New Yorkers make a slushy, cautious return to city parks closed during storm

Runners ventured back into Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Sunday after it reopened following Saturday’s closure of city parks based on worries over falling tree limbs.

It was too slushy for snow angels, but New Yorkers made a cautious return Sunday to city parks that had been closed because of danger from falling trees and branches.

In Central Park, soccer enthusiasts organized a pickup game in a muddy field, and bikers rode along the mud and ice-clogged Park Drive.

Tourists snapped pictures of themselves amid the mud, snow and fallen tree branches.

"We tried to get in last night," said Abbe Held, 52, who was walking her black labrador, Mickey.

“Today, the branches are down, but everyone is enjoying the day. We've been here for two hours. He doesn't want to leave."

Parks officials closed city parks Saturday evening after getting nearly 1,000 calls to 311 about downed trees and branches.

One woman was hospitalized after being struck by a falling branch at Central Park West and W. 61st St.

The Department of Parks & Recreation also cancelled Sunday’s planned Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5-miler through Central Park, but casual joggers pounded the icy, muddy pavement.

"I just went for a 20-mile run," said Stephen Kriss, 26, of the upper West Side.

"I'm running a marathon in three weeks in Philadelphia, so this is my last big run. When I first got out here, it was icy. It's starting to melt. It's just messy now. There's branches down everywhere, so that makes it interesting."

Margarita Krein, 22, of Manhattan took her infant son Martin out for his first glimpse of snow.

"It's funny — the snow and the green trees," Krein said.

"The sun's shining beautifully. The baby loves it. It's the first snow for him."

A day after Prospect Park’s annual Halloween Haunted Walk and Carnival was cancelled, costumed youngsters came to the park to throw snowballs instead.

Niovi Forbes, a Clinton Hill designer, brought her 4-year-old daughter, Zoe, clad in a princess costume.

We wanted to be festive, Forbes said. It is what it is. Today's a brand new day, and we're excited to be out.'' 

Kim Kardashian in a sexy Halloween costume of Poison Ivy from Batman movie.

Kim Kardashian's Halloween costume was very deadly.

The reality star dressed up as Poison Ivy from "Batman & Robin," who killed her enemies with toxic kisses, for the Midori Green Halloween bash at LAVO in New York City on Saturday.

Kardashian's version -- a low-cut green mini decorated with leaves -- was of course much sexier than the costume worn by Uma Thurman in the 1997 flick.

 "The party is obviously with Midori," Kardashian, who is also the liquor's spokeswoman, told Us Weekly. "So I wanted to wear something green and I thought, what really is there to wear green? There's Tinkerbell or a mermaid -- and I wanted to be Poison Ivy. I like the red hair idea."

Noticeably missing from the fun: her husband Kris Humphries.

Instead, Kardashian's sidekick that night was her friend Jonathan Cheban, who complimented her costume as Robin from the DC Comic. 

Creepyworld nightmare: 17-year-old female actor found hanging in ‘scream park’

A 17-year-old Fenton, Missouri girl is in critical condition after getting caught in a noose.

 

Creepyworld is a ‘scream park’ made too look like a haunted town.

A "scream park" in Missouri became a real-life nightmare after a teenage girl was found hanging from a noose, authorities said.

The 17-year-old, whose name has not been released, was discovered on Thursday by co-workers at Creepyworld in Fenton, according to KSDK 5 News.

She was unconscious at the time and rushed to a nearby hospital, authorities said. She was listed in critical condition.

"It’s a situation that’s under investigation," Larry Kirchner, president of Halloween Productions Inc., which operates the park, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The teenager was one of the actors at Creepyworld, an attraction designed like a small town infested with ghouls and ghosts, police said. It is unclear how she became trapped in the noose.

"This is odd and a little strange because it is a haunted house," Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Captain Ron Arnhart told KSDK 5 News. "It's really an unfortunate accident. It's sad."

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating, KSDK 5 News reported. 

Sex education -Schools dial down most graphic part of curriculum

Shenia Rudolph and her 12-year-old twins, Capri and Coby Brown, in their Bronx home on Saturday, October 29, 2011. Rudolph says she’s glad the city made sex ed less explicit for younger kids.

The city Education Department has X-ed out racy content from its recommended sexual education curriculum .

The redacted parts include flash cards for middle school kids explaining various sex acts, such as anal sex, oral sex and mutual masturbation.

"We thought it was not age-appropriate for 11- and 12-year-olds," said Education Department spokeswoman Natalie Rivets, adding that the edited texts have been voluntarily used by city schools since 2007.

Starting in January, the city will require one semester of sex ed in sixth or seventh grade and one in ninth or 10th grade.

Schools have their choice of curriculum about the birds and the bees, but the city recommends a program called HealthSmart and another titled Reducing the Risk.

The Education Department provides the programs to schools for free if they send teachers for training. Last school year, 43% of public high schools reported voluntarily using the city's recommended HealthSmart sex ed textbooks and 64% of middle schools used the books.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said using the HealthSmart curriculum will reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases .

"A significant percentage of our teenagers have had multiple sexual partners, so we can't stick our heads in the sand about this," said Walcott.

Shenia Rudolph, who serves as vice president of the parent association at Middle School 391 in the Bronx, supports the city's decision to cut explicit passages from HealthSmart.

"You need to be cautious in describing anything to a minor. I believe in being not too graphic," said Rudolph, whose son and daughter, Coby and Capri Brown, attend sixth and seventh grades at Middle School 391.

Others say the cuts don't go far enough.

