The New Kids On The Block are back. Well, most of them are. Jonathan Knight walked off the stage in the middle of a performance last night at New York City’s iHeartRadio Theater.

The remaining members of the 90s band, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, continued to perform without their fellow band mate.

The New Kids On The Block haven’t offered a reason for Knight’s sudden departure but there doesn’t appear to be any bad blood between the members of the boy band.

Joe McIntyre said: “We love Jonathan and he loves us.”

The NY Daily News reports that Jonathan Knight has struggled with panic attacks and anxiety issues in the past and may have had a small panic attack last night.

Knight apologized to his fans on Twitter, writing: “I’m sorry…”

The New Kids On The Block are in the middle of a revival. They recently released a new album, booked a couple of cruise shows, and are now going on tour with fellow boy bands 98 Degrees and Boys II Men.

The episode last night had some NKOTB fans worried about the upcoming tour but the band said that there was nothing to worry about.

Not 2 worry BHs, all is well w Jon! It was a crazy album release week & we are all on a plane to Napa & look fwd to a grt show this weekend!

— NKOTB (@NKOTB) April 5, 2013

We love you guys and thank you for your undying support! See you on the road!

— NKOTB (@NKOTB) April 5, 2013

Jonathan Knight Walks Off Stage At New Kids On The Block Concert is a post from: The Inquisitr

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) said Friday that there’s a cool $100 million penciled into President Barack Obama’s proposed federal budget for a plan to lasso an asteroid with a robotic spacecraft and then safely tow it into orbit around the moon. And Nelson, who’s chairman of the Senate Science and Space Subcommittee as well as the second sitting member of Congress to fly in space, should probably know.

Clearly, the movement to learn how to move asteroids around has gotten some momentum in recent months. Not long after a damaging meteor struck Russia in February, four asteroids zipped by the earth in just one week in early March.

A former NASA director, Scott Hubbard, has been raising $450 million in private funds for nonprofit B612 Foundation, which has the goal of enlarging the human ability to seek out and find dangerous asteroids before they get too close to earth. However, some scientists questioned the purpose of finding out we’re about to get pelted by an asteroid, since we currently have no technology to do much of anything about it.

In addition to allowing NASA to develop and test technology for moving asteroids around safely, the “park it by the moon” plan would also bring an asteroid conveniently close to earth. That would advance an existing mission for human travel to an asteroid by four years. President Obama had previously said that humans might visit one of the giant space rocks by 2025.

Senator Nelson said the new plan will move up the date to 2021. Oh, and he’s also excited about the concept of mining the asteroid for potentially valuable minerals.

He said that we should see the item in Obama’s new budget when it’s released next week.

Although it sounds like the plot of a science fiction movie, Senator Nelson told an Orlando, FL press conference that we could see a robot ship catch a 500 ton asteroid by 2019.

[asteroid photo courtesy Igor Zh based on NASA/JPL-Caltech images via Shutterstock]

Senator Bill Nelson Says NASA Plans To Lasso Asteroid is a post from: The Inquisitr

Scientists on Friday announced a breakthrough that could help them prove the existence of dark matter. According to the group of researchers new results point to further evidence that the elusive matter exists.

The new findings were announced at the James E. Webb Auditorium  at NASA Headquarters.

According to Michael Salamon, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science program manager for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS):

“There have been little glitches, but the end product is here for all of us to see and it’s a happy day.”

NASA scientists used a buz-size particle detector (the AMS) mounted to the outside of the International Space station to investigate the presence of dark matter in our universe.

Scientists examined a year-and-a-half worth of data and found about 400,000 positrons, the the antimatter partner particles of electrons.

According to William Gerstenmaier, the NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations:

“Some days, my job is really great, and this is one of those days where my job is really great.”

The breakthrough validates the work of the scientists who had to fight for their $2 billion dark matter detector. The AMS program was originally cancelled in 2005 over concerns of astronaut safety. It wasn’t until major backlash in the scientific community occurred that NASA received permission to move forward with the project.

The AMS was launched to the International Space Station in May 2011. The project is run by Nobel laureate Samuel Ting, a physics professor at MIT. Ting is currently working with 200 scientists from 56 different institutions in 16 countries.

Researchers are convinced through early results that further breakthroughs will be discovered with the help of the AMS program.

