P. Diddy's son asked to turn over his $54,000 scholarship

P. Diddy's son - Justin Combs who merited a $54,000 UCLA scholarship has been asked to turn it to students who really need it.
I quite disagree with this. Yes his Dad can afford to pay his tuition, Yes his Dad is P.Diddy, yes his Dad is a millionaire, but he earned the scholarship fair and square and I don't think it's fair to discriminate against him because of his Dad's wealth. I call BS on that!

At the Upstate New York prep school where Combs recently graduated, he maintained a 3.75 GPA while playing corner-back for the football team. He worked and studied hard, I don't see why he should be denied what he earned.

P. Diddy was recently named the wealthiest artist in hip hop by Forbes Magazine, so far earning $45 million in 2012 but that was P.Diddy not Justin Combs. Justin is trying to carve a niche for himself, thus people shouldn't make it hard on him. It's not his fault that his Dad was working hard while others sat on their behinds and did nothing. Don't hate....Appreciate! :-)

Combs' scholarship is awarded to student athletes specifically and isn't exactly a free ticket to a four-year picnic. Combs will be required to train 40 hours per week as well as attend classes full-time.
Justin Combs, who committed to play football at UCLA, earned his $54,000 scholarship and will keep it! It's his OWN achievement not his Dad's.

He didn't have to study, he could have lived off his Dad's money and became a bum but he didn't. He worked hard and earned the scholarship hence should keep it. His name isn't P.Diddy or Sean Combs, his name is Justin Combs.
Smh at some people.

Triplets among 19 dead in Qatar mall

According to Yahoo! news: Qatar prepared today to bury or send home the bodies of 19 people who perished in a blaze that whipped through a nursery at a shopping mall, including New Zealand triplets and 10 other trapped children.

As investigators scoured for clues as to the cause of Monday's fire at the Villaggio Mall, a Qatari official said some of the victims will be buried in Doha on Tuesday, while most of the others will be repatriated.

"The families of four or five Muslims have requested to bury them in Qatar," said Captain Mubarak al-Bouainain, head of information department at the interior ministry.

Newspapers in the Gulf state raised questions over the licensing of a nursery in the middle of a huge mall, where the children and four teachers, including three from the Philippines and a South African, died of of smoke inhalation.

Bouainain confirmed that the dead children included the New Zealanders, four Spaniards, a South African boy, an American girl of Arab origin, a Chinese boy, a Canadian girl and an Egyptian girl and boy were killed.
The Egyptian boy also held French citizenship, the French embassy said.

He said two fire fighters, a Moroccan and an Iranian, also died.

In Wellington, Prime Minister John Key said New Zealand triplets, believed to be three-year-olds, were among those who died in the inferno.

Britney Spears walks off X Factor

According to TMZ Britney Spears walked off the set of "X Factor" moments ago ... and according to several people in the audience, she was upset after a contestant butchered her song, "Hold It Against Me."

Britney did not come back immediately ... and four contestants auditioned in front of the remaining judges ... and an empty seat.

Someone connected with the show tells us Britney was not upset over the song -- and that she "Just took a short break.
Seriously?? It's called an audition for a reason Ms Spears..this is the stage where you weed off people who butcher your song and every other person's song, lol. You don't just walk off Ms Thang! Lol. You say ...NEXT and move on. Stop being a cry baby, lol.

Simon Cowell denied Britney's walk off the set but we know who to believe, lol.

Roland Garros 2012, rooting for Roger Federer to win!

I hope my favorite Tennis player wins the French Open! I know players like Nadal and Djokovic wont make it easy for him, but I hope he succeeds.
Roland Garros aka French opens started May 27th and will end 10th June. Rafael Nadal is the defending men's singles champion.
Federer got off to a historic start yesterday by defeating Tobias Kamke to equal the Grand Slam record set by Jimmy Connors at 233 wins. On the occasion of his record-tying 233rd victory in a Grand Slam match, Roger Federer was asked Monday whether he recalls which player he beat for his first win at a major tournament.

''Well, I should, shouldn't I? Um, let me see,'' Federer said, then hesitated and rubbed his eyes before conceding: ''OK. I can't remember.''

Justin Bieber wanted by the Police on assault charge

Justin Bieber lost his usually cool swag when a paparazi guy was trying to take a picture. Turns out that the paparazzi got word that Justin and Selena Gomez were shopping at the Commons at Calabasas Shopping Center in the L.A. area and he showed up to grab a picture of the lovebirds who were leaving a movie theater.

 That didn’t sit well with Justin who was upset because the guy blocked his car in so he could get a picture! One thing lead to another and there was allegedly a scuffle. The paparazzi guy ended up calling the 911 and when cops showed up, he was complaining of chest pains. He was taken to a nearby hospital and then sent home.

