Rihanna, Nicki Minaj Leads America Music Awards Nods

R&B star Rihanna and rapper Nicki Minaj led nominations
for the American Music Awards with four apiece, edging
out stiff competition from pop sensations Justin Bieber and
One Direction.
Rihanna, 24, was nominated in the top category - artist of
the year - where she will compete with Bieber, Katy Perry,
pop-rockers Maroon 5 and Canadian rapper Drake.
She also won nods for female soul/R&B artist and album
for Talk That Talk, and will battle Minaj, 29, in the female
pop/rock artist category.
Minaj scored two nods for her album Pink Friday: Roman
Reloaded in both the pop/rock and rap/hip hop categories
this year, as well as a nomination for favourite rap artist,
alongside Drake and American newcomer Tyga.
Minaj has been making headlines after joining the
American Idol judging panel, where she was caught
feuding on camera with fellow judge Mariah Carey in early
audition rounds.
Boyfriend singer Bieber, 18, landed three nominations this
year, tying with British boy band One Direction, Maroon 5,
Drake and R&B star Usher.

Lady GaGa Visits Wikileaks Founder.

Lady Gaga has spent five hours visiting WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange in London with the pair sharing a meal
during the meeting of modern minds.
With police guarding the door to London's Ecuadorian
embassy, waiting to arrest the 41-year-old Australian,
Monday's visit from the US performer briefly diverted
attention from headlines about each party.
A British magistrate has this week ruled that nine
supporters of Assange who made a financial commitment
to guarantee his bail must cough up a total of STG93,500
(NZ$ 183,000) after he skipped a legal undertaking and
sought refuge in the Latin American consulate.
The Australian-born secret-leaker entered the embassy in
June and was granted asylum by Ecuador in August as part
of his bid to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is
wanted for questioning on sexual assault allegations.

Italy's Government Fires Local Council Over Mafia Ties.

The Italian cabinet has sacked the entire local government
of the southern city of Reggio Calabria to stop it from
coming under the direct control of the local mafia.
Mayor Demetrio Arena and all 30 city councillors were
sacked on Tuesday, local time, under the provision
announced in Rome by Interior Minister Anna Maria
Cancellieri.
It was the first time that the government of a provincial
capital had been dismissed en masse because of
suspected links to organised crime. A number of smaller
cities, mostly in the south, have met the same fate in the
past.
The action was taken after inspectors from Rome
determined that a number of councillors of the city, which
has a population of 180,000 people, had ties to the
'Ndrangheta, the local version of the Sicilian mafia.
The 'Ndrangheta crime group has overtaken Sicily's Cosa
Nostra as Italy's most feared organised crime group. It
makes most of its money from drugs trafficking.
The move, which had been expected for months, means
the city will be run by a government-appointed
commissioner for 18 months until new elections are held.

Top Drug Lord Killed But Body Snatched At Funeral Home.

Mexico says it has killed Heriberto Lazcano, the leader of the brutal Zetas drug gang and the most powerful kingpin to fall in a six-year battle against cartels, but in a surreal twist his body was snatched from a funeral home by armed men.
Mexico's navy said on Tuesday (local time) fingerprint tests had confirmed Lazcano was killed in a firefight in a small village in the northern state of Coahuila.
But it appeared the military may have been unaware it had killed Lazcano until his corpse was stolen from the funeral home in the northern town of Sabinas before dawn on Monday (local time).
Lazcano, alias "The Executioner," had a US$5 million ($6.12 million) US bounty on his head and was the highest profile drug lord to be killed or captured in a military offensive launched when President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.
Just hours after he was killed, in a scene straight out of a movie, an armed group snatched Lazcano's body and that of another Zetas member from the funeral parlor.

Texas Teen Grabs,Twist Cop's Balls.

A drunk teen was charged
with assault Sunday after
grabbing and then twisting
a police officer's balls.
19-year-old Cory
Weddington III was kicked
out of a club after
employees caught him
drinking, but he refused to
leave the property without
his credit card, which he
claimed was inside. A
police report says officers
gave him "several
opportunities to leave with
his friends," but Weddington wouldn't listen.

Sarah Palin Writing A Fitness Book.

Noted literary icon Sarah Palin is writing a fitness book.
The former governor and current reality TV mom told
People her family is helping her write the book, which
she describes as "unique and motivating."
"Our family is writing a book on fitness and self-
discipline focusing on where we get our energy and
balance as we still eat our beloved homemade
comfort foods!"
…
"We promise you what we do works and allows a
fulfilling quality of life and sustenance anyone can
enjoy," she adds.
Of course, as People somewhat snarkily notes, there's
no word of a publisher or release date yet, so this could
be another Palin exaggeration/lie or just cover for
rumors about Palin's skinnier look, which is why People
even bothered contacting her in the first place.
In mostly unrelated news, Anderson Cooper lumped
Palin's daughter, Bristol, in with Lindsay Lohan and said
both "need to get jobs and stop being on TV."