According to NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier:

“I think it’s just kind of the beginning of other great things that will come from this instrument on board space station.”

Do you think scientists have the technology needed to uncover dark matter or are true breakthroughs still years in the making.

Dark Matter Evidence Further Uncovered By Eager Scientists is a post from: The Inquisitr

In the wake of the Mike Rice firing, Eric Murdock has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Rutgers University as a result of the school allegedly trying to sweep the Mike Rice player abuse under the rug.

Eric Murdock, the ex-director of player development for the Rutgers basketball program, reported directly to head coach Mike Rice. Murdock reportedly gave the footage of Rice bullying players at practice to ESPN that led to the downfall of both Rice and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti this week.

Murdock’s lawsuit filed today alleges violations of New Jersey’s whistleblower law, discrimination, and breach of contract among other charges. Murdock, who had a nine-year NBA with seven different teams, essentially claims he was let go by Rutgers after officially complaining about Coach Rice’s behavior. “The termination was the direct result of Mr. Murdock’s complaints and report of Defendant Rice’s unlawful conduct.” Murdock insists that he notified university officials in writing about Rice’s bullying behavior and gave them footage of it last year. Named as defendants in the Murdock lawsuit are Rutgers itself, as well as Mike Rice, Tim Pernetti, President Robert Barchi, former President Richard McCormick, and other as-yet unnamed Rutgers employees. Rutgers is the state university of New Jersey.

In an interview with Mike Francesa on WFAN earlier this week (before either he or Rice got the axe), Pernetti said flatly that Murdock never came to him to complain about the head coach. He also insisted that Murdock wasn’t terminated; instead his contract was not renewed. This apparently was in part the result of a scheduling snafu involving a motivational talk Murdock attended at his son’s high school basketball camp when he was supposed to be on the clock for Rutgers.

In late December, Murdock’s attorney sought a nearly $1 million payout from the school to settle his contract dispute.

Although all the facts have yet to come out, do you think that Eric Murdock has “clean hands” as the law calls it in this dispute with Rutgers University over his alleged firing?

Mike Rice Whistleblower Eric Murdock Files Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Against Rutgers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Justin Bieber may not have the press on his side right now, but he does have Will Smith in his corner. The Hancock actor recently criticized what he called the media’s “war” on the singer and said young artists should be supported.

Speaking to Extra, Smith indirectly referred to Bieber’s recent media headlines chronicling his Believe tour — and off — dramas.

These included a dispute between the singer’s security team with doormen at a London nightclub, a paparazzo row, a late stage show, battery allegations, and more recently, the seizing of his pet monkey by Munich customs officials.

Smith — whose 14-year-old son Jaden was one of the support acts on some of Bieber’s Believe tour shows — has called for a less hysterical perspective on the singer’s behavior, saying:

“When somebody is 19 years old, they’re gonna do what they’re gonna do, just like we did.”

He added: ”For me, the most important thing was for him to know anytime he can just call and I’ll come, whatever happens. At that age, that’s what you need, to know you can do what you’re gonna do, but you have somewhere you can go, where you can find safety.”

“It’s hugely important to support artists, young artists specifically. There is a war against that kind of artistry, that kind of creation.”

Smith isn’t the only person in the household to defend the embattled Bieber.

His wife, Jada, actress, producer and mother of two, spoke out last month in a thought provoking Facebook post titled, “Are We Bullying Our Young Artists?”

In it, she noted not just Justin, but also Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Quvenzhané Wallis, asking:

“Are we bullying our young artists? … Is it okay to continually attack and criticize a famous 19 year old who is simply trying to build a life, exercise his talents while figuring out what manhood and fame is all about as he carries the weight of supporting his family as well as providing the paychecks to others who depend on him to work so they can feed their families as well?”

Given that Bieber’s headlines have quantumed from ‘Spoilt,’ ‘Diva,’ ‘Meltdown,’ to ‘Out of Control,’ ‘Monstrous,’ and more recently,‘Sex Drugs Parties At Bieber’s Manse‘ claims — it would seem the Smiths have a point.

Although Canada’s finest has made some questionable decisions recently, the hysteria in some media reports as well as frankly misleading content — ‘Bieber Gropes Girls In Vienna Club’ a clear case in point — can perhaps accurately be called a “war.”

