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Three Atlanta DJs were fired after making fun of the ex NFL player on their radio show.
Published: June 18, 2013 at 10:11 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

Nick Cellini, Chris Dimino and Steak Shapiro were fired from their jobs hosting 790 The Zone radio in Atlanta, after a segment mocking ex New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease. During the bit, the hosts made fun of the way Gleason speaks using an electronic voice synthesizer. "Smother me, do me a favor," they said at one point.

All three hosts later apologized. "I love the people and city of New Orleans, always have, always will, @team_gleason I will work tirelessly to make this up to you," Shapiro tweeted.

"When and if I do work in radio again, I'm going to donate my first month's salary to Team Gleason and the fight against ALS," Cellini told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "I know that feelings are very raw, and I've very, very contrite.

Gleason, who announced that he had the debilitating disease in 2011, accepted the apologies in a post to the Facebook page of his organization, Team Gleason.

Here's is Gleason's statement in full:

Regarding the DJ skit in Atlanta yesterday. I would like to thank the public for their support. 'Defend Team Gleason' now has been officially redefined. Additionally, the DJs have provided genuine apology. Received and accepted. We have all made mistakes in this life. How we learn from our mistakes is the measure of who we are.

I think everyone can learn from this event. Its clear to me that, on a national & global scale, ALS is not understood, which is part of why its under funded and largely ignored. In the past 36 hours lots of people have been talking. Lets talk about this... There are zero treatments for ALS. If you take any action as a result of this event, I prefer it to be action to end ALS. See what we are doing to change that @ teamgleason.org. SG

You can listen to audio of the skit below:

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John Mayer might have given Taylor Swift a taste of her own medicine.
 
Published: June 18, 2013 at 9:43 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

Various interpretations of John Mayer's new single speculate that the 35-year-old singer-songwriter has finally penned a musical response to Taylor Swift's "Dear John."

On the 2010 track, widely rumored to be about her fling with Mayer, Swift sang "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?" At the time of their rumored relationship, Swift was about 20 years old.

Mayer doesn't make any direct references to his ex-flame, but he has written lyrics that could be interpreted as digs at Swift's lyrics and song titles.

"You're like 22 girls in one/ And none of them know what they're running from/ Was it just too far to fall for a little paper doll?" Mayer sings in the chorus. According to US Weekly, the "22 girls" line could refer to Swift's single, "22." In "Dear John," she previously sang, "I'll look back and regret how I ignored when they said run as fast as you can."

According to USA Today, Mayer's line, "Someone's gonna paint you another sky," could recall Swift's lyric, "You paint me a blue sky and go back and turn it to rain."

MTV points out that in "Dear John," Swift called her self "the girl in the dress."

""Here's a dress of gold and blue/Sure was fun being good to you," Mayer sings in "Paper Doll."

Mayer told Rolling Stone last year that Swift's song had "humiliated" him, though Swift later called her ex "presumptuous" for assuming the song was about him.

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Here's a little example of inter-species cooperation to brighten up your day.
Published: June 18, 2013 at 9:29 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

Two men walking along a dirt road in Russia spotted a wild fox walking with a jar on its head in a new video that's making the rounds on the blogosphere. Defying the notion that foxes are shy of humans, the animal walked right up to the men, presumably to ask for help.

After one man wrestled the jar off the fox's neck, it immediately ran back into the forest.

The Huffington Post managed to translate dialogue from one of the Russian men, who joked, "Where's my thank you," when the fox rushed away.

[Via Geekosystem]

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A member of TLC's famously fertile Duggar clan is heading to Washington, D.C.
Published: June 18, 2013 at 8:53 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

Josh Duggar, the eldest of Michelle and Jim Bob's 19 children, is following in the footsteps of his politically conscious father, who once served in the Arkansas House of Representatives but failed to win the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Th 25-year-old reality star, who now has a wife and three children of his own, will serve as the executive director of the Family Research Council's conservative lobbying PAC, according to an announcement made on the radio show of the organization's president, Tony Perkins.

“It will be a culture shock coming from northwest Arkansas, but he’s a sharp kid,” Perkins told the Washington Post. “He’s going to fit in well, I think.”

According to Perkins, the FRC chose Duggar in the hopes of capitalizing on his ability to appeal to young evangelicals and homeschoolers.

"I'm very excited about joining FRC Action and working to promote the values that have always been close to my heart and my family," Duggar said in a statement. "In this capacity, I will be engaging the grassroots and taking the message of faith, family and freedom all across America."

Josh addressed his new job in a tweet on Monday.

"Excited to announce I'll be joining @FRCAction as Executive Director in Washington, DC! So grateful for this opportunity to serve!" he said.

Both the Duggar family and the FRC are conservative and anti-abortion. GLAAD, a gay rights organization, criticized the hiring announcement -- noting that the FRC had been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center -- in a blog post on Monday.

"If Josh Duggar wants to make a living dehumanizing and denigrating LGBT people and their families, that's his business, but FRC's lies and stereotypes need to be treated as such," said GLAAD rep Wilson Cruz. "Josh's new boss Tony Perkins has actually accused LGBT equality advocates of being pawns of the devil. Fans of his family's reality show ought to know that."

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A special "Sesame Street" initiative is talking to kids about incarceration.
Published: June 18, 2013 at 8:32 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

"Sesame Street" has spent nearly 45 years helping children address difficult subjects -- from divorce to hunger. The show's latest target is incarceration, and it hopes to help the 2.7 million American children who have a parent in jail.

Meet Alex, a blue-haired muppet who father is in prison. Alex is the star of a special "Sesame Street" series called "Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration," which comes with an online toolkit for children with incarcerated parents.