An advocacy group called NYC Parents Choice is pushing the city to offer an option for sex ed that focuses solely on abstinence and leaves out explicit lessons entirely. By its count, the high school version of HealthSmart mentions abstinence just 90 times and birth control, including condoms, 230 times.

"The same way they're offering charter schools and traditional public schools - we're only asking something similar - parent choice," said NYC Parents Choice executive director Michael Benjamin. 

Surprise winter storm zaps power for 2M, kills three

Luke Schiada shovels snow in front of his house on Sherman St. in Brooklyn during a rare snow storm on Saturday, October 29, 2011.

A jogger makes their way through Central Park as snows falls Saturday Oct. 29, 2011 in New York.

It’s snowing! The white stuff hit the Big Apple early this season.
A rare October snowstorm socked the East Coast Saturday, setting a snowfall record in New York City and knocking out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses and killing three people across the region.

No deaths were reported in the city, but a 69-year-old woman was hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries after she was struck by a falling tree branch at W. 61st St. and Central Park West about 1 p.m.

The Parks Department fielded nearly 1,000 calls about downed limbs that snapped under the weight of the ice and snow. In response, all city parks were ordered closed last night due to the "ongoing danger of falling branches and trees."

The surprise storm was expected to dump up to 8 inches of slush on city streets by this morning.

"It's been a pretty dynamic situation," said Joe Picca, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The powerful nor'easter caused flight delays of up to six hours at area airports, disrupted subway service and left more than 15,000 Con Ed customers without power in the city.

Metro-North train service was suspended on the busy Harlem line north of North White Plains due to numerous downed trees, and more than 2.2 million customers lost power from Maryland to Massachusetts.

At least three people in the Northeast died during the storm. Deaths were reported in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

In New York, Gov. Cuomo declared a state of emergency in 13 counties, including Richmond.

This is only the fourth time the city has had snow before Halloween - and it's the most by far. By 8 p.m., Central Park counted 1.3 inches of snow, beating out the previous record of .8 inches for October. The final tally was expected to hit 5 to 8 inches, said Picca, who blamed the record snowfall on the chilly temperatures.

The sudden snow storm took many New Yorkers by surprise.

"The weather is crazy," said Wali Robinson , 22, a ticket broker from Astoria , Queens. "It was 60 degrees four days ago. It really makes you question global warming."

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said the city was fighting the storm with 1,400 plows. "We'll be out there all day and all night tonight, plowing and de-icing," Doherty said.

The snow isn't expected to linger for long. Meteorologists are forecasting clear skies and temperatures in the upper 40s in the city today. "Considering that the ground is relatively warm and the snow is as wet as it is, any that remains on the ground should be fairly quick to melt away," Picca said.

In Jackson Heights, Queens, a downed tree fell on five cars, blocking much of 73rd St. "It was a huge tree. It's completely bad," said 60-year-old Ralph Rivera. "Snow before Halloween? I was shocked."

Anni Lattunen, a 29-year-old from Finland studying dance in Manhattan, was one of many New Yorkers unprepared for early snow. "It's horrible," she said.

"I'm here for just a short while and don't have a long jacket. I didn't expect it to snow in October."

Indeed, snow in October is unusual. There has been measurable snow during the month in 1952, 1925 and 1870, according to the National Weather Service. Each time, less than an inch stuck to the ground. 

Bette Midler's costumes and baubles to be publicly auctioned to benefit charity for city

Miss M with crystal-inlaid uke in a Las Vegas show, and (below) the costume from that show

For 40 years, Bette Midler squirreled away costumes and keepsakes from her many movies and musical tours. Now she's cleaning out her closet for a good cause - greening the city.

The Divine Miss M is putting more than 300 items on the block to benefit her charity, which spruces up city parks and is partnering with the project to plant a million trees in the city by 2017.

Darren Julien of Julien's Auctions of Beverly Hills predicts the Nov. 12 auction, which includes online bidding, could bring in as much as $400,000.

"It's a huge public event," he said Tuesday.

"Bette's an icon. We've done sales for Cher and Barbra Streisand. She's at that level - and she has some outrageous costumes. People are already bidding online."

He said he tried for five years to persuade her to sell off some of her stuff, but she was "very reluctant" to part with sentimental items.

In the end, she gave in, so cash can be raised for the New York Restoration Project, the urban greening nonprofit she founded when she moved back to New York in 1995.

Highlights of the sale include a Valentino gown she wore to the 1992 Oscars, a jumpsuit she wore on her 1979 "Divine Madness" tour and her famous mermaid getup.

There are gold records, awards and her Hollywood Walk of Fame plaque. And annotated scripts for "Beaches" and "For the Boys" have presale estimates ranging from $500 to $800.

A pair of crystal platform shoes she wore on the cover of a remix LP has a presale price tag of $500 to $700 - and a good story to match.

"These were given to me by Cher in the early 1970s," Midler wrote in the catalog. "They were sensational, but a bit hard to walk in without falling down, so I put them on display in my house. Visitors were mesmerized."

There will also be a burgundy knit wool dress from Bobbie Brooks, which could fetch $800 or more, that Midler donned during her first winter in New York.

"I think it's one of the first new dresses I ever bought. Up until then, I made most of my own clothes or shopped at Goodwill," she said. 

Victoria's Secret's Miranda Kerr sparkles in sexy $2.5 million Fantasy Treasure Bra

Miranda Kerr shows off the $2.5 million Fantasy Treasure Bra designed exclusively for Victoria's Secret by London Jewelers.
Miranda Kerr is Victoria's Secret's jewel of the isle. 

