Oklahoma native country singer Blake Shelton’s tornado relief concert will be held on May 29. The event, titled “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert,” will be held at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

Shelton is slated to perform, along with his wife, Miranda Lambert, and fellow country stars Reba and Vince Gill, who are also Oklahoma natives. Other guests are expected to be announced soon.

NBC, which already has a relationship with Shelton from The Voice, will air the concert live at 9 pm EDT. It will be delayed for PDT. Other stations broadcasting are E!, Bravo, CMT, Style, and G4. Shelton explained his reasons for having the concert, saying:

“Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy.”

The Moore, Oklahoma tornado killed 24 people and injured hundreds. It also leveled thousands of homes, two elementary schools, and a medical center. The massive EF-5 twister left a path of almost complete destruction in its wake on May 20, 2013.

It’s also not the first time Blake Shelton has supported Oklahoma tornado victims with a concert. He and Reba hosted two shows in 2011 to benefit Oklahomans affected by the tornadoes in Atoka County. The two concerts were sold out and raised $500,000 for tornado victims.

Other stars who have stepped in to help are NBA player Kevin Durant and country singer Carrie Underwood. Each has pledged $1 million toward recovery efforts in the wake of the killer tornadoes.

All funds for Blake Shelton’s benefit concert will go to the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund, so they will be earmarked for the Moore tornado, along with the tornado that struck Shawnee, Oklahoma on May 19.

Tickets for the “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert” featuring Blake Shelton will go on sale Saturday, May 25, at 10 am CDT.

[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]

Blake Shelton’s Oklahoma Tornado Relief Concert Will Broadcast On May 29 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Brad Pitt may suffer from face blindness, a disorder that leaves people unable to distinguish faces.

The revelation came from a recent interview the actor did in support of his upcoming movie, World War Z. In it, the actor told Esquire that he has a hard time remembering faces of people he meets.

Pitt said he thinks this may be face blindness, or prosopagnosia, as it’s known in the medical world.
Though he’s never been disagnosed with face blindness, Pitt said his difficulty distinguishing faces has gotten him into trouble in the past.

“So many people hate me because they think I’m disrespecting them,” Pitt told the magazine. “I took one year where I just said, This year, I’m just going to cop to it and say to people, ‘OK, where did we meet?’ But it just got worse. People were more offended. …You get this thing, like, ‘You’re being egotistical. You’re being conceited.’ But it’s a mystery to me, man. I can’t grasp a face, and yet I come from such a design/aesthetic point of view. I am going to get it tested.”

After Pitt mentioned that he’d like to get tested, a neuroscientist at Carnegie Mellon University took notice. Marlene Behrmann, noted researcher in the disorder, said she would be happy to test Pitt to determine if he indeed is suffering from prosopagnosia.

Behrmann and her research team recently identified the brain system responsible for face blindness, and Carnegie Mellon is one of the few places in the world that can test for it.

“Faces are among the most compelling visual stimulation that we encounter, and recognizing faces taxes our visual perception system to the hilt,” Behrmann said in a press release. “Carnegie Mellon has a longstanding history for embracing a full-system account of the brain. We have the computational tools and technology to push further into looking past one single brain region. Face blindness is an intriguing neurological disorder, and we have already turned up a few clues as to what causes this problem. If Mr. Pitt would be willing, we would be honored to image his brain for diagnostic purposes.”

If the actor is up for the offer, Behrmann said she would test Brad Pitt for face blindness herself.

Brad Pitt Says He May Suffer Face Blindness, Wants To Get Tested is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hillary Clinton leads a 2016 poll in the crucial state of Iowa, adding more ammunition to the rumors that the former Secretary of State will seek the White House in three years.

The poll released Friday by Quinnipiac University shows that in Iowa Clinton was ahead of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida 48 percent to 37 percent, and led Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky by a slightly narrower 46 percent to 42 percent.

While Clinton leads the 2016 poll, fellow Democrat Joe Biden didn’t fare so well. He narrowly trailed both of the main GOP rivals, losing to Rubio by 1 point and trailing Paul by 5 percentage points.

“The major difference between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joseph Biden is that she runs much better among independent voters, although Sen. Rand Paul runs better among that key group than either Democrat,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, wrote in the poll’s press release.

Once a swing state, Iowa has been solidly blue for Barack Obama in the last two presidential elections.

