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WBC Facebook hacked after threats to protest Boston Marathon explosion victim funerals.
Published: April 17, 2013 at 11:18 AM

The Facebook page of the Westboro Baptist Church has been hacked by online activist group Anonymous following WBC threats to protest Boston Marathon explosion victim funerals, DigitalSpy reports.

The Facebook page's content has been replaced with a series of images and videos that promote views contrary to what Westboro promotes. Posts include several pro-peace quotes and a meme with the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast that reads "Jesus Loves Everybody. You Should Have Expected Us." Scripture from the Koran and photos of kittens are also scattered throughout the page.

Before the hacking, Westboro Baptist Church had tweeted, "Thank God for the Boston Marathon Bombs!! Westboro Baptist Church to picket funeral of those killed. #PraiseGod."

This is not the first time Anonymous has interfered with WBC pages. They took over the group's website just after church members threatened to picket the funerals of Newtown shooting victims.

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Ohio budget bill aims to ban second base from discussion in sex-ed classes, prohibit distribution of contraception, and allow parents to sue schools for violations.
Demonstration of proper condom usage. (PD/U.S. Gov.)
Published: April 17, 2013 at 11:01 AM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

The Ohio House Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a budget that prohibits teachers from condoning “gateway sexual activity,” according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Although the state has already prohibited teachers from condoning sex before marriage, the new provision limits sex education teachers further. It prohibits teachers from discussing "gateway sexual activity," which is defined as any sort of sensual touching.

The budget bill goes on to prohibit distributing certain materials, conducting demonstrations with “sexual stimulation” devices, or distributing contraception. Teachers are allowed to provide information on contraceptives in general, but only if they emphasize that abstinence is the only way to prevent sexually transmitted disease.

If any students receive instruction condoning "any gateway sexual activity or health message that encourages students to experiment with sexual activity," the budget allows parents to sue schools for damages and a court may impose a civil fine of up to $5,000.

The panel also defeated Democratic attempts to restore a budget provision that funds Planned Parenthood. De-funding the controversial group is currently the primary legislative goal of Ohio Right to Life.

“This provision does nothing to provide more women with health care,” said Stephanie Kight, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, in a release. “Instead, it shifts family planning money away from specialists in reproductive health care to give it to other agencies," she said, referring to controversial pregnancy centers.

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Brewers hurler Yovani Gallardo apologized to fans after his DUI arrest early Tuesday morning.
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo delivers a pitch to the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on April 27, 2012. UPI/Bill Greenblatt 
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Published: April 17, 2013 at 10:59 AM
By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo apologized for his arrest for drunken driving, making a statement to the media at Miller Park Tuesday.

"Obviously, last night, I made a bad decision," he said. "You know, I made a mistake. I'm sure I've lost a lot of respect from a lot of fans, but I just want to apologize."

Gallardo was arrested early Tuesday morning after he was pulled over for driving slowly and weaving between lanes. Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin told ESPN Wisconsin that Gallardo failed a field sobriety test and blew a .22 on a blood-alcohol level test.

The 27-year-old pitcher will not face jail time, McLaughlin said, but faces fines of $300 for driving while intoxicated on a first offense, plus $300 for the level of intoxication and $178.80 for lane deviation.

After his statement Tuesday afternoon, Gallardo took no questions.

Gallardo's full statement:

"Obviously, last night, I made a bad decision. You know, I made a mistake. I'm sure I've lost a lot of respect from a lot of fans, but I just want to apologize. I apologize to the fans, to my teammates, my family. You know, like I said, it's just a bad call. It's something I shouldn't have done. I regret it. But at this point, you know, there's nothing I can do about it now. You know, it happened.

Like I said, I just want to apologize to the whole organization and all the people in Milwaukee for my actions. It's not very easy. It's one of those things -- I truly am sorry. I'm going to make sure something like this never happens again. Whatever circumstances, consequences, whatever I have to do so this won't happen again, I'm going to do it."

The Brewers also released a statement:

"We have been made aware of the situation with Yovani and we take this matter very seriously. We have expressed our disappointment to him and know he understands that behavior of this nature is of great concern to everyone in the organization. Yovani has acknowledged the seriousness of this incident and is taking full accountability for his actions."

