Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows': Where are they now?

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1' marks the seventh installment in the franchise and this holy trinity is just fresh out of their teen years. But when compared to themselves in the first 'Potter' film, they seem as though they have consumed some aging potion.

Check out the stars as they pass through the NYDN time machine...

Follow our galleries on Twitter @NYDNPhotos." alt="And poof! They are suddenly legal! It's been almost a decade since movie-going audiences were first introduced to the magical Hogwarts crew -- most notably Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) -- and, my, how they've grown up!

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1' marks the seventh installment in the franchise and this holy trinity is just fresh out of their teen years. But when compared to themselves in the first 'Potter' film, they seem as though they have consumed some aging potion.

Check out the stars as they pass through the NYDN time machine...

Follow our galleries on Twitter @NYDNPhotos." style="display: block;" src="http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/11/16/gal_hp_watn_trinity.jpg">

And poof! They are suddenly legal! It's been almost a decade since movie-going audiences were first introduced to the magical Hogwarts crew -- most notably Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) -- and, my, how they've grown up!

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1' marks the seventh installment in the franchise and this holy trinity is just fresh out of their teen years. But when compared to themselves in the first 'Potter' film, they seem as though they have consumed some aging potion.

Check out the stars as they pass through the NYDN time machine...

Obama visits upstate to give economic pep talk at GE plan, names CEO to advisory committee

BY Glenn Blain

Saturday, January 22nd 2011, 4:00 AM

Dickstein/Times Union

President Obama addresses a gathering of workers and dignitaries at the GE plant in Schenectady, N.Y. with GE chief exec Jeffrey Immelt in the background.

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• 
  

President Obama visited the birthplace of General Electric Friday and said it's time to put the nation's economy into "overdrive."

Seeking to focus political attention on his administration's job creation efforts, Obama said the nation is recovering from the Great Recession - but not fast enough.

"Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that businesses can take root and folks can find good jobs and America is leading the global competition that will determine our success in the 21st century," Obama said at a GE turbine factory in the struggling upstate city of Schenectady.

Obama put an emphasis on expanding high tech and green-energy industries.

"We want an economy that's fueled by what we invent and what we build," Obama said. "We're going back to Thomas Edison's principles. We're going to build stuff and invent stuff."

As part of his jobs message, Obama named GE chief exec Jeffrey Immelt to replace former Fed boss Paul Volcker as the head of his outside panel of economic advisers.

"We think GE has something to teach businesses all across America," Obama said.

GE's stock soared 7% Friday, or $1.31, to $19.74 on a day the corporate giant also announced strong profits. Execs said net income increased 52% as the company made more money in both its lending and industrial businesses.

GE also is benefiting from the Obama administration's recent diplomatic and trade efforts with India and China.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who flew with Obama to Schenectady aboard Air Force One, praised Obama's speech and said it was likely a preview of next week's State of the Union address.

Bra company debuts L cup; Women's lingerie sizes getting larger, average U.S. size is 38DD

By Lindsay Goldwert

Friday, January 21st 2011, 3:45 PM

LaneBryant

Danger, curves ahead: Lane Bryant lingerie ad that was deemed too hot for network TV.

Well-endowed women don't have to squeeze into too-small bras anymore -- there's now an L cup size available.

Lingerie company Bravissimo is offering the larger cup size after women asked the company for something more sizable than its KK cup.

A spokesman for the company told the Daily Mail: "Our research has shown that up to 40% of women should be wearing a D cup and above -- even if they don't yet know it."

In the U.S., the average bra size is a 36DD, a sharp increase from a 36C -- the average size 10 years ago.

But it's not just that women are heavier now. It's that they're realizing that they don't have to be uncomfortable in too-small sizes.

"Women are realizing that they need to take the time to see if they're actually wearing the right size," Luis Pareles, editor of the Lingerie Journal told the Daily News. "There's an increasing trend in boutiques offering to measure women to make sure they're getting a bra that fits."

"An L-size cup is the largest I've heard of," he added.

Established lingerie brands, as well as brands from outside the U.S., are working to keep up with the growing trend of larger cup sizes. New lingerie makers, such as N.Y.C.-based Dirty Dolls, are making vintage-inspired bras to appeal to bustier, fashion-conscious women.

Intimacy lingerie boutique chain owner Susan Nethero told Women's Wear Daily last year that she simply can't keep up with the trend for larger-sized bras.

"Full-busted sales have grown by at least 10% over the past year, and 74% of my bra business is now with cup sizes larger than DD," she told WWD in March 2010. "I wish there were more."

Detective's tip on past criminal helps cops apprehend northern Queens serial mugger

BY Joe Kemp

Saturday, January 22nd 2011, 4:00 AM

Noonan for News

Northern Queens, including Astoria, was on edge over a serial mugger.

