Latest News

Natalie Cole Blasts 'Idol' Over Candice-JHud Song

2013-05-18T13:41:55Z

After stellar performances all season, Candice Glover took home the title of American Idol during Thursday night’s live taping.

WATCH: Kanye Debuts New Video

2013-05-18T13:29:25Z

MissInfoTV was live on the scene for Kanye West’s “New Slaves” video premiere in Brooklyn.

WATCH: How Maya Angelou Told Her Mom She Was Pregnant At 16

2013-05-18T12:54:34Z

When she was just 16 years old, Maya Angelou got pregnant with her son, Guy Johnson. At a time when teen mothers were often shamed and/or pushed into marrying the baby's father, the now-literary icon and renowned poet had a support system many other teen moms lacked. Dr. Angelou's own mother, Vivian Baxter, never shamed her young, unmarried, pregnant daughter, instead choosing to help the teenager and support her efforts to raise her son on her own.

In this clip from Dr. Angelou's second appearance on "Super Soul Sunday", she opens up to Oprah about becoming a teen mom. Though Dr. Angelou says she struggled with trying to be independent and work while raising a baby, she always knew one thing: that she could return home to Vivian whenever she needed help.

"The world would throw me flat on my face with this little baby I'm trying to raise," Dr. Angelou tells Oprah. "I would go home to Vivian Baxter. She would act as if it was the best thing that ever happened... She never, ever made me feel that I had done the wrong thing."

From the moment Dr. Angelou got pregnant, Vivian supported her daughter. "She said, 'Do you know who the father is?' I said, 'Yes, I only had sex with him one time, and he's the only one,'" Dr. Angelou recalls. "She said, 'All right. Do you love him?' I said no. She asked me, 'Does he love you?' I said no. She said, 'We're not going to ruin three lives. We're going to have a beautiful baby.'"

The second part of Dr. Angelou's appearance on "Super Soul Sunday" airs May 19 at 11 a.m. ET on OWN.

Obama Appears Unscathed By Unfolding Scandals

2013-05-18T12:53:46Z

WASHINGTON — Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

"Absolutely not," Steven Miller, the recently resigned acting head of the Internal Revenue Service, responded Friday when asked if he had any contact with the White House about targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special treatment.

"The president's re-election campaign?" persisted Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

"No," said Miller.

The hearing took place at the end of a week in which Republicans repeatedly assailed Obama and were attacked by Democrats in turn – yet sweeping immigration legislation advanced methodically toward bipartisan approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The measure "has strong support of its own in the Senate," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the panel.

Across the Capitol, a bipartisan House group reported agreement in principle toward a compromise on the issue, which looms as Obama's best chance for a signature second-term domestic achievement. "I continue to believe that the House needs to deal with this," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is not directly involved in the talks.

The president's nominee to become energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, won Senate confirmation, 97-0. And there were signs that Republicans might allow confirmation of Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sometimes a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.

Separately, a House committee approved legislation to prevent a spike in interest rates on student loans on July 1. It moves in the direction of a White House-backed proposal for future rate changes to be based on private markets.

Even so, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said, "It's been a bad week for the administration."

Several Democratic lawmakers and aides agreed and expressed concern about the impact on Obama's agenda – even though much of it has been stymied by Republicans for months already.

At the same time, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., voiced optimism that the IRS controversy would boost the push for an overhaul of the tax code, rather than derail it. "It may make a case for a simpler tax code, where the IRS has less discretion," he said.

Long-term budget issues, the main flash point of divided government since 2011, have receded as projected deficits fall in the wake of an improving economy and recently enacted spending cuts and tax increases.

Even before Obama began grappling with the IRS, the fallout from last year's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and from the Justice Department's secret seizure of Associated Press phone records, the two parties were at odds over steps to replace $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. In particular, Obama's call for higher taxes is a nonstarter with Republicans.

Other high-profile legislation and presidential appointees face difficulties that predate the current controversies.

Months ago, Obama scaled back requested gun safety legislation to center on expanded background checks for firearms purchasers. That was derailed in the Senate, has even less chance in the House and is unlikely to reach the president's desk.