Since the 2012 election ended, many political experts believed that Hillary would parlay her experience in the Senate and as Secretary of State into a presidential run. She is seen as having some big advantages, including the experience of serving in two of the nation’s top political positions and access to a formidable fundraising machine through her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

“That is the worst expenditure of our time,” Clinton said at the 2013 Fiscal Summit, where he appeared alongside Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill said Hillary isn’t focused on 2016, but instead putting her energy into the the work she does for the Clinton Foundation, writing a book, and “having a little fun being a private citizen for the first time in 20 years.”

If a Hillary 2016 run were to happen, the former Secretary of State would likely enter the race as the favorite. A previous poll from Quinnipiac University found that Clinton would defeat any Republican challengers, in hypothetical presidential matchups, including rising GOP star Chris Christie.

“Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton would start a 2016 presidential campaign with enormous advantages,” said the polling institute’s assistant director Peter Brown. “She obviously is by far the best known, and her more than 20 years in the public spotlight allows her to create a very favorable impression on the American people.”

Though Clinton leads the 2016 poll, her attempt at the Democratic nomination could be hotly contested. Political experts think that Joe Biden, with eight years of experience in the White House and the Obama “get out the vote” team at his disposal, would be a tough opponent.

Clinton Leads 2016 Poll In Iowa, Would Defeat Rand Paul And Marco Rubio is a post from: The Inquisitr

The mystery illness in Alabama has been solved after two people were killed and seven hospitalized.

Health officials worked this week to uncover the source of the disease that had taken hold in the state.

They found that the mystery illness was really just a “coincidental cluster of varying viruses” including a mix of the common cold and a strain of the flu, according to a press release filed by the Alabama Department of Public Health.

There had originally been fears that the mystery illness was some deadly form of the flu, which could spread easily.

“This is good news. Testing has ruled out avian flu and novel coronavirus,” said State Health Officer Dr. Don Williamson.

Before the mystery illness was solved, it struck a handful of Alabama residents, killing two. The patients showed similar symptoms, including coughing, shortness of breath, and fever.

The patients were tested for known influenza strains, but only one tested positive for H1N1 influenza A. Doctors think this may have just been a coincidence.

Absent of other information, health officials in Alabama called the mystery illness  “a respiratory illness of unknown origin.” Hospital staff treating the patients were required to take extra precaution so the disease would not spread further.

The mystery illness appeared to be centered in southeast Alabama, and the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control worked quickly to analyze tests from all of the patients.

Health officials said the public appeal for caution and release of information was all part of the strategy to combat it.

“You never want to assume that there isn’t a connection, because as soon as you do that, you will be proved wrong,” said Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor for ABC News. “The first cases of the next SARS or the next flu pandemic could look very much like this. You treat every one of these clusters the same: You attack it with rapid public health science.”

With the mystery illness solved, the remaining patients have been showing signs of improvement. A doctor treating them said they continue to get better, and one was already released from the hospital in Tuesday.

Mystery Illness Solved: Alabama Outbreak Is Mix Of Common Cold And Flu is a post from: The Inquisitr

Seaside Heights, NJ — The Jersey Shore reopened on Friday, seven months after Superstorm Sandy decimated the iconic boardwalks, rides, and eateries.

And New Jersey welcomed the resort region back in style. The ribbon cutting ceremony, featuring Governor Chris Christie and the cast of Jersey Shore, set a new world record.

Christie and a host of volunteers cut the 5.5-mile ribbon, which symbolically tied together some of the regions hit hardest by the massive storm. Mike Janela, and adjudicator for Guinness, was present to witness the event, and stated that the ceremony bested the previous record-holder by about a mile.

Christie, who spoke as construction continued on the iconic Jersey Shore boardwalk, stated:

“This is an incredible day for New Jersey. Seven months ago I saw the devastation on this boardwalk. Seven months ago I saw the devastation on this boardwalk. I knew that if we all worked hard we could get this done.”

And they did. In seven long months, residents along the shore have rebuilt 80 percent of what Sandy took from them. The storm caused more than $38 billion in damages to New Jersey, wrecking 360,000 homes or apartment units.

But even in Seaside Heights, where the storm swept a roller coaster off the boardwalk and into the ocean, is getting back to normal. The roller coaster was removed last month and Casino Pier, the amusement park where it used to sit, plans to open 18 rides this summer.

Thanks to the hard work, most of the shore looks just like it did last summer. However, there is still much to be done. Despite the Jersey Shore reopening, more work still needs to be done to completely recover from the killer storm. This season will likely be different too, though it is not clear if the storm and the damage it caused will hurt the state’s $40 billion tourist industry, or if it will help as tourists try to look for any lingering evidence that Sandy happened.

Do you plan on visiting the Jersey Shore this summer? Did you already know most of the damage from Superstorm Sandy has been repaired?

