Massive Winter Storm to Sweep Much of Nation This Week

In a winter that's becoming known for powerful storms, the one that's about to form might be the most impressive yet in terms of size and scope -- affecting much of the eastern two-thirds of the country during the first half of the week.

Heavy snow, ice, rain, thunderstorms and bitter cold will occur along the storm's path, with the likelihood of widespread travel interruptions, power outages and property damage. The storm might even reach blizzard strength in the upper Midwest, including Chicago, from Tuesday into Wednesday.

The storm has yet to become organized, but the ingredients will be in place for rapid formation once the low pressure system begins to emerge from the Rockies on Monday. The huge temperature difference between the northern Plains and Gulf Coast will be fuel for the storm as two systems merge in the middle of the country.

By early Tuesday, precipitation will likely extend from the eastern Rockies to the northern mid-Atlantic coast, with the most intense portion of the storm developing in the southern Plains. This low-pressure system will track from the Missouri Valley on Tuesday evening to off the New England coast by Wednesday evening.

More than a foot will fall on the northern and western sides of the storm, from the Plains and Missouri Valley through the Midwest and into northern New England. A corridor of accumulating ice will occur near the track of the storm, from the Missouri Valley through the Ohio Valley and into parts of the mid-Atlantic region.

As of Sunday afternoon, a blizzard watch was in effect for northern Illinois, including Chicago, extreme southern Wisconsin and northwestern Indiana. Winter storm watches extended from Oklahoma to southern Michigan, including the cities of Kansas City, St. Louis, and Detroit.

The precise track of the storm will determine the type of the precipitation for the major cities along the Eastern Seaboard, which have been pounded with several storms already this season. The National Weather Service is currently expecting a mixture of snow, ice and rain in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., with a mixture of snow and ice in Boston.

Bands of rain and thunderstorms will occur south of the storm; the thunderstorms have the potential to reach severe levels, perhaps producing isolated tornadoes along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and Tuesday night. The strong thunderstorms should remain to the north of central Florida, which was hit with damaging thunderstorms last week.

Winter weather advisories, warnings and wind chill warnings are currently in effect from Montana to Iowa and Minnesota for the northern part of the storm.

The very cold air in the northern Rockies and northern Plains -- temperatures will approach minus 30 in northern Montana on Monday night -- will move into the western part of the storm on Tuesday. Temperatures will be in single digits in the western Plains on Tuesday.

Temperatures will drop into the lower 20s even in Dallas by Tuesday night, with highs barely above freezing on Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures late last week were in the middle 70s.

The bitterly cold air will not push as far south in the eastern part of the country, but by the second half of the week, sub-zero low temperatures are possible in parts of the Northeast.

Patrick Fabian Has 'No Problems' Being Called Professor Lasky

You recognize Patrick Fabian from ... well everything.

The actor has appeared on 'Bones,' 'The Mentalist, 'Big Love,' 'CSI: NY' and much more on the big and small screens.

Oh, and don't forget 'Saved by the Bell: The College Years.'

"You know what, if I get in a bad car crash today, Variety will report that Professor Lasky from 'Saved by the Bell' has met his early demise," Fabian tells PopEater with a chuckle. "That 'Saved by the Bell' has been running nonstop for 15 years."

And if you see him on the street and address him as Lasky, he doesn't mind. "Anyone who recognizes the fact that I've been working and stuff like that. Rarely do I get, 'Hey Lasky, you're an a**hole.' It's usually people who are fondly remembering their own youth. So I have no problems with that whatsoever."

Fabian, who stars in CMT's new series 'Working Class,' chatted with us about his new gig, what it was like working with Ed Asner and one "smart little show" called 'Veronica Mars.'
Tell me about 'Working Class.'
[It's] a classic sitcom in the vein of 'Cheers' and 'Roseanne' and 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' It's funny for the whole family. It stars Melissa Peterman, the funniest girl in television, and TV legend Ed Asner and myself. It's a half-hour sitcom, telling the tale of Carli, who is played by Peterman, who is trying to make her life better for her and her kids. I play her boss, and I'm from the rich side of the tracks. Her and I find each other rather interesting -- sort of a Sam and Diane kind of relationship so far. We are not from the same ilk, but we like each other very much, so we'll see where the relationship goes.

So there may be a little bit of romance?
There might be some kissing, that's all I'm saying.

What drew you to the role?
I worked with Melissa before on an episode of 'Reba,' Reba McEntire's show, about four or five years ago. I played the role of Reverand Yummy Pants. So she had this show lined up and she called me up and thought I would be perfect for the role of her boss, which is a compliment anytime someone calls you up and says, "Hey, we need the role of a handsome rich guy." I was like, "All right, I'll play that if I can." And I got to get involved with CMT, and they are great people over there, and once Ed Asner was signed on, we had a really solid cast. I love sitcoms; sitcoms are funny. I love Melissa because she's funny. I got to work and work is a real hoot and holler, a really good time. I think that all comes off on-screen.

Speaking of Ed Asner, what was it like working with him?
A little intimidating at first; he's Ed Asner for Christ's sake. In the end, yes, he is intimidating because he's Ed Anser, but he's intimidating because he's so good. He knows what he's doing. He's a real pro. There's a reason that he's been lauded as much as he has. However, I will say this, and he'll punch me if he reads this, he's an absolute teddy bear. He's a total softie on the inside. He's very curmudgeony and he's got that whole thing down -- in the end, it comes from a big heart inside, that's what I think.