Republicans oppose other recommendations from the president's State of the Union address, including automatic increases in the minimum wage, a pre-kindergarten program funded by higher cigarette taxes and more federal money for highways and bridge repair.

In a clash that long predates the IRS controversy, Senate Republicans seem intent on blocking Obama's nomination of Tom Perez as labor secretary. Gina McCarthy's nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency is also on hold, at least temporarily, and Democrats expect Republican opposition awaits Penny Pritzger, Obama's choice for commerce secretary.

Rhetorically, the two parties fell into two camps when it came to the White House troubles. Democrats tended to describe them as controversies, Republicans often used less flattering terms.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., accused the administration of fostering a "culture of intimidation." He referred to the IRS, the handling of the Benghazi attack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' "fundraising among the industry people she regulates on behalf of the president's health care law."

Two days later, Camp, a 23-year veteran lawmaker, opened the IRS hearing by calling the agency's actions part of a "culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration." He offered no other examples.

Rep. Trey Radel, a first-term Florida Republican, said in an interview, "What we're looking at now is a breach of trust" from the White House.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California offered a scathing response when asked if the controversies would hamper Obama's ability to win legislation from the Republican-controlled House. "Well, the last two years there was nothing that went through this Congress, and it was no AP, IRS or any other (thing) that we were dealing with."

"They just want to do nothing. And their timetable is never," she said of GOP lawmakers.

Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave no ground on Benghazi, a dispute that increasingly centered on talking points written for administration officials to use on television after the attack last September in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

"It's obvious it's an attempt to embarrass President Obama and embarrass Hillary Clinton," he said of Republican criticism that first flared during last year's election campaign.

On a third front, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., resurrected legislation that would requiring a judge to approve subpoenas for news media communications records when investigating news leaks said to threaten the national security. It was a response to the FBI's secret, successful pursuit of Associated Press phone records in a current probe.

While Democrats counterattacked on Benghazi and parried on leaks, they bashed the IRS' treatment of conservative groups as improper if not illegal – and warned Republicans not to overplay their hand.

'The Voice' Announce Season 5 Judges

2013-05-18T12:53:17Z

NEW YORK — "The Voice" is leaving the judging drama to its rivals.

The NBC singing contest said Friday that Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green will return for "The Voice" Season 5, joining Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

Their midseason replacements – Shakira and Usher – will be back for Season 6, which will air in midseason 2014.

Meanwhile Fox is scrambling to revive "American Idol" after record low ratings for Thursday's finale, with 14.3 million viewers. Original judge Randy Jackson has already announced his exit and Fox is making yet-to-be detailed format changes.

Last week "The Voice" narrowly edged out "Idol" in weekly ratings.

O.J.'s Ex-Lawyer Contradicts Testimony

2013-05-18T12:35:27Z

LAS VEGAS -- O.J. Simpson's former lawyer defended himself point-by-point Friday against allegations he botched the former football star's armed-robbery trial, after giving damaging testimony that Simpson actually knew his buddies had guns when they went to a hotel room together to reclaim some sports memorabilia.

Miami-based attorney Yale Galanter quickly found himself under withering cross-examination from a Simpson lawyer intent on proving that Galanter's word couldn't be trusted – that he knew ahead of time of Simpson's plan and spent more effort covering up his involvement than representing Simpson.

The weeklong hearing concluded late Friday with Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell telling attorneys she will issue her decision in writing. She didn't specify a date.

Simpson was returned to prison custody. His attorneys, Patricia Palm and Ozzie Fumo, said they were optimistic that the judge would grant a new trial.

"I just think the evidence of his claims is overwhelming," Palm said.

Galanter took the stand as the state's star witness in a hearing on Simpson's claim that he was so badly represented at trial and on appeal that his conviction should be thrown out.

He spent most of the day on the defensive, with Simpson lawyer Tom Pitaro grilling him with accusations and pointed questions.

"Mr. Simpson never told me he was going to go to the Palace (Station) hotel with a bunch of thugs, kidnap people and take property by force," Galanter said at one point. "To insinuate I, as his lawyer, would have blessed it is insane."