The supermodel is the very definition of pirate's booty as the bearer of the brand's eye-popping $2.5 million Fantasy Treasure Bra designed exclusively for Victoria's Secret by London Jewelers.

The seashell-inspired lingerie boasts 142 carats of diamonds as well as pearls, citrines and aquamarines, according to Victoria's Secret. 

 Two 8-carat white diamonds and two 14-carat yellow diamonds hang from a bedazzled tassel, giving Kerr the appearance of an undersea belly dancer. 

An astonishing 3,400 gems were hand-sewn onto the frame of the brand's popular Gorgeous Push-up Bra.

The Fantasy Treasure Bra will be seen on the runway during the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion show airing Tuesday, November 29 on CBS. 

Chic jackets elevate New Yorkers’ fall styles

Leidy Bryant, 25, a publicist from Bergen County, N.J., shows off her outfit

Ashley Malangone, 25, who works in fashion and lives on the Upper East Side

Kiki He, 21, a student from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, shows off her outfit for "On the Street." Photo by Patty Lee

Who says you have to sacrifice style to keep warm?

Not these fashionable New Yorkers.

Just follow in their footsteps and throw on a cape, poncho or printed coat.

In between running to meetings and college classes, these four women stop to show us how chic jackets can elevate a fall look.

Leidy Bryant, Bergen County, N.J.

Bryant, 25, loves vintage fashion.

I m very inspired by the 30s and 40s and the way women wore coats that really catered to their bodies.

It's one of the reasons her poncho, a purchase from Paris, is a fall staple.

I do travel overseas quite a bit and I'm really inspired by their sense of fashion, says the FIT grad. This poncho is eight years old. It's easy to throw on and it's wool, so it's warm.

Bryant, who owns Leidy Elle, a boutique public-relations firm specializing in entertainment and media, is always looking for great outfits on the street.

I just love to see women in a head-to-toe outfitted piece with hat, gloves and big shoes. It looks effortless.

Kiki He, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

He, 21, does most her shopping in Asia.

A Hong Kong native, He, who moved to New York for school, thinks fashion gets updated more quickly abroad.

That's why I read and follow Asian fashion magazines more, she explains.

Most importantly, the clothes she finds in Asia, like her cobalt blue cape, are usually a better fit. Instead of chasing trends and buying new items all the time, she works with what she already owns.

I do whatever looks good on me. I will look at the bigger picture, instead of just this season.

Her other piece of money-saving advice?

Get one shirt in different colors because you can match up with different things and it still looks new and fresh.

Ashleigh Malangone, upper East Side

Malangone, 25, mixes classic styles with new ones.

I try and stay a little bit cautious because I don't like things I'm only going to wear once. I like pieces that are versatile, that are going to stand the test of time. I don't want to look back at myself 20 years from now and go 'Oh my god, that was crazy.'

She ll balance trendy items, such as her chambray shirt and poncho, with a timeless accessory, like her grandmother s handbag.

It's an actual vintage Coach bag, she laughs.

Malangone, who works in fashion, is a big supporter of brands and follows her favorite ones, which include Zara and J. Crew, closely.

They seem to be up with the times, she says of J. Crew. I'm always excited to see their catalog.

Tiara Hargrave, Bushwick, Brooklyn

Hargrave, 26, often builds her outfits from the bottom up.

I feel like if you have a good shoe, it doesn't even matter what you have on.

She then works in other accessories to make the look really pop.

Hargrave, the publicity manager at Universal Republic Records, is especially fond of bright hues and interesting designs.

Because I have a really plain dress on today, I put the printed jacket on it to balance out the monotone colors. Then, I threw in a scarf.

She admires designers Alexander Wang, Rachel Zoe and Tom Ford, but usually shops at Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and H&M.

It's a mix of comfy and casual, a mix of high and low, she sums up. I feel like clothes are a way to express yourself so wear what fits you. 

Girl gets $10M settlement after she lost parts of all four limbs due to ER wait

The family of Maylia Jeffers whose feet, left hand and part of her right were amputated because of a lengthy emergency room delay has agreed to a $10 million malpractice settlement.

The family of a California toddler whose feet, left hand and part of her right hand were amputated because of a lengthy emergency room delay has agreed to a $10 million malpractice settlement.

Malyia Jeffers was 2 years old when her parents took her to Sacramento's Methodist Hospital last November with a fever, skin discoloration and weakness. According to court documents, the family was told to wait.

"While in the waiting room, Malyia grew sicker and weaker," according to the complaint filed in Superior Court in Sacramento on Feb. 14. "The parents of Malyia repeatedly asked and begged (hospital workers) to treat their daughter."

The hospital instead told them to continue waiting, and it was five hours before Malyia was first seen by a doctor, the document said.

"Ryan Jeffers and Leah Yang saw their daughter get weaker and sicker hour after hour as (hospital workers) chose to delay treatment," the complaint said. "They saw the bruising on her body increase, affecting her legs, arms and face. They were afraid she would die in the waiting room."

Malyia was flown to Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Doctors there found that Streptococcus A bacteria had invaded her blood and organs, and they performed the amputations.

Court documents show that most of the money will be placed in a trust for Malyia's current needs and an annuity that will provide her with $16,932 a month when she turns 18. The monthly payment grows over time, so that by the time Malyia is 30, the monthly payout will be nearly double.

The settlement with the Sacramento hospital and its parent company, Catholic Healthcare West, ranks among the largest in California history, according to medical malpractice attorneys.