A malicious serial mugger wanted for terrorizing women in northern Queens for more than two weeks was collared Friday - after an eagle-eyed detective recognized his modus operandi, sources said.

Brian Rodriguez, 33, allegedly attacked 10 women since Jan. 2, most of them at night. The brazen bandit sneaked up on most of his victims - who ranged in age from 22 to 62 - before punching them, snatching their property and running away, police said.

A detective who arrested Rodriguez in 2005 for a similar string of robberies told officers working the case to check on the convicted thief, sources said.

Rodriguez was later fingered for the crimes and charged with multiple counts of second-degree robbery.

Pakistan says it's close to driving Taliban from Swat Valley, as 27 militants killed

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Tuesday, June 9th 2009, 10:59 AM

Sajjad/AP

Pakistani men react as a car burns in Qissa Khawani bazaar after a bomb blast in Peshawar Pakistan, May 28, 2009.

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Twenty-seven Taliban militants were killed in northwestern Pakistan as tribesmen secured four villages in the Upper Dir district and the military carried out an operation in the Peochar Valley, the army said.

Some 13 Taliban insurgents died in fighting with the tribesmen. Troops killed another 14 and arrested 22 in the Peochar Valley, where one soldier also was killed, the army said in a statement on its Web site today.

Pakistani security forces say they are close to driving insurgents from the northwest's Swat Valley and neighboring districts. Unlike previous offensives that faltered because of a lack of popular support, the Pakistani public is backing this campaign against the Taliban, Dennis Blair, director of U.S. National Intelligence, said late yesterday.

"For the first time, Pakistani operations in that part of the world have the support of the government and the public," Blair told a Washington audience of about 200 people from the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a group of industry and intelligence professionals. He described the turnaround as an "important change."

The Taliban advanced to within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of Islamabad in early April, violating an accord to end fighting in exchange for the government placing the North West Frontier Province under Islamic law.

The public support may boost the Pakistani military's momentum in defeating the Taliban, Blair said. The history of U.S. operations has shown that those without such backing can't "maintain that intensity" needed for victory, he said.

The Obama administration says the militants in Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions threaten the stability of the nuclear-armed nation and hamper the war effort by the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in neighboring Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama has said a U.S. aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year would be conditional on the government tackling extremists.

Villagers in the Upper Dir district, seeking revenge for a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in the area last week, encircled and killed 14 suspected Taliban fighters including a commander, the military said in a statement yesterday.

Pakistani Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Air Chief Rao Qamar Suleman visited troops in Swat yesterday and were briefed on the six-week offensive against the Taliban. Kayani directed officers to focus on helping refugees return to their homes, the military said. About 2 million people have fled the fighting.

The latest battles in the northwest came as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani convened a security meeting to discuss the army's offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley and the targeted killings in the financial hub of Karachi.

In Karachi, a southern port city, 31 people have died in political violence this week, the Sindh province government said.

Violence in Karachi threatens the "law and order situation in the country" and won't be tolerated, Gilani said yesterday, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

Seven of the people killed in Karachi were activists from the city's dominant political force, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, and the remainder were political workers from a breakaway faction, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, or Haqiqi group, the British Broadcasting Corp. said on its Web site.

The groups have a history of violence dating back to 1992 when the political movement split and officials are concerned violence may escalate, according to the report.

Assassination of Raza Haider sparks revenge killings, leaving 45 dead in Pakistan's Karachi

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tuesday, August 3rd 2010, 7:32 AM

Adil/AP

Vehicle burns after being set on fire by protestors following the killing of a local leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement, in Karachi, Pakistan.

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KARACHI, Pakistan — Gunmen killed at least 45 people in Pakistan's largest city after the assassination of a prominent lawmaker set off a cycle of revenge attacks, officials said Tuesday. Dozens of vehicles and shops were set ablaze as security forces struggled to regain control of Karachi.

Schools were closed and most business ground to a halt Tuesday in the southern city of more than 16 million, Pakistan's main commercial hub. While a thriving trading center, Karachi has a history of political, ethnic and religious violence and has long been a hide-out for al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

The latest unrest came after Raza Haider, a provincial lawmaker, was shot dead along with his bodyguard in a mosque while preparing to offer prayers Monday in Nazimabad area.

Haider was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the political party that runs the city and represents mainly descendants of Urdu-speaking migrants from India who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.

The MQM's main rival is the Awami National Party, a secular nationalist party whose main power center is Pakistan's northwest and whose base is the ethnic Pashtun community living in Karachi.

Within hours of Haider's assassination, gangs torched buildings in Karachi and gunfire erupted in several parts of the city. Many of the dead were killed in targeted, execution-style attacks, authorities said. An investigation had been ordered into who was behind the attacks.