What has been your favorite experience working on this show?
We shot it in three days, which is the first time that episodes have been shot in three days. It makes the working conditions very frantic. If you don't have people that are good and good to get along with, it could be a hideous work situation. Instead, it was really fun. Melissa really set the tone of the show and made everybody laugh all the time. She had such a positive energy. She carried the weight of the show on her. It was kind of amazing. We had mud wrestling and karaoke nights during shooting. She kept it fun.

You had mud wrestling on the show -- or off the set?
There was a mud-wrestling episode. Actually, my wife played the woman who mud-wrestles Melissa. And afterward, Melissa mud-wrestled anybody for $20, which she donated to charity. She raised over $400 that night.

You've been in everything. Is there a role you're most recognized for?
You know what, if I get in a bad car crash today, Variety will report that Professor Lasky from 'Saved by the Bell' has met his early demise. I hope not, but without a doubt, that 'Saved by the Bell' has been running nonstop for 15 years since we did it. So there's a real base out there that knows me as Professor Lasky, especially. I tend to think that that's a show that hits kids in high school, when they are sitting with a bag of potato chips before and after school sort of doing nothing. So I get recognized for Professor Lasky a lot. Also with 'The Last Exorcism,' you know the movie that came out last year, I'm getting a lot more heat for that as well. And then weirdly enough, I did some stuff for Disney, and there's a whole sect of 8-to-12-year-old girls who know me as Thantos. I kind of cover the gamut.

You really have. You've got adults, teens, tweens and horror fanatics.
It's funny because in aiports and fast food joints, it's almost always 'Saved by the Bell' because that's that pocket of kids, working those jobs, who all of the sudden look at me and they go "Hey." I'm like, "Right. I kissed Kelly Kapowski. You're gosh darn right."

Is it annoying at all? Do people call you Professor Lasky?
They do, absolutely, because that's how they know me. They're like, "Hey Lasky," and I'm like, "All right, whatever." No, it's a real compliment, are you kidding me? Anyone who recognizes the fact that I've been working and stuff like that. Rarely do I get, "Hey Lasky, you're an a**hole." It's usually people who are fondly remembering their own youth. So I have no problems with that whatsoever.

I have to say, I really liked you in 'Veronica Mars,' too.
You know? That's that other thing. I know it wasn't a giant hit, but it certainly has a fanbase. And that was really fun to work on as well. Kristen Bell was totally cool. What I loved about her, as a pretty, smart, intelligent girl, she was willing to play kind of a dick. You know? That was the great thing about her. She was pretty and smart, and she was kind of a dick to people on the show, character-wise. That was really nice. That was true to form. That was a smart little show.

It was great. I'm sorry it's gone.
I am too. There was talk of making a movie of it at some point, but I think the further those things move away, the harder it is.

Peter Jackson Has Emergency Surgery for Stomach Ulcer

It's no secret that 'The Hobbit' has suffered its fair share of setbacks. Guillermo del Toro was on board to direct but dropped out after MGM's financial woes delayed production. Writer/producer Peter Jackson saved the day by stepping in to take the helm but was faced with a union boycott that almost halted everything once again. Knowing all this, the news that Jackson has been admitted to a New Zealand hospital due to a perforated stomach ulcer is not surprising.

Jackson was admitted to a Wellington hospital with acute stomach pains and was rushed for surgery.

What does this mean for the future of 'The Hobbit'? Jackson's publicist says it ain't no thing: "Sir Peter is currently resting comfortably and his doctors expect him to make a full recovery. Sir Peter's surgery is not expected to impact on his directing commitment to The Hobbit beyond a slight delay to the start of filming." Speedy recovery, sir.

'The Hobbit' is the two-part prequel -- shot back to back -- to the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and is targeted for a December 2012 and December 2013 release.

Several actors from the trilogy will reprise their roles, including Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively. Martin Freeman from BBC's 'The Office' will star as the film's main character, the reluctant hero Bilbo Baggins.

Oprah Winfrey to thank for boom in plus-sized lingerie; More options for women size 14 and up

In 2005, Oprah ordered the women of America to get fitted for a bra.

If you're plus-sized and have an easy time finding sexy bras and panties that fit, you can thank Oprah.

The talk show host's public quest for flattering garments has pushed fashions for larger-sized women out from the back of the store and into the mainstream, reports Women's Wear Daily.  

In a 2005 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," she ordered the women of America to get fitted for a bra -- and provided a free fitting for everyone in her studio audience as well.  

"I was in a C for years," Winfrey confessed. "I thought only strippers were Ds."

Hanesbrands bras, including Playtex and Wonderbra brands, sit on display before the Hanesbrands Just My Size (JMS) fashion show at the company's studio in New York.  
Hot lingerie companies like Spanx, Wacoal, Sassybax have all expanded their shape wear lines to include women who embody the national average: a size 14.

Lingerie companies have found that big women equal big bucks.

Larger-size consumers want everything that their smaller sisters have: sexy designs and luxurious fabrics, Linda LoRe, president of Frederick's of Hollywood Group Inc told WWD.  

"This woman wants to be treated the same as a woman who wears an A- or B-cup bra," she said.

Carolin Berger, German porn star nicknamed Cora, dead after sixth breast enlargement surgery

German porn star, Carolin Berger, died on Thursday from complications during her sixth breast enlargement operation.

