34 Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington has committed suicide … TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell us the singer hanged himself at a private residence in Palos Verdes Estates in L.A. County. His body was discovered Thursday just before 9 AM.
Chester was married with 6 children from 2 wives.
The singer struggled with drugs and alcohol for years. He had said in the past he had considered committing suicide because he had been abused as a child by an older male.
Chester was very close with Chris Cornell, who himself committed suicide by hanging in May. Today would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday. Chester wrote an open letter to Chris on the day of Chris’ suicide.
The band has had a string of hits over the years, including “Faint,” “In the End” and “Crawling.” Linkin Park crossed music genres, collaborating with Jay-Z.
The band’s album, “Meteroa,” was one of the biggest alternative albums in music history.
Aaron Carter Had Run-In with Cops Hours Before DUI Refusal Arrest
Aaron Carter‘s troubles started hours before his DUI refusal arrest — including a run-in with cops when he couldn’t pay his bill for repairing a flat tire.
Aaron pulled into the Walmart Supercenter in Commerce, Georgia on Saturday after blowing out a tire on his Chevy Suburban. According to a source he was riding on the rims when he arrived. We’re told he left the SUV at the tire center and about an hour later returned to pay, but his credit cards were declined.
Aaron told employees he’d call his manager to figure out the issue, but they were worried he might have a spare key and flee without paying … so someone called cops.
We’re told officers briefly spoke to Aaron, but the issue was resolved when a fan offered to pay the $110 bill if Aaron gave her an autograph and took a pic. Aaron obliged and left without incident.
About 2 hours later, he was arrested for DUI refusal about 30 min away in Cornelia, Georgia.
Aaron’s rep tells us his manager had canceled his credit cards after his wallet was recently stolen.
Beyoncé Keeping ‘Frenemy’ Kim Kardashian Away From Twins!
Pop-star Beyoncé is keeping reality princess Kim Kardashian away form her babies, as their ongoing diva war reaches its peak, RadarOnline.com has learned.
A source has told Straight Shuter that after years of idolizing Queen B and doing everything in her power to become her BFF, Kardashian has finally given up, as Beyoncé and Jay-Z haven’t invited her to meet their twins Rumi and Sir Carter!
An insider has confessed to Radar that Kardashian and Beyoncé haven’t spoken in a very long time, and when the Keeping up With The Kardashians star wasn’t asked to meet the singer’s new babies, she knew their shaky relationship was over.
“Beyoncé does not trust Kim with her personal secrets and keeps her at arm’s length. Kim isn’t part of Beyoncé’s inner circle and never will be,” said an insider speaking of the stars’ ongoing feud.
As Radar readers know, Kardashian’s hubby Kanye West verbally attacked the couple on-stage during his “Saint Pablo” tour a few months ago.
When his wife was robbed in Paris, “Kanye thought it was rude that neither Beyoncé nor Jay-Z called to see if Kim was doing okay,” an insider said. “That is the real reason he went off on Jay-Z, too!”
Even after the scandal, North West’s parents still tried to make amends with the musical by inviting them to the Kardashians’ holiday party, yet the invitation was mailed back to their home with the words “Return To Sender” written on the envelope.
Eva Longoria Flaunts Cleavage in Husband’s Face at Beach in Spain
Eva Longoria and her husband’s honeymoon phase still seems to be in full swing after more than a year of marriage — boobs in the face will do that!
Eva and her media mogul hubby, Jose Baston, hit the beach in Marbella, Spain Tuesday … and he had a particularly nice view as she helped him up from the water.
The couple tied the knot in May 2016 and show no signs of slowing down with the fun activities.
Javi Marroquin Deployment Bombshell Leaving Family ‘Teen Mom 2’
On the season premiere of Teen Mom 2, Javi Marroquin broke down when he revealed that he might be deployed by the Air Force. Now, Kailyn Lowry‘s ex-husband is setting the record straight on if he will be forced to leave his family again.
On the episode, Marroquin told his ex-wife Lowry over video chat that he may have to deploy.
“It’s between me and another guy,” he told Lowry over Skype. “He’s going through family stuff and he doesn’t want to take it. I just got home so I don’t want to take it.”
PHOTOS: So Cruel! ‘Teen Mom’s Matt Baier SLAMS Fiancée Amber Portwood’s BFF Kailyn Lowry On Twitter
When Lowry responded, “I don’t know what to say,” Marroquin hung up on her and began to cry.
When their son Lincoln, 3, and Lowry’s son Isaac, 7, from a previous relationship with Jo Rivera hugged him and asked why he was crying, he responded, “I might have to go back. I might have to fight the bad guys.”
But will Marroquin, 24, have to leave his family yet again?
“I do not have to leave anymore,” he said over Instagram live after the episode aired. “That whole situation got cancelled. Everyone lucked out. I’m home for quite some time. Hopefully I don’t have to leave anytime soon.”
The bombshell is fortunate Lowry, as she’s due to give birth to her child with third baby daddy Chris Lopez any day now.
Marroquin explained how the exes have “plans for all scenarios” for when she gives birth regarding who will care for their son.
As readers know, Lowry may not be able to depend on Lopez, as he dumped her around the time she learned she was expecting.
“Kail became a relationship of convenience for him,” a source close to Lowry told Radar. “He never actually loved her. It was a relationship, but he just decided he wanted something different and things didn’t work out so they went their separate ways.”
Regardless of their nasty split, she will contact him when she goes into labor.
“She wants to give him the opportunity to see his child being born,” the insider said. “She never said Chris couldn’t be involved with his child. She would hope he would want that, but she won’t force it or chase him to do so.”
Do you think Marroquin will be deployed again? Tell us in the comments!
Kim Zolciak To Return To ‘RHOA’ As Friend Of ‘Housewives’
Kim Zolciak “confirmed” that she’s returning to the Real Housewives of Atlanta — months after RadarOnline.com told you first!
