Kelly Rowland Is Engaged (And It Happened on Skype!)

Fans had a hunch that singer Kelly Rowland would be headed down the aisle soon after spotting beautiful new bling on her left hand ring finger back in November, and it looks like the rumors are true.

In an interview for The Queen Latifah Show, the X Factor judge confirmed that she and her manager Tim Witherspoon got engaged over Skype when he proposed to her while she was in Bulgaria. The interview will run on Wednesday, reports E! News.

"He put a ring on it," says Rowland. "We've kept it very, very low – for years, to be completely honest."

She can say that again! Their proposal may have been long distance, but that didn’t make it any less romantic.

"It was so late, I remember we were both just kinda like, honestly, just staring at each other,” Rowland adds. “And he asked me, and it was just that simple to say yes. I was like, 'I got my best friend to ride through life with.' He really is my best friend."

Although the low-key couple likes to stay out of the spotlight, we’re hoping to see more of them around as they prepare to say “I do.”

Congrats, you two. Leave your well wishes for the happy couple below!

Mega Millions Jackpot Climbs To $586 Million

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Mega Millions jackpot soared to $586 million on Monday amid a frenzy of ticket purchases, a jump that pushed the prize closer to the $656 million U.S. record set last year.

Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and Mega Millions' lead director, said ticket sales are ahead of projections for Tuesday's drawing, increasing the likelihood that the record could fall by then. If the prize goes unclaimed for a 22nd consecutive drawing, the next one likely would shatter the record, set in March 2012, she said.

"I think we'll be very close to the record, and maybe even surpass it," Otto said, adding that sales are difficult to predict.

That was enough for Drew Gentsch to play one ticket Monday morning. The attorney from Des Moines never plays, but the jackpot was too good to pass up.

"I think it's ridiculous but you have to dream big," he said. "The odds of winning are so low, there's no real reason to play. But it's fun to do so once in a while."

Between 65 and 75 percent of the roughly 259 million possible number combinations will be in play when the numbers are drawn, Otto estimated. She said the jackpot may be increased one more time on Tuesday morning in advance of the evening drawing.

"Lotto players are procrastinators. They tend to buy on the day of the draw," she said.

No ticket matched the six numbers needed to win Friday's $425 million prize. The jackpot was raised Saturday to $550 million before Monday's jump to $586 million. It is currently the fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. history.

Some players were taken aback by the growing jackpot and the possibility that it could keep getting bigger.

"It gets the excitement up, but there's a point when it's too much," said Justiniano Pahl, who works in human resources. "$5 million would be good; $550 million would be good. Either one would change your life."Natali Justiniano Pahl, 47, bought five tickets from a convenience store in downtown Des Moines. She said the growing jackpot made her excited, albeit somewhat weary.

I Was Married To A Real 'Wolf Of Wall Street'

"The Wolf Of Wall Street" doesn't hit theaters until December 25, but one ex-wife is opening up about what it was like being married to the real-life "wolf"'s right-hand man.
In a recent article in the New York Post, Nancy Porush gives us a glimpse into her relationship with ex-husband Danny Porush, who is portrayed by Jonah Hill in the film.
"I saw him morph from a nice wholesome guy into showy narcissist whom I hardly recognized anymore," Nancy told the paper of Danny's transition to a stock swindler in the mid-'90s.
Alongside Jordan Belfort, Danny co-founded the Long Island brokerage house Stratton Oakmont and used a “pump and dump” scheme to scam Wall Street investors out of $200 million before both were eventually prosecuted and sent to prison.
Though Nancy said the man she married in 1986 was the kind of guy "whose idea of a good time had once been grilling in the backyard with a beer in his hand," that quickly changed as Danny became more involved in the investing scam and the "frat-house lifestyle" spearheaded by Belfort.
"Danny changed with money; he’d frequently stay out late at night, saying he had a business meeting in the city that he couldn’t get out of. I was a young mom with two babies," Nancy told the paper. "'I’m not stupid or naive -- but I really didn’t know what was going on. I was home watching 'Sesame Street' with our sons."
The con eventually caught up with Belfort and Porush, though. In 1999, after being investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission, Danny pleaded guilty to security fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 39 months in prison. (Belfort, too, was convicted of securities fraud and served 22 months in prison before being released in 2006.)
Danny got out of prison in 2004 and now lives in a multi-million dollar mansion in Boca Raton with his current wife, whom he left Nancy for even after she'd stuck by his side throughout his criminal case.
Because Nancy failed to realize her husband was putting assets in her name as part of his defrauding scheme, she considers herself one of his victims.
"There were many victims Danny defrauded -- but I was one of them. And the government validated that. Legally, I too was a victim," Nancy said. "I sold off everything to support my family -- teaching yoga and pilates, selling clothes, skin care, anything to provide for the kids... I got nothing, not even alimony, and I didn’t want anything -- I just wanted out."
Nancy isn't the only one telling the her story in light of the film's upcoming release. In an interview with MotherJones.com, Danny himself talked about seeing his life portrayed on the big screen and took issue with the wild exploits -- sale-room parties with strippers and chimpanzees, threeways -- portrayed in the film, which is based Belfort's memoir.
"Stratton was like a fraternity," Porush told the website. "A lot of goofing around, hazing -- but the worst we ever did was shave somebody's head and then pay 'em ten grand for it."