Jersey Shore Reopens Seven Months After Superstorm Sandy is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Westboro Baptist Church threatened to picket funerals for victims of the Oklahoma tornado, but once again the members of the anti-gay church were nowhere to be seen.

The Wichita-based church has made a living out of turning tragic events into a chance to spread homophobic messages — or at least threatening to. The church sends members to protest at funerals of soldiers and notable people, with signs decrying America and its acceptance of gay lifestyles.

The church gained fame for its protest of gay Wyoming college student Matthew Shepherd, but in recent days it has been all bark and no bite.

Members threatened to protest at memorial services for victims of the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, last July. The threatened again to protest at funerals for children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, for those killed in the Boston Marathon bombing, and most recently threatened to protest for victims of the tornado that struck on Monday in Moore, Oklahoma.

In all of those times, church members never showed up.

Had the Westboro Baptist Church not chickened out of going to Moore, they would have been met by a wall of counter-protesters. The Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcycle riders who arrive to block mourners from seeing the church’s anti-gay messages, were in Moore in full force.

The riders lined the streets, creating a wall for the funeral procession of a young boy killed.

Another picture posted to the link-sharing site Reddit showed a long row of motorcycles, with riders ready to face the Westboro Baptist Church that would never show.

Westboro Baptist Church members did try to take advantage of the tragedy behind the safety of a computer screen.

Fred Phelps Jr., the son of Westboro Baptist Church minister Fred Phelps, blamed the destructive tornado on Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. Ignoring the meteorological reasons explaining the tornado, and the fact that Moore sits in the midst of “Tornado Alley,” Phelps insisted that the tornado really struck was because God was mad that Durant supported gay player Jason Collins.

He tweeted: “OK Thunder’s Durant flips God by praising fag Collins. God smashes OK. You do the math.”

Even though its members never showed up to Moore, the Westboro Baptist Church was still thwarted in its attempt to take advantage of the tragedy. A hacker took over the church’s site “God Hates Oklahoma,” showing a picture mocking the church before redirecting to a Red Cross site accepting donations for tornado victims.

Westboro Baptist Church Chickens Out Of Protesting Oklahoma Tornado Victims’ Funerals is a post from: The Inquisitr

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) violated the constitutional rights of Latino drivers during a crackdown on illegal immigration, according to a federal judge’s ruling on Friday.

Arpaio, known as a very hardline sheriff, was ordered to stop using race as a factor in future law enforcement decisions. The ruling fame in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by Hispanic drivers.

US District Court Judge Murray Snow ruled on Friday that Arpaio’s policies violated the constitutional rights of the drivers. The office must cease using race or ancestry as a grounds to stop, detain, or hold drivers and other occupants.

Five drivers brought the lawsuit against Arpaio and his office, claiming that they were stopped by deputies because of their ethnicity. Arpaio denied the claims, but the judge sided with the drivers.

Arpaio testified last year during the non-jury trial, saying that he was against racial profiling. He also denied his office arrested people because of the color of their skin. But in a written ruling, Snow stated:

“The great weight of the evidence is that all types of saturation patrols at issue in this case incorporated race as a consideration into their operations.”

The suit alleged that “America’s toughest sheriff” and his officers violated the rights of US citizens and legal immigrants in their quest to crack down on those they believed were in the country illegally. The plaintiffs included the Somos America immigrants’ rights coalition, along with all Latino drivers stopped by Arpaio’s office since 2007.

Tim Casey, a lawyer for Joe Arpaio’s office, stated of the ruling, “The MCSO is disappointed by the outcome in this decision. The MCSO’s position is that it has never used race and will never use race in making its law-enforcement decisions.”

While Joe Arpaio can appeal the decision, Casey stated that the department will instead work internally to remedy any issues raised in the ruling. Casey added, “The sheriff respects the court and its authority and it will comply.” Rather than seeking monetary damages, the lawsuit sought corrective action.

[Image via Gage Skidmore]

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Guilty Of Racial Profiling, Judge Rules is a post from: The Inquisitr

Three Egyptian women were beaten and strangled to death in the latest so-called “honor killing” in the conservative region. Ten male relatives killed the three women, reportedly believing that they’d had affairs.

Police believe the 10 men stormed the house of a mother and two daughters. The men then strangled them and beat them with sharp tools. One of the suspects allegedly confessed the the crime.

After they were dead, the men wrapped the women’s bodies in blankets, tied them with weights, and threw them into the Nile River. One of the men reportedly gave a detailed account of the killings, which were apparently meant to protect the family’s honor.