“FINALLLY! After many months of negotiations, I’m happy and excited to confirm that as of today my deal is done!” she captioned an Instagram photo on July 18. “I’m coming to play with the ladies over at RHOA. However, since you all have made my OWN show such a huge success, I’ve decided to continue to carry that instead of carrying a peach! See you soon bitches! #CANTWAIT #2ShowsSameNetwork #Blessed #SeeUAtLeastHalfTheSeason #MoreThenAFriendLessThanFulltime”
Zolciak, 39, was an original cast member when the Real Housewives of Atlanta first premiered in 2008. She left after the show’s fifth season when she was given her own spin-off, Don’t Be Tardy for the Wedding — which later turned into Don’t Be Tardy.
Radar first reported that she was in talks to return to the show that made her a household name in April, and confirmed she would make appearances in June.
She recently wrapped her sixth season of Don’t Be Tardy, which will feature her son Kash Biermann’s dog attack and her vow renewal with Kroy Biermann.
An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made. source
An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age. Europe, 20,000 years ago. While on his first hunt with his tribe’s most elite group, a young man is injured and left for dead.
Awakening to find himself broken and alone — he must learn to survive and navigate the harsh and unforgiving wilderness.
Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before the deadly winter arrives.
#Alpha is the new adventure movie by Albert Hughes, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Priya Rajaratnam and Leonor Varela. The script was written by Dan Wiedenhaupt.
Roger Federer Wins Record-Breaking Eighth Wimbledon Title
He has played two Grand Slam events, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and won them both, increasing his record total of major men’s singles titles to 19.
Two of his biggest rivals, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, have unexpectedly faded, while Federer has continued to perform in Technicolor. This year he has a 31-2 record, including an 9-0 mark against top-10 players. He is 17-5 in tiebreakers, reflecting his seize-the-key-moment approach.
He is still ripping his backhand; still finding the corners of the box with his serve (he was not broken on Sunday); and, perhaps most important, still covering the court like a younger version of himself.
“I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to run through top-10 players the way I am, win all these breakers, win all these big moments,” said Federer, who will turn 36 next month. “This is what’s made the difference for me. I’ve won all the big matches this year. It’s unbelievable.”
When Federer returned to the tour in January after a six-month layoff, he genuinely believed he would not peak until April. But having a fine chance at Wimbledon was always part of the plan and motivation for heading back on the road with his wife, Mirka, and their four young children.
Wimbledon was the big goal. It is Federer’s favorite tournament, the one that suits his elegant, attacking game and his personality best; the one where he made his first big career move by upsetting the seven-time champion Pete Sampras in the 2001 quarterfinals. It is also the one where Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title, in 2003.
On Sunday, he broke his tie with Sampras and the 19th-century player William Renshaw by becoming the first man to win eight Wimbledon singles titles. (Martina Navratilova won the women’s event nine times.)
Federer said the men’s record was not a number he had in his sights when he was young.
“Winning eight is not something you can ever aim for, in my opinion,” he said. “If you do, I don’t know, you must have so much talent and parents and the coaches that push you from the age of 3 on, who think of you like a project. I was not that kid. I was just really a normal guy growing up in Basel, hoping to make a career on the tennis tour.”
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Marin Cilic, right, slipping on the grass during the final. He needed medical treatment for a blister on his left foot after the second set. Credit
Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
He did eventually leave his home and his parents in his early teens to board at a tennis center in a French-speaking region of Switzerland. He struggled there emotionally for a time, but it turned out to be one of the many decisions that led him to become the champion that he is.
He made another right move before this Wimbledon, skipping the clay-court season and the French Open, which Rafael Nadal won for the 10th time, to be fresh and healthy for the grass.
It is perhaps no coincidence that two of Federer’s younger opponents — Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round and Cilic in the final — were hampered by physical problems, while Federer remained pain free, even if he did have to battle a summer cold throughout the event.
Cilic, 28 and seeded No. 7, overwhelmed Federer in the semifinals of the 2014 United States Open en route to the title. Cilic also had three match points against Federer in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year before Federer prevailed in five sets.
An epic match on Sunday would have been no surprise. Instead, Cilic struggled with his consistency and his emotions. With a deep blister on his left foot that he said had limited his lateral movement, he began sobbing in his chair on a changeover while trailing, 0-3, in the second set, putting a white towel over his head as a physician and a trainer huddled around and attended to him.
He later explained that the tears were a result not of the pain but of the realization that he would be unable to perform at his best.
“Obviously, was very tough emotionally, because I know how much I went through the last few months in preparation with everything,” Cilic said. “It was also tough because of my own team. They did so much for me. I just felt it was really bad luck.”
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Roger Federer is the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set. Credit
Pool photo by Daniel Leal-Olivas
He eventually returned to the court, receiving a roar of support from the Centre Court crowd. He then changed his tactics to serve-and-volley to avoid long, grinding rallies and preserve his foot. He held serve with an acrobatic backhand half-volley drop-shot winner to stop a Federer streak of five consecutive games.
But there was no halting Federer’s momentum even if Federer, unbeknown to his audience, was harboring a few doubts. “At two sets to love and 2-all, I was thinking I’m going to lose this set, because I have never won Wimbledon without losing a set,” he said.
But in this charmed season, not even negative thinking can stop the Federer juggernaut, and he eventually closed out the match with an ace. This time, there was no celebratory tumble to the grass, as in 2007 or 2012. Compared with the euphoria of this year’s Australian Open triumph, the sensation and his immediate reaction were more subdued.
“I agree,” Federer said, still walking in the corridors. “Australia was a totally different vibe. It was so unexpected. Here I was made the favorite already before the tournament, which I found quite strange, and then that sometimes unfortunately takes the edge away a little bit.”
There were still powerful emotions at work, and he was soon in tears of his own as he sat in his chair and looked in the direction of the players’ box, where his 3-year-old twin sons had joined his 7-year-old twin daughters.
Federer has shed plenty of tears of joy on Centre Court, but this moment caught him by surprise.
“That was really the first moment I had to myself out there,” he said. “And I guess that’s when it sunk in that, man, I was able to win Wimbledon again, and I broke a record, and my family is there to share it with me. I was hoping the boys were going to be there, too, not just the girls. And so I just felt so happy, and I guess I also realized how much I had put into it to be there. It was all those things together.”