The family signed a non-disclosure agreement and could not discuss the case, their attorney Moseley Collins said Friday.

"What we can say is that Malyia has a new set of artificial legs and she's walking on those," Collins said. "We are pleased we were able to settle the case."

Malyia spent more than three months at Stanford before being admitted to another hospital in Sacramento. She is still undergoing therapy and will need expensive medications, custom prosthetics, special garments and wheelchairs for the rest of her life.  

Facebook hack attacks strike 600,000 times per day, security firm reports

Facebook fail? A computer security company released data saying the social media site is hacked more than half a million times each day.

Facebook accounts are hacked 600,000 times daily during users’ log-in, the social networking site conceded this week.

The Internet powerhouse said that it records more than 1 billion log-ons each day, and that .06% of those log-ons are compromised.

The shocking lapse in security was first reported by UK-based computer security firm Sophos.

Facebook could not be reached late Friday, although a note that accompanied the startling statistic said, “At Facebook, we take the privacy and safety of the people who use our site very seriously.

“Using a combination of technological innovations...we’re working 24/7 to ensure everyone’s information is safe and secure.”

The scary scope of the security breach was conceded by Facebook on a hard-to-find graphic accompanying a note dilating on its newest efforts to combat Internet piracy.

The post, authored by “Facebook Security” is entitled, “National Cybersecurity Awareness Month Updates,” and can be found on the site.

Facebook shared the info while boasting how it “keeps spam at bay.” The website crowed that while 89.1% of all email is spam, less than 4% of the content on its pages can be considered as much.

On the graphic, Facebook also trumpeted the, “Less than 5% of Facebook users experience spam on any given day.”

Other cute facts to come to light from the graphic that accompanied the post from the Facebook security team:

- The average Facebook user has 130 friends.

- Users spent 700 billion minutes per month on the site.

- Facebook now counts 750 million active users worldwide. 

Babysitter gets lifetime probation for sexual relationship with teen boy who committed suicide

Branda Harding pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a child after romancing the teen boy she babysat.

A Colorado woman whose whirlwind sexual relationship with a teen boy she babysat ended in the boy's suicide got tossed in jail and hit with a probation stint that could last a while.

Brenda Harding, 30, of Canon City, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault on a child. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail in addition to 10 years to life on probation, KRDO reported.

She began hooking up with 15-year-old Tristen Hagen, of Buena Vista, Colo. while working as his caregiver.

The terms of her sentence forbid her from having contact with anyone under the age of 18 until a risk assessment is completed - a ruling that includes her own two children. She also must register as a sex offender.

Hagen committed suicide in April after Harding ended the relationship at the urging of the teen's father, who had begun to suspect they were involved in hanky panky. He died of a drug overdose.

Hagen was reported missing the day after their breakup.

His body was found two days later, lying one block from Harding's home, a spot so close to his babysitter's pad that police reports suggested "he might have been looking at her house" at the time of death, the Pueblo Chieftain reported.

Mike Hagen, the boy's father, said his son would still be alive if not for Harding.

"We found his lifeless body on a hill," he told the courtroom. "She was told by me and other people to leave him alone. We don't want to see this happen to anyone else." 

The McDonald's McRib is back! Boneless, BBQ sauce-covered pork sandwich

A McRib is seen at a McDonald's restaurant.
The McRib sandwich is making a comeback at the Golden Arches.

The popular but hard-to-find boneless barbecue pork sandwich will be back on the menu at McDonald's restaurants across the country through Nov. 14, the fast food giant is expected to announce Monday.

The barbecue-sauce-covered delight, served with onions and pickles, inspired a cult following after it was introduced in 1982. But it is now only available in select spots, and local franchises can decide if and when they want to sell the product.


The popularity of the burger alternative has sparked a "Bring Back the McRib!!!" Facebook page, Twitter tags and even a "McRib locator" website where people can report and track sightings.

Each sandwich has 500 calories and 26 grams of fat, and Germany is currently the only country where it is available 365 days a year.

Last November, McDonald's reintroduced the McRib to menus in the U.S. for three weeks, following a 16-year hiatus. Company chiefs have decided to give it an encore menu appearance.

"Bringing it back every so often adds to the excitement," said Marta Fearon, McDonald's marketing director for the U.S., who declined to say if this would become an annual occurrence. 

"It's too early to speculate," she said. 

Yoga may help back pain but has no other mental health benefit: study

Yoga may help ease your back pain but it can't cure your emotional woes.

The ancient practice may help relieve stress in that it's an effective way of reducing moderate lower back pain, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

But there was no other evidence that it provided any other mental health benefits outside of physical ones produced by stretching.

Researchers at Seattle's Group Health Research Institute divided 228 people looking to relieve back pain into three groups – one was given a book of effective stretching routines and the others were given 12 weeks of weekly yoga or stretching instruction in a classroom setting.

Those who attended the classes were told to practice for 20 minutes a day at home.

Being in a class made a big difference – except it didn't matter whether it was a stretching or a yoga class.

About 50% of patients in the yoga or stretching classes reported feeling much better or completely better in relation to their back pain and function, compared with about 20% of patients in the self-care group, the lead study author, Karen Sherman of Group Health Research Institute, told The Wall Street Journal.

Those who took classes also were more likely to complete the exercises and those given the self-help book were more likely to slack off and receive less of a benefit. 

Occupy Wall Street protesters making preparations for long, cold winter in Zuccotti Park

Tents have sprung up at Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park.