Now, the L.A. County Sheriffs department want to talk to Justin since when they got to the scene, he was long gone! They just want to get his side of the story.
The incident occurred in a public area, so officials said they hope there are witnesses who saw what happened.

One witness told a news reporter that Selena's cell phone fell to the ground but before she could pick it up, the reporter grabbed it and demanded to take pictures of them before he handed it back, this ticked Justin off, so he punched the reporter in order to get his girl's phone back. How true is this witness account? I dont know.

After the incident, Justin Bieber took to his twitter to say "Off to Europe", lol. Must be nice!

University of Lagos renamed Moshood Abiola University

To say that I am beyond pissed at this name change is an understatement!! MKO was a great man, if Uncle Jona wants to honor him, he should do so by either naming June 12th as MKO Abiola day or doing something else. No democratically elected President who truly believes in Democracy just decides to change a great name like UNILAG overnight! Ahn ahn!!

There are more pressing matters in Naija than changing an established College's name. Hmmm.. I'm going to stop writing my thoughts now before I say any more.

I understand students protested today, I wonder how long they will do that for.

I am an Akokaite regardless of what they change the name to and will always be.

Greatest Akokaites o!! GREAT!!

Mother of boy locked inside running washing machine wants to press charges

When this story initially broke out, the reports were that the man who put the baby in the machine was his father and the woman his mother but that isn't the case.
The woman was the babysitter while the man was her friend.

The mother of the toddler who briefly got stuck inside a running washing machine at a New Jersey laundromat said she wants to press charges.

Speaking on NBC's "Today" show Thursday, Sakia David said she wants her baby sitter punished for allowing a male friend to put the child in the machine.
David said she didn't even know about the May 11 incident in Camden until she saw the video on the news and was contacted by police.
She said her son was treated at a hospital for scrapes and bruises. But she wants more tests.
David said the baby sitter told her the child had fallen down some steps.

Authorities said the man was unaware the machine would automatically start. They've referred the case to child welfare officials.
Shocking video of the incident was recently uploaded to YouTube. A surveillance camera captures a man placing the small child inside the machine.
Moments later, he and a woman are seen on the video frantically trying to pry open the locked door as the machine begins to spin and fill with water.
At one point, the two run for the help of an employee, who managed to open a door behind the washer and unplug it.

Top football prospect exonerated from rape charges

The kidnap-rape conviction of a once-promising prep football star was dismissed on Thursday following a recantation by his accuser.

Brian Banks collapsed in sobs on the counsel table during a court hearing where a prosecutor quickly conceded the decade-old case and moved for the dismissal.

In the summer of 2002, Banks' future looked bright: He was a 17-year-old high school football star being heavily recruited by a number of colleges. But in a single day that changed with the accusations of kidnapping and rape by a female student.

"We went into an area on campus that is known as a makeout spot, we kissed, we groped we touched, but we never had sex. We ended things on a good note. I went back to class, by the end of the day I was in custody," Banks, now 26, told KABC in Los Angeles.

Banks faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, and instead of risking the possibility of being behind bars for life, his attorney suggested he plead guilty.

"She told me I was a big black teenager and no jury would believe anything I said," Banks told KABC.

He maintained there was no rape and their sexual contact was consensual, but his lawyer urged him to plead no contest rather than risk a sentence of 41 years to life in prison if convicted. He followed the advice and went to prison for six years, shattering his dreams of gridiron glory.

Lawyers for the California Innocence Project were prepared Thursday to argue he should be exonerated.

In a strange turn of events, the woman who accused him a decade ago friended him on Facebook when he got out of prison. Wanetta Gibson explained she wanted to "let bygones be bygones."
According to documents in the case, she met with Banks and said she had lied; there had been was no kidnap and no rape and she offered to help him clear his record.

But she subsequently refused to repeat the story to prosecutors because she feared she would have to return a $1.5 million payment from a civil suit brought by her mother against Long Beach schools.
She was quoted as telling Banks: "I will go through with helping you but it's like at the same time all that money they gave us, I mean gave me, I don't want to have to pay it back."

Justin Brooks, a lawyer who heads the innocence project, said that Banks has remained on probation, under electronic monitoring, has had to register as a sex offender and has had trouble getting a job.

He said Banks continues to train for what he hopes will be a future chance at a football career.

First of all, I think his Lawyer was a loser. He had a weak a$$ lawyer who helped ruin his career cos if the Lawyer had had his interest at heart, he wouldn't have taken that deal. He would have let the case go to trial, Banks would probably have won and his life would have been different now.