What do you think? Is the coverage on Justin Bieber getting out of hand and do you read media reports with a pinch of salt, or is all fair in love and war if you choose to become a celebrity?

[Image via Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com]

Will Smith Battles Up For Justin Bieber Over Media ‘War’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

President Obama apologized to Kamala Harris today for calling her the “best looking Attorney General” during an event in North Carolina.

The comment was initially met by laughs but shortly after the event the President was criticized for focusing on Harris’ looks instead of her abilities.

Obama was quoted saying: “She’s brilliant and she’s dedicated, she’s tough … She also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general in the country.”

The President called Harris today to say that he was sorry for the distracting comment. It’s not clear what the President said to Harris but a spokesman for the California Attorney General said that Harris and the president had an enjoyable conversation.

Spokesman Gil Duran said: “They had a great conversation yesterday, and she strongly supports him.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney also confirmed that the President apologized to Harris. Carney also tried to downplay the incident saying that Obama also said that Harris was brilliant, smart, dedicated and tough.

Carney said: “He called her to apologize for the distraction created by his comments … He did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general’s professional accomplishments and her capabilities. (Obama) fully recognizes the challenge women continue to face in the workplace and that they should not be judged based on appearance.”

Do you think President Obama’s comment was sexist?

Obama Sorry For ‘Best Looking Attorney General’ Comment is a post from: The Inquisitr

Microsoft has apologized for the Xbox 720 “always online” tweets yesterday, but refuses to confirm whether or not they are true.

In a not-so-surprising turn of events, after Microsoft employee Adam Orth tweeted his response to the drama surrounding the perhaps-rumor that the Xbox 720 will require an always online connection, Microsoft says they’re sorry about that. However, in the recent trend of secrecy and silence surrounding the Xbox 720, they are continuing to neither confirm or deny it.

This is nowhere near the first time Microsoft has refused to comment on rumors. Just this past week, they were rumored to have sent zebra striped consoles, controllers and Kinect units to all of their videogame developers, to the speculation that they don’t want their design stolen before they are ready to announce it themselves.

Later this same week, it was rumored by an insider that Microsoft will be announcing the Xbox 720 (codenamed Durango) at an event in May. Again, Microsoft refuses to deny or confirm the rumor.

It was said earlier that specs surrounding the Xbox 720 were leaked, and Microsoft is going out of their way to stop the leaking of information about their upcoming console. Microsoft is keeping quiet on all rumors, hopefully to stave off anyone attempting to steal their ideas or whatnot.

Yesterday, there was a bit of drama surrounding what was considered a fact that the Xbox 720 is going to require an always online connection. Adam Orth began answering questions about it, much to many people’s chagrin.

To clarify, Adam Orth is (or may have been) the creative director at Microsoft Studios, and his responses were uncalled for. In essence, he said that consoles should always be online, and we need to get with the times and follow suit. And later on, he mocked people for not believing the same as he does, that everyone should move into big cities and get internet.

Microsoft has apologized for Adam Orth’s tweets, as Larry Hryb has stated in his company blog:

“We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.”

What do you think of Microsoft’s apology for the “always online” twitter statements, and their refusal to deny or confirm the rumor?

Xbox 720: Microsoft Apologizes For ‘Always Online’ Tweets, Refuses To Confirm is a post from: The Inquisitr

Such a good fire to go about calling 911 on itself.

World’s Safest Fire Calls 911 On Itself is a post from: The Inquisitr

Prima Cinema has an answer for any of you, who have complained about not being able to watch first-run movies in your living room while they’re still playing in theaters.

The system comes equipped with a rack-mountable cinema player and the Prima Biometric Reader, which, PC Magazine notes, is a security function that enables only the owner of the system to play movies streamed from the Internet to the device.

One of the only caveats to ownership: it only offers films from Universal, and will cost you a whopping $35,000, not including the $500 per title for each new release.

Also, the cinema player can house only 50 movies at a time (or around $17,500 worth of Universal films). Up this week: Jurassic Park 3D.

Previous releases have included Identity Thief, Admission, and Les Miserables.

While the move is potentially groundbreaking for the home entertainment market — how many times have you encountered obnoxious movie patrons and thought, “I’m not coming back; if only I could stream from the house”? — it’s not a particularly aggressive maneuver.