Independent analysts say followers of all political parties in Karachi are heavily involved in criminal activities such as protection rackets and illegal land dealings. In certain neighborhoods, armed men linked to political parties stand guard at checkpoints.

While violence is still common, the city was far more dangerous in the 1980s and 1990s when there were regular outbreaks of political and ethnic slayings that left dozens dead each week.

Police surgeon Hamid Parhiar said that 45 people were killed and 93 people had been wounded, citing data from state-run hospitals in the city.

Sindh province spokesman Jamil Soomro said at least 10 people were arrested, and police and Army Rangers were dispatched throughout the city to impose order. But gunfire could still be heard Tuesday morning, and fires were still being set in some areas.

Schools and colleges in Karachi and other urban centers in the surrounding province were ordered to stay closed by the government Tuesday.

Officials did not say who was to blame for the violence.

Massive 7.2 earthquake rocks remote area of southwestern Pakistan

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally Published:Tuesday, January 18th 2011, 3:53 PM
Updated: Wednesday, January 19th 2011, 9:12 AM

Butt/AP

Two Pakistanis (left) read verses of the Koran while gathering with others outside their homes as a severe earthquake hits Quetta, Pakistan.

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ISLAMABAD - A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked a remote area of southwestern Pakistan early Wednesday, shaking many parts of the country and causing tremors as far away as India and the United Arab Emirates.

The quake was centered in Baluchistan province, the country's most sparsely populated area, said the United States Geological Service, occurring at 1:30 a.m. local time at a depth of some 50 miles (84 kilometers).

Its epicenter was in a remote area some 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of the Baluchistan capital of Quetta, said chief Pakistani meteorologist Arif Mahmood, not far from the Afghan border.

The closest town to the epicenter was Dalbandin, with a population around 15,000 people, and is so remote that the nearby Chagai hills were the site of Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests.

There was no word on damage in Dalbandin. But another town close to the epicenter, Karan, suffered no major damage, said Fateh Bangar, Karan's deputy commissioner. The town was some 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the epicenter, he said.

Nasir Baluch, a police officer in Karan, said several mud houses collapsed or were damaged in an area outside the town called Mashkil. There was no immediate word on casualties, but the area is sparsely populated, he said.

There was no major damage in Quetta either, but the quake caused widespread panic in the city, said residents.

Local TV reports said the quake was felt throughout several other provinces as well. Many residents in the country's largest city, Karachi, ran out into the streets once the quake started, said the reports.

Karachi resident Mohammad Zubair said he was watching a cricket match on TV when his bed began to shake.

"I jumped out of bed realizing it was an earthquake, said the 28-year-old. "My mom started reciting verses from the Koran, and we rushed outside."

Tremors lasting at least 20 seconds were also felt as far away as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and in India's capital, New Delhi.

Earthquakes often rattle the region. A magnitude 7.6 quake on Oct. 8, 2005, killed about 80,000 people in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir and left more than 3 million homeless.

Body found in California home's chimney was respected doctor, had been dating man who lived there

By Michael Sheridan

Wednesday, September 1st 2010, 11:04 AM

Adamo/AP

Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, seen here in a photo from 2007, was discovered dead in a chimney. She had reportedly tried to use it to get into a home where a man she may have been dating lived.

Barrios/AP

Firefighters dismantled the chimney in order to retrieve the body later discovered to be Kotarac.

Related News

A body discovered in the chimney of a California home turned out to be that of a respected doctor, according to authorities.

The badly decomposed corpse of Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, who had been missing for nearly a week, was found over the weekend and later identified, Bakersfield police Sgt. Mary DeGeare told The Californian.

Officials said the doctor was likely trying to enter the home, where a man she was believed to have been dating lived. Items belonging to her had been found outside the house the day she was reported missing, but there had been no other indication at the time that she was inside.

According to DeGreare, Kotarac arrived at the home several days earlier and as she attempted to enter, the man living there reportedly snuck out.

Although police have not released his name, records indicate the resident is William Moodie.

"She made an unbelievable error in judgment and nobody understands why, and unfortunately she's passed away," the 58-year-old told The Associated Press. "She had her issues — she had her demons — but I never lost my respect for her."

It is unclear if the two were still dating, or had broken up, DeGreare said.

The body was discovered when a woman visiting the house detected an odor. She saw fluids by the fireplace, looked up and saw the body, DeGreare said.

Firefighters arrived and took apart the chimney in order to retrieve the corpse, which was later determined to be Kotarac.

"She was just a really nice lady, and I had 100% confidence with everything she did," said John Croson, who had been a patient of Kotarac’s for nearly 10 years, according to The Californian.

"I'm just totally deflated because she was such a sweet person and she cared about her patients," said John M. Ulman II, another patient.

A cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. Foul play is not suspected, though investigators have been looking into the incident as suspicious.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords moved by support after leaving Tucson hospital for Texas rehab facility

BY Aliyah Shahid AND Corky Siemaszko

Originally Published:Friday, January 21st 2011, 7:49 AM
Updated: Friday, January 21st 2011, 5:20 PM

York/AP

A police motorcade leads the ambulance carrying U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., away from University Medical Center on Friday.

Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

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Massacre survivor Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was recuperating Friday in a Houston rehab center after she got a sweet sendoff from her Arizona hometown.

Throngs of well-wishers lining the streets of Tucson cheered and waved as Giffords' ambulance - escorted by a police motorcade - passed by on the way to the airport.

A doctor who rode with Giffords said she heard the cheers and "responded well to that."

"There was smiling, even tearing a bit," said Dr. Randall Friese of the University Medical Center in Tucson. "It was so wonderful to see so much support."

Giffords, who was also accompanied on the flight to Texas by her astronaut husband Mark Kelly and her mother, will be mending at the reknowned TIRR Memorial Hermann Institute for Rehabilitation and Research.

"She has a long road ahead of her," said Dr. Michael LeMole, UMC's chief of neurology.

Still, said LeMole, Giffords has made "fantastic advances" since she was shot through the head on Jan. 8 while meeting with constituents outside a Tucson grocery store.

Defying the odds, Giffords can now stand with help and has even scrolled through an iPad. But it's not clear if she can speak.

Kelly said she's mouthed words, but the breathing tube in her windpipe has made actual speaking impossible.

"She's be walking and talking in two months," Kelly predicted.

Iran bans production of Valentine's Day gifts, promotions, in bid to stop spread of Western culture

BY Philip Caulfield

Tuesday, January 18th 2011, 2:47 PM

Mehri/Getty

Young Iranian women and men shopping for Valentine's Day.

Kheirkhah/Getty/UPI

An Iranian woman at a shop decorated for Valentine's Day in Tehran in 2007.

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No computer virus could stop Iran from shooting Cupid out of the sky.

Iranian is cracking down on Valentine's Day, calling for a ban of any gifts or promotions related to the lovers' holiday, Iranian media reported.

"Printing and producing any products related to Valentine's Day, including posters, brochures, advertising cards, boxes with the symbols of hearts, half-hearts, red roses and any activities promoting this day are banned," the country’s printing works union announced, under instructions from Iranian hardliners.

"Authorities will take legal action against those who ignore the ban," the union warned.

The ban is an attempt by Islamic nationalists to stop the corruption of the country's youth, among whom mingling with the opposite sex is forbidden, Tehran's Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.

"Honoring foreign celebrations is the spread of Western culture," the head of the printing works owners' union, Ali Nikou Sokhan, told ILNA. "Our country has an ancient civilization and various days to honor kindness, love and affection."

Celebrating the Feb. 14th holiday, which was started by Christians, is not forbidden. However, the ban will make it difficult for lovers to exchange flowers, candy or other trinkets.

Valentine's Day has become increasingly popular among Iranian youth and is a moneymaker for businesses there, according to Reuters.

Some have suggested replacing Valentine's Day with "Mehregan," an Iranian festival from the pre-Islamic era that celebrates "Mehr," or friendship, affection or love.

This isn't the first time Iran has tried to prevent the destructive influence of Western culture.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has in the past spoken out against neckties and certain haircuts as harmful symbols of Western influence.

Last year, Ahmadinejad denounced Paul the Octopus, the famed World Cup prognosticator, as propaganda and a representation of the West's decadence.

In the past decade, the government has sought to crack down on the importation of Barbie dolls and other toys, with one official calling them a "danger" that must be stopped.

Doctor who was voted World's Unluckiest Traveler in Travel Guard contest won $10,000 dream vacation

BY Dave Goldiner

Thursday, January 20th 2011, 4:00 AM

Creative Commons

Gary Feldman, who fell off a cliff in Vietnam while on vacation, won a $10,000 dream vacation.

A doctor who fell off a cliff in Vietnam was voted the World's Unluckiest Traveler Wednesday night, winning a $10,000 dream vacation.

Gary Feldman of Ventura, Calif., beat out a Canadian couple whose helicopter crashed in the Grand Canyon and two college pals whose makeshift boat nearly capsized in a storm in Central America.

More than 800 people entered the "my trip from hell" contest sponsored by trip insurance company Travel Guard.

Feldman had just arrived for a medical mission in the Southeast Asian nation when he stopped to answer nature's call at the edge of a picturesque mountainside.

He slipped and plunged 30 feet, smashing his right leg. Instead of enjoying a feel-good retreat, he had to endure a 14-hour ambulance ride to Thailand, followed by seven surgeries. He's still not walking.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hot over

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hot over 'American Idol's unflattering look at Bronx

BY Mike Jaccarino

Friday, January 21st 2011, 4:00 AM

FOX

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. isn't happy with 'American Idol' judges, especially Jennifer Lopez (second from l.).