The official added that one woman’s body was found floating on the surface of the Nile near Esna, close to the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor. Police are still searching for the remaining two bodies.

Five of the 10 men involved in killing the three Egyptian women were reportedly arrested on Friday. Honor killings are not unusual in Egypt, especially in the nation’s conservative south and in the countryside, where women’s actions are considered to bring shame on their families.

Egyptian papers often document incidents where fathers, brothers, and even sons kill their female relatives because they believe they are having an affair outside of marriage. The practice of honor killings is against the law in Egypt and perpetrators are prosecuted if they are arrested for the crime.

However, Courts are sometimes sympathetic to the accused and give lighter sentences as a result. The United Nations estimates that about 5,000 honor killings happen around the world each year. However, many women’s groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia have asserted that the number is closer to 20,000.

Despite the focus mainly on honor killings against women, men can also be victims by the family of the woman they allegedly had an affair with.

[Image via ShutterStock]

Three Egyptian Women Killed In ‘Honor Killing,’ Five Men Arrested is a post from: The Inquisitr

The son of a former President George W. Bush aide is the suspect in a grim Gaithersburg, Maryland hatchet slaying. Claude Alexander Allen III, 20, was arrested early Friday morning and charged with homicide in the gruesome slaying of 25-year-old Michael Phillip Harvey.

The Montgomery County Police Department released a brief statement that said that an unnamed adult male called in a report that he had killed a man who had tried to break into his house. Harvey’s body was found outside the home, slain by a hatchet.

Their preliminary investigation revealed that there probably wasn’t a break-in and that Allen and Harvey knew each other. At that point, they arrested Allen for the crime, although the investigation is still ongoing to figure out exactly what happened.

According to a local ABC7 report, the residence where the crime occurred is actually owned by the former Bush aide, Claude Allen, and his wife.

The former domestic policy adviser’s political career came to an end in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when he was caught and pled guilty to shoplifting from a Gaithersburg, MD Target. According to a Washington Post report, both Allen and his wife Jannese testified that long hours and lack of sleep after the killer hurricane had impaired his judgment.

“Stealing is not something that I ever thought that I would ever do, and I did,” Allen said in his 2006 trial, where he wept on the stand.

The judge ultimately sentenced him to fines and probation, angering Assistant State’s Attorney John D. Lalos, who claimed that Allen was believed to have shoplifted not once but many times.

But, even without jail time, Allen’s work in politics was over.

At this time, there are no details about the motive for the gruesome hatchet killing. It also isn’t clear when Claude Allen III, suspect and son of the tragic Bush aide, will appear next in court.

[Claude Allen III photo courtesy Montgomery County Police-Major Crimes Division]

[photo by mip studio via Shutterstock]

Suspect Son Of Bush Aide: Father A Shoplifter, Son Accused Hatchet Killer is a post from: The Inquisitr

Paul George and Roy Hibbert combined to score 51 points Friday night as the Indiana Pacers held off the Miami Heat to even the series in Game 2. LeBron James led all scorers with 36 points, but it wasn’t enough as two late turnovers cost the Heat any chance of taking a 2-0 series lead.

Roy Hibbert was unstoppable in the paint, and the 26-year-old finished with a playoff career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds in the 97-93 win. With the series tied at one, the Pacers now have home-court advantage as the teams’ move on to Indiana for Game 3 on Sunday.

The Pacers closed out the Heat with a 13-5 run in the final minutes, handing the defending NBA champions only their fourth loss in the last 50 games. Paul George made an impact once again, finishing with 22 points, two rebounds, and six assists.

David West forced the late turnovers by James, but he also added 13 points and seven rebounds in the contest. Guard George Hill pitched in 18 points while Lance Stephenson managed 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Pacers shot 50 percent from the floor while forcing 14 turnovers in the game. The Heat rallied in the third quarter, but a late rush by the Pacers cut any chance of a comeback.

“It’s one of the best basketball games I’ve ever been a part of,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after the win. ”It wasn’t about LeBron making mistakes down the stretch. He played one of the best basketball games I’ve ever seen anybody play. We were just able to make a couple plays late in the game.”

It was LeBron James or nothing for the Heat on Friday, as the league’s MVP shot 14-for-20 from the floor while the rest of the starters shot 14-for-35 combined. Dwyane Wade pitched in 14 points, but he never really found his stroke in just over 40 minutes on the court.

The Pacers will now look to continue rolling as they head home for Game 3 at Bankers Life Field House. They’ve yet to lose at home in the playoffs after going 6-0 combined through the first two rounds.