Clearly, the five-figure initial price tag will keep middle class and lower income film lovers from biting, and the $500-per-title ongoing expense will further exclude, but it’s doubtful that’s the market anyway.

The Prima Cinema system would appear to be a great asset for businesses looking to capitalize, but not so fast if that’s what you’ve got in mind, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

THR noted representatives would inspect any venue belonging to an owner interested in purchasing to ensure no more than 25 seats are available.

Such a practice would effectively turn this into a loss-leader for small venues looking to dabble into Prima Cinema as an event revenue generator.

And considering technology pricing always starts higher and trends cheaper with time, a few questions come to mind:

1. Who will pay a fortune for a technology that’s likely to be significantly reduced in five years?

2. How long before the tech becomes palatable to the common consumer?

3. When was the last time anyone watched a movie in theaters and thought, “Yeah, I’d pay $500 to see that”?

Would you cough up the asking price for a Prima Cinema player, and how do you expect theatrical releases streamed to the home entertainment market to develop in the next five years?

For the curious, here’s a demonstration video of the system:

[Image via Prima Cinema website]

Prima Cinema Brings Big Screen Movies To Your Living Room, But… is a post from: The Inquisitr

Topher Grace and Susan Sarandon have signed on to hunt a vicious serial killer in the new indie drama The Calling, Deadline reported Friday.

The film will center on Sarandon, a small-town Canadian detective, who partners with ambitious Toronto transfer Grace to catch a killer preying on the terminally ill “to use as disciples in his own planned resurrection,” the website noted.

Scott Abramovitch penned the screenplay for Jason Stone, who will be making his feature debut on the project. Abramovitch’s previous writing credits include two TV movies from 2011 — Prayer Hour and No Surrender — according to his resume at IMDb.

Filming is scheduled to begin this week, so expect this one by the end of the year.

With this project and The Big Wedding (also releasing in 2013), Grace and Sarandon have grown quite chummy this year.

The Big Wedding is a comedy starring Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton as a couple divorced for a number of years, who pretend they’re still married as the family comes together for a wedding — considerably lighter material than The Calling, to say the least.

Grace hasn’t minded dabbling in the darker affairs since his departure from That 70s Show close to a decade ago. His role as Edwin in Predators, the Robert Rodriguez-produced reboot of 1987′s Arnold Schwarzenegger thrill-ride, is a notable standout.

As for Sarandon, the 67-year-old actress has stayed busier than ever with eight confirmed projects set for 2013, including the already released Snitch opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Most notable among what’s left on Sarandon’s slate is a starring role in The Last of Robin Hood, which will chronicle the last days of Errol Flynn (played by Kevin Kline).

She’s holding up extremely well considering she can now draw Social Security benefits. Given a long history of playing strong, sexually-charged characters, it’ll be interesting to see how the chemistry between her and Grace plays out in The Calling.

Will you be watching for this Susan Sarandon-Topher Grace team-up when it drops later this year?

(Let’s hope it turns out better than Sarandon’s last serial killer flick:)

[Images for Topher Grace and Susan Sarandon via Wikipedia Commons]

Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon Hunt Serial Killer In Indie Thriller is a post from: The Inquisitr

China has killed 20,000 birds in a live poultry marketplace in Shanghai, the latest step in the ongoing H7N9 bird flu crisis that became public knowledge on Sunday. That’s when authorities in Shanghai first revealed that two men had already died and a woman was critically ill.

As of Friday, the death toll stands at six.

On Thursday, with five already dead, officials said that they’d succeeded in linking the strain to some pigeons in a live bird marketplace in Shanghai.

What’s unusual about this strain of the H7N9 virus is that it hadn’t ever before infected humans. Instead, it was viewed primarily as a threat to poultry and economic interests. All that changed with the new strain, which has killed known poultry butchers but also a few people who didn’t work with live birds.

The World Health Organization, as well as Chinese health officials, have stressed that there is no cause for panic or for travel restrictions. The H7N9 bird flu still doesn’t seem to be able to spread from human-to-human contact — only by handling infected poultry.

Among the 20,000 birds killed Thursday and Friday by Chinese officials are chickens, ducks, and geese, as well as the pigeons. Shanghai’s live poultry markets will be closed as of Saturday morning.

An international team of researchers from around the world are now scrambling to contain the outbreak.