If the girl told a lie just for monetary gain, I hope Karma bites her in the a$$ cos she RUINED the career Banks would have had. IJS.

Oh well!

Traffic stop ends with motorcyclist getting killed

In Houston what was supposed to be an ordinary traffic stop today turned deadly. A motorcyclist was pulled over by police when out of nowhere, a truck came barreling through. Now that victim's family is trying to cope with a tragic loss.

Police say just before 1am, two officers stopped Randle for allegedly running two red lights. But it's where they stopped him, at an on ramp at Highway 288 and Yellowstone, that baffles Randle's family.

 Police officers pulled over Troy Randle, 45, because they say he ran two red lights. But before they could write him a ticket, Randle was hit and killed by an alleged drunk driver on the side of the freeway.

Just as officers tried to tell him to move to a safer place, Randle was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver. Police say that driver's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

The driver who hit the man is facing charges and police say this case also serves as a warning for others, specifically when it comes to where and where not to pull over during a traffic stop.
It happened Thursday morning on the South Freeway near Yellowstone. The victim had pulled over in the entrance ramp.

Elaine Randle cried, "What happened to my child, what happened? And why was he on the side of the road like that?"
Elaine and her family are grieving the sudden loss of her son Troy.
"It was murder, that's murder," said Troy's father Frankie Randle.
Frankie asked, "Why did they stop him there right there on the side of that road?"

Sgt. Robert Gonzales with HPD Traffic Enforcement said, "I know sometimes citizens are scared to stop on the freeway. That's the job we have to do."
Police suggest never stopping if you feel unsafe. Instead, signal to officers, with your hand or blinker, that you're complying. Randle's sister Stacy Teat thinks her brother, was just trying to obey the law.
"No sooner would he see police lights, he will stop," she said. "I feel that's why he stopped when he did, because he didn't want to go to jail or whatever."

The suspect, Monson Durham, 43, is at Ben Taub Hospital. He suffered head injuries. He faces charges of intoxication manslaughter.

I'm sure the cops pulled him over because of some stupid sh** or just to harass him. Not the cops fault the drunk hit him but if they would find better things to do instead of harass bikers this never would've happened. IJS.

May his soul rest in PEACE..Amen!

101 year old pedestrian struck, killed by 91 year-old driver

A 101-year-old man is dead after being struck by a car driven by a 91-year-old woman as he crossed a Burbank street.
Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn says Otto Jensen was hit at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday and died at a hospital. City News Service says Jensen was a well-known photographer in Burbank and served as grand marshal of the city's centennial parade last year.

Ryburn says driver Mary Beaumont stopped at the scene but was not arrested or cited. Reached by phone Wednesday, she said she was fine and declined comment.

Ryburn says it's unclear what led to the accident. He told City News Service that Jensen was not in a crosswalk but was crossing legally and had nearly made it across the street when he was struck.

It's a shame that he lived so long only to die like that. May his soul rest in peace...Amen!

Congratulations to the new American Idol Winner Philip Philips

Today's American Idol performance was very entertaining. I enjoyed Rihanna's performance, loved Jessica, Chaka Khan and other performances.
The ones that sucked were the performance of Bee Gee's song by the boys in the top 12, I don't think they knew what they were doing and J. Lo's performance...that sucked a$$ big time, lol.

Jennifer Holliday's performance with Jessica Sanchez was great but Jennifer's facial expressions were off da chain. I couldn't stop laughing, lmao! I thought she was having spasms or something. No, I think she was either high on something or high on something, lwkmd!!

Anyways, congratulations to Philip Philips for winning the competition.

Oh, Ace Young surprised Diana DeGarmo with a marriage proposal on stage and she said YES! Congratulations to the first Idol couple. ;-)

Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young

Again, congratulations to Philip Philips, Season 11 American Idol winner.

Washing machine turns on with boy stuck inside

While a man was playing Peek-a-boo with his son, he placed his little son in the washing machine and closed the door. As soon as he closed the door, the auto-lock washing machine that had earlier been fed with quarters, started to run. The washing machine started to fill up with water then took the little boy for a spin. The frantic parents tried to open the washing machine but couldn't. Fortunately, one of the employees at the laundromat unlocked the back of the machine, which stopped it from spinning but couldn't get the child out immediately. Eventually after about a minute of being put in the machine, the little boy was rescued and rushed to the hospital. Luckily, he survived with minor bruises.

Facebook employees now worth an average of $2.9 million

Tech geeks across the Facebook empire celebrated the company’s IPO and their newfound millions by slugging back energy drinks at all-night code-writing parties last Friday.

Every current Facebook employee is now worth $2.9 million. Any other employee after Friday is OYO, lol.

