My Tweety

Opera stars, fearing radiation, skip tour of Japan - Yahoo! News

TOKYO – Two of the biggest stars of New York's Metropolitan Opera have bowed out of a Japan tour, citing fears of radioactive contamination and sending the company scrambling to find last-minute stand-ins.

Soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Joseph Calleja announced just days before the opening show that they would not join the tour of Nagoya and Tokyo despite experts' assurances they would be safe, forcing the Met to "scour the world" for replacements, general manager Peter Gelb said Tuesday.

"Part of what makes opera such an exciting art form is that it is so unpredictable," Gelb said. "If there were a rationality clause in opera singers' contracts, not many opera singers would perform."

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Jewel ready to be a first-time, multi-tasking mom - Yahoo! News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jewel is gearing up for motherhood, and she's already learned to multi-task.

At age 37, the singer-songwriter expecting her first child — a boy — in July. She's hosting and judging the new Bravo TV show, "Platinum Hit," which premieres Monday, and she's releasing a new children's album in the fall.

Jewel married world champion bull rider Ty Murray in August 2008 after dating for about 10 years. The couple initially said they wanted to start a family right away, but ended up waiting a while.

"We were both real careful and kind of cautious about it. I think it sort of scared both of us," Jewel told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

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Hollywood stars at center of Broadway backlash - Yahoo! News

NEW YORK (Back Stage) – Every year, Hollywood celebrities head to Broadway where they get plenty of attention for their headlining efforts.

The Tony Awards, being presented on June 12, are the ultimate judge of the skills of any stage actor, famous or not, and many lesser-known performers worry that the value of the award diminishes as film stars continue to take them home.

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Michael Mann in talks for film about '67 Le Mans - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Michael Mann is in talks with 20th Century Fox to develop and potentially direct "Go Like Hell," the real-life story of the famous competition between the Ford Motor Co. and Ferrari that led to Ford winning the Le Mans in 1967.

Ford was the first American car maker to win the world's oldest car race, held annually in France. For years, Ferrari had dominated the contest.

Based on A.J. Baime's book, the Fox project recounts how a young Henry Ford II -- determined to infuse new life into his family's company -- decided to get into the European racing scene.

With the help of racer Carroll Shelby and Lee Iacocca, Ford built and designed a car that could take on Ferrari cars, known for their speed and style. They ultimately won the Le Mans.

Insiders say the initial idea was for Mann to develop the script.

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Abdul, Cowell getting along on 'X Factor,' for now - Yahoo! News

SINGAPORE – Paula Abdul said Friday her reunion with Simon Cowell on his new talent show is going great, for now.

"We're still in the honeymoon phase, which will probably only last another minute," the 48-year-old Abdul told reporters in Singapore. "Simon and I ended up having a wonderful, exquisite, challenging and frightening relationship."

The two famously bickering former "American Idol" judges will be joining forces again to assess would-be singing stars on Fox's "The X Factor," which taped its first judging session earlier this month and will debut this fall in the U.S.

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Lisa Kudrow to host 15th annual Webby Awards - Yahoo! News

NEW YORK – Lisa Kudrow will host the 15th annual Webby Awards.

Kudrow will oversee the June 13 ceremony at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. One of her duties is to ensure that award winners stick to Webby protocol by limiting their acceptance speeches to just five words.

Kudrow is also a winner herself. Recipients were earlier announced by the Webbys, which honor Internet achievement.

She won the Webby for best individual performance in an online video for her performance in her series "Web Therapy." The show also won the award for best long-form comedy for the second year in a row.

Kudrow, whose credits include "Friends" and "The Comeback," is prepping "Web Therapy" for a TV adaptation, to debut on Showtime in July.

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Online:

http://www.webbyawards.com/

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Housekeeper's estranged husband speaks out - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES – The estranged husband of the woman identified by some media as the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger's out-of-wedlock son says he feels betrayed by the former governor.

In an interview broadcast Tuesday on "Entertainment Tonight," Rogelio Baena said he learned last week he was not the boy's biological father. He says he will always regard the boy as his own.

"The Insider" also broadcast video Tuesday of Maria Shriver praising Mildred Baena at a 2001 celebration for one of Baena's relatives.

Shriver said she was proud of Baena for being a single, hard-working mother. Schwarzenegger can be heard echoing her praise, saying the housekeeper did "an incredible job."

Mildred Baena has been identified as the mother of Schwarzenegger's child by The New York Times and other media. The Associated Press has not independently verified she is the mother.

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"Idol" creator Simon Fuller gets Hollywood star - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Simon Fuller, the British creator of hit TV show "American Idol," received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday surrounded by some of the real-life stars he has helped to create.

"Whenever I see that star, I won't see my name, I'll see all names of the people I've worked (with) and all those amazing artists and people that have helped me achieve this stuff," Fuller said as his star was unveiled.

Over a 25-year career, Fuller has managed singers Annie Lennox, The Spice Girls and Amy Winehouse, English soccer player David Beckham, tennis player Andy Murray, racing driver Lewis Hamilton and a trio of "American Idol" champions, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and David Cook.

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India Mahindra Satyam posts Q4 loss on charge - Yahoo! News

HYDERABAD (Reuters) – Indian software services exporter Mahindra Satyam (SATY.NS) posted on Monday a net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, hurt by a one-time expense due to settlement of a U.S. shareholder lawsuit, sending its shares down as much as 6 percent.

Satyam stunned investors in 2009 when its former chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju revealed that the company fraudulently inflated revenue, income and cash balances by more than $1 billion over five years.

The revelation caused the company's shares to plummet. Satyam agreed in February to pay $125 million to settle the U.S. shareholder litigation over that decline.

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"The Office" is Tuesday's highest rated scripted series - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The one-hour season finale of "The Office" on U.S. network NBC was the top-rated scripted program of the night jumping 12 percent compared to last year's finale and out-rating finales on CBS, ABC and Fox.

"The Office" averaged a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 7.0 million viewers to win the 9 p.m. hour against ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (3.4, 9.5 million), which plummeted 37 percent compared to last year's finale, and Fox's "Bones" (3.2, 10.0 million), which was up 14 percent for its highest-rated finale in three years.

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