“Sesame Workshop has always been at the forefront of creating resources for families with young children to help address some of life’s most difficult issues,” Sesame Workshop's Senior Vice President, Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, said in a press release.

“'Little Children, Big Challenge: Incarceration' tackles a very difficult topic, one for which there are scant resources to help young children, and best of all, it approaches these difficult transitions in the way that only Sesame Street and our trusted Muppets can.”

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Nabisco releases watermelon flavored Oreos for summer.
via OREO
Published: June 18, 2013 at 8:28 PM

Ditch the watermelon slices and head to the cookie aisle for some pink-and-green colored Oreos this summer.

Oreos have been around for 101 years and have made many transformations, according to TIME. There's variations of the classic cookie -- the dulce de leche Oreo, Triple Double Oreo, the birthday cake Oreo -- and who could forget the Uh-Oh Oreo (vanilla cookies with chocolate icing)? And now to add to the list, the Watermelon Oreo.

Oreo spokesperson Kimberly Fontes told TIME, “We chose Watermelon because it is a fun, summer flavor that goes great with the Golden OREO cookie.”

The cookies hit Target shelves last week, and are only available while supplies last.

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The Olympic diving champion and his paralegal boyfriend are officially engaged.
Greg Louganis/Twitter.
Published: June 18, 2013 at 8:02 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

Greg Louganis and his partner, Johnny Chaillot announced their engagement via People on Monday, telling the magazine that they would be getting married this fall.

"I finally met my soul mate," the 53-year-old Olympian said of his paralegal boyfriend. "The more I fall in love with Johnny, the more I fall in love with myself. This is what the universe had in store for both of us."

Louganis competed for the United States in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, medaling five times. In 1988, he famously suffered a concussion during the preliminary rounds, but still managed to win the gold medal.

"Yes! It is official we are getting married! I love my life and I love Johnny Chaillot!" Louganis tweeted on Monday.

In a March interview with the Backlot, Louganis said he was surprised by his attraction to Chaillot.

It's so funny, generally I usually went for opposites. You know, blonde hair blue-eyed and Johnny, when we first got together it was like, 'We look like brothers.' He has the same skin. The same skin tone, everything. I was like, 'This feels really narcissistic.'

Louganis recently served as coach for the ABC celebrity diving show, "Splash."

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Pro soccer player David Beckham has been asked to try out as kicker for the NFL.
David Beckham takes a shot as Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall defends as the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1in the MLS Cup at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. UPI/Jonathan Alcorn 
License photo
Published: June 18, 2013 at 7:58 PM

David Beckham not only attracts the ladies, but apparently pro-football scouts as well.

According to reports, Beckham was approached late last year by an unnamed scout to join the National Football League as a kicker while still a member of Major League Soccer playing with the LA Galaxy. Not a surprising offer considering the NBC Sports' quote from the U.K.'s Daily Mirror saying that Becks does have a "skill at bending in long range free kicks can be perfectly adapted to scoring field goals in the NFL.” And he can kick straight for 40 yards, a basic requirement for NFL kickers.

The New York Daily News also points out that we have seen Beckham running drills with Reggie Bush, a running back for the New Orleans Saints in a 2007 Adidas commercial.

However, back in 2012, Beckham turned down the chance to play for the NFL and signed his golden right foot with Paris Saint-Germain of France instead. The player is now retired, but the NFL offer is reportedly still on the table.

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Ivanka Trump doesn't want her children to be spoiled, despite their privileged upbringing.
UPI /Monika Graff. 
License photo
Published: June 18, 2013 at 7:25 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

In a new interview with US Weekly, Ivanka Trump said she thinks that she'll become a strict mom as her 23-month-old daughter, Arabella, gets older. In one particular area, the 31-year-old entrepreneur warned, she'll be especially vigilant.

"The one thing I won't tolerate is her being spoiled or bratty or having poor manners. That's one area [in which] I'll be very strict," Trump, who's worth an estimated $150 million, told the magazine. Trump's father, Donald, is worth $3.2 billion.

Trump is expecting her second child in the fall, and wants Arabella to learn to share in the meantime.

"She's really good at telling me I have to share with her. She's less good about actually sharing back," Trump joked.

According to Trump's Twitter feed, little Arabella is already learning to give orders.

"Just arrived in Rome. Arabella overheard someone say "pronto" & has been saying it repeatedly (accompanied by a grand hand gesture) since!" Trump tweeted earlier this month.

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Natura Pet Products has recalled certain brands of dry pet food and biscuit products after a single test came back positive for Salmonella.
UPI/Hugo Philpott 
License photo
Published: June 18, 2013 at 7:07 PM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

After a single production facility tested positive for Salmonella during an FDA inspection, Natura Pet Products has announced a voluntary recall of several of its brands for both cats and dogs, CBS Chicago reported Tuesday.

"We have some sad news to share," Natura said in a press release.

We are announcing today a voluntary recall of all Innova, California Natural, EVO, Healthwise, Mother Nature and Karma branded dry pet food and biscuit/bar/treat products with expiration dates prior to June 10, 2014.

The pet food company said that while only a single test came back positive for Salmonella for a specific day, it would take extra measures to ensure the safety of its products.

"We are truly sorry," the company added. "We know this news disappoints you; we are disappointed too."

The FDA listed the affected brands in a separate press release.

According to the agency, both humans and pets are at risk for Salmonella contamination. Salmonella symptoms in humans include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. Symptoms for pets include lethargy, diarrhea, fever and vomiting.

For more information visit the FDA's website.

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