Legions of the social network’s employees, who are now worth an average of $2.9 million apiece on paper when the stock opened on Friday, dressed for the occasion with matching “Hackathon” T-shirts.
They kicked off the party at their Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters, just hours after the company’s 420 million available shares were priced at $38 each.

According to the IPO prospectus, $10 billion in equity will be held by insiders at the social-media site. It’s expected to rival the last hot tech stock, LinkedIn, which went public last May and saw its per-share price jump 109 percent in the first day of trading.

A similar pop would double the average Facebook worker’s net worth to $5.8 million.

In the hours before Zuckerberg and his troops started their celebration, Facebook fever was at critical mass, with big-brokerage clients scrambling to buy in at the offering price.
“This is worse than not scoring an invitation to the best party in high school,” said Manhattanite Fran Carpentier, 57, a publishing and marketing consultant who couldn’t get in on the IPO.

Facebook’s IPO is the third largest in US history, putting it just behind General Motors and Visa. The company tops McDonald’s and Amazon in market value.

Zuckerberg’s IPO put his net worth above Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who is worth about $18.5 billion. And he will likely surpass Mayor Bloomberg, who is worth $19.5 billion.

Zuckerberg, who controls 55 percent of Facebook’s voting power, saw his net worth rise to $19.1 billion.
The boy-wonder billionaire — who celebrated his 28th birthday Monday — owns 503.6 million shares of the social media behemoth he launched as a Harvard student in 2004.

His net worth will jump an astounding $1 billion for every $2 jump in the stock price.

Congratulations people!!

Facebook IPO makes Mark Zuckerberg 29th-richest person on Earth

$19.1 billion dollars. That's how much Mark Zuckerberg is worth after Facebook Inc. sold 421.2 million shares valued for $38 each on Thursday.

Not bad for a guy who just celebrated his 28th birthday Monday.

Zuckerberg, who first showed up on Forbes' billionaires list in 2008 with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, is now richer than Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Bloomberg reports.

Facebook: Road to IPO

However, he's not quite as wealthy as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is worth $60.4 billion, or Oracle's Larry Ellison, who is worth $34.2 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. For that matter, Zuckerberg is also worth less than Michael Bloomberg himself, who Forbes estimates is worth $22 billion.

Of course, Zuckerberg isn't the only person seeing a huge windfall from Facebook's $104.2-billion valuation. As Bloomberg reports:

Dustin Moskovitz, 27, who roomed with Zuckerberg at Harvard and was the company's first chief technology officer, is now worth $5.1 billion.

Eduardo Saverin, 30, who has created headlines this week when it was revealed that he renounced his U.S. citizenship, is now worth an estimated $2.7 billion.

Christopher Hughes, 28, who recently bought theWashington, D.C.-based magazine the New Republic, may now be worth $836 million.

And Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, 42, who owns 27 million shares -- including 25 million in restricted stock units -- is now a billionaire.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg marries long time girlfriend Priscilla Chan

Mark celebrated his 28th birthday on Monday, on Friday, he took FB public in one of the most anticipated IPOs in Wall Street history which in turn made him the 29th richest man on earth then yesterday changed his FB status to 'married'. Awesome! He's blessed and I think he married a good girl.

Fewer than a hundred people were invited to the party at his home but they didn't know it was a wedding. They thought it was a graduation ceremony for Priscilla.

The couple had been planning the ceremony for four or five months, according to a guest authorized to speak on behalf of the couple.

Zuckerberg designed a simple ruby wedding ring and Chan had not seen it before the ceremony, the guest said.

The wedding feast came from the couple's favorite Palo Alto restaurants, Palo Alto Sol and Fuki Sushi, and for desert they had Burdick Chocolate "mice," which Chan and Zuckerberg had on their first date.

Mark is the 29th richest man on Earth yet see how simple they dressed for their wedding?? Some people should take a cue from him and learn how not to be over-the-top when it comes to wedding ceremonies.

That being said, to each his own :-)

Congratulations to the newly weds.

Facebook Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend earns her Medical degree from University of California

On Monday, Priscilla Chan, the longtime partner of the 28-year-old Facebook founder, earned her medical degree from a top institution in the country, just days after inspiring a revolution in organ donor access.

 So far it's been a good month for Priscilla, the Harvard alum, who met Zuckerberg at a campus frat party almost a decade ago. On May 14, while the tech world marked Zuckerberg's 28th birthday, Chan was picking up her degree from University of California, San Francisco's School of Medicine, and even icing her degree with membership into the exclusive National Medical Honor Society.