Galanter conceded at one point that Simpson's conviction was his responsibility.

At another point, he conceded that he "misspoke" when he told the trial judge, Jackie Glass, that crucial audio recordings had been carefully analyzed by experts.

"Clearly I misspoke," Galanter said as Pitaro bored in. "I would never, ever ... I would just never intentionally mislead a judicial officer or a lawyer. I'm falling on that sword."

Galanter denied giving Simpson the go-ahead to retrieve the photos and footballs he believed had been stolen from him. He denied keeping Simpson in the dark about offers of plea deals that carried only a few years in prison. He said his client agreed all along with the decision not to put him on the stand to testify at his trial.

And he disputed Simpson's testimony from earlier this week when the former NFL star said he didn't know anyone in the hotel room had guns.

"When you look at the entire trial, I don't think I could have fought harder, done more," Galanter said. "I put every ounce of blood, sweat and soul into it."

At another point, he said: "Simpson brought a lot of baggage into the courtroom. It's not like the 12 jurors didn't know he was accused of murder and acquitted."

Simpson, 65, was found guilty in 2008 of kidnapping and armed robbery over the hotel room episode and was sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison. The conviction came 13 years to the day after his "trial of the century" acquittal in Los Angeles in the murders of his ex-wife and a friend of hers.

Galanter testified that Simpson confided to him that he had asked two men to bring guns to the hotel room in September 2007, and "he knew he screwed up."

On the stand, Galanter brought up the guns only after he paused and was reminded that Simpson had waived attorney-client privilege. "I'm very uncomfortable doing this," he said.

Testifying about events leading up to the incident, Galanter said he was surprised when Simpson told him over dinner in Las Vegas that he and several other men were planning a "sting" the next morning to take back the mementos.

Galanter said he advised Simpson not to take matters into his own hands: "I said, `O.J., you've got to call the police.'"

Simpson testified that Galanter advised him that he was within his rights to retrieve the items, told him not to testify at the trial, and failed to tell him prosecutors had offered plea bargains.

During questioning about how much Galanter was paid for the case, the judge asked Pitaro where he was going with his questions.

"What Mr. Galanter has done is, this man has received over a half-million dollars and has put his interest, his financial interest, above the interest of his client," Pitaro said.

Galanter insisted he told Simpson at least three times that prosecutors discussed plea bargains. He said Simpson rejected them.

Simpson said, "No deal. No way," to an offer from the district attorney of five to seven years in prison, Galanter said. Later, during the trial, Simpson turned down a better offer, Galanter said.

"I went out in the hall and said to O.J., `There is an offer of two to five.' He said, `See if they will take a year,'" Galanter testified. "I discussed a year with them, and they said no and the trial went on."

If Simpson succeeds in getting his conviction thrown out, prosecutors will have to decide whether to retry him or offer a plea bargain. If he loses, he will be sent back to prison and will probably appeal. He will be 70 before he is eligible for parole.

___

Find Ken Ritter at . http://twitter.com/krttr

LOOK: Here's The Riskiest Looks From This Week At Cannes

2013-05-18T11:46:33Z

Cannes Film Festival started this week and the stars were out in full-force with intriguing fashion choices. It's quite the challenge to attempt a body-revealing look at Cannes, while also trying to remain professional and refined. Some celebrities managed to pull it off: Paz Vega wore one of the most intricately-detailed dresses we have ever seen, which helped us forget that we could see her entire slip underneath all the crystals, and Cara Delevingne braved the Cannes parties wearing a jacket with a deep, plunging neckline.

There was a case of too much cleavage on the Cannes red carpet with Laury Thilleman's gown, and the usually stellar Heidi Klum had a pretty visible slip this week -- particularly in the top area of dress. Lastly, another star attempted to keep the Gwyneth trend going -- you know, the one in which you wear a dress that doesn't have any side fabric? Well, Lianne La wasn't very successful in trying to perfect that look.

Click through to see which stars hit the mark and which fell flat. Do you agree with us?

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.
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Do you have a style story idea or tip? Email us at stylesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)

Find Out What Beyonce Will Name Baby No. 2!

