Congratulations to Gabby Douglas for winning the gold medal this year at the Olympics!
The U.S. women’s gymnastics team won its first gold Olympic medal since 1996 and only its second in history at the London Games, as Russia, its closest competitor, imploded on its final event.
With it, this group of American women — some are already hailing them as the Fab Five — takes its place alongside the Magnificent Seven, who won the prestigious team gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, thanks in large part to a gutsy vault by the injured Kerri Strug.
In similar fashion, this year’s U.S. women’s gymnastics team didn’t lack for heroines.
The United States was helped throughout by a courageous performances from Gabby Douglas of Virginia Beach and a solid, selfless showing by Michigan’s Jordyn Wieber, who shook off her heartache over missing the finals for the all-around title two days earlier to deliver key scores on vault, uneven bars and floor.
Russia finished more than five full points behind the U.S. (183.596) to take silver with a team total of 178.530. Romania (176.414) powered past defending Olympic champion China to claim bronze.
The U.S. women seized the lead after the first of four mandatory events at London’s North Greenwich Arena, delivering three spectacular Amanar vaults, considered the most difficult in the world.
Wieber set the tone by earning 15.933 points, and Douglas did even better, posting a 15.966. But McKayala Maroney's compact, two-and-a-half flip Amanar produced a massive 16.233 and sent a shockwave of energy through the U.S. team.
The Americans never relinquished their lead or their confidence, acquitting themselves on the weakest event, the uneven bars, doing well on the beam and electrifying the crowd on the floor.
G.O.O.D. Music's Teyana Taylor has recreated Janet Jackson's infamous topless pose from the cover of Rolling Stone in 1993. Teyana's in-color rendition features the rapper/singer in denim cutoff shorts and stockings, being held from behind by a pair of unidentified man's hands.
The photo was taken by actor Lance Gross.
Art is often controversial and fans were less than thrilled by the photographic homage on Twitter. "I give her an "E" for effort" said one while another tweeted, "Who told Teyana Taylor to recreate anything? I don't have time!"
Earlier this summer, MTV News caught up with after she'd officially signed her new deal with Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music imprint. "This is the second go 'round for me, and hopefully, the second time's the charm," the 21-year-old shared. "I signed to Star Trak with Pharrell when I was 15, and now I'm at a new chapter in my life where I'm signed to G.O.O.D. Music, and I'm blessed and happy to be part of the team." Being affiliated with the buzzy collective has increased her own work ethic. "Being signed to G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam has opened more doors now that I finally have a team behind me that can push me to work harder," she said.
Taylor has already recorded her tracks for the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation album slated for this fall. She mused that the experience was similar to working on Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. "Recording 'Dark Fantasy' and recording the G.O.O.D. Music album were both crazy," she said. "When we did 'Dark Fantasy,' the album had to be turned in in three hours, so that was a song that we made happen so last minute, which happened to be the first song on the album, so that was very exciting."
Michael Phelps was dejected despite making Olympics history Tuesday.
Phelps led his signature race, the 200-meter butterfly. from the start until the last few meters, appearing to be ready to become the first man to win an individual event in three consecutive Olympics.
But just as Phelps glided into the finish, South African Chad le Clos, a 20-year-old whose idol was swimming in the lane right next to him, cranked one last big stroke to edge his hero Phelps at the wall.
It reminded swimming commentators of Phelps' 100-meter butterfly win at the Beijing Games when he took a quick final stroke as Serbian Milorad Cavic stretched for the wall. This time it was Phelps who was caught reaching.
After the race, the shocked Phelps put his face in his hands.
Still, with a silver medal Phelps tied Larisa Latynina wih 18 total medals, the all-time best mark for an Olympian.
And there was still the 4x200-meter relay later, where Phelps was expected to break the medals record with the dominant American team.
Phelps has now won 14 golds, two silvers and two bronze medals in four Olympics.
Sometimes you’ve gotta do it for the glory. And for an athlete, what could be more glorious than receiving an Olympic gold medal? U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte won the coveted prize this weekend after competing in the 400-meter Individual Medley race and he wanted to celebrate by sporting his red, white and blue diamond-encrusted grill. Unfortunately, he was banned from wearing the grill during the ceremony, but he couldn’t wait to show it off later.