One problem with the H7N9 bird flu virus strain is that it doesn’t make many birds feel particularly sick, according to Joseph Bresee, chief of epidemiology for CDC’s Influenza Division. That makes it hard to track down where the disease came from — or what birds actually have it.

China’s health authorities have previously published a detailed analysis of four of the deaths in an eastern province, as well as an extensive examination of their contacts. They couldn’t find any cases where the H7N9 bird flu had spread from a sick human to another human, and the CDC said that there are still no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission.

In an unrelated outbreak of a different bird flu virus, Mexican authorities were recently forced to slaughter two million birds, leading to fears of price increases for eggs and chicken.

With six human lives already lost, and health workers still in the process of tracking down the source of the H7N9 bird flu virus, it’s likely that China will have to kill even more than 20,000 birds before it’s all over.

[goose family photo courtesy Elaine Radford]

China Kills 20,000 Birds As H7N9 Bird Flu Toll Rises is a post from: The Inquisitr

The UFC will officially be returning to Boston in 2013 after an almost three year hiatus.

President Dana White, who spent part of his childhood in Ware, Massachusetts, announced on Twitter that the company would be returning to the TD Garden on August 17. It was less than a month ago that he announced UFC’s return to the Hub and teased that it was “sooner than people think.” One of the possible dates floating around was July 27 for UFC on Fox 8, but that event is now being held at Key Arena in Seattle.

The first — and only — time a UFC event was held in Boston was August 28, 2010, for UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2.  In front of 14,168 UFC fans, B.J. Penn defeated Frankie Edgar for the second time to regain his 155-pound championship title. Also on the card for the night were local fighters Joe Lauzon, who grew up in Brockton and East Bridgewater, and Kenny Florian, who grew up in Dover. Lauzon defeated Gabe Ruediger by armbar submission at 2:01 in the first round. Florian fell to Gray Maynard by unanimous decision.

Specifics of the August 17 fight card have not yet been released, but what is known is that it will air on Fox Sports 1, which will make its network debut the same day. The launch will also include the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The launch is part of Fox’s plans to rebrand Speed and Fuel TV as Fox Sports 1 and 2 in an effort to compete with ESPN.

We are FINALLY going back to Boston at the TD Garden on Aug 17th for the launch of FOX Sports 1!! We are bringing a SICK card

— Dana White (@danawhite) March 29, 2013

The next UFC event is UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi, which will take place at the Ericcson Globe Arena in Stockholm on April 6. After that, it’s back to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen finale on April 13.

Who would you like to see on the fight card for the UFC’s return to Boston?

UFC Sets Boston Return For August is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Outdoor Channel will apparently no longer film in Colorado now that the state has enacted new gun control laws.

Two Colorado gunmakers – HiViz Shooting Systems and Magpul Industries — are also moving their operations out of state, and two shooting competitions scheduled for Colorado are going elsewhere.

The Outdoor Channel describes itself as “America’s leader in outdoor TV … that captures the excitement of hunting, fishing, shooting sports, off-road motorsports, adventure and other outdoor lifestyles.”

In a letter to a state senator before the new Colorado gun bills were voted into law, Outdoor Channel Executive Producer Michael Bane noted that his network has at least four shows under production that focus on guns, hunting, shooting, and the outdoors, including the channel’s most popular show Gun Stories (hosted by Joe Mantegna of Criminal Minds).

Most of the filming for these shows has taken place in Colorado because the state has earned the reputation as sportsman’s and woman’s paradise.

That all appears to be changing, however. In his letter, Bane pledged to pull all of the TV production activity out of Colorado and move to a more gun-friendly state if/when the restrictive laws took effect.

Bane’s letter included the following sentiments:

” … Obviously, part of this is due to our own commitment to the right to keep and bear arms, but it also reflects 3 lawyers’ opinions that these laws are so poorly drafted and so designed to trap otherwise legal citizens into a crime (one of our attorneys referred to them as ‘flypaper laws’) that it is simply too dangerous for us to film here …

“The message we will take to our viewers and listeners is that these proposed laws are so dangerous to hunters and any other person, be she a fisherman or a skier who brings a handgun into the state for self-defense, that we cannot recommend hunting, fishing or visiting Colorado. We reach millions of people, and, quite frankly, we have a credibility that Colorado government officials can no longer match.”