The sixth breast enlargement was just too much for one German porn star.

Carolin Berger, better known as Cora, died on Thursday afternoon from complications suffered during her sixth breast augmentation surgery.

Berger, 23, wanted to increase her bust from a 34F to a 34G.

The tattooed film star, who garnered headlines as a contestant on Germany's "Big Brother," had been put in an artificial coma at the Hamburg University Hospital on Jan. 11, the BBC reported.

It's believed that Berger suffered two cardiac arrests after the surgery.  According to reports, she decided to go under the knife to keep up her publicity.

"The brain damage was too great," her husband, Tim, told The Sun. "Her blood pressure dropped steadily, physiological functions gave out — then she went to sleep quietly."

German cops are investigating the anesthesiologist and the surgeon who performed the operation.

"The senseless death of 'Big Brother' star Cora shocks the whole of Germany," read Bild, the country's tabloid. 

"[Her] frail, 48kg [106 pound] body struggled against death for 224 hours. She lost. Cora is dead!"

The dirty side of beauty: Pageant scandals

From racy photos to tumbles heard 'round the world - these beauty queens' lives aren't as picture-perfect as they seem. Check out the scandals that have rocked the beauty queen world.

A teary, underage beauty queen has been arrested and busted for public intoxication at a major state university. Megan Burgess, 19, who was crowned Miss Arkansas Teen 2010 and handed her title to her successor just two weeks prior, was taken into custody at the University of Arkansas. 

Campus cops said they received a call from Burgess' dorm room around 1 a.m. The worried caller said they were concerned about Burgess after she ran out of her dorm room and into the streets. 

,Br> Police found the 5-foot-9 brunette sitting by herself in a snowy, wooded area. She was unstable on her feet and a danger to herself, according to cops. 

Did ugly politics clear the way for Kentucky beauty Alexandria Mills to take the Miss World crown? The stunning 18-year-old, pictured above, became just the third American to take the title, but rivals claim the win was just a result of political bickering between China and Norway. 

London's Daily Mail suggests judges may have been pressured by Beijing to give Miss Norway Mariann Birkedal low scores because it is still bitter over the Nobel Peace Prize being given to one of its political prisoners.

In a series of photos posted on the radio show's Web site, Fakih is seen provocatively working her way up and down a stripper pole while wearing a blue tank top, bottom-grazing red shorts and a pair of high heels. Another photo shows her wearing a bra stuffed with dollar bills.

The 24-year-old beauty did not need to remove any clothing during her show-stopping performance at the Coliseum Gentleman's Club which won her 'jewelry, gift cards, adult toys and a stripper pole for home use.'

For Funerals Too Far, Mourners Gather on the Web

Irene Dahl, left, and Stephanie Peterson prepare a funeral Webcast in Bozeman, Mont.

In an age of commemorating birthdays, weddings and anniversaries on Facebook and Twitter, it was perhaps inevitable that live Web-streaming funerals for friends and loved ones would be next.

 

 

Editing a Webcast at Dahl Funeral Chapel in Montana.

It is no surprise that the deaths of celebrities, like Michael Jackson, or honored political figures, like the United States diplomat Richard Holbrooke, are promoted as international Web events. So, too, was the memorial service for the six people killed Jan. 8 in Tucson, which had thousands of viewers on the Web.

But now the once-private funerals and memorials of less-noted citizens are also going online.

Several software companies have created easy-to-use programs to help funeral homes cater to bereaved families. FuneralOne a one-stop shop for online memorials that is based in St. Clair, Mich., has seen the number of funeral homes offering Webcasts increase to 1,053 in 2010, from 126 in 2008 (it also sells digital tribute DVDs).

During that same period, Event by Wire, a competitor in Half Moon Bay, Calif., watched the number of funeral homes live-streaming services jump to 300 from 80. And this month, the Service Corporation International in Houston, which owns 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries, including the venerable Frank E. Campbell funeral chapel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, said it was conducting a pilot Webcasting program at 16 of its funeral homes.

Traveling to funerals was once an important family rite, but with greater secularity and a mobile population increasingly disconnected from original hometowns, watching a funeral online can seem better than not going to a funeral at all. Social media, too, have redrawn the communal barriers of what is acceptable when relating to parents, siblings, friends and acquaintances.

“We are in a YouTube society now,” said H. Joseph Joachim IV, founder of FuneralOne. “People are living more than ever online, and this reflects that.”

Some of the Web-streamed funerals reflect the large followings gathered by individuals. On Jan. 11, more than 7,000 people watched the Santa Ana, Calif., funeral of Debbie Friedman, an iconic singer whose music combined Jewish text with folk rhythm. It was seen on Ustream, a Web video service, with more than 20,000 viewing it on-demand in the days that followed.

“We intended to watch a few minutes, but ended up watching almost the whole thing,” said Noa Kushner, a rabbi in San Anselmo, Calif., and a fan of Ms. Friedman’s music, who watched the service with a friend at his office. “I was so moved.”

After Stefanie Spielman, a breast cancer activist and the wife of the popular National Football League player Chris Spielman, died in 2009, the Spielmans wanted a private ceremony attended by 900 friends and family members, said Lajos Szabo, the chief strategy officer at Schoedinger Funeral and Cremation Service in Columbus, Ohio, which arranged the funeral. But they also hoped to accommodate members of the public, who wanted to support the family in its grief. Streamed live and posted online, Ms. Spielman’s funeral has been viewed 4,663 times by 2,989 visitors since November 2009, according to FuneralOne.