While her boyfriend's expertise seems to be in working the market into a frenzy, Chan's specialty is in pediatrics. Already, her medical experience is saving lives on a large scale. Earlier this month, Facebook launched a new feature allowing users to add their organ donation status to their profiles. Zuckerberg credits the idea to Chan. "She's going to be a pediatrician, so our dinner conversations are often about Facebook and the kids that she's meeting," Zuckerberg told ABC News. After a few particularly heart-rending accounts of children in need of organ transplants at her hospital, Facebook's CEO developed the donor tool and effectively enlisted more than 1,000 new donors in a matter of days, according to Donor Life.

Despite rumors of an engagement two years ago, Chan and Zuckerberg aren't married. That means his big-time earnings today won't go directly into her pocket. Not that she hasn't experienced some perks. Living in low-key domesticity with their dog, Beast, the 20-somethings recently upgraded their digs to a $7 million Palo Alto home with a massive kitchen and plenty of privacy. They've also traveled to Vietnam and Shanghai for romantic vacations (that sometimes turn into work for Mark). If anything, her boyfriend's IPO explosion could have been more of a challenge than a boon. Chan reportedly has strict rules about weekly work-free dates where the couple can forget about Facebook. Zuckerberg's recent investor campaign may have put a dent in that routine.

But overall, Zuckerberg's cash crop could only be Priscilla's gains should the couple decide to wed.
If you ask Donald Trump, and unfortunately someone at CNBC's Squawk Box did, Chan would walk away with a chunk of change in the event of a prenup free divorce. (About $10 Million)
This is all assuming that Chan even wants to wed, no less divorce, Zuckerberg. Not everyone thinks, or dates, like Trump. For now, it seems Chan's big concern is saving the lives of kids, and that's probably one reason why her unfathomably rich boyfriend loves her. As the world stares slack-jawed at Zuckerberg's accomplishments, he's doing the same with his girlfriend.

After Priscilla earned her degree Monday, Mark posted the following message for her on Facebook.

I'm so proud of you, Dr. Chan : )

I am proud of her as well. Most girls won't even bother attaining a degree when they have a bf worth $29 billion!! Especially one they've been with for almost 10 years.

Good job Priscilla. You are one smart and independent lady. Kudos to you!

Nigerian man arrested for using dead man's Identity for over 20 years

Nigerian man -Bimbo Oyewole, used the identity of the victim in an unsolved murder to hide his status as an illegal immigrant while working undetected for two decades as a security guard and then a security supervisor at New Jersey airport, authorities said Monday in announcing his arrest.

The arrest of Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole came on the day a federal report found the Transportation Security Administration's handling of security breaches at the airport, Newark Liberty International, deficient.
Newark has had a number of high-profile security breaches.

Oyewole, 55, worked at the airport, starting in 1992, under the name of Jerry Thomas, who was killed that year in New York City. He was arrested, after an anonymous tip, at his home in Elizabeth on Monday and faced charges including identity theft, authorities said. It wasn't immediately known how Thomas' personal information was acquired.

Police in New York didn't say whether Oyewole was a suspect in the July 20, 1992, killing of Thomas in Queens.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the area's main airports and other transit hubs, said Oyewole entered the United States illegally in 1989 and had worked under several contractors at the airport, most recently FJC Security Services, and supervised about 30 guards. The agency said its investigation found no indication that he used the fake identity for any reason other than to live in the United States.

Port Authority leaders had spoken with FJC officials "and will meet with them in the coming days to take every legally permissible step to recheck their security personnel on a regular basis and to protect our customers, employees and facilities", agency spokesman Steve Coleman said.

The Port Authority said it wasn't sure if he had retained an attorney.

FJC Security, which received an airport contract in 2003, say Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, a 55-year-old Nigerian national, passed a background check posing as Jerry Thomas, who was shot to death in Queens in July 1992, and continued to use the clearance he had obtained to land several subsequent jobs. Most recently, authorities say, Oyewole was working as a supervisor for FJC Security Services, a company contracted by the airport’s operator, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, providing him access to the tarmac and aircraft.

"In all cases, he passed the background checks," FJC spokesman Michael McKeon said. "During his time with FJC, he had nothing in his record or his performance to indicate a cause for concern or a reason to question the state police and federal government's background checks."

McKeon said Oyewole, in his position as tour supervisor, didn't have access to employees' personal information.

In a statement, the TSA said it was reviewing the Port Authority's procedures for validating employee and contractor documents.

"This investigation indicates that the individual's identification documents were presented to the Port Authority for verification about a decade before TSA existed," the statement said.

State police spokesman Lt Stephen Jones said New Jersey requires security guards to undergo training under the Security Officer Registration Act and be fingerprinted. The fingerprints are run through the state police criminal history database before a guard is certified.