Can Paul George and the Indiana Pacers take control of the series on Sunday?

[Image via Mark Runyon | Basketball Schedule]

Paul George, Roy Hibbert Lift Pacers Past Heat In Game 2 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Goldie Hawn at age 67 is creating some buzz after her glamorous appearance in a tasteful yellow gown at the amFAR gala at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night. Unlike attention-hogging actresses like Eva Longoria who couldn’t seem to keep their clothes on, the free-spirited Cactus Flower star managed to draw eyes without removing her underpants.

The 2013 amfAR Cinema Against AIDS event was held at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes. The stars reportedly raised about $26 million for AIDS research, where Hawn was one of the speakers.

You may be wondering how the heck Goldie Hawn still looks that good at age 67, especially after a life as a carefree California girl in sunny Los Angeles. Well, wonder no more. From time to time, Hawn drops a few clues into her official Twitter account.

It appears that bicycling and meditation play a huge role in Hawn’s beauty routine. She has frequently tweeted photographs of places she’s cycled, although the tricycle photo below is just for fun.

She also recently pointed to a Huffington Post article on meditation, noting that, “Times are changing. [T]he M word is coming of age!”

Another ageless beauty who appeared at Cannes, 1980s fitness guru and Barbarella sex kitten Jane Fonda, also wowed. Unlike Hawn, who seems to avoid showing her own face in her tweets, 75-year-old Fonda has posted tweets from Cannes itself:

In Cannes posing with stylist @michaelangelx before the L’Oreal shoot. #Loreal #Cannes @lorealparisusa say.ly/jyT5RgR

— Jane Seymour Fonda (@Janefonda) May 19, 2013

The forthright Fonda recently appeared in People’s 100 Most Beautiful People. When asked her secrets to aging gracefully, she said: “Good genes and a lot of money.”

Hmmm. Fonda’s advice sounds way less time-consuming than Hawn’s, but it might not be too practical for most of us.

Never to late to cycle twitter.com/goldiehawn/sta…

— Goldie Hawn (@goldiehawn) May 5, 2013

Cycling here in Vancouver! Blissful sunny warm and lots of happy faces twitter.com/goldiehawn/sta…

— Goldie Hawn (@goldiehawn) May 8, 2013

While I doubt that riding a bike or meditation will let many sixtysomethings look like Goldie Hawn at 67, hey. It’s worth a try.

[Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell photo by cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com]

Goldie Hawn At 67 Creating Some Buzz, Twitter Hints How She Does It is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ever wanted to score achievements on your Xbox while sitting back on the couch and enjoying your favorite TV show? Well, Microsoft apparently thinks you do.

A patent application dug up by the gaming industry specialists over at GI International suggests that Microsoft is mulling over adding achievements to television-watching and/or for special video content over Xbox Live as part of their initiative to make your TV a more “interactive” experience with the help of the Xbox One.

“Television viewing tends to be a passive experience for a viewer, without many opportunities for the viewer to engage or have interactive experiences with the presented content,” the application reads. “To increase interactive viewing and encourage a user to watch one or more particular items of video content, awards and achievements may be tied to those items of video content.”

One appropriate example of how this could work is with NFL broadcasts, whom Microsoft just so happened to have announced a major partnership with during the Xbox One reveal. You could, for example, earn an achievement by simply watching the Super Bowl, or perhaps for watching your team’s entire season.

Details on how Xbox One’s highly-touted live TV and DVR functionality are still scarce nearly a week after Microsoft pulled back the curtains on its next-generation console. So far, Microsoft has only said that it will be partnering with Sky in the UK, and Canal+ in France.

Whether that means that Xbox One’s TV functionality will be exclusive to Sky in the UK and Canal+ in France isn’t certain.

Fortunately for Microsoft, it’s still too early to call the Xbox One a disappointment; most of the big reveal was spent talking about things that most gamers didn’t care about, but E3 is fast approaching and Microsoft may have an ace up their sleeves.

Or maybe we’re just optimists.

Xbox One: Microsoft Files Patent For TV Achievements is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Cincinnati Bearcats’ baseball team has an interesting, yet hilarious way of doing post-game interviews. No matter who gets the spotlight after a game, the rest of the team collaborates in skits behind the scenes in whats become a viral hit over night.

It’s common for college baseball players to be interviewed right on the field after a game, but any reporter who dares to take on the challenge at the University of Cincinnati baseball games will get much more than a quote.

