The Daily Buzz For Sept 11

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Taraji P. Henson Poses As Cover Girl For EBONY Magazine

Taraji P. Henson rocks the cover of EBONY magazine. Dressed in a sexy beaded number, the Oscar-nominated actress poses for the October 2014 issue.

As she gears up for her latest movie, No Good Deed, to hit theaters on Friday (Sept. 12th) she shares 25 truths with the mag, that make her Taraji. The list includes – what body part she’ll have to fix in five years, her No. 1 guilty pleasure, and the last thing she used her celeb status to get. See what she reveals inside.

1. What body part will you have to fix in five years?

My stomach. I get it from my mom, who had to get a tummy tuck because she didn’t exercise. I try to work out at least five days a week. But if it reaches the point where I am not satisfied, I’m just going to be like, ‘Can you suck this out of me? Thanks!’

2. What’s your No. 1 guilty pleasure?

Watching ratchet, ratchet television—like any of the Real Housewives shows, especially when they were fighting and a girl got her weave snatched out—that is my guilty pleasure. Sometimes, I’ll just sit in front of the TV, screaming, ‘Ratchet, ratchet, ratchet! Where’s the ratchet TV?’

3. What’s the last thing you used your celeb status to get?

To get my fat ass into a restaurant. If someone tells me there’s a wait, I’ll walk right to the front of the line like, ‘I need a table now. I need to eat, and I want this. So let’s work this out.’

Grab a copy of EBONY’s October issue, on newsstands now, for more!

Lil Kim Releases ‘Hardcore 2K14′ Mixtape Cover

Well today is the release of Lil Kim’s Hardcore 2K14 mixtape, and The Queen Bee took to Twitter to unveil the cover.

Kim writes:DROPPING 9/11 at 9:11pm!!!!

Are you excited? What do you think about the artwork? Go download it NOW!

‘Scandal’ Season Four Teaser — Where On Earth Is Olivia Pope?

Scandal season 3 ended with Olivia Pope running off into the sunset with Jake Ballard, but where exactly  did they go?

It looks like the first episode of season four will answer just that!

In the newly released teaser, we see what looks like Ms. Pope  lounging by the oceanside as President Grant calls her vacant apartment.

Could it be that Olivia has finally moved on and the Gladiators are truly without their leader?

ABC has released the synopsis for the first episode of the new season:

“Nearly two months after Olivia and Jake boarded a private jet to stand in the sun together, everything has changed. With another four years in the White House, Fitz and Cyrus are doing everything they can to make a positive impact on the nation. Meanwhile, Mellie struggles to cope with the loss of her son and the gladiators feel the impact of Olivia’s absence.”

We’ll have to wait until September 25th to find out what’s really going on, but until then check out the teaser here: 

Sept 25^th can’t get here soon enough!!!

Rosie O’Donnell Returns to The View Healthier and Happier

In just a week’s time we will see the return of Rosie O’Donnell to The View on ABC as a regular co-host. The last time the Emmy winner was on The View it did not end very well, but O’Donnell tells Variety that she returns “happier and healthier” to the daytime talk show.

Variety Reports:

The last person who thought Rosie O’Donnell would ever return to “The View” was Rosie O’Donnell. In the spring of 2007, the talk show host opted not to renew her contract with the gabfest created by Barbara Walters, even though her controversial opinions gave the program a ratings boost. Then, shortly before her departure, she got caught in a spectacular fight on live TV with conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck that started over the Iraq War, but quickly turned personal — and went viral.

“The day it happened, I was definitely crying,” O’Donnell recalls. “I got my stuff and walked out.” She phoned her longtime publicist, Cindi Berger, telling her: “‘I’m never going back. You have to call and tell them. Call the lawyer. No matter what they say, I will not go back.”

But this is daytime TV after all. And in a plot twist worthy of “All My Children,” Rosie is headed back to “The View.” The colorful and outspoken comedian will board the Hot Topics table for the show’s 18th season premiere Sept. 15. It’s a big gamble, which O’Donnell herself acknowledges — she signed only a one-year (albeit multimillion-dollar) contract so she can bail if the show devolves into another train wreck. If it works, she’ll be daytime’s new comeback kid at 52.

“I think it’s going to be must-see TV,” O’Donnell says over a plate of cookies at Sarabeth’s on a New York afternoon. “My goal is to come in peace. And the contrast between what the show will be and what it was is going to be glaring.”

ABC executives are banking on O’Donnell to help reinvigorate “The View,” which over the summer sometimes fell in the ratings even behind CBS’ “The Talk.” Walters retired in May at 84 — “I didn’t think Barbara would ever leave it,” O’Donnell admits. ABC management decided to clean house and drop co-hosts Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy, as well as executive producer Bill Geddie. O’Donnell will join Whoopi Goldberg, who took over as moderator in 2007, and new co-hosts Rosie Perez and Republican strategist Nicolle Wallace, announced last week after a lengthy vetting process that featured more candidates than a U.S. presidential primary.