So much does indeed have to go just right to win eight titles at a tennis temple like the All England Club — to produce a player like Federer who is built to win pretty but also built to last.
New Jane Austen Pound Note Features Egregiously Misused Quote
With much fanfare, on the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, the Bank of England revealed a long-planned 10 pound note featuring the Regency novelist. The plastic note, which boasts raised dots for the vision-impaired and a host of new security features, is emblazoned with Austen’s portrait and a quote from Pride and Prejudice: “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”
And that’s where the trouble comes in. As many Janeites were quick to point out, that quote wasn’t sincere. Caroline Bingley, the haughty gentlewoman who competes with Elizabeth Bennet for Mr. Darcy’s attentions, makes this announcement in hopes of impressing him. “How much sooner one tires of anything than a book!” Miss Bingley adds. Shortly after saying so, already bored by a quick dip into a book, she throws it aside and tries another gambit to grab his attention.
In short, Austen wrote the line as a satirical comment on how we perform certain admirable qualities to win approval.
CHRIS J RATCLIFFE via Getty ImagesThe new Jane Austen 10 pound note has made its first appearance.
Austen, often portrayed as a prim lady novelist of prim lady romances, actually possessed a wickedly satirical pen, which she wielded mercilessly to lampoon her most self-satisfied characters. So it makes sense that many of her most oft-quoted lines have typically been taken out of context, and used earnestly where the author was being ironic.
“Ah! There is nothing like staying home for real comfort” ― an appealing quote for introverts ― was uttered by a particularly unpleasant lady who intends only to condescend to her countrified acquaintances. “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart” sounds romantic but is deeply ironic in context; the speaker, Emma Woodhouse, is attempting to convince herself of a depth of admiration for her friend Harriet that she doesn’t truly feel.
The quote selected by the Bank of England is a popular one ― after all, as an author Austen surely did love reading, and so do her many fans. When planning the note, they might have plucked the quote from any number of Pinterest memes. In its true context, the line reads quite differently. Ultimately, it’s a commentary on the value of presenting oneself genuinely, rather than a straightforward endorsement of literature.
Many on Twitter reacted with frustration, pointing out that the Bank’s choice of quote suggests a slapdash approach to putting together the tenner rather than a thoughtful appreciation of an iconic Brit.
I find the #janeausten200 saga extremely telling. In their haste to get a woman on the banknote they chose a quote that’s utterly tone-deaf pic.twitter.com/SxySfyk4z7
— Madeline Grant (@Madz_Grant) July 18, 2017
Someone just jumped onto wiki quote and grabbed something. Tokenism exposed for what it obviously is. https://t.co/3TSxYibpQr
— Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) July 18, 2017
Austen is frequently misunderstood, romanticized and misquoted ― but engraving such a misquote onto national currency holds a bit more weight than another Etsy print that ignores context.
Unfortunately, it seems true Austen fans will be stuck with this irritating error for the foreseeable future. The notes, which are set to be released on September 14, were designed to last five years, significantly longer than the current, less durable bills. And to that, we have just one thing to say: It was badly done, indeed, Bank of England.
After failing to apprehend the terrorist behind a Paris attack that claimed dozens of lives, CIA agent Alice Racine (Noomi Rapace) is forced to live in London as a caseworker. Unexpectedly, she is called back into action by her mentor, Eric Lasch (Michael Douglas), when the CIA discovers intel of another imminent attack.
While “unlocking” the suspect, Alice discovers that the classified information she has uncovered has been compromised. Running for her life, Alice turns to ex-soldier Jack (Orlando Bloom) to prevent a lethal biological attack on the citizens of London.
#Unlocked is the new action movie by Michael Apted, starring Orlando Bloom, Noomi Rapace and Michael Douglas.
The world’s top bodyguard gets a new client, a hit man who must testify at the International Court of Justice. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.
#HitmansBodyguard is the new action movie by Patrick Hughes, starring Ryan Reynolds, Salma Hayek and Gary Oldman.
STARSHIP TROOPERS: Traitor of Mars Trailer 2 (2017)
C’mon You Apes, You Wanna Live Forever?! I have only one rule. Everybody fights, no one quits. The bugs have breached Mars and the Federation’s Fleet is too far to help. It’s up to us to save the planet. On the bounce, Troopers!
The only Good Bug is a Dead Bug! Oorah! Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer return as the voices of Johnny Rico and Dizzy Flores alongside Comedian & Starship Troopers Super Fan DeRay Davis in an all-new military adventure from the writer of Starship Troopers and Robocop, Ed Neumeier.
While they have been making plenty of money, the DC movies haven’t been big hits with critics. Case in point: Both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad raked in loads of cash, but they were panned across the board.
Lots of people have felt that the DC movies have been too dark and serious for something that’s supposed to be purely entertaining. Even more, they don’t have the same sense of fun that’s felt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All that could change with Wonder Woman, though. The inclusion of the character in the aforementioned Batman v Superman was maybe the only bright spot of that dreary slugfest, and now we get to see her on her own. Things are looking good for the Amazonian princess, and we’re happy to see that “Wonder Woman” has been a monumental success. In fact, it’s already become the third-highest domestic grossing DC movie, behind only Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
You’ll have to forgive us if we say that we’re not surprised it took putting a woman in charge to finally get things right. So far, the response to the new film has been overwhelmingly positive, and we can only hope that its numbers at the box office will be too. Wonder Woman is already one of the top 10 movie comic book adaptations of all time and is the highest grossing female driven superhero movie by a long shot.
Two of the most recent superhero movies starring women were 2004’s Catwoman with Halle Berry and 2005’s Elektra with Jennifer Garner. Both were torn apart by critics and were box office bombs to boot. If Wonder Woman can make more than $318 million, doubling what it would have taken to the the biggest female driven comic movie ever. The movie from director Patty Jenkins continues to roll along and has established itself as the biggest film of the summer. This is because Wonder Woman is a fresh take in a comic book world that’s gotten kind of stale, and because she’s also one of the most recognizable names in the industry.