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WarnerBros releases the third teaser trailer for "Man of Steel."
Henry Cavill in 'Man of Steel.'
Published: April 17, 2013 at 10:50 AM

WarnerBros Pictures released the third teaser trailer for their upcoming Superman movie, "Man of Steel."

The action-packed trailer features Russell Crowe as Superman's biological father Jor-El, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Henry Cavill as Clark Kent. "Man of Steel" is set to hit theaters on June 14th.

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A state report on lottery winners who receive financial assistance prompted action from Michigan lawmakers.
UPI File/Kevin Dietsch 
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Published: April 17, 2013 at 10:28 AM
By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

After Michigan's Department of Human Services released a report saying 3,544 state lottery winners received public assistance or lived with someone who did, some lawmakers called for more stringent welfare regulation, the Detroit News reported Tuesday.

DHS conducted the report in response to a new law requiring the agency to cross-reference names of people who won more than $1,000 in the lottery with those on the dole.

"This report by the DHS shows that too many of our state and federal assistance programs lack the correct amount of oversight to prevent fraud and abuse," Republican state Rep. Kenneth Kurtz said in a statement to MLive.com.

“State and federal assistance programs were made to help individuals in tough times get back on their feet and become self-sufficient again. Legislation passed last year was an important first step, but more must be done as DHS has said," Kurtz added.

Though DHS found 19 people with lottery winners of more than $100,000, 83 percent of lottery winners on welfare rolls won less than $5,000. Democratic state Rep. Fashida Tlaib accused the agency of being too harsh on people with small lottery winnings.

"I just think Director [Maura] Corrigan is more passionate about kicking people off the system than preventing fraud," Tlaib told the Detroit News.

Corrigan advocated for a law to "intercept" lottery winnings from those on welfare.

A similar proposal has been controversial in North Carolina, where Republican state Rep. Paul Stam called the lottery a "scam."

In January, he advocated for legislation prohibiting welfare recipients from playing the lottery at all.

"We're giving them welfare to help them live, and yet by selling them a ticket, we're taking away their money that is there to provide them the barest of necessities," Stam said.

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Fox has removed a "Family Guy" episode from streaming sites and said it has no plans to re-air it after a YouTube user spliced together scenes to "predict" the Boston Marathon bombing.
(Fox)
Published: April 17, 2013 at 9:45 AM
By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

Fox has pulled an episode of "Family Guy" after an edited video surfaced on YouTube that appeared to show a bombing at the Boston Marathon.

A Fox spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times the network had no plans to re-air the episode, titled "Turban Cowboy," and had pulled it from online streaming on Fox.com and Hulu. The episode originally aired March 17 as the 15th episode of the show's 11th season.

"Turban Cowboy" had scenes of an attempted bombing of a bridge in Quahog, the fictional Rhode Island town where the Griffin family lives in "Family Guy," and a flashback showing lead character Peter Griffin winning the Boston Marathon by mowing down all of his competitors in a car.

The two violent events were shown in different parts of the episode, but the YouTube clip edited them together to suggest the episode predicted or inspired the bombings.

After conservative talk show host Alex Jones, a proponent of "false flag" theories, suggested a connection, "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane blasted the edited video.

YouTube has since removed the edited clip.


A video showing the edited "Family Guy" content.

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"Crocodile Dundee" star Paul Hogan's notorious tax advisor allegedly ran off with millions stored in a Swiss bank account.
Actor Paul Hogan and his wife, actress Linda Kozlowski attend the G'Day USA Los Angeles gala at JW Marriott in Los Angeles on January 12, 2013. (File/UPI/Jim Ruymen) 
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Published: April 17, 2013 at 9:40 AM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Paul Hogan, 73, is best known for playing Mike "Crocodile" Dundee in the hit 1986 Australian comedy "Crocodile Dundee." Now the actor is making headlines going after financial advisor Philip Egglishaw for allegedly running off with riches that were stored in an offshore tax haven.

Hogan had $34 million stashed in a Swiss bank account for the Carthage Trust, which was run by the Geneva financial services firm Strachans for almost two decades, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

Australian clients of the financial services company had been named in the Australian Taxation Office's $430 million Wickenby tax probe in 2004, and Egglishaw is believed to be the mastermind behind the tax evasion scheme.