Throughout the 2013 season, Bearcats’ ball players have been putting together some of the most creative skits in the backdrop as one of their teammates talks with a school reporter. From jousting to swimming, there seems to be a lot of ways to enjoy yourself while cleaning up the field after a ball game.

The team’s post-game shenanigans may have been a way to get over their struggles on the field, as they finished the 2013 regular season with a 24-32 record. Though Bearcats’ baseball only won 4-of-18 games on the road, they played much better at home; well enough to celebrate with theatrical performances during player interviews.

The same reporter can be seen in the majority of the cut scenes where players use creative skits in the background at Marge Schott Stadium, but he rarely loses focus and remains calm throughout the interviews.

Here’s video proof of the Bearcats’ baseball team taking post-game interviews to the next level.

As you can see, some players are working on the field, but others come in and out of the screen while acting out different scenes for the camera. Rarely do they break character, and their creativity produces some of the most masterful “photobombs” you will ever see.

From an explorer to a king on his throne, the Bearcats’ players will obviously have a profession to fall back on if they don’t make it to the big leagues.

Have you ever seen “photobombs” as creative as Bearcats baseball’s post-game interviews?

Bearcats Baseball Take Post-Game Interviews To Next Level [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Robbie Rogers will become the first openly gay player in a professional men’s American sport when he suits up for the Los Angeles Galaxy later this summer.

The former US national team winger has agreed to a deal with the Galaxy. Rogers, who has been openly gay, had retired from the sport but said last month he was considering a return.

Rogers said returning to serve as a role model was a major consideration in his comeback.

“I seriously felt like a coward,” he said. “These kids are standing up for themselves and changing the world, and I’m 25, I have a platform and a voice to be a role model. How much of a coward was I to not step up to the plate?”

Rogers began practicing with with the L.A. Galaxy a few weeks ago, but the Chicago Fire actually acquired his rights from the Columbus Crew, where Rodgers played for five seasons.

“My personal hope is that we’ll sign him and that they can find out a way to work a trade with Chicago,” said Galaxy player Landon Donovan said at the time. “I think beyond the immediate soccer part, I think there’s much bigger positive consequences that can come from that, and we’re all hopeful that he’ll get fit and play well and that Bruce [Arena] wants to sign him.”

Robbie Rogers’ return has garnered attention outside of soccer circles after NBA player Jason Collins last month announced that he is gay, making him the first professional athlete in a major American sport to come out while he is still playing.

As he contemplated a return, Rogers said he found plenty of support from family and other players, including Donovan.

“I don’t know what I was so afraid of,” Rogers said. “It’s been such a positive experience for me. The one thing I’ve learned from all of this is being gay is not that big of a deal to people. …

“People are just really growing and accepting and loving,” he added. “Those other things are just not that important to them. I think as the younger get older and the generations come and go, I think times are just becoming more accepting.”

Robbie Rogers should officially become the first openly gay player in a men’s American professional sport sometime later this summer. Collins, who is an NBA free agent, would not begin playing until the fall.

Robbie Rogers: Openly Gay Soccer Player Signs With L.A. Galaxy is a post from: The Inquisitr

During the big Xbox One reveal we found out that Destiny, Bungie’s all-new shooter franchise, is also coming to Microsoft’s latest console, and that wasn’t exactly a big surprise. What is somewhat of a surprise, however, is that a PC version of Destiny hasn’t been ruled out.

In an interview with IGN, Bungie senior writer Eric Osborne confirmed that the studio is at least considering the possibility, although nothing is set in stone as of yet.

“We haven’t said yes, and we haven’t said no,” Osborne told the site. “The more platforms we take on, the more work it ultimately becomes, and what we don’t want is to compromise the core experience on any platforms. We have a lot of people who play on PCs. We have a lot of appetite to build that experience. We haven’t announced it yet, but we’re looking forward to talking more about that kind of stuff in the future.”

It’s not the confirmation that the PC crowd may have wanted, of course, but it does give some amount of hope. Considering that Bungie themselves have had little involvement with computer gaming for the past decade – Halo and Halo 2‘s PC ports were outsourced – it would certainly be exciting for many to see the developer make a return home.

Should a PC port of Destiny actually happen, there exists the possibility that you may be able to transfer your characters across platforms. When asked if players will be able to transfer save data from, say, Xbox 360 to Xbox One, Osborne had this to say:

“For us, [platforms] are purely agnostic,” he said. “Any data on our back-end servers and services, like Bungie.net, are ours. We control it, we can do a bunch of fun stuff on that side. So for us, we want to absolutely do the right things for players. But there are some complexities we have to solve that are outside our control. But we’re absolutely pushing to solve some of those things. We don’t have anything to announce, but hopefully in the future we will.”