Bane acknowledged that Colorado stands to lose “only” lose about $1 million when the Outdoor Channel cameras close down, but that’s only part of the economic impact. “We estimate that as many as one quarter to one third of out of state hunters will desert Colorado in the next 18 24 months, which will quite frankly be a disaster for the hunting industry in Colorado …”

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Discovery Channel canceled Ted Nugent’s Gun Country and American Guns.

Have you ever watched the Outdoor Channel? Do you think that Colorado’s economy will take a significant hit if or when hunters spend their money elsewhere and production companies head to other states to film TV shows about the outdoors?

[Top image credit: Shutterstock]

The Outdoor Channel Shuts Down Production In Colorado Over New Gun Laws is a post from: The Inquisitr

Justin Bieber can now add one more voice to the growing cast of parents that he seems to have acquired. Who? I hear you ask. Why, it’s Vanilla Ice.

Yes, Vanilla Ice.

In addition to Will Smith’s slam on the media’s “war”on Bieber, his wife’s blasting of press “bullying,” will.i.am, Liam Tomlinson, Jessie J and Chris Brown’s recent declarations of support for the embattled singer — now Ice himself wades into the debate.

Speaking to GQ about all the hugely interesting things he’s doing now, Ice — or, Robert Van Winkle, which is almost inconceivably worse — had this to say about young Bieber’s ongoing bad press.

“I’ve known [Bieber] for a while,” Ice reveals, surprisingly. “He’s a good kid and he’s got great people around him. The bad thing is, they’re not always going to be around. There’s a transition from being a kid to being an adult, and he’s never had that. Concerts every night, autograph signings, endorsements, and so on. That’s not what real life is about.”

“I don’t think Justin’s listening to too many people these days,” the underrated ex-rapper continued. “He’s gotta learn his purpose. When the snow globe that’s been rattled up his whole life settles, it’s ‘Where am I as an adult?’ and ‘Where do I fit in?’”

For those that have been more concerned with minor items like the threat of nuclear war and shifting tectonics of world economics, a brief recap of Bieber’s recent missteps, includes:

Battery allegations by his Calabasas, California neighbor, an expletive-filled row with a British paparazzo, the forcible quarantining of his new pet monkey, persistent shirtlessness, a reported ban from a Vienna nightclub … I could go on. Essentially it all adds up to not quite an Oasis tour but not High School Musical either.

Of Bieber’s well documented antipathy towards the paparazzi, Ice — who rode the fame train at the tender age of 23 with his seminal opus “Ice Ice Baby” — offers this insight:

“If [Bieber] hits the paparazzi, that’s gonna be on the news tonight. If he releases a new record, I don’t know. And you have to pay for that advertisement! He’ll be alright. He’s got some stuff to go through. Hopefully he won’t go too far.”

Anyone else think the ‘Bieber Bad Boy’ debate is losing a sense of perspective?

[Image via Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com]

Justin Bieber Gets Unsolicited Advice From Vanilla Ice On Top Of Everything Else is a post from: The Inquisitr

Aliens: Colonial Marines for the Wii U has been canceled, as confirmed by Sega.

Aliens: Colonial Marines did not do well at all when it was launched, earning scathing reviews across the board from critics and gamers alike. After such terrible reviews, Sega thought twice about porting the game to what they originally considered the ultimate environment for a shooter, saying it had more to offer. They had been gaging the possibility for how well it did on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Soon after the release of Aliens: Colonial Marines on the current consoles, there was a firestorm of controversy. Some said they were outsourcing to other studios, some said they had hurried the development, and some even said the advertising was deceptive. The last of these accusations was confirmed by Sega, who said the game was really not up to snuff. UK’s Advertising Standards Agency forced Sega to admit that the trailer shown for all versions of Aliens: Colonial Marines was not the final product.

In February, Aliens: Colonial Marines mysteriously vanished from the Wii U online store despite Sega saying it was still on the way.  A major nail in the coffin was when a Gearbox play tester told Sega that Aliens: Colonial Marines for the Wii U was the weakest edition of the game yet.  Today, Sega confirmed the fact to IGN, “SEGA can confirm that the Wii U sku of Aliens: Colonial Marines is no longer in development.”