Lochte, who has been known to sport grills at important sporting events over the years—including the 2008 Olympics in Beijing—even took the time to explain what a grill is to fans who weren’t privy. "For those who don't know what a grill is, it's basically a retainer filled with diamonds," he said in a 2011 interview. "I wear it when I go on the podium. It's just a unique way of showing personality out to everyone."
According to ESPN’s Wayne Drehs, Lochte’s plan was to sport his grill while receiving the medal, until that was shut down. "Lochte told me he tried to wear his grill on the podium only to have an Olympics official tell him if he did so he wouldn't get his gold,” Drehs wrote on Twitter.
Despite the temporary ban, the 27-year-old got his time to shine later, when he was snapped looking pretty content with his diamond-encrusted smile.
After a week of drama in the Jackson family, Katherine Jackson has come forward stating that she is open to sharing custody of Michael's three children--Paris, Prince and Blanket--with her grandson TJ.
According to TMZ, Katherine's attorney, Perry Sanders, says that Katherine and TJ will file a request for joint guardianship in court early next week. Katherine's lawyer says the new shared living arrangement "reflected the wishes of [Michael Jackson's] children."
If all goes as planned, TJ will assume more day-to-day responsibilities. "Mrs. Jackson will then be freed up to focus on the more personal everyday decision making related to the lives and activities of the children," the lawyer told TMZ, and Katherine will still be in charge of the children's family allowance of $70,000 per month.
Yesterday, RapFix reported that Katherine had lost custody of the children to TJ, Tito Jackson's son. This was following a bitter dispute over Michael's estate and inter-family fighting over the treatment and whereabouts of matriarch Katherine. RapFix reported about the Jackson family meltdown in which a fight broke out at Katherine's home in Calabasas, California on Monday (July 23). Multiple family members were involved, including MJ's daughter Paris Jackson and his sister Janet Jackson. Police arrived at the scene but no arrests were made.
A 7-year-old New York City girl escaped injury after she fell from a third-story window when she was caught by a neighbor.
Cell phone video taken by a resident in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn shows Keyla McCree standing on an air conditioning unit moments before she fell and landed in the bushes. Her dramatic fall was broken by the arms of Steven St. Bernard, who rushed to the scene and caught the girl.
“Please let me catch her, please let me catch her, that’s all I could say. Let me catch the little baby, that’s all,” said St. Bernard.
The 52-year-old bus driver and father of four told ABC News affiliate WABC that he was just in the right place at the right time.
“It feels good now to know that I did something,” said St. Bernard, who lives in the apartment complex.
Keyla, who is autistic, managed to perch herself on the air conditioner by pushing through one of the accordion pieces that holds the unit to the window while her mother was in the next room. Moments before she fell, McCree was seen dancing on the air conditioning unit. Police tell WABC they do not believe McCree’s parents did anything criminal.
“She did hit the bushes and the ground a little, but not straight on because of his arms,” said witness Latasha Marcus.
St. Bernard tore a tendon in his left shoulder and was sporting a sling after the incident. As for Keyla, she’s doing just fine thanks to the man who certainly lived up to his name.
“I saw her in the hospital. She doesn’t have a scratch on her,” said St. Bernard.
This morning, friends and neighbors are calling St. Bernard a hero. “No. A hero is a sandwich. I just saw a kid, that’s it,” said St. Bernard.
Publisher Farrah Gray is suing reality star/Lil Wayne baby-momma Toya Wright for not promoting her own book. Farrah Gray Publishing handled the book, Priceless Inspirations, and says that Toya hasn't held up her end of the deal.
Gray claims that Toya has engaged in "...direct, contributory and vicarious inducement of copyright infringement, unfair competition and breach of contract," and wants $1 million and court costs and attorney fees. He also alleges that Wright sold her own book without contacting the publisher.
Toya says there's no truth to these claims.
"Mrs. Wright consistently went above and beyond her contractual obligations which included: Self- funding a college tour promoting Priceless Inspirations, Cross promotion of her Ampro endorsement by placing the book cover on Ampro products nationwide and allowing Farrah Gray Publishing the platform to promote her book on her highly successful reality show on Black Entertainment Television," her reps said via statement.