Destiny has been confirmed for release on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The developer still hasn’t given a release date, but debut gameplay footage will be shown off during Sony’s E3 press conference.

For now, you can check out the game’s recently-released trailer:

‘Destiny’ PC Port Hasn’t Been Ruled Out, Bungie Says is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lexington, MO – Disappointing news comes out of Lafayette County where, in a motivated act of petulance, a father has been implicated in the homicidal death of his daughter and assault of his girlfriend.

Twenty-four-year-old Alex Gilbert has been charged with second-degree murder in the May 20 death of his 10-week-old daughter Brenlee, and accused of giving his girlfriend Stephanie Hinklin two black eyes because he was enraged over having to babysit the infant.

Emergency services responded to the couple’s home on Linn Road last Friday, May 17 to a report that Brenlee had been gasping for air, but by the time the ambulance arrived found the baby unresponsive.

Brenlee’s was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Blue Springs, then transferred to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City where she died three days later, succumbing to injuries that were later discovered in the post-exam.

The child’s autopsy, performed by the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office, revealed the she suffered from injuries consistent with blunt force trauma – a fractured skull, several broken bones, contusions, and brain damage.

Court documents indicate Gilbert was left alone with the baby last Thursday evening for approximately two hours while Stephanie was out running errands. According to Stephanie, when she returned the baby was asleep and had slept through the night.

However, Brenlee didn’t wake as usual for her regular feeding and ingested very little of her formula. Sometime after the child went into distress and required medical attention.

Following Brenlee’s unfortunate, premature death, the family opted to donate her organs.

Gilbert is in the Lafayette County Jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond. His next scheduled court appearance is May 29.

Missouri state penal code 565.021 states the crime of murder in the second degree is imposed when a person knowingly inflicts serious injury on another, resulting in their death. It is a class-A felony. Under section 558.011 of the Missouri Revised Statute, the authorized term of prison cannot exceed 30 years, but no less than 10.

[Image via Shutterstock/suspect mugshot]

Father Killed Infant Daughter And Beat Girlfriend Over Having To Babysit is a post from: The Inquisitr

Microsoft is hoping to sell another 25 million Xbox 360 consoles.

It appears that even after the disappointing reveal of the Xbox One, Microsoft is optimistic about the sales of the console that’s still going strong, the Xbox 360. In fact, they’re expecting the console to continue selling well into the next five years.

Apparently they know better than to place all of their bets on the “Xbone” as their primary source of gaming income. With the general response to the May 21 reveal, consumers are more than likely to either stick with their Xbox 360 or “move on” with the PlayStation 4 or Wii U. Face it, gamers don’t like to be restricted, and the Xbox One is gearing up to be the most restrictive gaming console ever created.

If something doesn’t change drastically in their game plan (no pun intended), Microsoft is going to be seeing that once-predicted apathy toward their next generation console. And if it happens that way, they’ll be glad they kept supporting the Xbox 360 well into the future.

Microsoft‘s senior vice president of interactive entertainment Yusuf Mehdi told the Official Xbox Magazine:

“We believe over the next five years we can break a 100 million unit installed base. That’s something we’re shooting for, it’s not a financial plan as such, it’s just rough numbers if you will. To sell another 25 million, half of those will probably come from replacements, but half will come from new buyers. The way we’ll break into those segments, is by hitting new price points, getting new classes of entertainment to come with the Xbox, and breaking into new customer segments.”

So technically, if current Xbox 360 owners stick with their consoles, Yusuf expects a good number of them to get the infamous “red ring of death” and replace them with another one at a discounted price.

Now as for what a new class of entertainment might be, that’s anyone’s guess, but we can only hope it doesn’t involve slowly turning the Xbox 360 into the once-rumored Xbox Mini, with all of the problems Xbox One is threatening to come with. In that case, Microsoft can expect a lot of gamers to start siding with Sony or Nintendo.

What do you think of Microsoft’s predictions toward the future of the Xbox 360?

Microsoft Isn’t Done With Xbox 360 Yet is a post from: The Inquisitr

A tiger killed a zoo worker this week at an animal park in the UK.

According to the BBC, Sarah McClay, 24, was attacked by a Sumatran tiger at the South Wild Animal Park on Friday. It is unclear why McClay was in the tiger enclosure. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Park owner David Gill said that McClay was a “very experienced” zoo keeper and was shocked to learn about her death.

Gill said: “We have very strict protocols and procedures for working with big cats, but it seems she failed to follow correct procedures … For inexplicable reasons she opened a door and walked into the enclosure. We will never know why she entered without telling anyone. There was no reason for her to go in there.”