Wonder Woman has long been one of the biggest characters in not only the DC Universe, but comics in general. We’re glad to see her finally get the respect she deserves on the big screen, but the movie theater isn’t the only place where fans are seeing more of Wonder Woman. The character has also been included as part of a number of licensed online casino games featuring many of the greatest DC heroes. These games bring Wonder Woman and other big-name DC characters like Batman and Superman to their own slot reels for a broader audience. These games feature the characters, villains, iconic logos, and more, which all brings the comics to the casino for everyone.
With the heroine already taking over the world of video games, her next stop was the local cinema where she’s proven to have legs and has performed well week after week since its release. Director Patty Jenkins is best known for her 2004 movie, Monster, for which Charlize Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Given its success this is likely the project that will catapult Israeli actress Gal Gadot to stardom. She was previously best known for her role in the Fast & Furious films, but this movie really puts in her the spotlight. The word on the street for Wonder Woman has been positively glowing. It’s already the best reviewed DC movie in recent years, which could help the classic comic publisher earn a lot of goodwill with fans.
You can still catch Wonder Woman in most theaters (a rarity this long after a movie’s release these days) and if you haven’t gotten the chance you should definitely see it. You can help show Hollywood that the world needs more girls kicking butt in their own movies by heading out to your local cinema and cheering on everyone’s favorite Amazon.
‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7, Episode 1: A Tale of Two Maps
After years of billowing story and cast, it was striking to note how the action hinged mostly on people we have been with from the beginning: Cersei and Jaime Lannister; Jon Snow; Sansa, Arya and Bran Stark; Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion. Even the Hound — now riding with the unkillable Beric Dondarrion and Thoros, the Myrish red priest with Brooklyn bartender styling — has been around, off and on, since the pilot.
The world of the show is smaller, too, as suggested by those maps. Pretty much everyone of note is back in Westeros, a land at least nominally ruled by a woman who has been around King’s Landing long enough to know that claiming the Iron Throne and keeping it are two very different things.
“It’s ours now, we just have to take it,” Cersei told Jaime, walking over a freshly painted survey of the empire she plans to keep in the family for a millennium.
What family? Jaime wondered. All our children are dead. And with enemies in every direction, how are we going to stay on top without any allies to help us? “We can’t win this war alone,” he said.
Cue the pirate king. Euron Greyjoy arrived last season aiming to kill his relatives and take control of the Iron Islands. He was largely successful, tossing Balon off a bridge and being named ruler, but Yara and Theon took off with the boats and pledged them to Team Targaryen. Give me some ships and I will give you the world, Euron told his minions then.
We saw the result on Sunday, as Euron arrived with his new fleet and plans for an alliance via a marriage proposal. “Here I am with a thousand ships and two good hands,” he said, clearly annoying Jaime, but even he would have to admit it’s a pretty funny line. (Pilou Asbaek struck an agreeable note of malevolent arrogance — his Euron could be a fun villain.)
After Cersei declined Euron’s offer, he promised a “priceless gift,” saying he won’t return to King’s Landing until he has it. Any guesses what it might be? My first thought was Tyrion, Euron’s gift pledge coming, as it did, right after talk of traitorous relatives and the joy of murdering your own brother. Plus Tyrion has a knack for getting captured (Catelyn, Jorah). I suppose a dragon would be the most priceless gift of all, but that seems impractical. Something that thwarts dragons, perhaps? (Giant strips of dragonpaper?) Feel free to share your theories in the comments.
A big question going into the season was what a childless Cersei might look like, maternal devotion long being her one tether to whatever remained of her humanity. On Sunday she looked fairly power-obsessed and spiteful, grousing to Jaime about traitors and eying “a dynasty for us,” which is an interesting interpretation of the dynasty concept. That said, I thought she was a goner last year and look what happened then. I don’t think her tactics will pay off in the end but in the short-term, at least, I’m done underestimating her.
We also saw Cersei’s instincts on display in an unexpected place: Winterfell. That’s where the seeds of Stark conflict glimpsed last season blossomed awkwardly in front of everyone, as Sansa took issue with the decency Jon showed toward formerly treasonous Northern houses.
Jon wants to restore the peace and ensure the loyalties of the families best positioned to defend against the White Walkers. Sansa wants revenge — let’s kick those traitors out and give their castles to families who deserve them. It was the kind of cold logic she picked up from Cersei, and Sansa confirmed as much a little later.
“You almost sound as if you admire her,” Jon said.
“I learned a great deal from her,” Sansa replied.
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Pilou Asbaek in “Game of Thrones.” Credit
Helen Sloan/HBO
Jon could still prove to be too noble for his own good, like Ned and Robb, or too dismissive of the threat the Lannisters pose. But I’m more concerned about Sansa. Her Cersei obsession leaves her vulnerable to Littlefinger, still skulking in the shadows of Winterfell with his own Iron Throne dreams. Strategically, it was hard not to side with Jon on the castle issue, especially after we saw the grateful Umber and Karstark children who won’t be tossed out of their homes.
More broadly speaking, he remains focused on the big picture — which according to Bran’s wintry vision, now includes zombie giants — while Sansa remains mired in traditional rules and the cycles of vengeance that have kept the blood flowing in this story.
It’s a quality she shares with her sister, who kicked off the episode’s cold open, perhaps a meta commentary on the best way to serve revenge.
Was the wine itself cold? Probably not, but it did the job. The Frey family was decimated within a few fateful gulps amid a brief recap of what they were paying for: Stark murder, mostly, but also just bad hosting manners. “Slaughtered your guests after inviting them into your home,” Arya, as Walder, reproached. (It, like the Son Pie she served Walder Frey before killing him, was foreshadowed by Bran’s Rat King story way back in Season 3.)
“Tell them winter came for House Frey,” Arya instructed one of the women she spared. It’s a first-rate catchphrase for a ruthless assassin, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about her soul. We’re reminded that the Stark girls have suffered plenty of trauma, from witnessing their father’s execution through multiple rounds of physical and emotional abuse. As they grow into ever more powerful women, will they resist or lean into the dark forces and experiences that have shaped them?