Lil Wayne may have split from his longtime girlfriend Dhea, but a picture of the rapper lying together with another woman seems to indicate that Weezy ain't one for lingering on a broken heart. The picture hit the web and the girl featured, apparently named "Saralyn," jumped on Twitter to pretend she had no idea where it came from.
"Woke up 2 craziness," she tweeted, before adding, "He loves a small town girl with that big city swag =)"
"@flow935 way too much to tweet, but ill say this, it wasn't a 'groupie' situation at all. lol," she continued. "@flow935 its between me n Wayne actually, but I would never send anything to blogs. Whoever did is a lame. lol"
Amber Rose could be with child? Now, she hasn't said anything nor has her boo-thang, Wiz Khalifa. But, she has been looking a little extra thick lately and she's been relatively quiet lately since announcing her ending.
She showed up last night at the Smirnoff Whipped Cream & Fluffed Marshmallow Vodka event wearing an oversized dress that added fuel to the fire.
No one has said anything--let that be stated again. But she certainly does look a little...heavy (No offesnse...Just stating a fact!).
With Jennifer Lopez announcing that she's done with "American Idol," there are rumors that another pop superdiva could be stepping into the role of judge on the popular and long-running show. Mariah Carey is reportedly in talks to join the show.
"She's in play," a source reportedly told PEOPLE magazine. "They are in serious talks."
Mariah has a long-standing friendship with "Idol" mainstay Randy Jackson, so her joining the show wouldn't be too far-fetched. Lopez's exit comes alongside the news that fellow celebrity judge, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, has also decided not to return next season.
Forbes released its "Highest-Paid Celebrities Under 30" list and rapper Lil Wayne landed on the list amongst superstars like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. The top five is dominated by female pop stars, with Bieber the only male entry to rank that high.
Taylor Swift ($57 million) tops the list this year with Beiber coming in second and Rihanna third.
Lil Wayne earned $27 million in income over the past year. Females accounted for six of the Top 10 and four of the Top Five.
Rap mogul Jay-Z’s song “99 Problems” was released in 2003, but it still remains a mainstay in our iPods and on the radio. There’s just one problem, though. Jigga is giving us some bad legal advice in the track. According to Law Professor Caleb Mason from Southwestern Law School, Jigga’s line in the song, “Well, my glove compartment is locked/ so is the trunk in the back/
And I know my rights/ so you gon’ need a warrant for that,” is inaccurate.
Check out what the professor says below:
“Based on the number of my students who arrived at law school believing that if you lock your trunk and glove compartment, the police will need a warrant to search them, I surmise that it’s even more widespread among the lay public. But it’s completely, 100% wrong.“
The law professor sets the record straight and give some great advice if you ever catch yourself in a situation where the police want to search your vehicle:
“The lesson for perps is threefold: (1) don’t consent, (2) know the reasonable suspicion boilerplate and don’t provide it, and (3) make a record of the encounter any way you can, including your behavior, appearance, and demeanor before and during the stop, the officer’s stated motive for the stop, all of your responses to questioning, whether or not you were placed under arrest, and the exact amount of time you were held on the side of the road. And finally, most importantly, for both sides–when in doubt, talk to a lawyer. My door’s always open to players on both sides of this game. Call me.”
I have yet to watch “Love and Hip-Hop: Atlanta,” but the show is unavoidable. And so are the rumors. So, here is a good one from one of my sources to you. They told me that Stevie J, who I only knew as one of Diddy’s Hitmen, has another distinctive trait. Rumor has it, dude is a real life pimp with actual skeezers! Now, trust me when I say I’m not saying this with any positivity. But, my source says that he’s known to serve rappers and basketballers with his high-grade brand of hooch! I also heard this is how he’s managed to get through the lean years in the music game. Clearly, he is a different kind of pimp now that he’s pimpin’ this reality TV game! On the low, cats told me his baby boo chick Joseline used to be one of his chicks. Respect!
Anyway, on the low again, I heard that Stevie J handles his business in the streets too. This is why he can owe people thousands and nobody really move on him. I guess if you have it like this, you can do that s**t.