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Don't expect a harmonious duet from Ruben Diaz Jr. and Jennifer Lopez anytime soon.

The borough president slammed the Bronx-bred songstress yesterday for staying silent during what he called the worst hatchet job on the borough since Howard Cosell told a national TV audience "The Bronx is burning" three decades ago.

"American Idol" served up a gritty portrayal of the borough as a litter-strewn urban badland during its Wednesday show.

"There wasn't even a peep from her defending the Boogie Down," groused Diaz. "Here, we have a young lady sitting at the panel, someone brought up in Castle Hill, someone to whom the Bronx offered plenty of opportunities, and she did not say a word.

"Not a peep. Not even a peep!"

Along with Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson, Lopez serves as a judge on "Idol."

The segment told the story of contestant Travis Orlando's upbringing. Orlando, 16, spent three years in a Bronx homeless shelter.

"Tell me about growing up in the Bronx for you," asked Idol host Ryan Seacrest.

"It was tough," responds Orlando. "Gangs, drugs, violence.. .You have robberies, you have killings, anything you can possibly imagine goes on here."

Then they walk a street off the Grand Concourse, as ghetto-like images flash of a pay phone with a dangling receiver and an apparent makeshift memorial on a sidewalk.

A police car flashes its lights, accompanied by the sound of sirens. The camera pans to litter-filled streets with an empty plastic bag blowing down the sidewalk like tumbleweed. An FDNY ambulance barrels down the street and kids play in the spray from an open fire hydrant.

Orlando opens the metal-gated door to the building where his family once lived. He talks in front of walls marred by graffiti.

The contestant, who advanced, sang a rendition of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and "I'm Yours," by Jason Mraz.

Meanwhile, Diaz did say that "Idol" fans should vote "early and often" for Orlando.

"I'm going to be dialing in as much as I can," he said. "Unlike a democratic election, you can vote as many times as you like."

Massive FBI Mafia bust: Organized crime still has firm grip on unions, even at Ground Zero

BY Brian Kates

Friday, January 21st 2011, 4:00 AM

Jane Rosenberg

Colombo street boss Andrew Russo (l.) was arraigned with 126 other wiseguys. Reputed Colombo capo Anthony Russo was charged in murder of then-underboss Joseph Scopo (below).

Ralph Scopo Jr.

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The massive mob takedown shows organized crime's grip on unions is virtually unbroken - even at Ground Zero - despite decades of prosecutions.

Exhibit A: Ralph Scopo Jr.

Scopo, who pleaded guilty to extortion in 2005, inherited leadership of concrete workers Local 6A from his father, who was convicted in 1986 in the Mafia Commission case. His brother, Joseph, was whacked in 1993. Reputed Colombo capo Anthony Russo was charged Thursday with the murder.

Prosecutors say Ralph Jr. gave jobs to cronies and scammed the union benefit funds. Through a so-called coffee boy scheme, he even skimmed money from lunch orders at every jobsite, the indictment charges.

Not all Local 6A members were happy about it.

In 2007 - after escaping jail for extortion by convincing a judge he had only two years to live - Scopo learned that a Ground Zero jobsite foreman was complaining about being under mob control.

Scopo took the foreman for a sitdown with Colombo crime family captain Dino Calabro - bringing along his son, also named Ralph.

He later told Calabro that Little Ralphie was there in case the reform-minded foreman "needed to be physically assaulted," the Laborers International Union of North America charged after taking over the corrupt local last December.

The younger Scopo now runs Local 6A. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Then there's reputed Gambino crime family soldier William Scotto and his trucking executive pal Anthony Licata, who were charged with extortion yesterday.

In 2008, they were indicted with Vincent Gotti and 61 other mob bosses and underlings on charges of ripping off the benefit funds of Teamsters Local 282 and Laborers Local 731.

In Newark, the feds indicted former International Longshoremen's Association vice-president Albert Cernadas and Stephen Depiro of ILA Local 1478.

Like Johnny Friendly, the fictional boss played by Lee J. Cobb in "On the Waterfront," the two shook down union members for annual Christmas payments, prosecutors said.

Marie Caro, mother of dead anorexic French model

Marie Caro, mother of dead anorexic French model Isabelle Caro, commits suicide: report

BY Aliyah Shahid
Thursday, January 20th 2011, 10:02 AM

Ruscio/Getty

Isabelle Caro, a French model an actress who struggled with anorexia died in November. Her mother committed suicide earlier this month, according to the family.

ath as a result of her years-long struggle with anorexia will help others?

In another tragic turn, the mother of anorexic French model Isabelle Caro, who died last year, committed suicide, according to her family.