Other Webcasts are more obscure, but no less appreciated. Two weeks ago, a friend of Ronald Rich, a volunteer firefighter in Wallace, N.C., died unexpectedly. When Mr. Rich called the mother of his friend to say he could not make the eight-hour drive to the funeral because a snowstorm threatened to close roads, he said the mother offered to send an e-mail invitation so he could watch the service online. Mr. Rich said he watched the funeral: first by himself and a second time with his girlfriend.

“It was comforting to me,” he said, adding that he planned to watch it again with fellow firefighters.

The technology to put funerals online has been around for a decade but was slow to catch on with an industry understandably sensitive to questions of etiquette. Some funeral directors eschew streaming funerals live because they do not want to replace a communal human experience with a solitary digital one, said John Reed, a past president of the National Funeral Directors Association. Other funeral directors worry that if the quality of the video is poor, it will reflect badly on the funeral home.

And the conversation about whether to stream a funeral online can be awkward, particularly if a grief-stricken family is wary of technology. Funeral directors are conservative, Mr. Reed said; privacy, even for the Facebook generation, is paramount. “We don’t jump on the first thing that comes along,” he said.

Still, some funeral directors offer the service for free (Mr. Reed is one of them) while others charge $100 to $300. If a family wants to keep the online service private, those invited get a password that allows access. 

Not all real-life funeral attendees want their images captured online. Irene Dahl, an owner of Dahl Funeral Chapel in Bozeman, Mont., said a young man went to a funeral last year dressed as a woman and asked not to be filmed. “He did not want his mother to know,” Ms. Dahl said. “So we did not face the camera in his direction.”

Ms. Dahl said that nearly one-third of the ceremonies arranged by her funeral home last year — about 60 — were streamed live, at no extra charge. She became interested in this option after Dan Grumley, the chief executive of Event by Wire, visited her in 2008 and showed her how it worked.

“Being a funeral director is about helping people with their grief,” she said.

Russell Witek, the 14-year-old son of Karen Witek of Geneva, Ill., died of a brain tumor in 2009. The Conley Funeral Home in Elburn, Ill., offered to stream the funeral live to friends and family members. “We said, ‘Why not?’ ” Ms. Witek said. Her brother-in-law was working in the Middle East and could not attend. Russell’s home health nurse was out of town. “It was spring break,” Ms. Witek said.

She had met a number of friends on social media sites, including a patient-care support group and another for parents who home-schooled their children, and they could not attend, either. “I wanted them to experience it,” Ms. Witek said.

According to Conley Funeral Home, 186 people watched the funeral live on April 3, 2009, with an additional 511 watching it on-demand through Jan. 15.

Ms. Witek said her husband had watched the funeral more than once, “because he wanted to hear what was said that day,” but said she couldn’t bring herself to view it, except in parts. “After a child dies, you go into a fog.”

But for William Uzenski, the father of Nicholas Uzenski, a Marine serving in Afghanistan who was killed on Jan. 11, 2010, live Web-streaming has provided much comfort. Mr. Uzenski’s body was transported to his home, Bozeman, 10 days later. William Uzenski, himself a former Marine, said he wanted Nicholas’s military colleagues in Afghanistan to be able to watch the funeral. So Ms. Dahl arranged it through a military liaison who was assisting the family.

Ms. Dahl said that, unlike many streamed funerals, Nicholas Uzenski’s had three separate Webcasts and was invitation-only. The Webcasts included the arrival of his coffin at a local airport, the funeral and a graveside ceremony that his family said included a 21-gun salute. Ms. Dahl tracked virtual attendees. The funeral and the graveside ceremony were watched by 124 and 39 people, respectively, with the funeral viewed in 80 cities and 4 countries, including Afghanistan.

“Some e-mailed me,” Mr. Uzenski said. “Friends thanked us for sharing it with them. I do watch it again sometimes. I don’t know why, but I guess it’s healing.

Is Health Care Reform Working in Massachusetts?

Following the passage of a Republican bill to repeal President Obama's health care law in the House last week, the Senate is about to consider a similar bill. Some critics of repeal are reminding voters that a health care reform measure has been in effect in Massachusetts for four years. So it's fair to ask: Has health care reform worked in the Bay State?

Not surprisingly, the answer depends on whom you ask.

Stuart Altman, professor of national heath policy at the Heller School for Social Policy at Brandeis University, says the Massachusetts Health Reform Plan has worked on a number of levels but mainly in extending coverage to the uninsured. The percentage of the state's uninsured went from 7% to 2.5%, he says, but has since returned to around 3% because of the economic crisis.

"Massachusetts has by far the lowest uninsured rate in the country," Altman notes. But he warns that the Massachusetts experience cannot necessarily be taken as an example of how well Obamacare might work because of regional differences within the country.

Not an Overwhelming Success

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian CATO Institute, says the Massachusetts law hasn't been an overwhelming success. "Everyone is spending someone else's money and can't believe they are spending their own," Cannon says. "We still have doctors and patients spending the government's money, and you've still got workers spending their employers' money."

Cannon says while it's generally acknowledged that insurance enrollment went up in Massachusetts under the health reform law, he reckons the numbers are inflated by a large percentage because people are afraid to admit they don't have insurance because of possible penalties.