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Maisie Williams in “Game of Thrones.” Credit
Helen Sloan/HBO
Arya originally planned to go to Winterfell, but apparently changed her mind once she heard her kill-list target is in charge in King’s Landing. I’m going to kill the queen, she told Ed Sheeran and his soldier friends.
Jon, as ever, is looking northward, but circumstances may be pushing him toward Dragonstone. On Sunday he announced his first major defense initiative as King in the North: An enormous dragonglass mining effort. Samwell Tarly later learned, between his maester orderly rounds, that large stores of the substance, which kills White Walkers and which we know as obsidian, are at (surprise) Dragonstone.
And who is currently at Dragonstone? Jon’s aunt, also known as the other powerful queen in this story, who has moved into her ancestral home and has a nice map of her own.
In sparkling sunlight, Dragonstone looks more majestic than it did during Stannis’s gloomy tenure. The dragon-wing rooflines seem more graceful, perhaps because the castle somehow knows a Targaryen has returned but more likely because C.G.I. aesthetics have improved since Season 2.
After some light redecorating, Daenerys and Tyrion adjourned to the map room, which the greater Thronesweb tells me is called the Chamber of the Painted Table, and is where Aegon Targaryen planned his conquering campaign hundreds of years ago. More recently it was where Stannis held his meetings and where, you might recall, Melisandre seduced him into conceiving a fratricidal shadow-baby back in Season 2. (About right where you’re standing, Dany — you might want to move over a couple feet.)
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Emilia Clarke and Jacob Anderson in “Game of Thrones.” Credit
Helen Sloan/HBO
“Shall we begin?” the Dragon Queen asks Tyrion. This being the former occupier of Meereen, we could be in for a lengthy stay, though she seems more motivated since she emerged from that flaming temple last season. Besides, we only have 12 more episodes to go — so if she’s ready, so am I.
A Few Thoughts While We Remember the Little People
• There were several suggestions that though they don’t show up on the maps, the plebes of Westeros could be a factor this season. The most chilling reminder that they matter, too, and that actions of the powerful have consequences, was the family the Hound victimized in Season 4, found dead in its home. More subtle was the lingering scene with Sheehan’s soldier cohorts, decent men who just miss their families. Up North, Jon plans to teach everyone, age 10 to 60, to fight White Walkers. I wonder how the citizens of King’s Landing, who hated the Lannisters even before Cersei killed scores of them with her wildfire, might come into play later.
• The Hound might be turning into a believer, after seeing visions in the flames about thousands of the dead marching past a castle near “where the Wall meets the sea.” That sounds like Eastwatch, where Tormund and the Wildlings are going as part of the defense effort.
• “You think you’re fooling anyone with that topknot?” the Hound asks Thoros. It was a bit anachronistic but I enjoyed it.
• “I don’t plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me,” Lyanna Mormont, awesome as ever, tells her chauvinist bannermen colleague. “And I don’t need your permission to defend the North.” Davos looked ready to adopt her.
• Tormund’s game could use some work.
• Sam is having a different experience at the Citadel from what he probably imagined in his maester dreams. The pot montage was the most disgusting thing I’ve laughed at in awhile.
• “The Wall has stood through it all, and every winter that has ever came has ended,” the archmaester of the Citadel tells Sam. That was a nice debut monologue for Jim Broadbent, but every time I hear someone mention the imperviousness of the Wall — see also Sansa on Sunday — I become a little more convinced it will break down before the end of this story.
• Guess Jorah didn’t find that greyscale cure, huh?
• What did you think about the kickoff to Season 7? Are Jon and Sansa headed for a break? Did the Sheeran cameo take you out of the story? (I was fine with it.) What’s your favorite thing to give murderous monarchs? Please fire away in the comments.
A Top Republican Vows a Vote on Health Care, but Uncertainty Reigns
Mr. McCain’s surgeons are not giving interviews. His communications director, Julie Tarallo, said more information would be released when it became available.
Aides to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said it was unclear how long the delay would last.
The timing of the Senate vote is crucial. The more it is delayed, the more likely the bill is to fail, supporters and opponents say. Moreover, the Senate schedule will soon be packed with other legislation, like an increase in the statutory limit on federal borrowing and spending bills for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. In addition, Republicans are eager to cut taxes and simplify the tax code.
The Senate has struggled to pass a health care bill, delaying a vote on a previous version of the legislation in June.
Several Republican senators have expressed reservations or outright opposition to the new version as well, and Republicans need Mr. McCain’s vote to have any chance of passing it.
The bill, to repeal and replace major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, is a top priority for President Trump and Republicans in the House, which passed its own repeal bill in early May.
Mr. Cornyn acknowledged that “there’s uncertainty about what the final outcome will be.” Asked what would happen if the bill did not pass, he said: “I assume we’ll keep trying. But at some point, if Democrats won’t participate in the process, then we’re going to have to come up with a different plan.”
Critics of the Senate’s health care bill, taking advantage of the delay, said Sunday that Republican leaders needed to rework the legislation in fundamental ways. Given the additional time, they said, Senate committees should hold hearings to solicit opinions from the public and from experts on health care and insurance.
“We should not be making fundamental changes in a vital safety net program that’s been on the books for 50 years, the Medicaid program, without having a single hearing to evaluate what the consequences are going to be,” Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Roughly 20 million people have gained coverage through the Affordable Care Act, a pillar of President Barack Obama’s legacy. But Mr. Cornyn described the law on Sunday as a failed “exercise in central planning and command and control.”
The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, declined to comment beyond wishing Mr. McCain a quick recovery, as did Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence. Mr. Trump has been urging lawmakers to pass the bill, saying he is waiting with pen in hand.
On Friday, Mr. Pence assured skeptical governors that “the Senate health care bill strengthens and secures Medicaid for the neediest in our society,” putting the program, which serves more than 70 million low-income people, on “a path to long-term sustainability.”
