Entertainment
Email
Print
Newsmakers
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: June 22, 2009
■ The National Organization for Women has elected a 56-year-old Maryland woman as the group's next president. NOW said that Terry O'Neill defeated Latifa Lyles, 33, of Washington during the organization's three-day national conference in Indianapolis. Hannah Olanoff, a spokeswoman for O'Neill, said yesterday that the vote totals were not immediately available but she said it was a close election, as had been expected. The voting took place Saturday. Lyles was been endorsed by Kim Gandy, the current NOW president, who had said she would "take NOW to a different level" by recognizing the nation's "generational shift." Gandy retires from NOW on July 20 after eight years as the group's president.
■ Imelda Marcos is nothing if not a survivor. As the Philippines' most notorious first lady approaches 80, she is still courting publicity and claiming that despite the billions that was supposed to have been stashed away during her late husband Ferdinand's rule, and the 22-carat diamond ring on her finger, she is nearly broke. "Here I am, at 80, still struggling to look presentable," the former beauty queen said as she greeted reporters this weekend in her swank two-story Manila penthouse, wearing a dark red dress and red slippers. Imelda, whose birthday is July 2, will forever be remembered for the dazzling jewels and 1,220 pairs of shoes she left behind in the presidential palace after the "people's power" revolt that toppled Marcos' regime in 1986 and forced them into exile in Hawaii.
■ Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says her political enemies are abusing state law with a flurry of frivolous ethics complaints against her, putting her more than $500,000 in legal debt. Those filing the grievances -- there have been at least 18 cases so far -- say it's their legal right to hold Palin accountable for what they see as abuses of power. Most of the complaints have been filed since August, when GOP presidential candidate John McCain picked Palin as his running mate. And most have been denied.
■ A businessman who recruited young women to attend parties at Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's homes has apologized to the premier for having contributed to a new scandal. Giampaolo Tarantini also said in a statement late Saturday to Italian news agency ANSA that he only reimbursed the women for their travel and expenses, refuting suggestions that he paid the women, including a high-end prostitute, to attend. He said Berlusconi didn't know the expenses were paid, and said he was sorry that something that was meant well had turned into a mess for the premier. Tarantini has been at the center of new allegations concerning Berlusconi's purported fondness for younger women. The scandal began weeks ago when the premier's wife, Veronica Lario, cited Berlusconi's selection of young starlets and showgirls for European Parliament elections in announcing she was divorcing him.
Email
Print