2 Ohio kidnapping survivors ink book deals

Missing Women Found

FILE - These undated handout file photos provided by the FBI show Amanda Berry, left, and Georgina "Gina" Dejesus. Ohio State Rep. John Barnes Jr. wants the state to provide years of relief payments and a free ride to college for the three Cleveland women abducted and held in captivity for about a decade. Barnes Jr. is introducing his Survivors of Abduction Act on Tuesday, June 4, 2013. It would provide Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight at least $25,000 a year in reparations for the years they were restrained and tuition, fees and living expenses at a public college. (AP Photo/FBI, File)

NEW YORK (AP) - Two of the three Ohio women held captive for years in a Cleveland house have a book deal. Viking announced Monday that it has acquired the planned book by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus. The book is currently untitled and is scheduled to come out in 2015.
Berry and DeJesus are working with Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan. Negotiations were handled by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose clients have ranged from President Barack Obama to Amanda Knox.
Berry, DeJesus and Michelle Knight were rescued in May and their kidnapper, Ariel Castro, was arrested and eventually sentenced to life in prison. He was found hanged in his cell in September.
Knight is working on her own memoir, which Weinstein Books plans to publish next spring.

Jameis Winston wins Heisman Trophy

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jameis Winston left voters no choice but to give him the Heisman Trophy. And like every other Florida State victory this season, it was a blowout.

The quarterback they call Famous Jameis became the youngest Heisman winner and the second straight freshman to win the trophy Saturday night, earning college football's most prestigious individual trophy award with a performance so dominant even a criminal investigation couldn't derail his candidacy.

"I cannot explain the feeling that I have inside right now," Winston said. "I'm so overwhelmed. It's awesome."

When his name was announced, he popped from his seat and quickly made his way to his mom and dad for hugs and kisses. He smiled and laughed through most of his acceptance speech.

He talked about trusting in the "process" on the field and in life and "after all the things I've been through this past month." He got choked up a bit when talking about his parents.

"When you see your mom and you see your dad and they've been struggling through this whole process and now you see a smile on their face, it comforted me," he said later.

Winston received 668 first-place votes and 2,205 points. He finished 1,501 points ahead of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron for the seventh-largest margin of victory in Heisman history, despite being left off 115 of the 900 ballots returned.

Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch was third, followed by Boston College's Andre Williams, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Auburn's Tre Mason.

Manziel was the first freshman to win the Heisman last year, and was trying to join Ohio State's Archie Griffin as a two-time winner. Instead, Winston made it two redshirt freshman winners in the 79-year history of the Heisman. He also became the youngest winner at 23 days short of 20.

The 19-year-old also was investigated last month for a year-old sexual assault complaint, but no charges were filed and the case was closed four days before Heisman votes were due.

"I really believe that people actually just trusted me. People obviously saw us play. But that comes from my team, too," Winston said.