The Massachusetts health plan, which was adopted in 2006 under the administration of Republican Governor Mitt Romney, includes an individual mandate -- which means you can lose your tax deduction if you don't have insurance; a requirement that employers provide health insurance or pay the state; and subsidies for low-income families. Sponsored Links Supporters of the law say it was designed only to increase coverage, not bring down costs, which opponents dispute.

An academic study by John F. Cogan and Daniel Kessler of Stanford University and Glenn Hubbard of Columbia University estimated that the Massachusetts plan has caused heath insurance premiums to rise 5.9% more than in the rest of the U.S. for the period from 2006 to 2008.

Brandeis' Altman counters that Massachusetts has had higher health care costs than the rest of the country for more than a decade, and as a result, the higher costs now "have nothing to do with reform."

Primarily, he says, they reflect Massachusetts' use of more expensive teaching hospitals to do jobs usually handled by community hospitals in other states.

Reform Spurs Innovation

Cannon maintains that the reform has "forced Massachusetts to really deal with its cost problem and do things that a lot of states haven't even begun to think about." Among the innovations: Blue Cross Blue Shield has adopted a new payment model designed to reward doctors and hospitals for the quality of the care they provide and not just the quantity.

"Our new approach to payment was designed to address the twin goals of improving the quality and outcomes of patient care while significantly cutting the rate of growth in health care spending," says Andrew Dreyfus, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "We are making significant progress toward both goals."

While some critics have complained that the state-funded Medicaid rolls have swollen under the reform effort, others point out that they've grown in most states because of the economic crisis, a time when many workers lost jobs along with their employer-provided health insurance.

The Massachusetts example is unlikely to resolve the debate in Washington, unless Romney enters the presidential race again in 2012 and is forced to defend his actions before a largely hostile, Tea Party-dominated Republican party. But a straw poll in New Hampshire last week showed that Romney is still the leading candidate on the GOP side, despite the party's strident opposition to health care reforms.

Oprah Winfrey Reveals Surprise Half-Sister

Oprah Winfrey's big family secret? The talk-show queen announced on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' Monday that she has discovered a half-sister, named Patricia, who was secretly given up for adoption in 1963. Patricia, who lives in Milwaukee, said that she discovered Oprah was her half-sister while searching for her birth mother in 2007. For reason unexplained, she did not approach the TV star until November and the pair actually met on Thanksgiving Day.Winfrey was 9 and living with her father in 1963 and said she had no idea her mother was even pregnant. According to Winfrey, her mother could not afford to keep Patricia.

In a confusing twist, Winfrey's previously known half-sister, who passed away in 2003, was also named Patricia and lived in Milwaukee.

It's been a revelatory year for Oprah Winfrey, who, as her legendary talk show winds down its 25th and final year on the air, has stepped out of her comfort zone to address a number of rumors about herself, including talk that her friendship with Gayle King is actually a romantic relationship and her thoughts of suicide as a teenager after she learned of an unwanted pregnancy.

"I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I'm the one being reunited," Winfrey said in advertisements for today's episode of 'Oprah.' "I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you're going to hear it straight from me."

Earlier Monday, BlackVoices.com reported that Winfrey learned sometime around Thanksgiving of last year that her mother, Vernita Lee, had another daughter. Winfrey, 56, believed for years that she was her parents' only surviving child after her two younger siblings, Jeffrey and Patricia, passed away. Patricia was reportedly raised by another family, and either her adoptive parents coincidentally named her Patricia, which was also the name of Winfrey's known deceased sister, or that Vernita "adored the name Patricia so much she named two children that."

Sources told Black Voices that Winfrey and Patricia have met in person and today's reunion special is Winfrey's opportunity to introduce her sister to the public.

As soon as Winfrey announced that she would reveal "news that literally shook me to my core" about "a family secret," the Internet lit up with speculation. "There has been speculation in the past that Vernon Winfrey is not her actual biological father," In Touch Weekly Senior Editor Amy Palmer told CBS News, "so this is something people are saying it could be."

Others -- including Kitty Kelley, who famously wrote an unauthorized biography of Winfrey last year -- had been correctly claiming that Winfrey would reveal a long-lost family member.

Why Winfrey did not know of her half-sister's existence until late last year remains unclear.

Ferrari's fantastic four-wheel-drive FF flagship four-seat fastback

Beautiful. Fast. Expensive. There are any of a number of adjectives you could use to describe a Ferrari. Radical is one of them, too. But versatile? Hold on to your hats, because the FF is like no other Ferrari we've seen before.

The long-anticipated successor to the 612 Scaglietti takes the stage as Ferrari's flagship grand tourer. It carries four seats like its predecessor, but elongates the roofline for a shooting brake/hatchback body-style that offers plenty of cabin space and – with those rear seats folded down – as much cargo capacity as a small wagon.

It may be the first shooting brake to roll out of Maranello since the legendary 250 Breadvan, but that's not even the extent of the firsts pioneered in the new Ferrari Four. It also carries the company's long-in-the-making part-time all-wheel drive system: the innovation is called 4RM, and while technical details haven't been revealed, it is said to be only half as heavy as a conventional system, helping the front-engined shooting brake keep a 47:53 rearward weight bias. Coupled with a sub-4,000 pound curb weight (some 110 pounds less than the 612), the HELE stop-start system previewed in the California concept from the Paris show also helps keep emissions and fuel consumption down.

