Did a prank go too far?
A nurse who unsuspectingly transferred a prank call from Australian hosts posing as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles has been found dead in what is reportedly a suicide. The nurse has been identified as Jacintha Saldanha.
Saldanha was the first to answer the call on Tuesday as hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian tried to get information on expectant mother Kate Middleton, who was admitted into the King Edward VII Hospital after suffering from acute morning sickness. Saldanha’s first responses along with those of a second nurse were recorded and broadcast on air.
According to a statement by hospital chairman Lord Glenarthur, he said: “This is a tragic event. Jacintha was a first-class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds of patients during her time with us. She will be greatly missed.”
Prince William and Kate have also issued a statement, expressing how deeply saddened they are to learn of the death.
“Their royal highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time.”
While the Australian Communications and Media Authority are still investigating the case, the radio hosts have since issued apologies and have decided not to return to their radio show until further notice.
“Just on our royal prank call… we were very surprised that our call was put through, we thought we’d be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents,” Christian wrote on his Twitter account. “We’re very sorry if we’ve caused any issues and we’re glad to hear that Kate is doing well.”
Here are five texting fails to make you feel a bit better about whatever embarrassing text you last sent out. We also noted the offending words so you can be extra careful to spell check those doozies. [Source]
Penis = Phone
Penis Farm = Peanut Farm
Dead = Dear Read more…
Grammy award winning singer and actress Whitney Houston, who has sold over 170 million albums worldwide, died today at age 48 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Though her publicist Kristen Foster confirmed the death, she did not reveal the cause. She was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm E.T. despite resuscitation efforts. A police spokesperson said there appears to be no obvious signs of criminal intent, though it will still be investigated. Her death comes on the eve before the Grammy Awards, where she dominated as one of the top pop/R&B singers for decades, starting in the mid 1980s.
Houston’s private life was often made public. She battled a drug addiction for years and had a tumultuous marriage with ex-husband Bobby Brown, with whom she has a daughter. She staged a comeback in 2009, though she didn’t achieve the success she experienced at her peak.
She recently filmed Sparkle with Jordin Sparks, which is set to arrive in theatres on Aug. 10. The film is a remake of the 1976 hit.
The social media world erupted with reactions to her death. Music producer Russell Simmons wrote he was “deeply saddened by the death of Whitney Houston.” Quincy Jones, said he was “absolutely heartbroken” and that “she was a true original and a talent beyond compare.”
Over the span of her career, the music legend won six Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music awards. She also claims the first female album to debut at #1 on Billboard.
You can stop wondering – Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men is dead.
Deadlline.com reports Harper’s funeral will take place on the September 19th debut of the season. The funeral will be attended by Charlie’s many girlfriends, and Charlie’s house is put up for sale, which attracts many real life celebrity buyers.
Ashton Kutcher’s character will likely buy the house and somehow Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones stay in the picture.
How do you think Charlie dies? We think it will be a massive orgy that somehow causes a heart attack.
Amy Winehouse has joined the “27 Club,” which are notable/influential musicians who passed away at 27 years old. Below lists the most notable members of that club:
Amy Winehouse
Jimi Hendrix
Fox News Politics Twitter account was hacked this morning, and a Tweet was sent out claiming President Barack Obama was assassinated.
Gawker reports Fox acknowledges the hack but couldn’t access and remove the Tweets for hours. The Huffington Post reports a hacker group claimed responsibility for the hoax, with a link to their own Twitter account.
Fox News wrote in a statement that it “regrets any distress the false tweets may have created.”
So if they linked to their own Twitter account, doesn’t that suggest they can easily be identified, and arrested? There must be a ton of laws they broke from hacking a Twitter account, to falsifying reports that the President is dead.
A fake news story claiming that rapper Tupac is still alive was posted on PBS’ website on Monday, reports Billboard.
Hackers apparently got into the network’s website and posted a fake story claiming the dead rapper, full name Tupac Amaru Shakur, was alive in New Zealand.
Many still believe Tupac is still alive, refusing to believe he is dead, so obviously the story came with some major attention. Way to fuel the conspiracy theorists, hackers.
PBS confirmed Monday that the website had been hacked and the story was removed later that morning. It had been posted on the ‘PBS NewsHour’ program website.
The program later released a tweet, saying “If you missed it: our site has been accessed by hackers. Thanks for staying with us.”
The hackers is a group apparently called ‘LulzSec,’ or ‘The Lulz Boat’ on Twitter. The group claims they are responsible for the act, and even posted a video which taunts the network.
As much as I do not condone this kind of action, I must say, the hackers were smart in getting the attention of the public. There are so many conspiracy theorists out there who still believe Tupac is alive, so posting a story claiming he’s alive is one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard of. Not that I condone it.
You always have to admire someone with hustle and entrepreneurial spirit. 23-year old Maurice Harary made some quick cash after creating a website to commemorate the death of Osama bin Laden reports TMZ.