But Ms. Collins said: “I would respectfully disagree with the vice president’s analysis. This bill would impose fundamental, sweeping changes in the Medicaid program, and those include very deep cuts. That would affect some of the most vulnerable people in our society, including disabled children, poor seniors. It would affect our rural hospitals and our nursing homes. And they would have a very difficult time even staying in existence.”
She added, “There are about eight to 10 Republican senators who have serious concerns about this bill.”
Republicans hold 52 Senate seats, and all Democratic senators oppose the bill. Ms. Collins and Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, have said they will vote against even starting the debate, meaning all other Republican senators need to vote for the legislation if it is to pass.
Mr. Paul’s reasons for opposing the bill are very different from Ms. Collins’s; he says it retains too much of the Affordable Care Act. And he predicted that support for the legislation would erode because of the delay prompted by Mr. McCain’s absence.
“The longer the bill’s out there, the more conservative Republicans are going to discover that it’s not repeal,” he said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “And the more that everybody’s going to discover that it keeps the fundamental flaw of Obamacare. It keeps the insurance mandates that cause the prices to rise, which chase young, healthy people out of the marketplace and leads to what people call adverse selection, where you have a sicker and sicker insurance pool and the premiums keep rising through the roof.”
Voters “elected us to repeal Obamacare,” Mr. Paul added. But with the bill drafted by Mr. McConnell, the senior senator from his home state, he said, “we’re going to keep most of the taxes, keep the regs, keep the subsidies and create a giant bailout superfund for the insurance companies.”
The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, said Sunday that he did not think delaying the vote would change the outcome.
“Time is not the problem in the present health care bill,” Mr. Schumer said. “The problem is the substance. It slashes Medicaid, which has become something that helps middle-class New Yorkers — millions of them, literally — and millions of Americans.”
The delay gives critics of the repeal bill more time to investigate numbers being used by the Trump administration to defend it.
The administration has been telling Congress and governors that the bill includes plenty of money to provide private insurance for people who would lose Medicaid coverage. But those estimates are based on particular assumptions chosen by administration officials. Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, a Republican, and others have questioned the validity of those assumptions.
The assumptions, made by political appointees in the Trump administration, specify how states would use money provided by the bill and how many people losing Medicaid would buy private insurance.
In a report on the House bill last month, the office of the actuary at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said most of the people who lost Medicaid coverage would “ultimately be uninsured, though a small fraction would choose to purchase individual insurance.”
Millions of people have gained coverage in the 31 states that chose to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and many of them are projected to lose that coverage under the Senate and House bills, which would roll back the expansion of Medicaid.
When Congress convened in January, Republicans appeared to be on course to repeal the Affordable Care Act within a month or two, but they met with growing resistance as lawmakers, consumers, doctors, hospitals and insurance companies scrutinized the proposals. Mr. McConnell delayed a vote scheduled for the week before the Fourth of July. Then, with no visible progress toward agreement, he delayed the Senate’s August recess by two weeks so senators could keep working.
Administration officials will use the time provided by the latest delay to try to persuade undecided Republican senators to vote for the bill. They will also try to raise doubts about the work of the Congressional Budget Office, which estimated that an earlier version of Mr. McConnell’s bill could increase the number of uninsured Americans by 22 million by 2026, compared with current law.
The nonpartisan budget office had been expected to issue a report on the latest draft of the bill on Monday, but it now plans to take more time.
Lawmakers are eager to see what the office says about a proposal added to the bill last week in a bid for support from the most conservative Republican senators. Under the proposal, insurers could offer cheaper, less comprehensive health plans if they also offered three standard plans with all the benefits required by the Affordable Care Act.
The author of the proposal, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, said it would give consumers “the freedom to choose among more affordable plans” that were “free from Obamacare’s insurance regulations.”
The skimpier plans would cover less and presumably cost less, and insurers said they would also attract healthier people.
“These junk insurance plans could charge people more or simply deny them coverage based on pre-existing conditions,” said Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington.
Martin Landau, Actor Who Won an Oscar for ‘Ed Wood,’ Dies at 89
But he never forgot the difficult years. “There was a period when things weren’t coming my way,” he told The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1994. “I was doing lousy parts in lousy movies, mindless characters. I was a bad guy by profession, a heavy in a certain kind of tacky movie.” He was also a serious Actors Studio alumnus who once told an NPR listener that he had never had trouble learning lines because “I think of them as thoughts and ideas” that the character needed to express, not as dialogue.
Martin Landau was born on June 20, 1928, in Brooklyn, the son of Morris Landau, a machinist, and the former Selma Buchanan. He attended James Madison High School and Pratt Institute, and originally planned to be an illustrator.
He worked at The Daily News in New York for five years, illustrating “Pitching Horseshoes,” a column written by the impresario Billy Rose, and assisting Gus Edson with the comic strip “The Gumps.” He eventually quit to pursue a career in the theater.
His stage debut was in the summer of 1951 in “Detective Story” at the Peaks Island Playhouse in Maine. That same year he made his Off Broadway debut in “First Love” at the Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village. By 1955 he was accomplished enough to be admitted to the Actors Studio in New York. Mr. Landau often told interviewers that 2,000 would-be members applied that year, but only two got in: him and Steve McQueen. Mr. Landau became close friends with James Dean, a fellow Actors Studio member, and dated Marilyn Monroe. (He later taught at the West Coast Actors Studio, where his students included Jack Nicholson.)
Photo
Mr. Landau starred alongside his wife, Barbara Bain, in the British science fiction series “Space: 1999” in the 1970s. Credit
Silver Screen Collection, via Getty Images
And he found steady work, including a role in a 1957 touring production of Paddy Chayefsky’s “Middle of the Night” that starred Edward G. Robinson. “I didn’t have to drive a cab,” he told The Boston Globe in 1989. “I didn’t have to be a waiter. I never had to work in a laundry.”
Television was a major part of his career early on. His first screen acting job was in a 1953 episode of the NBC series “Molly” (originally “The Goldbergs”). He appeared on numerous series during the 1950s, including golden-age anthologies like “Playhouse 90” and many westerns, before making his feature film debut as a soldier in the Korean War film “Pork Chop Hill” (1959).