O’Donnell has always been a whirlwind of ideas, and she shared her vision for the new “View.” She wants the show to be smarter. “No one is going to think the Earth is flat,” she says, referring to an infamous flub Shepherd made when she started. “When I was at home watching that, I thought I was going to have an aneurysm.” She also wants the segments to rely less on star power. “The necessity for celebrity in daytime TV has diminished as access to celebrity has increased 100-fold,” O’Donnell says, noting that viewers are less interested in famous people now that the Internet lets them interact with their idols directly. “When I was a kid,” she says, “and Barbra Streisand was on TV, I would stay home from school.”

She explains that the Hot Topics will include pre-taped newsy intros to catch viewers up on stories they might not be as familiar with. “In talk shows like ‘The View’ or ‘The Talk,’ sometimes the argument is over what the givens are,” O’Donnell says. “We’d like to first present an objective view of the situation.”

O’Donnell has actually undergone a dramatic metamorphosis since the last time she was on daytime, and offers a long list of all the ways her life has changed. “First of all, I was going through a divorce,” she says. “That was a very emotionally and tumultuous time in my life.” O’Donnell says she wasn’t just afraid of how her kids would take the news, she also felt like she’d let the gay community down, as someone who had a 2004 wedding ceremony in San Francisco. “Now I’m quite happily married,” she says.

But shortly after exchanging vows in 2012 with Michelle Rounds, O’Donnell suffered a heart attack. Doctors inserted a stent, and saved her life. “When you have a heart attack and almost die, it kind of puts things in perspective instantly, and it did for me,” she says. A year later, she decided to have vertical gastric sleeve surgery, and lost 55 pounds. “I was 230 pounds,” O’Donnell says. “I was morbidly obese.” She can now fit into a size medium T-shirt.

Her family lives in Saddle River, N.J., where O’Donnell, who wears an “M” tattooed on her ring finger in honor of her wife’s first initial, wakes up every morning and hangs out with her five kids. She watches “Frozen” on an endless loop with 19-month-old Dakota, whom she and Rounds adopted a few months after they were married.

She might look different, but she still sounds like the same old Rosie — the BFF who loves to overshare. She tells a story about how she was feeling down one day, so she went to 7-Eleven to stock up on bubble gum and chocolate-covered pretzels. But sweets no longer interest her. “I never knew what the feeling of full was,” O’Donnell says. “I never knew what the feeling of hungry was either. If it was there, I’d eat it.”

Even though she’s skinnier now, O’Donnell still doesn’t sense it. “I feel as if I’m big as I was then,” she says, adding that she thinks she suffers from body dysmorphic disorder. She recently went to an Eileen Fisher store to buy clothes, and the saleswoman scolded her when she tried to stock up on XL-sizes. “It’s a very hard thing to wrap your head around the newness of a body you’ve ignored for many years,” she says.

The new panel of co-hosts will all meet for the first time this week, just five days before their first live show. “To me, it’s shockingly late in the game,” O’Donnell says. She’s excited to get started on a range of topics, from the threat of Isis to slain journalist James Foley to the death of Robin Williams, who was a friend. Her goal is to enjoy the “View” this time around. If she does, she’d be open to staying for more than one season.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect me the way that it did before,” she says. “But who knows? Let’s see how controversial it becomes.”

The View Returns To ABC on September 15th with Whoopi Goldberg returning alongside Rosie O’Donnell, and joining newcomers Rosie Perez and Nicole Wallace.

President Obama WEIGHS In On Domestic Violence

And from the highest office in the land, White House spokesman Josh Earnest released a short statement from the POTUS:

'The President is the father of two daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society. Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that's true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors.  Stopping domestic violence is something that's bigger than football – and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it.'

Zac Efron: Roughed Up on the Set of “We Are Your Friends”

He’s willing to do anything for his art, and Zac Efron suffered a scripted beat-down while filming “We Are Your Friends” in Studio City

The “Neighbors” stud, who recently split from Michelle Rodriguez, sported some cuts on his face and a disheveled appearance as he shot scenes at an outdoor location while fans and shutterbugs looked on.

Also starring Wes Bentley and Emily Ratajkowski, “We Are Your Friends” is scheduled to shoot through November before hitting theaters sometime in 2015.

Per the synopsis, the film “follows a young DJ as he works on what he hopes will be his first hit track.”

Simone Battle’s Financial Issues Might Have Been A Factor In Her Suicide!

It was discovered G.R.L. singer Simone Battle was struggling with financial issues before committing suicide.