Of course nobody buys a Ferrari for its environmental credentials, so here's the info you've been waiting for: 0-62 in 3.7 seconds (a third quicker than the 612) and a top speed of 208 mph (about nine mph faster than the 612). Credit that bit to the all-new, direct-injection, 6.3-liter V12 and its 651 horsepower and 504 lb-ft of torque, which you can read about – together with the other technical details – in the press release after the jump. Ferrari's also launched a dedicated microsite for the new flagship, and don't forget, of course, to check out the first batch of high-resolution images of the svelte new shooting brake in the gallery below. Thanks to all for the tips!

Singer Monica Secretly Weds Lakers Guard Shannon Brown

LA Lakers Guard Shannon Brown has confirmed reports that he secretly married R&B singer Monica. The rumor mill had been swirling with reports that the lovebirds tied the knot, despite denials from both sides.

Brown, a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, casually owned up to the nuptials during a post-game interview. "It's true," he said. "I really don't know what else to say about it. It's true. That's my wife. I'm her husband. We gonna continue to make positive things happen."

The couple met last year when Brown appeared in the Grammy winner's video 'Love All Over Me.' After only a few months of dating, the two became engaged in October, which she announced via her Twitter page. "We realize people will have their opinions," she wrote after receiving some opposition to her decision. "That's the way of the world. But we know who we are & who's we are."

Monica was previously engaged to longtime boyfriend Rodney "Rocko" Hill, with whom she shares two sons, 3-year-old Romelo and 5-year-old Rodney Jr. Now that she's married to Brown, the Atlanta native can add stepmother to her resume, as Brown, also has a young son from a previous relationship.

Blending families is something that 30-year-old is used to, she previously said, "I think that it's good for people to see that you can have the things that you truly want, and I don't mean that in a material way. I mean with relationships," she said. "We're very much a blended family. I have a mother and a stepfather who I love very much. I'm still very close to my own father. I have a brother, I have two small sons. I still have my career, all these different things, and it speaks volumes to your everyday person."

Museum recovers $50K Civil War gun stolen in 1975

RICHMOND, Va. -A Civil War revolver that was stolen more than 30 years ago from the Museum of the Confederacy has turned up again.

Collections Manager Catherine Wright tells WTVR-TV that the .36-caliber Spiller & Burr revolver was stolen in 1975 when the museum collection was moved to a new building.

A woman in Knoxville, Tenn., discovered the gun in December in her late father's belongings. She tried to sell it to an Ohio antique dealer who traced the gun to the museum.

WTVR reports that the woman's father collected Civil War items. It's not known how he came into possession of the gun. The woman will not face charges.

Wright says the Spiller & Burr revolver was one of the first Confederate-manufactured handguns. This one has an estimated value of $50,000.—

Melissa Etheridge's New Relationship Has Ex Tammy Lynn Michaels Furious

Melissa Etheridge revealed yesterday that she is dating Linda Wallem, the creator of the TV Show 'Nurse Jackie' and ex-girlfriend Tammy Lynn Michaels is not happy with the new relationship.

PEOPLE reported that Etheridge and Wallem were best friends for years and Wallem even served as "Best Man" at Michaels and Etheridge's wedding in 2003.

The two became an item a few months after Etheridge and Michaels split, stepping out together for the Emmys last August. A friend of the couple is quoted saying that the couple are happy and are in a "committed relationship." The couple even share the same birthday and both turn 50 in May.

But Michaels took to her blog and wrote a long rambling poem where she tore into the new relationship and accused Etheridge of cheating on her long before the couple separated and eventuallydivorced in April 2010.

In the poem on her blog Michaels says, "i moved out november 23rd 2009 / she said it would help / i was convinced it would / too and i trusted there was / no one else / i didn't know / there was someone moving in / as i was moving out."

She continues, "three weeks later a box of new toys / was delivered and her assistant brought / it to my rental house as a mistake / i opened it / and that's when i felt something was up / i called her / "i have your new d***s on my kitchen counter?"

Michaels also says that she didn't realize their split was final until she listened to Melissa's new album, "I understood / oh / you don't want to work it out / oh you already have someone in the wings / oh you already have pined for another / oh you are done here."

She also goes on to attack the reported relationship in PEOPLE, "since april of 09? Mmm / one of my little sweet peas told me otherwise much / earlier than that, Pooper magazine / they should have shut the bedroom door."

Etheridge's response to her ex's poem came from her rep and it said, "I do not comment on haikus,"UsMagazine.com reports.

Michaels is also the mother to the couples' twins, son Miller and daughter Johnnie Rose, born in 2006. She is currently fighting for custody of the twins and in addition to requesting full custody, Michaels is also petitioning Etheridge for spousal support.

Michaels claimed, in an earlier poem, Etheridge hasn't supported her and their 4-year-old twins withenough money to eat -- "when i went to get cash / just last week / for the three of us to eat / nothing"

Upset Fans of Lauryn Hill Walk Out During Concert

Lauryn Hill's long-awaited tour run hit another snag this weekend when upset fans walked out of the show last Friday.

Aside from showing up three hours late to the sold-out event, which was scheduled to begin at 9PM, the 35-year-old left her supporters 'confused' and 'underwhelmed' by declaring that she was tired of 'playing the same music night after night.' The former Fugees member performed remixes of some of her classics, while urging crowd participation.