Once Harary heard bin Laden was dead, he built a website that sells ”OBL is dead” t-shirts. The site went live a 3:30am, and by Tuesday evening, he had sold around 10,000 units at 12 bucks a pop.
Here’s a question, do you think Maurice will donate some of the profits to the 9/11 victims fund? He probably would sell even more t-shirts if he did.
According to ABC News, silver-screen legend Dame Elizabeth Taylor died early Wednesday Morning.
Taylor reportedly died of congestive heart failure. She’s been hospitalized for a while at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.
Taylor’s son, Michael Wilding, released this statement: “We will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.”
Taylor appeared in her first film at the age of nine. She has been considered time and time again as one of the greatest actresses of all time. She has starred in classics including “Cleopatra” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. She has won two Academy Awards for best actress for her roles in “Butterfield 8″ and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”.
According to TMZ,” Taylor has a plot next to her parents at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in L.A. Among those who are buried or interred there — Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Truman Capote, Farah Fawcett, Dean Martin and Walter Matthau”.
Hip-hop legend Nate Dogg died Tuesday night at 41 years old after battling some long term health issues. Long time friend Snoop Dogg took to Twitter to comment on Nate’s death
“We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb. One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met.”
“I miss u cuzz I am so sad but so happy I got to grow up wit u and I will c u again n heaven cuz u know d slogan.”
Snoop added, “I love u buddy luv. U will always b wit me 4ever n a day u put the g n g funk u put the 1 n 213 n u put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit.”
Canadian born actor Leslie Nielsen died today of complications related to pneumonia at a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, FLA reports TMZ. Nielsen was 84 years old.
Nielsen is known for his roles in “Airplane” and the “Naked Gun” franchise. He leaves two children and a wife.
Canadian funny man Martin Short’s wife, Nancy Dolman, has passed away at 58 years old.
JustJared has confirmed the death with Martin’s manager Marc Gurvitz. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Actor Dennis Hopper died today at the age of 74.
TMZ reports Hopper passed away at his home in Venice, CA. His family was beside him at his bed.
Hopper had recently been suffering from prostate cancer and going through a difficult divorce from his wife Victoria.
Paul Gray, bassist for legendary band Slipknot, was found dead this morning in his Des Moines, Iowa hotel room. He was 38.
An autopsy, including toxicology tests, will be performed Tuesday, reports CNN. His body was found by staff members at the TownePlace Suites.
Gray was arrested in 2003 after police found in his possession small amounts of marijuana, two syringes and a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.
Brittany Murphy’s widower Simon Monjack was found dead at his Los Angeles home Sunday evening. He was 40 years old.
PopEater reports that Monjack was found in the master bedroom by his mother-in-law Sharon. Sharon also lives at the home. The cause of death is being investigated.
“We have detectives at the scene,” Sgt. Louie Lozano told the Los Angeles Times. “They are conducting their investigation. Once we have further information, we will provide it.”
A 911 call was placed from the home at 9:46pm Sunday evening. Paramedics arrived at the home where Monjack was pronounced dead.
No illegal drugs were found in the house, according to Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.
Peter Lopez, husband to actress Catherine Bach of “The Dukes of Hazzard” fame was found dead late Friday morning in Encino, Calif. E! Online reports.
Paramedics reached the home of Bach and Lopez, responding to a possible shooting report.
LAPD spokesperson Lt. John Romero comments, “We’re still in the early stages of the investigation, but what we gather is it’s an apparent suicide.” reports E! Online.
Lopez was a music attorney who at one point represented Michael Jackson.
Bach and Lopez were married in 1990 and have two children together.
Rock legend Alex Chilton died today due to an apparent heart attack, according to The Commercial Appeal of Memphis.
Chilton, who lived in New Orleans, was complaining of health problems on Wednesday and was rushed by paramedics to hospital. A band mate in Big Star, Jody Stephens, confirmed his death to The Commercial Appeal. The band was supposed to play at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas this weekend.
TMZ is reporting that actor Corey Haim was found dead this morning of an apparent drug overdose. Haim was 38.
The actor was found in his apartment by his mother. He was apparently clean and sober after a substantial time in recovery. LAPD suggest that the overdose may have been an accident. The apartment complex where he died is the same complex Rick James died in 2004.
The search for Growing Pains star Andrew Koenig ended today after he was discovered dead in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.
Koenig, who suffered from depression, reportedly took his own life.
The actor’s father, Walter Koenig, best known for his role as Pavel Chekov on Star Trek, made a public announcement today in a Vancouver press conference.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead this morning in his London home.
“At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee’s family,” said a statement released by his office, referring to him by his real name.
E! news reports that rumors are speculating that Mcqueen’s death could have been a suicide. Additionally Scotland Yard is not treating the death as suspicious.
The designer’s mother recently passed away and McQueen turned to Twitter to share his emotions.