If Mayor Bloomberg thinks Occupy Wall Street protesters will fold up camp once winter sets in, he better think again.

The Daily News was given a peak inside occupiers' storage space at 52 Broadway and saw shelves lined with blankets, sub-zero sleeping bags, heavy coats, cough syrup and even an assortment of herbal teas.

"I've heard some beginnings of some plans to prepare for winter occupation of the park," said Cory Thompson, 36, a protester staffing the storage space donated by the United Federation of Teachers.

Earlier this month, the mayor predicted the protest, entering its sixth week, will end at the first sign of frost.

"I think part of it has probably to do with the weather," Bloomberg said on Oct. 10, judging the protesters' stamina to keep their encampment at Zuccotti Park in the Financial District going.

Demonstrators counter that the mayor has gravely underestimated their resolve.

"We're going to need more coats and sleeping bags," said Steve Iskovitz, 51, a mental health counselor from Pittsburgh, who has been at the park for two weeks.

Supporters from around the country have shipped 200 to 400 packages of supplies daily to the protesters.

"At first we were dizzied by the amount of stuff coming in," said Iskovitz.

"We've received packages from every state in the union," added Justin Strakel, 22, of Cleveland. "It's pretty amazing what's going on here."

The sprawling office space is filled with clothing, camping gear, medical supplies, water and can goods that could last a small army months.

"We could always use more sleeping bags and heavy jackets," Strakel said.

Iskovitz said supplies coming into their P.O. Box from people who support their fight against corporate greed and social injustice are "uplifting."

"It's not just some fringe thing," Iskovitz said.

They've even assembled "Jail Support Kits" containing snacks, blankets, mouthwash, socks and shirts to give to demonstrators released from police custody.

Strakel said people have also sent swimming goggles to prevent protesters from getting pepper spray in their eyes during confrontations with cops.

"We've probably gotten 40 pairs of goggles," Strakel said. 

Lindsay Lohan gets $1 million to pose nude for Playboy: Report

Lindsay Lohan posed nude in 2008 for photos designed to mirror famous photos of Marilyn Monroe.

Lindsay Lohan may be taking it all off for Playboy.

The one-time child star reportedly scored a $1 million pay day to pose nude for the famed skin magazine, according to TMZ.

The gossip website claims the 25-year-old flashed her flesh for the cameras at a photo shoot last weekend.

The "Freaky Friday" star's rep could "neither confirm or deny at this time" if the report was true. Playboy also did not respond.

This wouldn't be the first time Lohan has gotten naked for the cameras.

The former redhead went blonde for a series of nude photos mimicking Marilyn Monroe in 2008. She was also reportedly set to deliver full frontal nudity for a biopic on legendary porn star Linda Lovelace, before losing the role to Malin Akerman.

The Playboy deal comes on the heels of a new round of legal troubles for the fallen star.

Lohan faces possible jail time after showing up late for her community service at a city morgue.

A judge ruled the actress violated her probation from her misdemeanor necklace theft and double DUI case. She is due in court Nov. 2. 

Two-year-old dials phone for the first time to save unconscious mom's life

The "terrible twos" are not so terrible after all.

At two years old, Lia Vega is already saving lives. The fact that the toddler had never used a phone didn't prevent her from knowing what to do when her mom collapsed on the floor of their Texas home on Thursday. 

When Larissa Taylor hit the ground during a seizure, little Lia didn’t scream or cry, but grabbed the nearest cell phone and figured out how to call her grandmother, Bobbie Gonzalez, in Houston, ABCnews.com reports.

"Mom won't wake up," Lia told her grandmother after hitting the call button twice, connecting to the last number contacted. Then she put the phone up to her mother's face.

But all Bobbie could hear were "gurgling" sounds, so Bobbie dialed 911 and she rushed to the scene just in time.  

Lia's mother later found out that the seizure was due to hypoglycemia and diabetes, two conditions she didn’t even know she had. The doctors said that if another 10 minutes had passed, Taylor might have died.

The grateful mother didn't know how her baby managed to know what to do.

"I never taught her to use the phone," Taylor said.

The incredible rescue may have also sparked aspirations in the tot.

"She's been wearing a towel around the house, calling herself a superhero," Taylor said. "She’s my little superhero."

300 New York brides report they were forced into marriage

Some 300 girls and women in New York State reported being forced into marriage in just two years - and two who refused said they almost paid with their life.

That's according to a new survey of immigrant and women's service providers that sought to quantify the extent of the practice here and in other states.

Advocates say the problem cuts across cultural borders and is so widespread - 3,000 cases nationwide - that the U.S. needs stronger laws to stop it from happening.

"Some women who do say 'No' suffer very dire consequences," said Archana Pyati, a lawyer for the New York City-based Sanctuary for Families.

Forced marriage is different from arranged marriage because it happens without consent and can involve an underage victim.

Some city teens fly to their parents' homeland for what they think is a vacation and wind up stuck in a marriage against their will. Others face beatings or worse if they refuse a wedding here - sometimes by parents who stand to gain financially by the union.

One of Pyati's clients, a girl from a West African family, was 15 when she became a bride by proxy. Her father arranged the marriage while visiting his homeland, while she was back in their New York apartment. When the time came to get on a plane, she said no.

"She refused and refused and suffered physical violence in the home," Pyati said.

Finally, she agreed to move to Georgia and become the wife of a West African man there, Pyati said. After being beaten, she fled. She was 17 and pregnant.

Noor Faleh Almaleki was killed in 2009 after being struck by an SUV driven by her father because she refused an arranged marriage.