"Nobody could participate because NOBODY knew the music!" a concert-goer told Sandrose.com. "Everybody was looking around like 'WHAT SONG IS THIS???'"

Fans also complained that Hill's band was too loud, thus drowning out her vocals. Fed-up with her antics, some audience members reportedly booed the multiple Grammy winner before leaving the venue early. "They didn't walk out - they stomped out!" emphasized the audience member.

Hill exhibited some of the same behavior during a performance at The Pageant Concert Nightclub in St. Louis on Sunday. Fans, already weary of her growing reputation for being late, waited patiently for her arrival, three hours after doors opened.

Once again announcing that she would be adding a new spin to some of her old music, Hill launched into performances of 'barely recognizable' versions of songs from her critically acclaimed 1998 release, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.' The show reportedly went on well passed 1AM, causing some audience members to leave the concert, while others stayed until the early morning.

Last month, Hill announced that she would partake on a 17-date tour, and has been racking up mostly negative reviews ever since. The singer was blasted by several news outlets for her kick-off performance at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg, in which she showed up several hours late and made no apology for her tardiness, announcing that she was "worth the wait."

Unfortunately, this behavior is nothing new for Hill, who has been largely out of the spotlight in recent years, but appears to be making a comeback to the industry after taking time off to raise her five children with partner Rohan Marley. Despite her missteps, Hill continues to sell out venues and is slated to hit the stage at First Avenue & 7th Street Entry, in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

New Yorker 'adopts' Haiti family, sending them much-needed supplies to get through difficult time

Brothers Roodly (l.), 10, and Kevin Darius, 9, in Haiti home, write thank-you letter to Queens benefactor Maryse Georges.

CARREFOUR, HAITI - At least twice a year, brothers Roodly and Kevin Darius come home from school to discover a care package sent to them all the way from Queens.

Inside they find T-shirts, jeans, shoes and school supplies sent from a woman they have never met but cannot imagine living without.

"I would like to say thank you to her for everything she has done for us," the older of the two brothers, Roodly, 10, said last week as he stood outside his two-room family home in the town of Carrefour, just outside Port-au-Prince.

He was wearing a sleeveless sports jersey and shorts, while his brother, Darius, 9, had opted for his favorite Spider-Man T-shirt - gifts from Maryse Georges and her family in Forest Hills.

"Without her, I don't know what I would do," their mother, Therese Jules, 42, said. "Maryse really is the mother of the children. I pray for her every day because she's really helped me with them."

Georges, who is Haitian-American, has been providing financial support to Jules and her two boys for the past decade.

Georges' mother took in Jules and her two sisters as teenagers when she lived in Haiti.

When Georges heard that one of the three was going to have a child of her own, she decided it was time to do her part.

"I decided to start looking after that new family myself," said Georges, 63, who works for the city Health Department.

"I really want them to have the best that they can have. That's what I can do for Haiti."

Since the children were born, Georges has deposited $100 a month in the family's bank account, sent two or three packages full of supplies each year and covered the family's rent.

Some of the money is used to send the boys to a good school in Carrefour. Their mother ensures they study hard, attend church and write thank-you letters to their benefactor.

When the earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, a panic-stricken Georges spent nearly a week trying to reach her long-distance adopted family.

Eventually she heard Jules' voice on the other end of the line.

"I must have made 100 calls," Georges said. "By chance, the call finally went through. Therese told me they had become homeless."

Georges helped the family find a temporary tent shelter. Last Christmas, she, her husband and her two grown kids decided to forgo presents so Jules and the two boys could move to a more stable home, and pay one year's rent - about $700, double what they were charged before the quake.

"Maryse has a good heart," Jules said, sitting around the small table in her new, modest home. "She calls us all the time for news on the children, and they speak about her all the time. They really want to meet her."

Georges also hopes to meet the boys she considers family soon. For all her generosity, she only has one request: "I'm trying to give Haiti two educated individuals who can serve the country," she explained.

"The only thing I want from them is that when the boys are older, they do the same for another child."

One Tweet Too Far? Kim Kardashian Gets Backlash on Bikini Twitpic

You already know that Kim Kardashian is one of the sexiest women in Hollywood. She's also never shy about showing it for all to see.

But this picture she Tweeted of herself in a barely-there black bikini has some fans wondering whether too little is just too much. The tiny black swimsuit seems to be having a hard time containing those famous Kardashian curves, leading to a fierce debate between haters and fans in the comments section of the post. The positive and negative remarks bounce back and forth like a tennis ball.

Typical of the more positive responses was this comment: "great body Kim! you deserve it! :D dont hear people who dont deserve to be hear! U look great!"

Someone less keen on the picture wrote: "she obscene and use just her body to get more rich, she use it to maximum no shame no teaste." (We'll let you draw your own conclusions about the person's spelling ability.)

More negative rants included: "2sexy2tweet" makes you seem like you have low self esteem issues, but the make-up make you look like a clown" and "you look orange and Trashyyy Not a Good look"

'Sin City' Actress Devon Aoki is Pregnant

Model-turned-actress Devon Aoki is pregnant and she confirmed the news to the New York Post's 'Page Six.' No due date has yet been announced.

The 'Sin City' actress had announced her engagement to financier James Bailey last year. Her rep told the newspaper, "Devon and James are extremely happy. They became engaged over the summer and she just found out that she is pregnant."