The zoo was briefly closed down after the attack but a spokesman for the animal park assured zoo goers that the public was never in any danger.

A spokesman told the Guardian: “The tiger is securely locked in its enclosure and there is no further risk to the public. Members of the public were not at any risk. The wildlife park has closed early and all visitors have left the park.”

Park owner Gill said that the tiger would not be killed for mauling the zoo worker.

Gill said: “He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s a tiger and his natural instinct is to kill. We all know that and that’s why all the protocols are in place … He didn’t make a mistake, he was just there. We don’t blame him for what happened.”

Here’s a video report about the incident from the BBC.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time that a lion or a tiger has killed a zoo worker this year. A California woman was killed earlier this year at the Cat Haven animal park in Fresno County by a lion.

Tiger Kills Zoo Worker At UK Animal Park is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Missouri overpass collapsed early Saturday morning after two freight trains collided and derailed. The massive collision triggered the collapse, and seven people were injured during the devastating accident.

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter told KFVS-TV that a Union Pacific train T-boned a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train at a railroad intersection near Chafee, Mo., though no cars were on the overpass during the collision.

Two cars came up to the bridge after it went down and got stuck in the remains after crashing, according to Trooper Clark Parrott of the Missouri Highway Patrol. The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m., and the collision led the trains into a pillar that caused the bridge to go down.

Of the seven injured, two were locomotive engineers on the Union Pacific train while the other five people came from the two vehicles that crashed after the trains wrecked.

Six of the seven victims have since been released from the hospital, though one still remains hospitalized for treatment and is considered in good condition.

The Missouri overpass collapse comes just as two other similar incidents occurred in the past two weeks. Two days ago, a part of the Interstate 5 bridge in Washington collapsed during a truck accident.

A little more than a week ago, a commuter train in Bridgeport, Connecticut derailed which stopped service. Now authorities have another devastating accident in Missouri, and clean up is still underway while they search for the cause behind the train crash.

Wayne Woods, a local to the area, spoke with KFVS-TV and revealed that he heard the trains collide and promptly called 911.

“When I got over there the train was on its side,” Woods told KFVS-TV. “They got the guys out and lifted them off the train, and got them off the overpass. One was kind of bloody; the other one looked like he was pretty shook up.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is now in place to investigate the matter in hopes of preventing, if at all possible, another train wreck in the future. The concerns are felt around the United States, and multiple incidents in a matter of two weeks will have that sort of affect.

Do you believe devastating accidents like the Missouri overpass collapse early Saturday can be avoided?

[Image via Creative Commons]

Missouri Overpass Collapses After Two Freight Trains Collide is a post from: The Inquisitr

McDonald’s is on the defensive after their CEO was grilled by a precocious 9-year-old girl who told the fast food giant to stop marketing ”tricking” kids into wanting their food.

At Friday’s annual shareholder’s meeting, little Hannah Robertson took to the microphone to tell McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson “It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time.”

The plucky little lady was the very first individual to the mic when it was opened for questions.

Robertson traveled from British Columbia with her mother as an official representative of the watchdog group Corporate Accountability International.

“We want them to stop their predatory marketing to kids,”explained one of the group’s organizers. They have also lobbied to get McDonald’s to retire Ronald McDonald as their mascot, because he’s supposedly very resonant with kids these days.

Responding to Robertson’s words, CEO Thompson pointed out that McDonald’s has made recent efforts to provide healthy options for everyone, even kids.

“We sell a lot of fruits and veggies and are trying to sell even more,” he said. He called her “brave” for speaking up, and said that McDonald’s isn’t trying to circumvent parents and market directly to kids.

“We are not the cause of obesity,” Thompson said. “We are not marketing unjustly to kids…. . Ronald is not a bad guy. He’s about fun. He’s a clown. I’d urge you to all let your kids have fun, too.”

In a later interview, Robertson said that she wasn’t impressed with Thompson’s answer.

“I don’t think he answered it very well, because he just kept saying the same things over and over again like, ‘We don’t market to kids and we don’t sell junk food,’” Robertson said.

While her story has garnered praise from many publications, it has also received a fair amount of criticism from those who believe Hannah may have been used as puppet for the agenda of her mother’s political group.

But deciding whether or not Hannah Robertson is for real is a task we leave up to you. Check out the audio of McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson being grilled by a 9-year-old below and decide for yourself:

McDonald’s CEO Grilled By Precocious 9-Year-Old Girl [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr