change. [wired]
Would You Wear A Knockoff Of Kate Middleton’s Ring? – Kate Middleton may have Princess Di’s engagement ring, but now you can too! Sort of. Kenneth Jay Lane designed a (really, really fake-looking) knockoff of the ring for QVC. And while the ring is “worth” $55, you can have it for just $39.54! We wish we were kidding. Just wait until you read the product description. [styleite]
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