Hogan vows to "take every step possible in every country possible" to hold Egglishaw responsible for his lost millions. There is already an international arrest warrant on the corrupt advisor, nicknamed "the bowler hat Englishman," for setting up elaborate corporate tax havens.

Legal documents filed by Hogan's lawyer Schuyler Moore in California District Court claim Eggishaw "absconded with or spent all" the cash. Moore wrote to Egglishaw's lawyer in Geneva to say the firm is "aiding and abetting" the advisor's criminal actions.

"The Carthage Trust's beneficiary [Hogan] is not going to stand idly by in the face of this theft, and he is going to take every step possible in every country possible to hold Egglishaw, Strachans, you, and your firm liable and brought to account."

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Julianne Hough was spotted with a mystery man at Coachella.
Actress Julianne Hough, a cast member in the motion picture romance thriller "Safe Haven", attends the premiere of the film at TCL Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on February 5, 2013. UPI/Jim Ruymen 
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Published: April 17, 2013 at 9:39 AM

A month after her breakup with Ryan Secrest, Julianne Hough was seen holding hands with a mystery man at the Indio, Calif. music festival, Coachella.

Yahoo! News reports the 24-year-old "Dancing With the Stars" champion was spotted “holding hands with a hunky Australian mystery man named Tommy” at 4 a.m., according to a source.

The actress turned dancer broke up with "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest in mid March after a two-year courtship. The stars cited busy work schedules as the reason for the split.

It has been reported that right after her split from Secrest, Hough was looking for a way to get closer to her "Rock of Ages" co-star, Tom Cruise.

“Julianne has been combing through scripts for movie projects that would reunite her with Tom because there was major chemistry between the two on ‘Rock of Ages,’” an insider told the National Enquirer. "Don’t be surprised if they are spotted out together in the very near future."

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Gay marriage legalized Tuesday by New Zealand Parliament.
Published: April 17, 2013 at 9:10 AM

New Zealand legalized marriage between same-sex couples Tuesday night after a bill passed its final hurdle in Parliament, according to 3 News.

Members of parliament, including bill creator Louisa Wall, voted 77-44 in favor of the Marriage Amendment Bill, which was written to change the government definition of marriage. The bill was introduced by Wall in 2012.

New Zealand is joins 12 other countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, and is the first in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wall said the bill's passage will send New Zealand on a path of healing.

"[Marriage] now includes all citizens in our state institution of marriage, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity," Wall said.

The public gallery was packed with spectators, and Parliament opened an overflow room with the hearing streaming on a big screen.

Green Party Parliament member Kevin Hague, who has had a gay partner for nearly 29 years, spoke of his own struggle for acceptance.

"Over the years, I have campaigned hard for the right of our community not to be outsiders anymore," Hague said. "The world will be a better place now."

Couples will have to wait for computer system upgrades to officially tie the knot. The Department of Internal Affairs estimates updates will take four months.

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Bradley Cooper revealed that he's been living with his mother ever since his father passed away in 2011, and "it's not without complications."
Actor Bradley Cooper attends the 28th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California on February 23, 2013. (File/UPI/Jim Ruymen) 
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Published: April 17, 2013 at 8:46 AM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Bradley Cooper revealed to Details magazine that the most important lady in his life is his mom, Gloria, with whom he's been living since his father passed away two years ago after a long battle with cancer.

The 38-year-old Oscar nominee said that his family is close, and the passing of his father, Charles, hit them all pretty hard.

"Let's face it: It's probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son. It's life. And right now, two years after my father's death, this is where we are," he said on his living situation.

"My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us. It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are but don't get me wrong. It's not without complications. It's not like I live in a compound and she's in the guesthouse. No. She's in the next room. But here's the thing: She's a cool chick. We can hang, and she can roll with the punches. If that wasn't the case, there's no way."

Cooper also told the magazine he hopes to be a father one day. "I saw how much joy fatherhood gave my own dad," he said. "So I hope it's part of my journey. You go through stages in your life, and fatherhood seems like a natural stage."

After acclaim for his role in David O'Russell's blockbuster hit "Silver Linings Playbook," Cooper will follow up with the comedy "The Hangover Part III" and another O'Russell project titled "American Hustle."

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