That same year he appeared in his first truly memorable role, in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” as a spy’s henchman who was both menacing and, as Mr. Landau chose to play him, attracted to his boss (James Mason). “Hitchcock loved it,” he said of his characterization in a 2003 interview with The Hartford Courant. “People thought I was nuts to play the character gay, which wasn’t originally written that way. But so what? I’m not gay. I’m an actor.”
Before being cast in “Mission: Impossible,” Mr. Landau also appeared in “Cleopatra” (1963), as a loyal Roman soldier, and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (1965), as the Jewish high priest Caiaphas.
After leaving “Mission: Impossible,” he and Ms. Bain moved to London, where they starred from 1975 to 1977 in “Space: 1999,” a science fiction series in which he played the commander of a lunar colony and she played its chief medical officer. But by 1981 the good parts had grown hard to find for both Mr. Landau and Ms. Bain; that year, in what he later acknowledged was a low point, they appeared in the TV movie “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.”
After his career rebounded with “Tucker” and “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” the meaty roles returned. He played Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter, in the TV movie “Max and Helen” (1990); Joseph Bonanno in “Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story” (1999), also a TV movie; and Geppetto in a 1996 live-action film version of “The Adventures of Pinocchio.”
He returned to the stage in 2003 to play a Jewish baker who unknowingly befriends a Palestinian terrorist in “Sixteen Wounded” at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven. In recent years he was seen on TV series including “Without a Trace,” for which he received two Emmy nominations, and “Entourage,” for which he received one. (He was also nominated three times for “Mission: Impossible,” although he never won an Emmy.) In 2015 he appeared in the “Entourage” movie. Among his last movies were “The Last Poker Game,” “Without Ward” and “Nate & Al.”
Mr. Landau married Ms. Bain in 1957. They had two daughters and divorced in 1993.
He is survived by his daughters, Susie Landau Finch and Juliet Landau, and a granddaughter.
Interviewers often asked Mr. Landau to reflect on his early years as an actor. “There was a lot of pain, a lot of angst,” he told The New Yorker in 1995. “I felt like the pinch-hitter, who had all the equipment, a great bat, and the manager just kept skipping me. Or I was getting up to bat and no one was pitching to me.
“And I just said to myself, ‘One day I’m going to get up to bat and I’m gonna hit a home run.’ It’s as simple as that.”
Predictably, China’s Year-on-Year Growth Maintains Its Steady Pace
China said on Friday afternoon that it was revising its economic output data to take better account of fast-growing sectors like intellectual property, health care, tourism and so-called emerging industries. But Xing Zhihong, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, said on Monday morning that this was a continuing project that had not been applied to the second-quarter growth statistics.
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China’s consistent growth also reflects the government’s constant intervention as officials try to reach predetermined targets for the country’s economy — currently 6.5 percent growth or better.
Keep On Lending
The biggest reason the Chinese economy keeps growing quickly is that the state-controlled banking system keeps pouring in loans, although the government began tapering the flow slightly during the second quarter.
Total social financing plus bonds, the broadest measure of credit, expanded 14.7 percent in June compared with the same month a year earlier. In most countries, that would be a breathtaking pace. But in China, it was actually a slight slowdown: Credit was up 15.3 percent in May from a year earlier.
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An iron and steel workshop in Hangzhou, China. Credit
Steven Shi/Reuters
The Communist Party Congress, which is held once every five years and chooses the country’s top leadership, will be in midautumn. So China’s leaders have been eager to keep the economy growing briskly at least until then.
China has many tools for managing a debt buildup. More than half of the credit in its economy consists of loans from state-controlled banks to state-owned enterprises. But Moody’s Investors Service downgraded China’s sovereign debt by a notch on May 24, expressing worry about the broader buildup of credit.
Factories and Services Surge
While a sizable chunk of China’s economy may depend these days on building roads and rail lines into the desert using borrowed money, industrial production and services are also strong.
Steel demand has been vigorous, especially in residential construction. Housing prices have surged in the past 15 months, ever since the government decided during a period of economic weakness in early 2016 to make it much easier for families to borrow for home buying. Some of the biggest cities, like Beijing, have recently tried to curb real estate speculation with administrative limits, but these rules have had limited effect, as credit has stayed plentiful. Overall industrial production rose 7.6 percent in June from a year earlier, the government announced on Monday morning, an unexpectedly faster tempo than May’s 6.5 percent.
Year-on-year growth in retail sales accelerated to 11 percent in June from 10.7 percent in May, while fixed-asset investment also picked up speed in June.
Trade Sustains Economy
Part of China’s economic health in the second quarter reflected robust exports, with demand beginning to recover in Europe and particularly the United States after a long period of depressed growth. But what counts in the overall economy is not the value of the exports but whether the trade surplus narrows or widens. In that respect, there were a few clouds on China’s horizon.
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China’s imports rose 14.5 percent in the second quarter from the same period last year as prices soared for iron ore and other raw materials essential to Chinese manufacturing. Chinese exports rose only 9.1 percent in the second quarter.
The composition of Chinese exports also changed in ways that could intensify trade friction and affect China’s trade surplus. China is becoming even more dependent on exports to the United States, with sales reaching their second-highest level ever last month, trailing only September 2015.
Chinese imports from the United States have also risen, but most of the extra purchases have been oil and other raw materials, which create many fewer jobs than manufacturing.
President Trump promised during his campaign to create more American jobs through a more confrontational approach on trade toward China. But since taking office, he has focused more heavily on addressing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and on very narrow trade talks involving industries like steel manufacturing and beef production. Via: NYTimes
Farrah Abraham‘s has finally managed to flip her house after a year of trying.
And RadarOnline.com has learned she’s happy despite the fact that she took a 85 k hit on the 4 bed 4 bath two story property!
An insider said: “Farrah is happy to finally have sold the house despite the fact she took a loss on it – the property closed earlier this month.