"When she came running back, they kicked her out of her home," said Pyati. "Now she's raising her baby on her own."

Another client came to the U.S. at age 13 and was forced into a marriage arranged by her mother, Pyati said. "The man enrolled her in school as her father and went home every night and raped her," Pyati said of the girl, who is now 20 and eventually escaped to New York from the Washington D.C. area.

The Tahirih Justice Center, which conducted the survey said that while the practice is most reported in South Asian families, it was found in families from 56 countries and in 47 states. In Arizona, an Iraqi immigrant father was convicted in February of murdering his daughter by running her over with his Jeep Cherokee after she refused to wed.

Yasmeen Hamza of the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn said she often hears too late that girls in their after-school programs were forcibly married after being duped into getting on a plane.

"Most of the time the girls have no clue," she said.

Advocates say police and children's services agencies often don't see the signs of a forced marriage or know how to proceed.

"I think the problem that you encounter sometimes is that people view it as cultural - so they don't really want to help," said Hamza.

Her group has successfully worked with the Administration for Children's Services to take custody of girls facing forced marriage.

Other non-profits say it's easy for victims to fall through the cracks. At the Sauti Yetu Center for African Women, staffers tried to help a 14-year-old Bronx girl escape a forced marriage to a West African man and asked ACS to take custody of the girl. But since there was no physical abuse or imminent danger, she was returned to her family, the group told Newsweek.

ACS spokesman Michael Fagan said the agency will intervene "if the situation places a child under 18 at risk for abuse, injury, or harm," but that forced marriage cases are "infrequently" brought to the agency's attention. He urged people who suspect it to call the state's child abuse hotline at             1-800-342-3720      .

Tahirih director Layli Miller-Muro believes the U.S. should follow the example of Britain, which has a Forced Marriage Unit, a special protective order for victims and a national hotline.

"In the United States there are zero laws in place that specifically deal with forced marriage," said Miller-Muro. "That's what makes it so hard to help victims." 

Millionaires should pay more taxes, majority of Americans say in poll

The majority of Americans believe millionaires need to dig into their fat wallets and pay more in taxes, a new CBS News poll shows.

Of those polled, 64% believe that anyone making more than $1 million a year should get hit with higher taxes, while 30% said millionaires should not be taxed at a higher rate.

The results - which showed that 83% of Democrats who were polled would support millionaires being taxed more - comes as President Obama has proposed the so-called Buffett Rule.

Named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the proposal is touted by Obama as a way to reduce the deficit, while Republicans have trashed it as class warfare. 

Jacqueline Laurita: 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' co-star Teresa Giudice is 'scum'

Jacqueline Laurita (r.) is exposing all of 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' Teresa Giudice's secrets.
Bolt down the tables -- Teresa Giudice has another good reason to flip one.

The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star's secrets are all being exposed by none other than her castmate -- and onetime close friend -- Jacqueline Laurita.

In a string of tweets on Saturday, the Housewife, who has reportedly quit the Bravo series, railed against Giudice and her "lies," even posting their personal text messages online as proof.

It all began with a report that Giudice's sister-in-law (and fellow "RHoNJ" star) Melissa Gorga had once worked as a stripper -- a false statement Laurita says was all started by Giudice.

"Teresa told me that 'rumor' about Melissa when she first started the show," she tweeted on Saturday. "She wanted her out then. She knew. She plotted it. She played dumb on camera and even defended Melissa." 

In a follow-up tweet, Laurita added that Giudice was telling the press that she had been behind the drama. "Teresa is scum!" she wrote to her more than 223,000 followers.

Laurita also promised "there is so much more but I'm letting it all unravel little by little."

The verbal war came just one day after it was first reported that Laurita was not returning to "RHoNJ" for a fourth season.

The mother of three, who has been on the show since the very beginning, also skipped out on the Season 3 reunion special.

"I can't be part of the Charade anymore," Laurita wrote on Twitter at the time. "It's unsettling. It's disturbing & against what I stand for. I'm a REAL housewife." 

Crib bumpers 'should be banned all together,' say experts

To keep your baby safe, some experts are warning parents to keep bed bumpers off the crib.

Marlyand proposed banning crib bumpers this week and parents are scratching their heads over whether to buy the cute cushions - or demand state lawmakers forbid them.

Safety experts advise folks to skip them regardless of the law.

"Parents are shocked when I say the best crib is an empty crib," said Debra Holtzman, author of "The Safe Baby." adding "I've been saying this for years. There is no safety reason to have crib bumpers."

The Maryland Health Department on Tuesday called for a ban on crib bumpers after its task force found they can suffocate babies. If approved, it would become the first state to enforce such a rule. Chicago banned crib bumpers earlier this month.

Tom Treanor, owner of All-Star Baby Safety in Levittown, LI, argues there should be a national ban on the bumpers.

"They should be banned all together," he said, noting he warns clients not to buy them. "Cribs are not pretty without bumpers and blankets but they are not safe for children."

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the issue but the trade industry representing the popular bedding counters it protects newborns from head injuries.

The New York City Health Department recommends babies sleep on a firm mattress with "no soft bedding," including bumpers, pillows and stuffed toys, to lower the risks of suffocation. 

Woman sues for sexual harassment at People's Choice Realty

Priscilla Agosto alleges male co-workers at People's Choice Reality exposed themselves, rubbed up against her and even asked for oral sex.

A 23-year-old lesbian says the Brooklyn real estate office she once worked in is a den of deviants where raunchy sexcapades were the norm.