Marie Caro felt "enormous guilt" and decided to take her own life earlier this month, her husband, Christian Caro, told Swiss newspaper 20 minutes.

Isabelle, 28, made international headlines after she allowed her 68-pound, skeletal frame to be used in Italian photographer Olivier Toscani's shock campaign to warn about the dangers of anorexia.

Jesse James publicly professes his love for 'my other half' Kat Von D

BY Shari Weiss

Monday, January 17th 2011, 3:57 PM

Strauss/WireImage

Jesse James and Kat Von D, at a gala on Saturday, are using Twitter to flaunt their relationship.

Love game

Jesse James returned to Twitter this month for the first time since November, and there's one topic dominating his feed: his love for Kat Von D.

"I have Never Felt so Loved!" the biker tweeted Jan. 9 to his girlfriend. "I'm The Luckiest MoFo in the World!"

A few days later, James, 41, lamented the distance between them.

"48 hours away from you feels like a year," he wrote.

And when Von D, 28, warned James that she was sick and wouldn't be looking her best upon their reunion, James tweeted her worries away.

"I love you more when your [sic] like this," he replied. "You will never be anything but Beautiful to me."

James went on to call the tattoo artist his "perfect woman" because she bought him a sniper rifle for Christmas.

"A sniper rifle says 'I love you' all over it. You Know it Really Does!!" he wrote.

On Jan. 13, James admitted that his return to the social networking site was directly related to Von D.

"They say True love will always shine through," he said. "The only reason I started Twitter again? so I could publicly profess my love for @thekatvond."

The next day, he referred to a "quiet night ordering in" with Von D as "heaven."

The "LA Ink" star herself agreed.

"we could be at the damn DMV and it would be heaven," she wrote in reply. "'My heaven is wherever you are...'"

On Sunday, Von D was feeling especially appreciative of the relationship.

"Thank you always supporting me and believing in everything I do," she tweeted to James. "But most of all, thanks for being my best friend."

"Baby? You make it so easy to do everything I can to show you how Amazing you are," he replied. "I see it as clear as a bell. My other half."

Golden Globes 2011 winners outshined by awkward moments featuring Robert Downey Jr., Robert De Niro

BY Soraya Roberts

Monday, January 17th 2011, 4:00 AM

Granitz/WireImage

Golden Globes 2011 winners faced awkward jokes by Robert Downey Jr. (l.) and Robert De Niro (r.) Sunday night at the ceremony.

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Gervais' Globes gig

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Robert Downey Jr. and Robert De Niro competed for most awkward moment at the 2011 Golden Globes Sunday night -- alongside returning host Ricky Gervais. As Downey Jr., who was on the receiving end of one of Gervais' digs, said, the evening's jokes were often "mean-spirited with vaguely sinister undertones."

Find out who besides the British creator of "The Office" caused embarrassment, laughter and some boos to ripple through the Beverly Hilton Hotel at the 68th annual Golden Globes, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE 2011 GOLDEN GLOBES

1. Ricky Gervais' opening monologue: After starting out with a recap of Charlie Sheen's fateful Monday with the "porn star," Gervais went right into slamming "The Tourist," despite stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp both being nominated for awards and in the audience. "It seems like everything this year was 3-dimensional, except for the characters in 'The Tourist,'" he said, before apologizing and saying he hadn't seen it. "Who has?"

After mentioning that "I Love You, Philip Morris," was not nominated, Gervais described it as starring "two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay. So, the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists, then." This was met with a loud boo from a majority of the audience.

Using "The Walking Dead" as a segue, Gervais then congratulated Hugh Hefner on his engagement, marrying someone 60 years younger. "Just don't look at it when you touch it," he said as he made a vomit face and the audience groaned in disgust.

2. Christian Bale gets cut off: The first award winner of the night claimed that after never knowing who the Hollywood Foreign Press Association were, he realized how "spectacular and perceptive" they were after winning. After thanking his co-stars, he appeared to be finished but was cut off as he gave a shout out to Robert De Niro. He threw up his arms and left in the midst of speaking. According to Michael Ausiello, former Entertainment Weekly columnist, Bale launched "into a big, expletive-laden Robert De Niro lovefest."

Actor Christian Bale accepted the Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Award for "The Fighter" with plenty of De Niro love. (Handout)

3. Gervais introduces Bruce Willis, ex-husband of Demi Moore, as "Ashton Kutcher's dad."

4. Gervais slams HFPA president: Introduces presenter Eva Longoria as having the "daunting task" of introducing the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk. After getting booed, he quipped, "That's nothing, I just had to help him off the toilet and pop his teeth in."

Sarah Palin's response to Arizona shooting earned thumbs down from most Americans

Sarah Palin's response to Arizona shooting earned thumbs down from most Americans: survey

By Nina Mandell

Monday, January 17th 2011, 8:20 PM

Only 30% of people approved of the way Sarah Palin responded to the Arizona shootings.