A candidate is disqualified if he or she has a conviction for a fourth-degree offense or higher or a drug offense of any level, Jones said. Oyewole, as Thomas, was certified under Sora, he said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection didn't immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.

An airport employee who was familiar with Oyewole as Thomas said the private security guards he supervised are responsible for manning TSA security checkpoints after passenger gates close for the evening and before they reopen in the morning. The guards also inspect delivery vehicles for possible unauthorized cargo, he said, speaking to The AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter.

A search of public records found evidence of a Bimbo Oyewole and a Jerry Thomas living at the address where Oyewole was arrested.

A report released Monday by the department of homeland security's office of the inspector general found that only 42% of reported security breaches from January 2010 to May 2011 led to corrective action, though it also found TSA had worked to improve its response.

A message left Monday on Oyewole's home phone was not immediately returned, and no one answered the door at the apartment.

Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin Renounces US Citizenship

Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co- founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), renounced his U.S. citizenship before an initial public offering that values the social network at as much as $96 billion, a move that may reduce his tax bill.

Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion through the IPO, the biggest in history for an Internet company. Saverin’s stake is about 4 percent, according to the website Who Owns Facebook. At the high end of the IPO valuation, that would be worth about $3.84 billion. His holdings aren’t listed in Facebook’s regulatory filings.

30 year old Eduardo Saverin, joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship, a move that can trim their tax liabilities in that country. The Brazilian-born resident of Singapore is one of several people who helped Mark Zuckerberg start Facebook in a Harvard University dorm and stand to reap billions of dollars after the world’s largest social network holds its IPO.
“Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time,” said Tom Goodman, a spokesman for Saverin, in an e-mailed statement.

Saverin’s name is on a list of people who chose to renounce citizenship as of April 30, published by the Internal Revenue Service. Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship “around September” of last year, according to his spokesman.

Singapore doesn’t have a capital gains tax. It does tax income earned in that nation, as well as “certain foreign- sourced income,” according to a government website on tax policies there.

Exit Tax
Saverin won’t escape all U.S. taxes. Americans who give up their citizenship owe what is effectively an exit tax on the capital gains from their stock holdings, even if they don’t sell the shares, said Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, director of the international tax program at the University of Michigan’s law school. For tax purposes, the IRS treats the stock as if it has been sold.
Renouncing your citizenship well in advance of an IPO is “a very smart idea,” from a tax standpoint, said Avi-Yonah. “Once it’s public you can’t fool around with the value.”
Saverin previously scuffled with Zuckerberg, his Harvard University classmate, over his ownership in Facebook. Saverin sued him and settled for an undisclosed amount.
The 2010 movie “The Social Network” added to Saverin’s fame after it portrayed him as a scorned friend who provided the company’s early financing and then was squeezed out. In the film, written by Aaron Sorkin, Saverin was portrayed by Andrew Garfield.
Saverin’s Investments
Saverin moved to the U.S. in 1992, and became a citizen in 1998, his spokesman said. He has invested in Asian, U.S. and European companies, according to his spokesman.

He plans to invest in Brazilian and in other global companies that have strong interests in entering the Asian markets. “Accordingly, it made the most sense for him to use Singapore as a home base,” Goodman said in the statement.
His U.S. holdings include Jumio Inc., an online payments company, and ShopSavvy Inc., a price-comparison service.

Renouncing citizenship is an option chosen by increasing numbers of Americans. A record 1,780 gave up their U.S. passports last year compared with 235 in 2008, according to government records.
Income-tax rates for top U.S. earners will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent next year, and rates on capital gains and dividends also are scheduled to rise unless Congress blocks the increases.

‘Tax Cost’
“It’s a loss for the U.S. to have many well-educated people who actually have a great deal of affection for America make that choice,” said Richard Weisman, an attorney at Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong. “The tax cost, complexity and the traps for the unwary are among the considerations.”

Some of the world’s largest wealth-management firms have ramped up efforts to fight tax evasion ahead of Washington’s implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca, which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts. HSBC Holdings Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of Singapore Ltd. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. all say they have turned away business.
The 2010 law, to be phased in starting Jan. 1, 2013, requires financial institutions based outside the U.S. to obtain and report information about income and interest payments accrued to the accounts of American clients. That means additional compliance costs for banks and fewer investment options and advisers for all U.S. citizens living abroad, which may depress banks’ returns.
Facebook plans to price its IPO on May 17, offering 337.4 million shares at $28 to $35 each. The shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FB. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are leading the sale.
Story by Danielle Kucera (dkucera6@bloomberg.net )

John Travolta denies the sexual harassment allegations

Update on the Lawsuit against John Travolta:

John Travolta was 2,475 miles from L.A. the day a masseur claims the actor sexually assaulted him at a Beverly Hills hotel -- and TMZ has obtained photographs which his people say will prove it.