Aoki, the 28-year-old daughter of Benihana restaurant chain founder Rocky Aoki, has been modeling internationally since age 14. She has done campaigns for Chanel, YSL, Hugo Boss and Lancome, and her movies include '2 Fast 2 Furious' and 'Sin City', where she played the silent-but-very lethal assassin 'Miho'.

Aoki's rep also told the newspaper that she plans to take some time off to nurture her newborn.

There really must be something in those designer water bottles in Hollywood as actors Selma Blair, Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson and Marion Cotillard are also expecting.

Dr. Phil Gets Ted Williams to Enter Rehab

How much stranger will the Ted Williams story get?

One day after being detained by police for an apparent fight with his daughter, Ted Williams, the so-called "man with the golden voice," is heading to drug and alcohol rehab ... thanks to Dr. Phil.

Williams, who has made dozens of television appearances since being plucked from obscurity by the hand of fate after a reporter filmed the homeless man delivering a radio-caliber pitch for spare change, apparently heeded Dr. Phil's advice for treatment while taping an episode of the therapist's show.

According to USA Today, Williams admitted to the good doctor that he has been drinking alcohol on a daily basis, contrary to his previous claims that he had been clean and sober for two years.

"If Ted is ever going to get better, he's got to be honest with himself and admit he's addicted to drugs and alcohol," said Dr. Phil. "I've told him it's not going to be easy and it's going to take a lot of hard work. it might be a long journey for him, but this is a big step in the right direction."

The show will air on Thursday.

'Spider-Man' Becomes Broadway's No. 1 Musical

'Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark' has become a bit of a punch-line over the last month or so, but the latest news about the Broadway adaptation of the popular Marvel comic will have Julie Taymor and her producers laughing – all the way to the bank.

The New York Times is reporting that the upstart production, plagued by bad press since a rash of accidents left several actors and crew injured, has knocked 'Wicked' from the top of its Broadway box-office perch last week, but just barely. The web-slinger edged out the revised take on 'The Wizard of Oz' by a whopping $58.

The margin might have been bigger – 'Wicked's' 1.5 million haul was based on 100% of the audience paying for tickets, while Spidey's numbers didn't factor in all the free and reduced price seats they were offering patrons while it continues its preview period. 'Wicked' had an average paid admission of $109.76, while 'Spider-Man' was slightly less at $102.86.
Could this be a portent of things to come? 'Wicked' has been one of the highest earning shows on Broadway since it debuted back in 2003, while 'Spider-Man' won't officially open until February 7th (after nearly a year of delays). The battle could be quite interesting – as 'Spider-Man' plays in a slightly larger theater (The Foxwood Theater) and boasts the name recognition of director Taymor (who helmed the stage version of 'The Lion King') and music from U2's Bono and The Edge.

However, as The Times mentions, the 'Wicked' team has more experience in figuring out how to sell the most seats at premium ($300 a pop) prices – which should keep its grosses in the stratosphere for the foreseeable future. Plus, 'Wicked' hasn't shown any signs of waning popularity even after a seven year run. It's a proven commodity.

Either way, it seems safe to say that the executives behind 'Spider-Man' have to be breathing a sigh of relief. After weeks of bad news, edging out a popular production like 'Wicked' is definitely something to crow about. Sony Films executives have to be pleased as well – as negative publicity for the musical could have a trickle down effect that compromises the earning ability of the new 'Spider-Man' movie, which is set to reboot the franchise.

Tom DeLay Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Money Laundering

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was sentenced Monday afternoon to three years in prison following his conviction on money-laundering and conspiracy charges. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was sentenced Monday afternoon to three years in prison following his conviction on money-laundering and conspiracy charges.

Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his uncompromising political style, DeLay was convicted on Nov. 24 on charges related to the 2002 midterm elections. Senior Judge Pat Priest sentenced DeLay to three years on the conspiracy charge, and five years on the money laundering charge. However, the Texas Republican was granted a 10-year probation on the latter, according to the Associated Press.

DeLay's attorneys had indicated they might bring as many as nine people as character witnesses, but in the end, only former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., spoke on DeLay's behalf. He played up the Texas native's devotion to religious and charitable causes.

DeLay opted to have the judge, instead of the jury, decide his fate, The Washington Post

Although the proceedings were expected to last two days, testimony was cut short after the judge refused to allow a Texas businessman to speak out against DeLay. Prosecutors said Peter Cloeren claimed the congressman had encouraged him to evade campaign finance laws in a separate case. But Priest said Cloeren's claims couldn't be proven, the American-Statesman said.

DeLay was convicted by a jury for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to candidates in Texas ahead of the 2002 elections. Texas law does not permit any corporate donations to be given directly to a political campaign. DeLay's lawyers insisted the charges against the former lawmaker were politically motivated, brought because Democrats were unhappy with the congressional redistricting he pushed through in 2003. The former majority leader has maintained his innocence on all charges.

But prosecutors argued the money directly helped GOP candidates take control of the Texas state House, which in turn allowed the beneficial redistricting.

Despite the sentence, which was not unexpected, there are several possible appeals available to DeLay, according to Politics Daily's Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen.

DeLay's best argument is that the state's money laundering law was applied broadly and now appears to be odds with the Supreme Court's directive for campaign finance-related rules handed down last January in the Citizens United decision. His chances on appeal on those grounds may get some traction with the Texas appellate courts, which are typically more conservative than juries in Austin, which is where the trial took place. reported.