2013-05-18T03:43:44Z

Here we go again. Beyonce is pregnant with baby number two, according to Friday's reports. After the world had a moment to take in that news, chatter turned to two topics of conversation: how will Blue Ivy deal with a little sibling edging in on her turf, and what kind of name will Jay and Bey choose to pair with her meaningful moniker. Luckily, the Internet is here to provide suggestions.

By Friday night, #BeyonceAndJayZSecondBabyNames was trending nationwide on Twitter. And while the last time Beyonce was expecting everyone was wondering about names like Brooklyn (per Jay's rhyme "If we had a daughter, guess what I'm a call her? Brooklyn Carter...) or Sasha (as in Fierce, Beyonce's alter ego), it's much simpler now -- choose color, add plant and voila... Insta-BeyBey Name! (Never mind that the elder Carter baby's name is likely derived from her star parent's chart-toppers The Blueprint and IV.) Based on this formula, "Red Vine" is proving to be a popular suggestion, and some tweeters have found more obscure combinations like "Chartreuse Hydrangea" and "Fleshtone Amaryllis."

However, if your knowledge of either colors or agriculture is limited, there is a tool to help you come up with the right name for Beyonce and Jay-Z's next kid. Danielle and Greg Kepler originally created the Bey Bey Name Generator for fun when Blue's quirky name became public, but their single-page site is now the perfect web diversion for the job at hand. Case in point: On our first shot we got the name "Cobalt Spruce." You're welcome.

Here's a sampling of more names we generated. Click over to find yours and let us know what it is in the comments or tweet it to @HuffPostParents!

LOOK: Donna Karan Showcases Haitian Artisans In Miami

2013-05-17T23:52:58Z

MIAMI -- The handbag Donna Karan was showing off Friday lacked her signature logo, or any designer's logo. It was made of paper mache and, the fashion designer said, represented Haiti's handmade carnival masks – in wearable form.

She said the tote bag and other similar fashion and decorative items made by Haitian artisans are part of her "dressing and addressing people" campaign: taking art to where the most people will buy it.

"A painting can say anything, but let's get it out there in the world where people buy T-shirts," Karan said at the opening of a Little Haiti Cultural Center exhibition of art, accessories and furnishings produced by artisans in Haiti and sold through Karan's Urban Zen Foundation.

It's no charity craft fair. The items artfully displayed in the Miami gallery would sell in any mainstream home furnishings store. What sets them apart is their origin: handmade in Haiti from stone, wood, metals and textiles sourced or repurposed in the Caribbean country.

Tobacco leaves are molded into neutrally colored vases. Strings of crystals dangle from wrought-iron chandeliers. Naughty, charming, seahorse-shaped figures cut from tires strut in lines across a wall.

Discarded cartons and wrappers have been coiled into beads for multi-strand, statement necklaces. Fully functional tote bags are made from recycled cotton T-shirts or paper mache ("It's so durable, it's scary," Karan said).

The exhibition also includes oversized metal work by contemporary Haitian artist Philippe Dodard. He also is the director of Haiti's national arts school and is working with Karan to train Haitian artisans with techniques that will help them bring their traditional skills to a global marketplace.

"What we have to do is give them the tools to produce a product that is equal to their competition. That doesn't mean factory. That means artisanal," Karan said.

Karan started her Urban Zen Foundation after the death of her husband in 2001. A Haitian employee at the foundation urged her to turn her focus to the Caribbean country after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake three years ago.

Karan is among the designers, celebrities and retailers who have advocated for Haitian artisans amid ongoing, sputtering reconstruction efforts. Many of the artisans lost tools, studios, homes and loved ones in the earthquake.

"She understands what we as a people, what we as a government, want to do with our art: show the world the riches of Haiti and commercialize it," said Haiti's consul general in Miami, Francois Guillaume. "But, we don't want to lose our identity. We don't want to lose whatever it is that makes Donna Karan like Haiti that much."

The "Discover Haiti Exhibition" will run at the Little Haiti Cultural Center for two months.