We're told the photos were snapped January 16th in NYC. Travolta sources say they have proof positive of the location and date of the photos -- New York, January 16.

The photos could torpedo the case of John Doe #1, an unidentified male masseur who filed suit against Travolta for allegedly grabbing his penis and scrotum the very same day ... during a massage session at the 90210 hotel.

And there's more ... a receipt from a meal Travolta ate at Mr. Chow in New York ... also on January 16th (below).



The bill totaled $382 and the tip was $100 -- the kind of generous tip for which Travolta is known. We've confirmed Travolta ate the meal at Mr. Chow.

Another masseur filed suit against Travolta yesterday, claiming the actor tried to grab his penis during a massage session on January 28th in Atlanta. The same lawyer is handling both cases.

Travolta's attorney Marty Singer calls both lawsuits "absurd and ridiculous."

John Travolta in another sexual assault suit by another male masseur

Travolta is being sued by two unnamed male masseurs -- John Does No. 1 and 2 -- who both claim the actor tried to have sex with them during massage sessions.

John Doe No. 2 filed a $2 million sex assault suit yesterday morning in a Los Angeles court claiming "substantial documentation and numerous witnesses regarding the substance of Travolta's actions,".
John Doe No. 1 filed a sexual assault lawsuit on Monday.
Both are being represented by the same attorney.

John Travolta

The second alleged victim says that on January 28, 2012, at an Atlanta, Georgia resort, during an in-room massage, Travolta removed the sheet from his body and asked for his buttocks to be massaged, during which time he opened his legs to reveal an erection. He then tried to "force Doe Plaintiff No. 2's hand on Travolta's scrotum. Then, Travolta started to grab, rub and caress Doe Plaintiff no. 2's upper thighs and buttocks," RadarOnline.com reports the lawsuit states.
The first alleged victim told a similar story, alleging Travolta, 58, touched the unnamed plaintiff's genitals, propositioned him and touched himself lewdly.
The lawsuit claims Travolta booked the massage from an online advertisement and offered to pick the man up in his black Lexus SUV. The pair then drove to the Beverly Hills Hotel before continuing on to the actor's personal bungalow.

Travolta allegedly stripped naked in front of the masseur before beginning the massage. After about an hour Travolta allegedly rubbed the man's leg and touched his genitals.
The plaintiff said he told Travolta he would not have sex with him but claims he responded by offering to perform a sexual act.

The lawsuit goes on to say that Travolta subsequently masturbated and told the masseur that his Hollywood career could only progress "due to sexual favors."

The masseur is seeking $2 million plus punitive damages
Travolta's rep said in a statement to E! News that John Doe No. 1's claim was a lie and that JT was on the East Coast on the day the incident allegedly occurred.
"This lawsuit is complete fiction and fabrication," it reads. "None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred. The plaintiff, who refuses to give their name, knows that the suit is a baseless lie.
"Plaintiff's attorney has filed this suit to try and get his 15 minutes of fame. John intends to get this case thrown out and then he will sue the attorney and plaintiff for malicious prosecution."
But John Doe is fighting back, telling RadarOnline.com on Tuesday: “I have proof to support the truth that I’m telling.”
According to the lawyer representing the two masseurs, the publicity surrounding this week's court filing has caused more potential accusers to come out of the woodwork.
"By the time this case is over, [John Travolta's lawyer] Marty Singer will have to accuse more than 100 men of lying, because I have been contacted by people, mostly men, that have first hand information about similar behavior on John Travolta's part to that contained in the lawsuits I have already filed against him," Okorie Okorocha told RadarOnline.com. "I have witnesses and the potential for more accusers in virtually every state of the union who have called me. I'm currently in the process of investigating their claims and verifying the information before possible further action is taken."

Finders keepers losers weepers, woman who found $1 million lottery ticket from trash to return cash

An Arkansas woman who cashed a $1 million lottery ticket that she found in the trash may have to give up the winnings to a woman who threw away the ticket after she bought it, according to a judge’s ruling yesterday.

Sharon Jones found a winning lottery ticket in the trash and went to cash it. Ms Jones said she gathered a handful of discarded tickets from the trash can in front of a convenience store - as she had done many times before - and said there was no sign alerting customers not to take tickets. She went through all the tickets and found the winning one.

The $1 million was given to her but shortly after, the store manager decided that the money should be given to the store since that was where Ms Jones found the ticket. Huh? Really? Where they do that at?? Lol. It was in the TRASH in front of the store. The tickets were THROWN AWAY, she found them, so they are hers!