But the bosses she's suing say she's too ugly to harass.

Priscilla Agosto ran a gauntlet of sexual humilition - verbal and physical - in her 14 miserable months at People's Choice Realty, her suit against its three bosses says.

No less than seven male employees made lewd advances at her - even after she complained to the bosses, she said in papers filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Her male co-workers exposed themselves, rubbed up against her and even asked for oral sex, she alleges.

And they even offered $500 to watch her have sex with her girlfriend, she said.

"I hope and pray that by sharing my story, anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation will have the courage to speak up," said Agosto.

Odelia Berlianshik, the owner of the Williamsburg firm, denied the charges - and launched a shocking attack on Agosto's appearance.

"Who would touch her? She's an ugly girl anyway," she said of the former secretary. "She made up a story because she didn't want to work."

Agosto's lawyer Brendan Chao said another former employee corroborated much of his client's account.

He only brought the suit recently, he added, because a complaint had to be first filed with the city's Commission of Human Rights.

Agosto worked in real estate office from January 2008 until March 2009.

The discrimination suit seeks unspecified back pay and benefits.

"People attacked her ethnicity, her gender, her sexual orientation," said Chao.

She finally quit after things got physical. An employee slapped Agosto across the face, but when she came crying to Berlianshik, the suit said, her boss "waved her away."

Berlianshik conceded the slapping incident took place, but claimed the worker was instructed to say he's sorry.

"He apologized and offered to buy her lunch," she said.

Berlianshik is named in the suit as are Mickey and Richard Berlianshik, the other co-owners. 

Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her daughter in July - Video released

A Florida judge has released the jailhouse footage of Casey Anthony reacting to the news that her 2-year-old daughter's remains had been found.

Judge Belvin Perry ruled on Friday that the Anthony's right to a fair trial was no longer an issue, WKMG-TV reported.

Anthony was acquitted in the murder of her daughter, Caylee, in July – a verdict that shocked much of the country.

Anthony's lawyers argued the tape should remain secret under medical privacy laws because she was in a jail medical facility when she found out about the remains.

"There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in jail," the judge wrote. "As Ms. Anthony's counsel has argued, she was taken to the jail's medical facility so that law enforcement could look for a potentially incriminating response when she saw the news coverage of the discovery of her child's body."

She has denied killing her daughter, saying the tot died in a tragic accident in the family swimming pool.

The video, which is grainy in quality, shows Anthony rocking back and forth several times after she is told the news. Anthony later admitted she had known that her daughter was dead for weeks.

The video was released after WKMG filed a request with the court.

It does not include sound or zero in on Anthony's face.

The young mom is in hiding in Florida, where she was ordered to serve probation for a 2010 check fraud conviction. 

Homeless teen with physical handicap stays upbeat, inspires commuters with passion for drumming

Jesus Guadalupe, 18, of Brooklyn plays for passersby at Union Square in Manhattan.

From where Jesus Guadalupe sits - an upside down milk crate in the Union Square subway station - anything is possible.

He's an 18-year-old high school dropout. He is homeless. And he has a birth defect that elicits stares and painful comments.

But here he is, shirtless, playing a drum for small change.

"I want to be a writer - but later in life, when I'm in my 30s or 40s," he said. "Right now I'm in my little rocker, teenage jam-session stage of life."

His immediate plans are to save up for a full drum set and an apartment. He doesn't rule out being discovered for a small role in a film or television show, possibly the start of an illustrious career.

The subway is often a necessary but uneventful part of daily life. Ride to work with a group of strangers. Ride home with another batch of strangers. On the best of days, you might get a pleasant surprise, or a bit of inspiration.

This is the city where people come to realize dreams, if not completely reinvent themselves.

"I used to get down on myself and say, 'Everybody is against me. Everyone hates me,'" Guadalupe said one day last week.

"But when I went out on my own, it hit me. I had to stop it. You only live once. Why should I let my disability stop me? Now that I'm in New York City, I have a new vibe about me."

Guadalupe was born with phocomelia, a congenital malformation that, at first glance, makes it appear as if his hands are attached to his shoulders. According to a medical dictionary, the word "combines phoco (seal) and melia (limb) to designate a limb like a seal's flipper."

"Some kids have it much worse," he said. "I was one of the well-off cases. Some are born without a mouth, eyes or ears. Some are born without a nose."

One morning last week, a woman heading to a train stopped to thank Guadalupe for playing. Her nephew is disabled. He gets depressed. The woman couldn't wait to tell her nephew about the subway drummer.

"I see others who are disabled, and I see their faces. They're Debbie Downers. I want to change their perception of the world," Guadalupe said after the woman continued on her way.

Born in Brooklyn, Guadalupe and his family moved to Georgia, where for a few painful years he attended high school.

Southern charm, he said, was lacking among his peers, and the cruel comments and snickering wore him down. He can't forget the hurtful remarks: Look at him. He's so ugly. Look at his arms. What girl is ever going to look at you?

"It was rough, really rough," he said. "I just dropped out."

He came to the city a few months ago to make a new start, taking up residence in a homeless shelter for young men, he said.

"I came up with some solutions to my poverty - singing on the train, dancing, making a fool of myself," he said.

He started out drumming on plastic buckets until he had enough money to buy a snare.

The response has been good, he said, but that's not to say it's been a completely smooth ride.

Guadalupe was at the front of the Occupy Wall Street march on Sept. 17. Dozens were arrested. Some protesters were hit with pepper spray.

