http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/tyler-perry-president-obama_n_3353447.html?1369925703&ncid=webmail16
As a Hollywood mogul, Tyler Perry has been around his fair share of powerful people. But even celebrities experience surreal moments that leave them in awe. For Perry,
there were two distinct moments in his life that made him realize the
magnitude of his success. One, which he reveals in the video, involved
Oprah and Tina Turner. The other involved President Barack Obama.
In this clip from Tyler's interview on "Oprah's Next Chapter," he recounts the private conversation he had with President Obama inside the president's motorcade. President Obama had just visited Tyler Perry Studios before attending a fundraising event Tyler was hosting, and the President invited Tyler to ride to the event with him in the motorcade.
"I get in the car with [the president] and he's talking to me in the
motorcade. There is not a soul on the freeway... And he's talking, [but]
all I'm hearing is... Charlie Brown time in my ear," Tyler recalls,
mimicking the "Peanuts" teacher whose words were always too muffled to
understand.
Recognizing how monumental the moment was, Tyler wanted to make sure
he fully experienced it. "I finally stop and I say, 'Listen. I know this
is your everyday. But this moment, for me, I've got to just take it in.
I've got to really just breathe,'" he says he told the president.
That's when the two had a conversation that Tyler will never forget.
"I said, 'What a great country that something like this could happen,
that you could become president,'" Tyler remembers telling Obama. "And
he said, 'What a great country that you could become Tyler Perry.'"
Tyler Perry's two new shows -- The Haves And The Have Nots and Love Thy Neighbor -- air on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET and Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, respectively, on OWN.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Scripps National Spelling Bee 2013 Winner Arvind Mahankali Triumphs With 'Knaidel'
OXON HILL, Md. -- After years of heartbreakingly close calls, Arvind Mahankali conquered his nemesis, German, to become the champion speller in the English language.
The 13-year-old from Bayside Hills, N.Y., correctly spelled "knaidel," a word for a small mass of leavened dough, to win the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. The bee tested brain power, composure and, for the first time, knowledge of vocabulary.
Arvind finished in third place in both 2011 and 2012, and both times, he was eliminated on German-derived words. This time, he got one German word in the finals, and the winning word was from German-derived Yiddish, eliciting groans and laughter from the crowd. He spelled both with ease.
"The German curse has turned into a German blessing," he said.
Arvind outlasted 11 other finalists, all but one of whom had been to the National Spelling Bee before, in nearly 2 1/2 hours of tense, grueling competition that was televised nationally. In one round, all nine participants spelled their words correctly.
When he was announced as the winner, Arvind looked upward at the confetti falling upon him and cracked his knuckles, his signature gesture during his bee appearances. He'll take home $30,000 in cash and prizes along with a huge cup-shaped trophy. The skinny teen, clad in a white polo shirt and wire-rimmed glasses pushed down his nose, was joined on stage at the Washington-area hall by his parents and his beaming younger brother.
An aspiring physicist who admires Albert Einstein, Arvind said he would spend more time studying physics this summer now that he's "retired" from the spelling bee.
Fast Food Workers In Another City Strike: 'We've Been Pushed To The Edge
Fast food workers in Seattle walked off their jobs late Wednesday and Thursday. That made Seattle the seventh city where fast food workers have gone on strike in recent months. A Taco Bell server in Seattle explains here why she (along with her co-workers) walked off the job Wednesday night -- shutting down a Taco Bell restaurant. Taco Bell didn't comment, referring inquiries to the National Restaurant Association.
By Caroline Durocher
My employer has pushed and pushed my co-workers and me and gotten everything they can out of us. This week, we joined together and pushed back.
I was one of the first fast-food workers to walk off the job Wednesday night in Seattle, and on Thursday more workers are continuing to take a stand for a $15 an hour raise and the right to organize without retaliation.
We work in one of the fastest growing industries in the nation, and our companies are making huge -– even record -– profits, but we don't see enough of that money. We barely earn enough to pay for basics like rent, food and transportation to and from work.
I have worked low-wage jobs since I was 16 years old, and now, at 21, am reluctantly sharing a studio apartment with my dad, working the late shift at Taco Bell.
That's not the life I envisioned for myself three years ago, when I was working full time, while studying for an associate of arts degree. I was planning to continue my education and become a psychologist. That was the plan, and that's still the plan. But my school costs became too much of a burden, and I had to leave, just a few credits shy of my degree.