The yeye store manager decided to file a lawsuit against Ms Jones so that the store could claim the money, but check this out..a Ms Sharon Duncan appeared from nowhere to lay claim to the prize money as well. She said the winning ticket was hers because she threw it in that same trash can.

Madam Duncan, how on earth can you lay claim to that ticket??
#1) you threw it away which means you already lost ownership of it.
#2) you testified that you threw away the ticket after the read-out on a ticket scanner said, “Sorry. Not a winner.” which means you NEVER won. The scanner wasn't faulty, you just didn't win..PERIOD! So how dare you try to lay claim to the money.

The bizarre part of this story is that the yeye Judge Hughes ruled that the store manager- Petriches and the store’s owner, Louie Dajani - whose corporation, Summer One LLC, joined the suit - weren't entitled to anything but decided that Ms Sharon Duncan was entitled to the prize money, not Sharon Jones.

Sharon Jones after yesterday's court hearing

Jones’ attorney, James Simpson, said he plans to appeal. Jones had testified that she already spent some of the money on a new truck and cash gifts to her children. I don't blame her. The money was hers, this whole thing happened in July of 2011, so where on earth do they want her to get $1 million from??

White County judge Thomas Hughes, however, said Jones never met the burden of proof that Duncan abandoned her right to claim $1 million. “The $1 million was never found money,” Hughes said. If that's the case, then it means Duncan hasn't met the burden of proof that the winning ticket was hers either, cos the time stamp on the ticket and Ms Duncan's lottery receipt never matched, so how is the ticket hers??? I don't understand this Judge.

The judge instructed the winning side to write the judgment for his signature, and it will become official once Hughes signs it. Jones’ attorneys will then have 30 days to file an appeal.

Jugde Hughes found that the evidence weighed in Duncan’s favor that she bought the winning ticket, even though lottery records and store security video didn't sync up to the precise timing of the purchase.

Arkansas Lottery Security Chief Lance Huey testified that he investigated the circumstances of the ticket falling into Jones’ hands. He said the lottery was satisfied with the investigation and awarded the prize. So what's the problem here. They investigated the matter and saw that Sharon Jones was entitled to the money and gave it to her so why does this Judge wasn't to overturn it?

Duncan’s attorney, James “Red” Morgan, argued that she simply made a mistake by throwing away a $1 million ticket and that the only right she willingly parted with was to enter the ticket for the possibility of a secondary prize. Really?

Ms Jones found the ticket so she should keep the money. This is a very good example of 'Finders keepers losers weepers', period!! She shouldn't pay a dime back. She found it,it's hers! It's ridiculous!

Bucket List baby Avery dies

Little Avery Lynn Canahuati, the 5-month-old girl with Spinal Muscular Atrophy who captured everyone's hearts on the Internet for her bucket list, died yesterday, her family announced on her blog.

It's so sad that this precious baby left this world suddenly. On April 6th, her Doctors told her parents that she had 18 months to live so what happened?? Yesterday was April 30th.

Baby Avery's lung collapsed yesterday afternoon and she went into cardiac arrest, I immediately performed CPR on her and was able to bring her back to life, but only for a brief period of time before she passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital," her father, Michael Canahauati wrote in an update on her blog, Avery's Bucket List. Babies with severe types of SMA have difficulty regulating their breath and are especially vulnerable to respiratory complications.

"Avery's passing this quickly came as a complete shock to all of us, as she had just been given a thumbs up at her last doctor's appointment only three days ago," Mike Canahauati wrote in a blog post today. "While we were aware of the severity of her diagnosis, we never lost hope for Avery."

Her father wrote that the disease never took away Avery's smile and he shared a photo of Avery smiling before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday.

Baby Avery with her parents Laura and Michael

In her final post, written by her father, Avery writes: "When I started writing my blog, I thought I'd only be speaking to my closest friends and family members. Little did I know soooooooo many people would care about me and while I'm flattered to have so many people who love me, I hope they will also take time to love and care about all of my friends out there with SMA."

To cherish every moment with their daughter, the Canahuatis, from Bellaire, Tex., created "Avery's Bucket List," a sweet and joyful blog written from Avery's perspective, where they chronicle her world and track their family adventures, checking things off from the bucket list as they go.

Recently, Avery threw out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game in Houston, got a tattoo, a driver's license and had her first kiss with a cute little boy.

One of the things on her bucket list was to raise $1million for kids with SMA, so far they have raised $365,000 which her parents said they would use to help babies with SMA.

Written in Avery's voice and infused with humor, the blog attracted millions of views online - from as far away as Malaysia, Hong Kong and Germany - as her story and message was shared through the SMA community, on Facebook and other social networking sites.

May her beautiful soul rest in peace..Amen!!