“The deal did not quite pan out the way she planned but she’s happy to move on now.”
The reality star turned porn actress bought the house in April 2016 for $845k and then spent a further $100k renovating it hoping to make a quick profit.
However, just like her porn career things did now quite pan out that way.
She tried to sell the home for $950k just three months after moving in but could not find any buyers.
The former Teen Mom star dropped the price further to $845k but still nobody put in a bid.
Thankfully, for her the sale went through earlier this month for $860 and she can now move on with her life.
South Carolina Police Handcuff NineYear Old Boy For Playing
South Carolina cops handcuffed a nine-year-old boy for PLAYING close to his home!
Video released by MediatakeOut show an officer also cuffing his concerned mother who comes to see why her son is in the back of a police patrol car.
The incident is sure to infuriate Black Lives Matter as the police appears to have handled the situation poorly.
The footage shows him rolling up to a house were reportedly a call came in about a boy throwing rocks at a window.
Wearing a red shirt the boy, who has a BB style toy gun, is seen standing in the street before the officer approaches him after getting out of his car.
The Officer says: “Drop it, it’s a BB gun.
“I am retaining you for your safety and my safety, ok?”
The boy is then cuffed and the officer asks him for his address before putting him in the back of the patrol car.
Within a few minutes his concerned mother approaches the car giving the boy’s name and taking his BB gun from the cop.
An argument then ensues between the officer and the woman before he cuffs her too as the boy’s father also approaches the police vehicle.
She can be heard saying: “He’s got my baby in the back of the car. He was not throwing rocks we have none in our yard.
“This is pissing me off my son’s back there, he is 9-years-old!”
The officer can then be heard calling for back up as a small crowd gathers around the patrol car.
Spartanburg Police Department said they released the entire recording from the officer’s body cam “in the interest of transparency” and to correct some of the misinformation that has been shared.
They also shared that their policies based on case law do not prohibit the handcuffing of juveniles or any individuals identified as suspects in the initial phases of a police investigation.
According to reports the mother and son were released with no charges against them.
Andy Cohen and Lisa Vanderpump Talk Eileen Davidson Leaving the Show
As we reported, Eileen Davidson isn’t going to return on the upcoming season of the RHOBH. Andy Cohen recently spoke with Access Hollywood about Davidson’s departure and who might take her place.
Andy said, I love Eileen!” So with Eileen leaving, “that means there is space for a new Housewife doesn’t it?”
As for the rumors about Camille Grammer and Adrienne Maloof returning, after they were spotted in Las Vegas filming with the cast, Andy said, “I cannot confirm or deny anything at this point, “I always want former housewives to come back …. so I would love it.”
Lisa Vanderpump also gave her opinion about Eileen not coming back. “It’s always good to have the cast kind of turn over a bit. It, you know, keeps it fresh,” Lisa said at a Vanderpump Dogs event according to RealityTea.
“Listen – I hope she’s successful in her future. She had a good time on the show,” Lisa shrugged, “but I didn’t get on with her obviously, so I’ve gotta be honest.”
Lisa also talked about the women’s recent trip to Las Vegas. “Of course I had fun in Vegas, and you know: what happens in Vegas comes right back home with you!”
As for the news that there is a new Housewife, Teddi Jo Mellencamp, Lisa said, “I’m not allowed to confirm that or deny.”
Lisa did said that Adrienne was in Las Vegas, “as a friend,” adding, “having the OG’s kind of come in… it’s organic really.”
Blac Chyna Mother Tokyo Toni Slams Caitlyn Jenner Man In A Wig
Blac Chyna‘s mother Tokyo Toni has gone ballistic, blasting transgender Caitlyn Jenner as “a man in a wig” after learning that Jenner has never met his stepson Rob Kardashian and Chyna’s baby daughter, Dream.
n a video relased on the Twitter page of WorldStarHipHop, Toni ranted about Jenner, “This motherf**ing n****r, cause he’s a man dressed up and pretending to be a woman.”
Toni’s video dropped shortly after Jenner called Rob “stupid” on The View — after his stepson had posted naked photos and lurid allegations online about Chyna.
“Rob was stupid for doing that and he kind of apologized. I really have not had much of a relation– I’ve never met Blac Chyna,” Jenner told the ladies on The View.
Then, in a shocker, she admitted, “I’ve never met [Dream]. Rob, I haven’t really had a serious conversation with in years. So I’ve kind of been out of that scene so I really can’t comment on what’s going on there.”
As part of her video tirade, angry Toni said Jenner should hire a vocal coach to sound more feminine and added, “All that money you got, get a vocal coach, then I’m gonna finish with your motherf***ing a*s.”
Although her daughter Chyna has obtained a restraining order against Rob and is mulling legal action against her baby daddy, Toni seemed to defend him, saying about Jenner, “You gonna say he stupid, instead of saying something encouraging and you gonna lie and say you don’t know Blac Chyna… Call me b***h, I’ve got some words for you.”
Toni also kept calling Caitlyn, who for years was a man known as the former Olympian Bruce Jenner, “Brucey.”
WWE’s Four Horsewomen Face-Off with MMA’s Version At Mae Young Classic Taping (VIDEO)
The unspoken rivalry between The Four Horsewomen of WWE and The Four Horsewomen of MMA escalated on Friday during the Mae Young Classic … and the video is pretty awesome!
Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Bayley were sitting ringside during last night’s Mae Young Classic taping … and tensions began to flare up during one of Shayna Baszler’s matches while Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke were seated on the opposite side.
Things picked up though after Baszler taunted Lynch, Flair and Bayley — leading to an across the aisle face off, where both sides flashed fours at each other.
It remains to be seen what this will lead to, but a few years ago Ronda was interested in working a WWE match at WrestleMania with her friends — could the seeds be starting to plant here?
Riot Housewives
Jamie Florence
Eva Longoria and her husband’s honeymoon phase still seems to be in full swing after more than a year of marriage — boobs in the face will do that!
Chris Parker
CHRIS J RATCLIFFE via Getty Images
Rebecca Williams
Jack Evans