Check out the details; Apparently, former X-Factor contestant Simone Battle was struggling with her finances before committing suicide. It was said that the G.R.L. member was depressed over money issues. Her family was shocked by this because Battle just completed an overseas tour with her group. Battle was frustrated that she had not hit it big in the U.S. yet and feared that she would never would.

Her boyfriend found her body in her closet last Friday morning. Battle’s death was ruled as a homicide. It is unclear if the money issues were the main and/or only reason in her suicide.

Ryan Seacrest Distinction Launches Exclusively At Macy’s

Move over now Kardashian girls, Ryan Seacrest is stepping into the fashion world.! Macy’s recently announced Ryan Seacrest Distinction, the new tailored men’s clothing collection by Emmy-winning host and producer Ryan Seacrest. The collection will be available exclusively at 150 Macy’s stores nationwide and on macys.com.

The sophisticated line includes suit separates, shirts, ties and accessories – all designed to mix and match through the innovative Style Made Smart™ color matching system, which allows customers to coordinate various shirts, ties, and jackets with ease. 

The collection fuses enduring traditional menswear designs with a contemporary, optimistic attitude. Masculine signatures, geometric shapes, proportion, texture, pattern, and color, are combined in unexpected ways – timelessness made modern.

The line will be available in the following stores in the Southeast and South Central regions:

· Cherry Creek Sc – Colorado

· Cielo Vista – South Houston

· Galleria Houston (Tx) – Houston/Louisiana

· La Plaza – San Antonio/Austin

· North Star (Tx) – San Antonio/Austin

· Barton Creek Square – San Antonio/Austin

· Willowbrook – South Houston

· Woodlands – South Houston

· Lenox Square (Ga) – Atl. East/Nashville

· Perimeter Mall (Ga) – Atl. East/Nashville

· North Point – Atl. East/Nashville

· Town Center – Atl. East/Nashville

· Cumberland – Atl. East/Nashville

· Boca Raton Town Center – Ft. Lauderdale/Pb

· Broward Mall – Ft. Lauderdale/Pb

· The Gardens (Fl) – Ft. Lauderdale/Pb

· Galleria (Ft. Lauderdale) – Ft. Lauderdale/Pb

· Wellington Green – Ft. Lauderdale/Pb

· Aventura – Miami South

· Dadeland – Miami South

· Green Hills – Atl. East/Nashville

· Orlando Millennia (Fl) – Northern Florida

· Florida Mall – Northern Florida

· West Shore Plaza – Western Florida

Fellas you like or NAH?

Michael Strahan & Carmelo Anthony PLAY BALL With "ADWEEK"

Adweek paired "Live With Kelly & Michael" star Michael Strahan with New York Knicks player Carmelo Anthony for an intimate Q&A inside the annual Men's Issue. During their chat, Michael, who was recently inducted into the NFL Hall Of Fame quizzed Carmelo on a range of topics like how many pairs of shoes Carmelo owns (over a 1,000), life on reality TV, his recent weight loss, the hardest part of fatherhood and what stereotypes irk them the most. Here are the highlights:

On how many shoes Carmelo owns

C: I stopped counting after like … a thousand....I’m a real sneaker

head, though. You know that as athletes we get free sneakers and free stuff ... I can take my storage and start my own sneaker store, like Melo’s Foot Locker.

On being on reality TV with his wife

C: I had to get used to it. I had to set some standards. You know, we’ve been

together going on 11 years now...she gets the fact that I really don’t like being in front of the camera [on a reality show]. I’ll support it, but I’d rather that be her thing.

On stereotypes

C: I hate to hear that: “Oh, he’s just an athlete. He should just be focusing on playing basketball.” And for me, you know, I try to do a lot of different stuff, from fashion to tech to art, just trying to broaden my brand. But basketball is my foundation. Let’s not get that misconstrued. I kind of use that as a launching pad for everything else.

M: That’s when I first started doing Live! “Oh, what’s the football player doing on there with Kelly Ripa?” It made me mad. And even as a player it upset me when people go, “Oh yeah, you’re that football player.” Because you want to define yourself outside of what you do.

On Carmelo's weight loss

C: You know, I dabble with my diet here and there. But since last summer when I started training for last season, I haven’t taken any time off after the season. I took maybe a week or two weeks off. So that training from last summer continues right now. So this is not just a transformation from the past two months. This is the transformation over the past year.

Hardest part of fatherhood

C: Knowing that my past and the way I grew up made me who I am today and knowing that he would never, ever, ever experience that. You know, so sometimes I find myself, like, “You’ve got to be tougher” ... For me, it’s just a matter of waking up every morning and knowing that I got a chance to impress my son, to be a role model to my son...He’s at that age now where he’s taking what I’m doing and kind of incorporating it into his life in some way, shape or form.