This news only seems to reinforce Nintendo’s problems with the Wii U, as the worldwide sales numbers for the console have been disappointing and the lineup of games for Nintendo’s console has seen more than its share of disappointments. Sadly, this happened with the N64 as well, and only Mario and Zelda seemed to bring that console to profitability.

Speaking of which, Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Nintendo, has asked that we give Wii U some time, as sales have begun to pick up.

How do you feel about Sega finally confirming the cancellation of Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines?

‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ For Wii U Canceled By Sega is a post from: The Inquisitr

Intel on Friday admitted that a flaw exists in the USB 3.0 connection por on its Haswell processors. The bug is related to the silicon that was used is creating the USB ports. The bug has caused USB 3.0 ports to vanish after entering a low power state.

The USB device is immediately recognized again after a user disconnects and reconnects the USB device.  The Haswell chips operate with as little as 10-watts of power. The chipset was demonstrated on-stage during the Linktext 2012 Consumer Electronics Show demo. The demo allowed an Ultrabook to run for 13-hours on a single charge with a detachable-keyboard.

In a statement regarding the bug Intel said it was planning to move forward with the Haswell processors launch after issuing a quick fix. According to the company:

“4th gen Core is on track for a midyear launch. Intel issued a PCN (Product Change Notification) documenting a chipset USB errata and stating that chipsets with the errata will be in production during the initial ramp. But Intel has confirmed that there is no chance of data loss or corruption. This issue has only been observed with a small subset of USB SuperSpeed thumb drives and does not affect other USB peripherals. We take all customer issues seriously and should any customer have a question or concern they can always contact Intel customer support.”

Intel will send a revised version of the chip to manufacturers starting April 19. The final version of the Intel Haswell chip will become available on July 15.

Because PC manufacturers have had the Haswell chipset on-hand for the last two months it is likely that some devices may feature the flaw upon release.

Not only is the Haswell chipset a lower power consumer, it also doubles graphical processing performance.

PC manufacturers and Mac OS X desktops are expected to incorporate the Intel Haswell processor with its USB 3.0 capabilities by the second half of 2013.

Intel Admits USB Problem With Haswell Processors, Confirms Fix is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bradley Cooper has entered negotiations for the villain role in the western Jane Got a Gun, Variety reported late Friday.

In the film, Natalie Portman plays a woman, whose husband is wounded by an outlaw gang. She enlists the help of an ex-lover when the bad guys come calling, but thus far any potential on-screen trouble has paled in comparison to what’s going on behind the scenes.

Recent developments have included the loss of two stars and a director along with some musical chairs casting.

In the beginning, Michael Fassbender had signed on to play the role of hero, while Joel Edgerton was cast as the villain. Fassbender backed out last month and Edgerton moved over to the hero role, while Jude Law stepped in as bad guy.

Then, Deadline reported on March 19 that director Lynne Ramsay baled on the production over creative differences, and with her departure, Law dropped out as well, stating he wanted to work with Ramsay as the reason.

Luckily for producer Scott Steindorff, director Gavin O’Connor, who previously worked with Edgerton on the MMA drama Warrior, agreed to take the project. But that doesn’t mean Steindorff isn’t sore.

The producer admitted that he had retained a litigator and that Ramsay could be facing legal action for her decision.

“I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast,” he said. “I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up.”

Bradley Cooper should be a nice consolation prize for Steindorff as long as nothing else goes wrong, but at this stage of the game, nothing would surprise us.

Do you like today’s casting addition to Jane Got a Gun, or is this troubled western already too much of a train wreck?

Bradley Cooper can now be seen in The Place Beyond the Pines, and later this year, look for him in Serena and this:

[Image via vipflash / Shutterstock.com]

Bradley Cooper, New Bad Guy In ‘Jane Got A Gun’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

EA’s COO Peter Moore issued a response to a recent poll that has named his Electronic Arts one of the worst companies in America. The poll seems to be the latest in what has been a long line of missteps by the company in the last few years.

Almost everyone heard about the problems that were brought by the launch of SimCity. Those problems were big enough to cause the company to actually hand out free games in an attempt to win back their customers.

Following that debacle, as well as the general struggles of the company in regards to a whole host of other games Electronic Arts announced a round of layoffs in their Montreal and Los Angeles studios.

EA’s layoffs were followed about a month later by the company’s CEO, John Riccitiello announcing that he was leaving as well. The latest blow is the poll, that is being carried out by the Consumerist that allows their users to pick the country’s worst company.

