Stone: Oops, Sorry, Jews Don't Dominate Media

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Movie director Oliver Stone has been doing some hasty backpedaling after some Mel Gibson-esque remarks about the Holocaust enraged Jewish groups. The director has apologized for telling the Times of London that "Jewish domination of the media" in the US is the reason why Jewish deaths in the Holocaust get more attention than Russian deaths during WWII, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"For all of Stone's progressive pretensions, his remark is no different from one of the drunken, Jew-hating rants of his fellow Hollywood celebrity Mel Gibson," the American Jewish Committee said in a statement. Stone now says he "made a clumsy association about the Holocaust for which I am sorry and I regret" while making a broader point about German war crimes. "Jews obviously do not control media or any other industry," he said.

Latin envoy to Israel takes cats, leaves wife

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A Latin American ambassador to Israel abandoned his wife and left her with nothing, taking her personal belongings and the 40 cats she raised, YNet reported on Tuesday.

The man, who was not identified, called his wife while she was in Europe to tell her he was returning to their home country and taking all the furniture, the online edition of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper said.

The woman rushed back to Israel only to find their home empty. Even her clothes, jewelry and cats were gone. Her husband cancelled her credit card and medical insurance.

But she told YNet what hurt most was the loss of her 40 cats and two dogs.

She filed a theft complaint with the police.

Queen did not have Hebrew book offer, Jordanian officials say

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Queen Rania of Jordan did not receive offers to publish her new children's book in Hebrew, official Jordanian sources said.

The sources said Thursday that those offers would have gone directly to the U.S. publisher, Hyperion, following reports the previous day that Rania had rejected offers to publish "The Sandwich Swap" in Hebrew.

The book was published in English and Arabic and launched in the United States in April. The New York Times best-seller addresses dialogue and tolerance, and the Jordanian sources stressed that Jordan was committed to these messages.

The book's main characters, Lilly and Salma, allow the differences in their food to stand in the way of their friendship. Lily brings a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich to school, while Salma brings pita and hummus. After a school-wide fight, they eventually work out their differences.

According to Rania's website, proceeds from the sale of the book will go to an organization in Jordan that is renovating 500 schools there.

The book, directed at children aged 4 to 8, was co-written with Kelly DiPuchhio and illustrated by Tricia Tusa.

12th Russian spy, a Microsoft employee, busted

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

As the busted Russian spy ring is interrogated back in Moscow, U.S. authorities deported a 12th alleged member of the group: Alex Karetnikov, a 12th alleged member of the group: Alex, a 23-year-old who was working as a software tester at Microsoft's Washington state headquarters. Karetnikov's Facebook page shows he was married and worked not only for Microsoft but also for a Russian software company whose clients include the successor to the KGB, Business Week reports.

Meanwhile in Moscow, the spies are facing heat from their bosses, who want to know "how their cover could have been blown" the New York Post reports, adding that some of the spies may be fired by Russian intelligence.

U.K. revokes citizenship of Russian spy Chapman

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Britain's government said today that one of the key figures in the U.S.-Russia spy case has had her British citizenship revoked.

"The Home Secretary has the right to deprive dual nationals of their British citizenship and, once deprived, to exclude them from the U.K. where she considers that to do so would be conducive to the public good," the government statement said.

Twenty-eight-year-old Anna Chapman was among the suspects who pleaded guilty in New York to a charge of procuring information for a foreign government. The sleeper agent was sent to Russia from the United States on Friday in a spy swap.

Chapman, whose sultry photos gleaned from social-networking sites made her a tabloid sensation, previously lived in Britain and held both a U.K. passport and British citizenship following a marriage to a British man. The couple later divorced.

First Family to vacation in Maine

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The first family's summer vacation plans will include a trip to Maine.

The White House says the Obamas will travel next Friday to Mount Desert Island, which is home to Acadia National Park. There will be no public events for the president during the three-day trip.

The Obamas also spent time in national park last summer, visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.

Spy's panicked phone call triggered bust

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The FBI's plan to take down the Russian spy ring was put into high gear because of a phone call to daddy. Anna Champman, who's become semi-famous thanks to her Bond-girl looks, got spooked after a suspicious meeting with an informant in Conneticuit and put in a panicked call to her KGB dad. That forced the FBI to spring its trap sooner than it wanted, for fear that Moscow would tell the spies to flee, the Washington Post reports.

The FBI had hoped to trick Champman into committing more serious crimes than she typically did, by posing as their handlers. But after meeting her so-called handler, who asked her to give another spy a fake passport, Chapman smelled a rat. She bought a new cellphone and called her dad, who told her not to go through with the fake mission. The FBI monitored the call, and, knowing that another spy was returning to Moscow the next day, immediately rounded up the ring.