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Sarah Palin's response to the deadly Arizona shootings fell flat with many Americans - including many of her supporters, according to a new poll.

Only 30% of those surveyed in a new ABC News-Washington Post poll approved of the way Palin responded to the deadly rampage, while 78% approved of the way President Obama handled it.

Forty-six percent of people surveyed disapproved with the way Palin handled the situation.

Even John McCain, the President's opponent in the 2008 race, commended his political opponent on his actions following the massacre.

"We are Americans and fellow human beings, and that shared distinction is so much more important than the disputes that invigorate our noisy, rough-and-tumble political culture," he wrote in an editorial for the Washington Post on Sunday. "That is what I heard the President say on Wednesday evening. I commend and thank him for it."

While many politicians called for unity after the national tragedy, Palin found herself at the center of a partisan debate after a 2010 ad created by her camp was criticized for depicting Gabrielle Giffords' district with cross-hairs over it, and many people blamed heated rhetoric for the attempted assassination.

Things got worse for Palin when she started attacking the media and critics through material posted on her website and Facebook account.

"Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn," she wrote. "That is reprehensible."

The term "blood libel" has historically been used to refer to the false claim that Jews used the blood of Christian children for rituals.

According to the ABC-Post poll released on Monday, the former Alaska governor even disappointed her own party. Less than half of Republicans surveyed said they approved of the way she handled the shootings.

The failure to connect with people in the face of tragedy may deeply hurt her presidential goals if she has them, pundits said.

"Palin, who is so expert in capturing the feelings, frustrations and hopes of a certain segment of the population, demonstrated no range," Slate columnist John Dickerson wrote. "She offered nothing to meet this moment. Her remarks were defensive, illogical, and distracting."

Palin, however, is never without a strong group of supporters.

Shortly after the shootings, Fox News contributor Glenn Beck emailed her to see how she was holding up after the barrage of criticism and even death threats he said she received. On Monday night, she will appear on Sean Hannity's show in what could be a first step to rebuilding her image.

Hannity, a conservative commentator, has fiercely defended Palin in light of her latest controversy.

"If you are being accused of being an accessory to murder, don't you think you are going to respond? Of course," he said on "Fox and Friends" Monday morning.

Johnny Weir comes out: Flamboyant figure skater admits in new autobiography he's gay

Johnny Weir comes out: Flamboyant figure skater admits in new autobiography he's gay

BY Adam Caparell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, January 6th 2011, 9:15 PM
Johnny Weir waves to the audience after competing in the men's figure skating short program during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Kadobnov/Getty
Johnny Weir waves to the audience after competing in the men's figure skating short program during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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Johnny Weir admitted Thursday what he's tried half-heartedly to hide all these years: He's gay.

The 26-year-old flamboyant figure skater, who has danced around questions regarding his sexuality throughout his career, officially came out of the closet in his soon to be released autobiography, "Welcome to My World."

"I'm not ashamed to be me," writes Weir. "More than anyone else I know, I love my life and accept myself. What's wrong with being unique? I am proud of everything that I am and will become."

Weir's admission is revealed in an excerpt of his book featured in the Jan. 17 issue of People magazine.

The news ends years of speculation surrounding the three-time U.S. figure skating champion who has traditionally deflected questions about his sexuality by saying he doesn’t want to be defined by labels.

"All the gay websites couldn't figure out why I was such a jerk that I wouldn't talk about it," he writes in his book. "But pressure is the last thing that would make me want to 'join' a community...The massive backlash against me in the gay media and community only made me dig my 'closeted' heels in further."

Weir, known for his inventive outfits and outgoing personality, said he knew by puberty that he was gay but had an early premonition.

"Watching Richard Gere in 'Pretty Woman' at the tender age of six was when I had first realized there was something different about me," Weir writes. "I wanted to be Julia Roberts so badly. Kissing seemed like a weird thing to do, but I knew if I was going to do it, it would be with Richard Gere."

He said he spent too much time focusing on his professional aspirations to consider coming out of the closet but did admit to his mother at age 18 that he was gay, which brought her to tears.

"No mother wants to hear her son say he’s gay," Weir says in the excerpt. "Those two words rip the picture of a daughter-in-law and grandchildren into pieces. I felt sorry for my mom and wanted her to know everything was going to be all right. But then she said, 'I don't really care, Johnny, as long as I know that you are going to be happy.'"

Weir is in the middle of a year-long hiatus from professional skating and has previously said he may return in time to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

His autobiography hits stores on Jan. 11.