And now I feel stuck in this trap -– the trap of low-wage work.
I work the night shift at Taco Bell in Ballard –- running the register
for the drive-through, ringing up one customer while taking the order of
another. It's fast-paced, hard work, but at the minimum wage of $9.19
per hour and only 27 hours per week, I don't earn enough to make ends
meet.When I ask for more hours, my boss always says the same thing: hours are competitive -– the harder you work, the more hours you'll get. But I work hard, and I haven't gotten any more hours.
I am stuck in a tough spot. I can't get enough hours to get health insurance, but I only qualify for $16 a month in food stamps, which I finally decided wasn't even worth the transportation costs to continue to get them. I can't get a better-paying job, especially without a degree, but I can't afford to go back to school. So when I had the chance to join a group of workers starting to organize and take a stand, I jumped at the opportunity. I didn't hesitate a second.
Right now, one of my checks goes to my half of the rent, and once I buy groceries and pay my bills, there isn't really anything left to save up. I shouldn't have to barely scrape by. I should be able to start saving some money to go back to school, but I can't.
So what do I have to lose? For me and my colleagues working fast–food jobs across Seattle, the answer is, 'Nothing.' Our backs are firmly against the wall. By joining with my co-workers, I can envision a future in which I earn enough to live, eat and go back to school.
We have been pushed to the edge, and now we are taking a stand, and I could not be more excited, or more hopeful.
Caroline Durocher works at a Taco Bell in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood and is part of Good Jobs Seattle, a campaign by a coalition of groups working to raise fast-food workers' pay.
Mariah Carey is officially leaving "American Idol," the singer's publicists announced via Twitter
Mariah Carey is officially leaving "American Idol," the singer's publicists announced via Twitter on Thursday -- a message that the singer then retweeted.
@PMK_BNC
PMK•BNC
W/ global success of “#Beautiful” (#1 in 30+ countries so far) @MariahCarey confirms world tour & says goodbye 2 Idol http://t.co/ww2q8xmocr
The news follows Randy Jackson's recent departure from Fox's reality juggernaut, with fellow judge Nicki Minaj announcing her "Idol" exit a few hours later. Keith Urban remains the last judge standing, but is not expected to return. Even before Carey's exit, there were rumblings that "Idol" producers planned to replace all four judges and start fresh for Season 13, potentially with a judging panel made up of "Idol" alums such as Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert. Don't hold your breath for Clarkson to be involved, though rep for the former winner told The Hollywood Reporter that she will not be judging Season 13.
Despite Carey's vocal pedigree, she and fellow judging newcomers Minaj and Urban failed to reinvigorate the aging franchise, with "Idol" hitting an all-time ratings low for its recent Season 12 finale.
Many contend that Carey's highly publicized, season-long feud with Minaj soured viewers to the new panel and contributed to the ratings erosion, resulting in rumors that Fox executives and "Idol" producers attempted to replace Carey with former judge Jennifer Lopez to stem the flow of departing fans.
Are you sad to see Carey go?
Jacque Sue Waller's Body Found Two Years After She Went Missing
ST. LOUIS -- Nearly two years to the day after Jacque Sue Waller was last seen alive, the body of the southeast Missouri mother of young triplets has been found, prosecutors said Thursday.
The Cape Girardeau County prosecutor's office issued a one-paragraph statement saying police had found the body on Wednesday.
"It has been confirmed that the body is that of Jacque Sue Waller," the statement read. It didn't say where or how the body was found. A woman answering phones at the prosecutor's office said no further comment would be made, citing an ongoing investigation.
Waller and her estranged husband, Clay Waller, had nearly finalized a divorce when she disappeared on June 1, 2011. He was charged last year with first-degree murder and faces trial in September.
Jacque Waller's sister, Cheryl Brenneke, has custody of their 7-year-old triplets.
In a statement on their Facebook page Waller's family confirmed "with a heavy heart" that Jacque Waller's remains were found. The statement said funeral arrangements have not been made.
"We thank everyone of you who has supported us and assisted us in this terrible nightmare," the statement read.
Messages seeking comment from a spokeswoman for Waller's family were not returned, but Brenneke told the Southeast Missourian newspaper that she was in shock.
"You anticipate how you're going to feel for two years," Brenneke said. "You just can't prepare yourself, really. You just can't."
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