On whether LeBron's return to Cleveland affected Carmelo's decision to re-sign:

C: Honestly, I think it was the other way around. I think he saw when I came back home to New York and saw the response and saw the reaction and saw how at peace I was when I came back home...I’m pretty sure he looked at that moment and saw that that was a very special moment, and he had the opportunity to go back home himself and regain that love.

Read the full article here.

Ashlee Simpson & Evan Ross: Wedded Bliss in Bali

Taking it easy on their honeymoon holiday, Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross worked on their suntans in the Bali, Indonesia sun

Still basking in their newlywed glow, the “Pieces of Me” singer and her new husband were carefree and relaxed as they snapped photos and chatted all afternoon.

Following the lovely wedding, Evan’s mom Diana Ross released a statement of gratitude and excitement- “We had a beautiful rainbow surrounding us, loving family and friends, great music, great speeches from caring friends, and joyful children dancing the night away.”“I thank everyone who supported us on the spectacular day and our neighbors who were kind enough to let us have fun. We had great friends that travelled from Norway, London, Switzerland, and from all over the world. Wishing Evan and Ashlee congratulations. I want only love, happiness, and joy for my son and his bride.”

Serena Williams Makes NYFW Runway DEBUT With Her HSN Signature Statement Collection

Tennis superstar Serena Williams is having one awesome week!

After nabbing her third consecutive U.S. Open title (marking her 18th Grand Slam title) on Sunday, Serena hit Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week today to premiere her very first runway show. The tennis champ’s HSN clothing line, Serena Williams Signature Statement Collection, debuted at STYLE360 Fashion Pavilion in NYC.

And look who checked out Serena’s newest fashions from the front row... VOGUE's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Nice!

The tennis legend revealed to the Associated Press that her collection is a mix of casual and dress apparel and she was inspired by couture shows like Dior, but with a more toned down vibe

Comedian/actor Marlon Wayans (above) came out to support the launch of her new line with the caption,

After the show, she posed it up with fashion model/designer Guillaume Poupart. And we hear her good friend/tennis star Caroline Wozniacki (whom she defeated on Sunday) was also in attendance.

Loves it!

Celebs FLOCK To Several Fashion Events In NYC

OKC baller/fashion maverick and newly engaged Russell Westbrook came out for the Nolcha Spring 2015 Collection at Eyebeam on 21st Street. Nolcha Fashion Week provides runway shows for independent fashion designers to showcase their hottest designs and styles.

The “Westbrook Frames” eyewear designer caught the latest designer digs front row alongside ET correspondent Rocsi Diaz.

Elsewhere....

 “Walk It Out” singer Jennifer Hudson attended InStyle's 20th Anniversary celebration at the Diamond Horseshoe inside the Paramount Hotel. JHud will take the stage tonight at the Fashion Rocks event alongside Nicki Minaj, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull and Rita Ora.

Before making her Broadway debut tonight as the first black Cinderella, BET host Keke Palmer hit the carpet in a cute look. She strutted her stuff in an Etre Cécile top, a blue Mantu skirt, Oscar Tiye pumps and JLani jewels.

Actress Garcelle Beauvais looked gorge in a pine green mermaid style number.

And Swiss-born actress Kat Graham made a statement in a gradient fringed frock.

Also in NYC....

Miami Heat center Chris Bosh launched his posh neck and bow tie line, Mr. Nice Tie at Carson Street Clothiers, sponsored by Hennessy V.S.

His wife Adrienne Bosh was sure to be on hand to support her husband's newest endeavor.

Adrienne posed it up with celebrity stylist Kesha McLeod and former “Basketball Wives” star Jennifer Williams.

"Wild 'N Out" host Nick Cannon came out to support his homie.

And Lakers guard Nick Young hung out with Bosh during his big night.

Nice!

EBOLA: Sierra Leone to go on 3-day nationwide lock down

President Ernest Bai Koroma plans strict measures to battle the Ebola outbreak in his country. Photo: NY times

The West African country of Sierra Leone will embark on a three-day nationwide lock-down with the aim of battling the Ebola outbreak in the country.

According reports, citizens won’t be allowed to leave their residence with the exercise to start on Friday, September 19, 2014.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Communication, Alhaji Alpha Kanu has also confirmed the news

‘We believe this the best way for now to identify those who are sick and remove them from those who are well.’

Sierra Leone has the highest number of Ebola cases – 525 – which surpasses that of neighbouring Guinea where the virus was first reported in February this year.

The Ebola virus is a human disease which typically starts manifesting two days to three weeks after being infected, with a fever, throat and muscle pains, and headache to follow with worse symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting of blood.

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES

‘High Fashion’

Listen bud, a good rule of thumb for male clothing is if it could also be a print that you would find in a little girl’s bedroom, then it’s not for you.

HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!

EFREM