'The Hoff' resurfaces for Vienna show

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

David Hasselhoff is launching a pop comeback, it emerged yesterday.

Britishrock.cc announced the singer/actor will perform at the Stadhalle Vienna on February 4, 2011. The online music newspaper also reports that a tour by the 57-year-old is to follow next year.

Hasselhoff peaked the Austrian Singles Chart with "Looking For Freedom" in 1989. The single was the second-best selling CD of the year in the country.

The TV series "Baywatch" featuring the Hof as lifeguard Mitch Buchannon was screened by Austrian national broadcaster ORF and private German channels for several years.

Hasselhoff's appearance at the folk and Schlager music show last April proved that he still has many fans in German-speaking Europe. Tens of millions of people in Austria, Germany and Switzerland tuned in to watch the star performing a medley of his biggest hits.

It was rumored he would attend the 2010 Vienna Film Ball, but he reportedly rejected organizers' invitation.

"The Hoff" said he was looking forward to his return to the stage for a cross-country tour again. He told Austrian newspapers that he was back on track after shedding some pounds thanks to a change of eating habits.

This comes after Hasselhoff--who has been in rehab for his own drink problems--hit the headlines in Germany for claiming in an interview with a magazine that being drunk used to be "normal" in Hollywood's gold era.

"Back then things were different. Back then every star smoked and drank. Think of Richard Burton or Humphrey Bogart. But nobody scrutinized them," he said.

Deal Could Swiftly End Russian Spy Case

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The Russian spy ring case appears to be hurtling towards some kind of conclusion. The spies will strike a simple plea deal, get off with little or no jail time and be deported back to Russia, according to New York Times sources. But there could be more intrigue afoot. Over in Russia, an academic convicted of spying for the U.S. has been told he'll be part of a prisoner swap for the accused Russians, his lawyer tells the RIA Novosti news agency.

The academic, nuclear expert Igor Sutyagin, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2004 for passing information to the U.S. According to his lawyer, he's just been transferred to a Moscow prison in anticipation of being deported. "He agreed" to the deal, the lawyer said, "but he stressed that he could not have disagreed. Otherwise, his life would be ruined."

Painting the Town 'Red'? More Russian Spies in U.S. Now More Than Ever, Report Says

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The Russians are coming? The Russians are here, according to the New York Post.

America is infested with more Russian spies than at any point in history, say former intelligence agents who spoke with The Post.

"I would say there are a few thousand here," said Boris Korczak, a former double agent who worked for the CIA spying on the KGB from 1973-1980.

That's because each mole is a long shot and the Russians want to maximize their odds. "Out of 1,000 spies, one or two will perform, will get access to our nuclear secrets," Korczak said, according to the New York Post.

"The current atmosphere in the U.S. is that we're having a love affair with Russia, that the Cold War is over," agreed Eugene Poteat, a retired senior CIA operative who served from 1960-1990. "But there are more Russian spies here now than during the Cold War."

Among the 10 accused Russian spies taken into custody last week is Anna Chapman, 28, a flame-haired bombshell who, unsurprisingly, has attracted the most attention. She is currently being held in solitary confinement in a federal prison in Brooklyn and her lawyer, Robert Baum, told The Post that she is "very unaware" of the media frenzy she's sparked.

Chapman, a Russian native who once said her father was a high-ranking member of the KGB, spent her time in New York City circulating among rich and powerful men. In 2002, she married a British student named Alex Chapman, now 30. They divorced in 2006, after she began spending a lot of time without him and with her "Russian friends" instead.

Once in New York, she allegedly began dating a politically connected businessman from New Jersey named Michale Bittan. He refused to comment.

'Eclipse' rises to $82.5 million over holiday weekend

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" has risen to an $8.25 million haul over the long Fourth of July weekend, according to studio estimates Monday,

The vampire romance from Summit Entertainment finished at No. 1 over the four-day weekend, despite a steep drop in its daily take after a $68.5 million start last Wednesday, the second biggest opening day ever.

Coming in second for the weekend with $53.2 million from Friday to Monday was Paramount's action fantasy "The Last Airbender," pushing its total to $70.5 million since opening Thursday. The movie did strong business despite terrible reviews.

Disney's Pixar Animation blockbuster "Toy Story 3," which had been No. 1 the two previous weekends, slipped to third-place with $42.2 million, raising its domestic total to $301. 1 million.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight's acclaimed comedy "Cryus" took in $1 million and broke into the top-10 playing at just 77 theaters.