• Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo Is Dead at 82

    Legendary New York political figure Mario Cuomo died Thursday, Jan. 1, of heart failure. Cuomo served three terms as the governor of New York and died not long after his son, Andrew Cuomo, was sworn in for a second term as governor. According to a statement released by his family, Cuomo died surrounded by family.The "New York Post" was one of the first outlets to announce the sad news, saying:"Cuomo, who had been ill for months, was 82, and his death came just hours after his son, Andrew, was inaugurated for a second term in his father's old job. Daughter Madeline Cuomo said her dad died in his Manhattan home at 5:15 p.m., and noted that those were 'his lucky numbers.'"I think he waited until after Andrew's swearing-in," she added."He had been receiving hospice care in his Sutton Place apartment, and the cause appeared related to recent heart troubles, sources said."Cuomo, during his heyday, was popular for his eloquence and ability to use his humble beginnings as a way to connect with people and then drive home his points in order to facilitate change. He was also dubbed the "Hamlet on the Hudson" because of his internal struggle over whether or not to run for president in the 1988 and '92 races. He backed out at the last minute in 1991, paving the way for a fairly unknown candidate named Bill Clinton to sneak in and grab the Democratic nomination.

  • Casey Kasem Has Finally Been Buried in Norway Six Months After His Death

    The only thing sadder than the fact that it took six months for Casey Kasem to be buried is the fact that it happened last Tuesday, Dec. 16, in Norway and his kids had no idea about it until today. The radio icon died in June and in the months that followed his wife Jean Kasem was locked in a battle with his grown children who believed he had been a victim of elder abuse. The LAPD had been actively investigating the circumstances surrounding Kasem's death and his burial pretty much puts a swift ending to any chance of charges being filed against Jean.According to a report by TMZ, Kasem was finally laid to rest last Tuesday in Vestre Gravlund, one of Norway's biggest cemeteries. Jean had claimed that she wanted her husband buried in Norway because of his heritage, but his children have suspected all along that she was withholding his remains so no tests could be done to further pinpoint what contributed to his death. They have firmly believed that bed sores led to the fatal infection that ultimately killed Kasem, but now there is really no chance of proving that even if it was the case.

  • MTV Drops New Trailer and Announces It Is Dedicating Upcoming Season of 'The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II' to Diem Brown and Ryan Knight

    The last several weeks have been pretty sad for the MTV family, as they have lost two members far too young. Diem Brown was as well-known for her struggles with cancer as she was for her fearlessness on several seasons of "The Challenge," and she was actually filming when she found out that cancer had spread to her colon. Brown put up a fight right to the end before finally dying in November. Just one short week later her cast mate, Ryan Knight, was found dead after a night of hard partying. MTV has decided to dedicate the upcoming season of "The Challenge: Battle of the Exes ll" to Brown and Knight, who make their final appearances in the series.The network has also dropped a new trailer for the upcoming season, which begins with CT Tambourello lifting Brown up off the couch and carrying her in his arms. Fans of Brown already know she collapsed not too long after filming for this series began and she was ultimately flown to New York, where she received the news that her cancer had spread. The rest of the clip looks like typical "Challenge" fare: lots of high-flying moments and the risky, daredevil moments that keep fans ultimately coming back for more.

  • More Than 130 School Children Murdered in Taliban Revenge Attack on Pakistani, Military-Run School

    The families of students attending the Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar, Pakistan, have been devastated by an attack on the facility earlier today, Dec. 16. Members of the Pakistani Taliban scaled the school's walls this morning and, once inside, their orders were to kill rather than take hostages. The hours-long battle left more than 130 dead so far, with the majority being children. Nine teachers at the school were also killed, some by being set on fire in front of their students. Sources say this suicide mission was carried out by at least seven militants and revenge was the motivation.The siege at the school and purposeful taking of innocent lives is said to be revenge for the killing of hundreds of innocent tribesmen and their children during a recent offensive by the Pakistani military. Two brazen attacks near Pakistan's largest airport in Karachi in June brought tentative peace talks to a screeching halt. Pakistan's military has since opted to shift its focus toward clearing out militants in tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan that do not have a strong government presence in place. Tens of thousands of people have reportedly been displaced, adding to the already existing strained tensions between the two.

  • Peaceful Protests Erupt All Over NYC After the Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner Chokehold Death Case

    Almost immediately after it was announced yesterday that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted for the chokehold death of Eric Garner in July on a Staten Island street, the backlash and disbelief began. If you tuned in to any of the news stations, then what you saw was inevitably heated debates between journalists and legal analysts over whether or not an indictment for any charge at all seemed like a no-brainer. Then last night, the peaceful protests began.Smaller groups in Harlem and Staten Island and at Grand Central Terminal were later followed by a march 5,000 people strong down Broadway through Times Square. Protesters are still rallying for some type of justice for Garner, who, just minutes before his death, broke up a fight between a few other people and then found himself surrounded by NYPD. A video of the entire altercation was caught on a cellphone and Garner's hands were clearly up as he backed away from officers who were determined to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes — a summary offense.Pantaleo wrestled Garner to the ground in what appeared to be a type of chokehold, something that has been banned by the NYPD. Even as Garner expressed his inability to breathe and another officer directed Pantaleo to release him, he continued the maneuver until Garner eventually died on that sidewalk. Ironically enough, after it was announced that the grand jury would not be charging Pantaleo with a single crime, he issued an apology to Garner's family, something his widow, Esaw Garner refused to accept.