Guadalupe nearly got arrested for disregarding a captain's order. She let him go, but took his drumsticks, he said.

He said he also got robbed of several days' earnings as he hung out with other kids in Union Square.

"It hit me hard, but there's nothing I can do about it," he said.

"I'm going to have to keep moving forward with my plans. I'm not complaining. It's a work in progress." 

TWU blasts city for putting handcuffed Occupy Wall Street protesters on buses

Occupy Wall Street protesters and police officers on Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday.

he Transport Workers Union will go to court Monday to try to stop the city from forcing bus drivers to transport Wall Street protesters arrested by the NYPD, the Daily News has learned.

The union, whose leaders voted last week to support the protesters, said police brass commandeered three MTA buses to transport many of the 700 demonstrators arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday.

Union President John Samuelsen called ordering bus drivers to drive prisoners "a blatant act of political retaliation."

Police brass had no immediate comment on Samuelsen's comments Sunday night.

"TWU Local 100 supports the protesters on Wall Street and takes great offense that the mayor and NYPD have ordered operators to transport citizens who were exercising their constitutional right to protest - and shouldn't have been arrested in the first place," Samuelsen said Sunday night.

At least five empty buses were commandeered from terminal points on both sides of the bridge, Samuelsen said.

In some cases, MTA supervisors ordered drivers to follow the directive.

"The MTA has a long history of cooperating with the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies when they require vehicles to perform their duties," said Jeremy Soffin, MTA spokesman.

But that violates the contract between Local 100 and the MTA, Samuelsen said.

"Our mission is to provide transit service to the riding public, not transport people who were arrested," he said.

The mass roundup on the bridge did little to stifle the protesters: Hundreds went right back to the rally after getting sprung.

"Just because we're being arrested, we're not being silenced," said Robert Grodt, 24.

"You go to Italy, you eat gelato. You go to a protest, you expect to be arrested," said Daniel Levine, 22, a Baruch College journalism student.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said 700 people received summonses and eight were held - three for outstanding warrants and five for not providing ID.

He did not immediately comment on the TWU seeking an injunction.

The nebulous protest against corporate greed, income inequality and tax breaks for fat cats enters its third week with growing crowds, a higher media profile and a big union march set for Wednesday.

Cops and protesters argued over whether demonstrators Saturday defied orders to stay on the bridge's pedestrian walkway or were lured into a trap by cops who said they could use the roadway.

The NYPD released a video showing a captain with a bullhorn telling a teeming throng, "I'm ordering you to leave this roadway now. If you do so voluntarily, no charges will be placed against you."

The crowd responded with chants of "Take Our Bridge" and linked arms as protesters on the walkway cheered them.

The Brooklyn-bound lanes of the bridge were closed for nearly three hours as cops rounded up protesters.

"The protestors were warned: Stay off the roadway," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Protester videos showed a column of marchers entering the car lanes with officers walking calmly at their head.

"The cops led us onto that street," said Casey O'Neill, 34, who quit his computer job in California to join the protest. 

SlutWalk Comes To New York City - photos

Marchers took to the street to fight for the rights of victims of sexual assault.

 

Bride surprised by her own wedding video goes viral

Footage of a secretly planned wedding which surprised even the bride has gone viral.
A bride got the shock of her life caught on film -- her dream wedding.

Now the groom, who surprised his bride-to-be with a secretly planned wedding, has found internet fame after footage of his big surprise went viral on YouTube. 

Surprise Wedding: Bride Had No Idea was shot for the couple by filmmaker Gavin Michael Booth. Since being uploaded to YouTube on August 14 the footage has been viewed over 71,000 times and on August 16 was featured on YouTube's trends blog.  

The footage, which shows the spectacular surprise arranged by Shawn for his partner Colleen, begins with Shawn explaining how, over the past year, he questioned Colleen as to what she would want at her wedding and then secretly planned their big day based on her answers.

With the guests seated Shawn waits outside for Colleen to arrive at the venue from the hairdresser where she has been having her hair styled for what she believes is her best friend's retirement party. 

As Colleen arrives Shawn goes down on one knee, proposes to Colleen and then leads her inside to attend her own wedding.
 

Holly Madison insures fake breasts: Celebs insure their Body Parts

 

Is a smile worth $10mil? Big time insurers like Lloyds of London think so. Celebs are insuring body parts for millions ... even chest hair, teeth, sperm and crossed eyes. Find out what your fav celeb's assets are worth ... 

Is that $500,000 each? 

Former 'The Girls Next Door' star Holly Madison, 31, revealed that she has taken out a $1 million insurance policy from Lloyd's of London on her breasts. 

'I've heard about people getting body parts insured and I thought, why not,' Madison, who's currently employed as a Las Vegas showgirl, told People. 

'If anything happened to my boobs, I'd be out for a few months and I'd probably be out a million dollars.' 

Madison, who appears topless in the Vegas dazzler 'Peepshow,' says that if anything were to bruise her bosom she could be out of a job. 

'They're my primary money makers right now,' the former Hugh Hefner flame said, referring to her breasts, which were surgically enhanced in 2001. 

Troy Polamalu's nearly three foot long mane of black hair has been insured for $1 million by Head & Shoulders, the shampoo brand he flacks.  

The 50 foot woman? Not. It's Mariah Carey standing next to a 16-foot-high replica of her legs as she kicks off the "Celebrity Legs of a Goddess" contest, sponsored by Gillette Venus, at Radio City Music Hall. Her own goddess legs are reported to be insured for $1 billion.