Hard time for Mass. man Aftab Ali Khan tied to failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad

Hard time for Mass. man Aftab Ali Khan tied to failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Friday, January 7th 2011, 4:00 AM
Aftab Ali Khan, who is accused of helping would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, is being held in a Massachusetts jail.
Lacerra/AP
Aftab Ali Khan, who is accused of helping would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, is being held in a Massachusetts jail.
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A lawyer for a Pakistani man questioned in Massachusetts during the investigation of the failed Times Square bombing is complaining about his client's treatment in jail.

Aftab Ali Khan of Watertown is charged with immigration fraud and lying to investigators.

He is not accused of knowing about or participating in the botched attack.

In court Thursday, his lawyer said Khan is being held in his cell for 23 hours a day.

She also said he was shackled "hand to foot" when she visited him recently.

A spokesman for the jail declined to comment.

Authorities say Khan gave $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad, of Bridgeport, Conn., who was later convicted in the bombing attempt.

During Thursday's hearing, Khan agreed to voluntarily remain in custody as he awaits trial.

From Aspen to St. Barts: Celebs vacation in style

From Aspen to St. Barts: Celebs vacation in style
You might have been stuck hanging around with your crazy family and shoveling snow, but the Hollywood jet set had better ideas for how to spend their holidays. From the slopes to the surf, celebs spent the last few weeks in vacation mode. Check out who decided to ring in the new year relaxing under the sun and who hit the fresh powder on the ski slopes ...

Maria Menounos started off the new year splashing around! Menounos got a little wet and wild in the Miami surf ...

BY ROSANNE SALVATORE AND JOANNA SLOAME
Follow our galleries on Twitter @NYDNPhotos.

You might have been stuck hanging around with your crazy family and shoveling snow, but the Hollywood jet set had better ideas for how to spend their holidays. From the slopes to the surf, celebs spent the last few weeks in vacation mode. Check out who decided to ring in the new year relaxing under the sun and who hit the fresh powder on the ski slopes ...

Maria Menounos started off the new year splashing around! Menounos got a little wet and wild in the Miami surf ...

Season of the Witch Article Rating

Season of the Witch
Article Rating

'Season of the Witch' review: Nicolas Cage conjures up another undignified performance

Joe Neumaier

Friday, January 7th 2011, 4:00 AM
'Season of the Witch' stars (from l.) Stephen Campbell Moore, Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman.
Endrenyi/AP
'Season of the Witch' stars (from l.) Stephen Campbell Moore, Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman.
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Two knights must deliver a witch to a monastery for de-possession. With Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman. Director: Dominic Sena. (1:38). PG-13: Violence. At area theaters.

This is getting embarrassing.

We all know what Nicolas Cage has become onscreen -- wild-haired, out-there, middle-aged crazy 98% of the time; murky, mysterious, weird-but-watchable the other 2%.

Why? Some fans claim his off-screen tax troubles have forced the oddball Oscar-winner ("Leaving Las Vegas," remember?) into new levels of, uh, Caginess. But many think this was where the man was headed anyway.

Still ... "Season of the Witch"? Really?

It's likely Cage wanted to wear a tunic and read incantations from dusty books and fight demons with swords, and that's in here; it is January, after all, and Hollywood's plumb out of true grit and kings' speeches. Time for dumb fun.

Except that rather than elevating this wanna-be Hammer horror flick, Cage somehow lowers its quality.

As you'd expect in a movie called "Season of the Witch" -- except, of course, for "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" -- there's a witch. Unnamed but plug-ugly, the enchantress is hung for her ways in the year 1235. She apparently returns as a young girl a century later, just as wisecracking, best-bud Crusaders Behmen (Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) find a Plague-plagued village.

The local priest blames the girl for bringing the Black Death to their town, so Behmen and Felson, deserters from the church's army, take the job of getting her to a monastery. There, an ancient tome known only to a handful of monks can de-witchify her and save humanity from bulbous-faced destruction and a bad, hacking cough.

There are fellow travelers, including a merchant-turned-guide and a sneaky priest, but they're really just bodies to sacrifice to the winged devil that is the story's big prize. Director Dominic Sena ("Gone in Sixty Seconds" -- which is sadly a movie title, not the running time here) makes sure the path to that monastery is filled with howls and fog and inane episodic distractions.

At least "Witch" offers Perlman's easy, early-hominid charm, and a semi-suspenseful rickety-bridge scene.

The real cliff-hanger, though, remains Cage's career. How much indignity can it take? Surely he can find "Matchstick Men"-like scripts with more trickery than this, or "Adaptation"-ish roles that require comic edge. You don't need an eye of newt and toe of frog to see that the paycheck roles aren't paying off the way they should. (Next up: February's "Drive Angry.")

That is, unless filling a filmography with this kind of hell-broth is the ultimate goal.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2011/01/07/2011-01-07_season_of_the_witch_review_nicolas_cage_conjures_up_another_undignified_performa.html#ixzz1ALMBl0V8