  • Chris 'CT' Tamburello Proposed to Diem Brown Five Days Before Her Death

    Fans of MTV's "The Challenge" are likely familiar with Diem Brown and Chris "CT" Tamburello's love story. They first met and fell in love on the show in 2006 and spent the next several years making up only to break up. Friends of the couple have said that while their relationship was complicated, Brown and Tamburello had a lot of love for each other, even when they were off. On Nov. 14, Brown died due to complications caused by the cancer that had spread throughout her body, but in her final days Tamburello worked hard to make their status official.According to "Us Weekly," just five days before Brown's death Tamburello burst into her hospital room and filmed a proposal that included a ruby ring. Brown shot him down, joking that she hated rubies, and so the next day he returned with a different ring. Brown knew her days were numbered, and she was struggling to find an alternative treatment that might buy her a little more time. She reportedly did not want to be engaged under those circumstances, and she likely knew that in the end it might make it harder for Tamburello to move on after her death.

  • Chris 'CT' Tamburello Breaks His Silence, Posts Heart-Wrenching Message to Longtime Love Diem Brown

    Diem Brown was a rare kind of reality star. Sure, she was a hardcore competitor on several seasons of MTV's T"he Challenge," but she was even more fearless when it came to battling cancer on three different occasions. She used her time in the spotlight to help advocate for others's battling serious illnesses and started her own nonprofit called Medgift to help patients offset the steep cost of being seriously ill.Through it all, her boyfriend Chris "CT" Tamburello was there. While these two were not always together over the last eight years, they always reunited when it counted and Tamburello was with Brown right up until her death on Nov. 14. Her funeral was yesterday in New York City, and now that reality is starting to sink in, Tamburello finally broke his silence with a post on Instagram.

  • Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson Immediately Allowed to Return to Duty If Cleared in Michael Brown's Death Investigation

    A grand jury in St. Louis County has been hearing testimony for nearly three months now over a case that has grabbed headlines on a daily basis. The account of what happened between Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson and 18-year old Michael Brown on Aug. 9 differs depending on who you happen to be listening to but the case has incited, protests, riots and opened some serious dialog. Some witnesses have claimed that the unarmed Brown had his hands in the air when shot numerous times by Wilson. The officer insists that killing Brown was ultimately an act done in self defense, and the grand jury's final decision on whether or not to indict Wilson is expected any day now.

  • The Epicenter for Ebola Virus Has Moved to Liberian Community of Jene-Wonde in West Africa

    While the United States seems to have managed to prevent an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus — at least for now — people in West Africa are still suffering. A man traveled from a large Liberian city to the small community of Jene-Wonde in Grand Cape Mount County, bringing with him his sick daughter. Within days the man and his family had died, triggering one of the worst Ebola outbreaks so far. Jene-Wonde is near the border of Sierra Leone and is currently considered to be the epicenter of the deadly disease, according to the Associated Press.The community is extremely small with absolutely no established health care. That means that the leaders of the area have no idea how to handle the crisis. They realize that surrounding communities are afraid of them, so rather than initially inviting skilled teams in to help with the dead and sanitize the area, they instead tried to hide the outbreak by burying the dead in ways that ultimately helped spread the virus.Now as many as 10 percent of the community has been infected, and there is a realistic fear that if the Ebola virus is not contained, then everyone will succumb to it.

  • New Book Claims that John F. Kennedy Jr. Had an Affair with a Married Woman that Jackie Kennedy Hated: Madonna

    It is kind of hard to believe that it has been 15 years since John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane flew off course, resorting in a crash landing that killed himself, his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette. More often than not, when JFK Jr. is discussed it is in connection to his fiery marriage or his thriving career before his death. It is almost easy to forget about how popular and active he was before he settled into the role of being a responsible, married man. A new book, "The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved" by Christopher Andersen, is about to remind fans of the Kennedys what JFK Jr.'s earlier years were like, and it takes a close look at his relationship with Jackie Kennedy through the years. One semi-surprise Andersen reveals is JFK Jr.'s romance with Madonna and the lousy job the two did of keeping it under wraps while she was still married to Sean Penn. Jackie Kennedy was no fan of Madonna either, as she reminded her of Marilyn Monroe.

  • Veteran CNN, Fox News Anchor Terry Keenan Dead of Massive Cerebral Hemorrhage

    Terry Keenan's last assignment may be to remind everyone just how short life can be, as she died suddenly late last week from a cerebral hemorrhage. The 53-year-old veteran anchor is known for her work on CNN and Fox News and was most recently employed as a business columnist for the Sunday edition of the "New York Post."
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