___

Online:

Urban Zen: http://www.urbanzen.com

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Follow Jennifer Kay on Twitter at . http://www.twitter.com/jnkay

Behind The Shocking 'Grey's Anatomy' Finale

2013-05-17T23:05:27Z

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen the Season 9 finale of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," titled "Perfect Storm."

Thursday's "Grey's Anatomy" finale might not have seen an actual death ... yet, but the superstorm-centric episode did see what appears to be the death of some of the show's most shipped couples: Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) cheated on Callie (Sara Ramirez) with Lauren (Hilarie Burton), leading to a blow-up fight where Arizona revealed her repressed feelings about Callie amputating her leg at the beginning of the season; Cristina (Sandra Oh) walked away from Owen (Kevin McKidd) after realizing she could never give him what he wants; and Bailey (Chandra Wilson) blew up at Webber (James Pickens Jr.), calling him an alcoholic, and at the end of the "Grey's Anatomy" finale she was unaware that he's unconscious in the basement of the hospital. (And yes, we realize the last isn't a romantic pairing, but still).

In the wake of the finale, "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes and stars Jessica Capshaw and Kevin McKidd calmed some of fans' fears and confirmed others. Read on below for the fates of "Grey's Anatomy" couples Callie and Arizona, Owen and Cristina and whether or not we'll see Webber in Season 10.

Can Callie And Arizona Survive?
After Callie found out Arizona had slept with Lauren -- via Arizona's engagement ring pinned on Lauren's shirt, which is where they keep them so that they don't get in the way during surgeries -- the two had a fight that revealed emotions that have been suppressed for months. Arizona clearly has yet to forgive her wife for breaking her promise that she'd save her leg after the plane crash that ended Season 8, and Capshaw said she can understand both sides of the situation.

"What you see in her very core is that Arizona does not forgive Callie ... When you're watching it, if you're really listening, you understand both people's point of view," Capshaw told The Hollywood Reporter, noting the lack of trust exhibited from both women.

But can the fan-favorite "Grey's Anatomy" couple survive this? "I've been with my husband for 11 years, married for nine and when I think of the rupture of a relationship and the fallout of infidelity, I don't know that you can get that trust back," Caphsaw told THR. "Infidelity is horrible, there's nothing worse than that; it's devastating. I hope it doesn't turn into a year of self-flagellation for Arizona. I think you can do something bad and it doesn't make you a bad person ... We are the sum of our experiences and we can make a bad choice and turn around and do better. I do think that with any kind of infidelity, on some level -- unless you're dealing with a sociopath -- there's always a reason. There will be an exploration of what that reason was and that will give the 'Grey's' writers fertile ground to play with next season."'

Is This The End For Cristina And Owen?
When the almost-parentless young boy that Owen took a liking to left Grey Sloan Memorial with his father, a patient, Cristina saw the pain in her on-again-off-again ex-husband-but-now-boyfriend's eyes. She decided to walk away from him, knowing that since she doesn't want children, she can never make him completely happy.

"Whether they ever are together again, there's so much connection and history between them that they're always going to have some kind of relationship," Kevin McKidd told TV Guide. "I don't think it's the end for them, it's just another turn in their very complicated relationship. In a strange way, this is Cristina showing how much she cares for this guy."

But Shonda Rhimes seems to feel differently. "I feel like there’s a sense that this is the end of the journey that they’ve been on for two seasons that was sort of messed up by the fact that she was in the plane crash," the showrunner told Entertainment Weekly. "They were finally forced to have the conversation that neither of them wanted to have and it was a very honest conversation. She walked away and he did not follow, so how they’re going to cope with that is going to be something.”

Is Webber Dead?
Of course, when Bailey realized she needed to apologize to her longtime mentor and friend Richard (who gave her away at her wedding), "Grey's Anatomy" fans found out that she might be too late: He was unconscious in the flooded basement of the hospital, electrocuted after the power came back on in the wake of the storm.

"Hopefully that's not going to happen, but we don't know," McKidd told TV Guide about Richard's possible death. "If there's a chance to save Richard, you're going to have every doctor at Grey Sloan Memorial clamoring over each other to get in that OR to save him."