Winston is the nation's top-rated passer and has led the top-ranked Seminoles (13-0) to a spot in the BCS championship game against No. 2 Auburn on Jan. 6, his birthday. The former five-star recruit from Bessemer, Ala., made college football look easy from his very first game. On Labor Day night, on national television, Winston went 25 for 27 for 356 yards and four touchdowns in a victory at Pittsburgh.

"I can't explain how truly intelligent he is," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "He always wanted to know why he had success or why he had failure so he could either repeat it or fix it."

There wasn't much failure on the way to becoming the third Seminoles quarterback to win the Heisman. The last was Chris Weinke in 2000.

Winston and Florida State were cruising toward an undefeated season when news broke of an unresolved sexual assault complaint against him made to the Tallahassee Police Department last December.

The dormant case was handed over to the state attorney's office for a full investigation. A female student at Florida State accused Winston of rape. Winston's attorney said the sex was consensual.

During three weeks of uncertainty, Winston continued to play sensationally, while other contenders stumbled or failed to distinguish themselves. If voters were looking to Manziel or McCarron or Lynch or Williams or even Marcus Mariota of Oregon to give them a good alternative to Winston, it didn't happen.

The Heisman Trust mission statement says: "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity."

It's a statement that has put the Heisman in awkward situations before. In 2010, Cam Newton played the season under the cloud of an NCAA investigation. He had also had legal troubles while in college. But like Winston, there was no doubt he was the best player and he won the award.

Reggie Bush had his 2005 Heisman stripped after the NCAA determined he had violated its rules during that season. But the Heisman trust did not ask Billy Cannon and O.J. Simpson to return their Heismans after they were sent to prison.

The accusations against Winston were serious and documents released by the police with the accuser's allegations were not flattering to him. It probably explains why so many voters left him out of their top three. Last year, Manziel appeared on 92 percent of the ballots. Winston appeared on 87 percent this year.

"Everyone has their own opinion," Winston said. "It's basically a numbers game and I was blessed to have the majority vote."

There was no doubting his on-the-field credentials. Winston is on pace (190.1) to break Russell Wilson's record for best passer efficiency rating in a season and set FBS freshman records for yards passing (3,820) and touchdown passes (38). Florida State's average margin of victory is 42 points, and Winston has spent most of the Seminoles' fourth quarters resting.

The investigation has taken some of the shine off Winston's Heisman coronation, at least for some people. But if the question is simply who was college football's best player in 2013, Famous Jameis was the clear answer.

More Than 110 Million Brace for Weekend Snowstorm

 
Heavy snow and travel disruptions will spread from St. Louis to Pittsburgh Friday night, then to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston Saturday.

The snowstorm will span more than 1,000 miles.

Thanks to recent Arctic air making roads and sidewalks much colder compared to previous storms, enough snow to shovel and plow is in store from parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey to much of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Not only will the storm make roads and sidewalks slippery, raising the risk for slip-and-fall incidents and auto accidents, but it is likely to cause many flight delays and cancellations. The visibility will be poor, runways will become snow covered and aircraft will need to be de-iced.

Snow will fall on and impact every major city and rural area from St. Louis to Boston, including Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City. The area encompasses about 110 million people.

The storm will spread across the Midwest late Friday into Friday night and over the Northeast Saturday and Saturday night.

A mixture of snow, sleet and rain will mitigate accumulations across central Missouri and eastward along the Ohio River. However, enough wintry mix will fall to make roads slippery.

Long stretches of along the I-70, I-75, I-80 and I-90 corridors may be snow covered in the Mid

Karl Pierson ID'd As Arapahoe High School Shooting Suspect

Authorities have identified 18-year-old Karl Pierson as the student who allegedly opened fire at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. on Friday afternoon.
At a press conference, Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the suspect entered the school armed with a shotgun and asked for a specific teacher. When that teacher heard that the armed student was asking for him, he left the school immediately, and was uninjured. The suspect then opened fire, leaving one 15-year-old girl in critical condition.
Pierson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
This story has been updated to reflect the number of students injured.