The selections are set up to closely mirror the way the NCAA Tournament is carried out and Electronic Arts is currently in the semi-finals. On the company’s official blog, Peter Moore tried to respond to this less than glowing review of his firm.

Moore’s post boiled down to a plea to the company’s customers to have a little patience and understand that they realize this “award” isn’t something that any company should strive for.

The COO also acknowledged that the lack of love for his company wasn’t anything new. In the blog he admitted that “This is the same poll that last year judged us as worse than companies responsible for the biggest oil spill in history, the mortgage crisis, and bank bailouts that cost millions of taxpayer dollars.”

The post wasn’t 100 percent conciliartory. Moore said that the reasons the company got to the semi-finals last year was because of users’ mistaken belief that Electronic Arts supported SOPA and that people didn’t like the ending to Mass Effect 3.

The COO also talked about how he believed that most of the reason his firm ranked so high is because the people who use his products are already on the Internet alot. That seemed like a bit of a cop-out considering that most people who visit the Consumerist are consumers in general.

At the end of the post, Moore did say that he believes his company can do better and will do better. He also closed by saying that his company was unbowed and proud.

Are you happy with the way EA responded to this poll?

EA’s Peter Moore Comments On ‘Worst Company In America’ Poll is a post from: The Inquisitr

A second horse has died at the Aintree Grand National meeting. The race is being held in the UK and is no stranger to equine deaths. Two horses have died in the past two races.

The two deaths during the 2013 race came even after officials made changed to fences in the steeplechase. The latest horse to lose its life was Little Josh, who fell. Battlefront collapsed and died on Thursday.

A number of modifications were made to the course for the 2013 race to make even the event’s most famous fences look less dangerous.

One of the modifications was made to the notorious Becher’s Brook. But the two deaths at the Grand National Race will likely make animal welfare groups criticize the race again.

Aintree released a statement about the second horse’s death, saying:

“We are sad to confirm that it has been necessary to humanely put down Little Josh on welfare grounds, as a result of his fall at the 15th fence in the Topham Chase. He received immediate veterinary attention for a broken shoulder, but this injury was not treatable and it was the necessary course of action.”

While the organizers have attempted to make the course safe for horses to run, they acknowledged that there will always be some risk involved in jumping that cannot be completely removed. Before Little Josh came up with a broken shoulder, jockey Katie Walsh pulled up Battlefront during the Fox Hunters’ Steeplechase.

The 11-year-old horse collapsed and died shortly after of a suspected heart attack. The second horse’s death marks the 21st horse to die in races over Grand National fences since 2001. Dr. Mark Kennedy, the head of science ad World Society for the Protection of Animals, explained, “Sadly there is a statistical probability that horses will die at the Grand National meeting.”

The deaths of Little Josh and Battlefront will likely put a damper on Sunday’s English Grand National steeplechase — largely regarded as the world’s best known race of its kind.

[Image via Lesley Rigg / Shutterstock.com]

Second Horse Dies At Grand National Race is a post from: The Inquisitr

Steve Carell is going back in time.

The Anchorman star has just signed on to star in a new HBO movie called Bone Wars, in which he plays the paleontologist rival to James Gandolfini. The period comedy is based on the Great Dinosaur Rush of the 19th century, when a mad scramble was on to discover dinosaur bones.

The actual historical era led to the discovery of 160 species of dinosaur, but execs at HBO are hoping it leads to some laughs. The movie follows the historical battle between Othniel Charles Marsh (James Gandolfini) and Edward Drinker Cope (Steve Carell), onetime friends who turned into rivals as they scrambled to make new discoveries.

Their professional rivalry turns sour as they two engage in espionage, bribery, and eventually complete sabotage.

Bone Wars is still in development, with HBO still searching for a writer. Gandolfini is signed on as executive producer along with Steve Carell.

While production inches forward on Bone Wars, Steve Carell is busy filming Anchorman 2. In late March he appeared on VH1′s Big Morning Buzz Live With Carrie Keagan to talk about the sequel to the 2004 film. Carell said the movie, tentatively titled Anchorman: The Legend Continues, is the “perfect” sequel.

Steve Carell To Play Paleontologist Rival To James Gandolfini In New Movie is a post from: The Inquisitr