Though Rhimes wouldn't say whether or not he's dead, the showrunner did tell EW that we "will see Jim Pickens again."

For more on "Grey's Anatomy," click over to THR, TV Guide and EW.

9 Pieces Of Big Sister Advice For Blue Ivy

2013-05-17T22:25:45Z

Beyonce is pregnant with baby #2, the world learned today, which means that Blue Ivy is about to be a big sister. That is a big responsibility. Since our staff is made up mostly of older sisters, we feel it's our duty at this juncture to let Queen Bey's first child know what she's getting into.

Here are nine pieces of advice that every big sister should heed:

1. Don't take his or her stuff. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

2. Your younger sibling is basically your intern until he or she learns better. The sooner she learns your latte order, the better this is all going to work out.

3. For at least the next 15ish years, you will always know more. That's a blessing and a curse.

4. Don't resist the matching outfits while you're little. They're inevitable, and you'll appreciate the photos later on.

5, You have the ability to dress your younger sibling up until he or she hits about 10. Take advantage of this and take photos.

6. You always have a free pass to complain about your family to your sibling. (Even though we're sure you won't need it -- you have the coolest parents in the world, right?)

7. You just landed yourself an accomplice and a witness. Enjoy.

8. Appreciate him or her -- especially while you're both living under the same roof. You don't get that time back.

9. At some point, maybe not until you are in college, you will look back on your life so far and realize that he or she made all the difference.

BMI Decreases The Further You Live From This

2013-05-17T22:15:56Z

Fast food isn't the only culprit in the country's growing obesity epidemic, a study from UCLA claimed earlier this year. But before letting McDonald's and Co. completely off the hook, consider this: For every mile that participants in a recent University of Texas study lived from the closest fast-food restaurant, researchers noticed that there was a 2.4 percent decrease in their BMI.

The discovery, made by a team from the MD Anderson Cancer Center and published in the American Journal of Public Health, reveals the potential impact of neighborhood environment on residents' body fat -- particular low income, African-American residents like the 1,400 Houston women who participated in the study.

“The results of this study add to the literature indicating that a person’s neighborhood environment and the foods that they’re exposed to can contribute to a higher BMI," said lead study author Lorraine Reitzel, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at MD Anderson, in a release.

"There's something about living close to a fast food restaurant that's associated with a higher BMI," she added, pointing to "behavioral economics" as a key factor in the decision to choose fast food over a healthier choice.

According to Reitzel, people who are pressed for time behave in such a way that will cost them the least amount of time to get things done, an approach that may extend to their food choices, particularly the affordable convenient kind being offered by fast-food chains.

To test the theory, Reitzel and her team examined the density of fast food restaurants within a half mile, one mile, two miles and five miles around each participant's home. What they found: That closer proximity was associated with a higher BMI not only among those of lower income, but in the group with the higher incomes as well. The data also showed that every additional mile participants' lived from the closest fast food restaurant was associated with a 2.4 percent lower BMI.

And while Reitzel's research is one of the first to look at the impact of fast food restaurants on obesity rates among blacks, findings published in the journal Critical Public Health last week reveal that the connection exists regardless of race.

According to an international team of health experts who looked at the number of Subway restaurants per 100,000 people in 26 economically advanced countries, the density of fast-food outlets is positively associated with the prevalence of obesity across 26 advanced economies in both men and women.

Subway now has more outlets than McDonald's, the report notes.

The Future Of Olivia And Fitz, And More Season 3 Scoop

2013-05-17T21:58:37Z

ABC's "Scandal" finale closed the climactic second season with the show's biggest bombshell yet: the mysterious Rowan (Joe Morton), the B613 boss who has been threatening Cyrus (Jeff Perry) and giving Jake (Scott Foley) his orders, is also Olivia Pope's (Kerry Washington) father. Move over, Darth Vader.

"When we read it, we were just really blown away," Washington told The Huffington Post on the red carpet for the Television Academy's "Scandal" live table read on May 16. "What's funny is that the writers do that to us every week and then we pay it forward [to the audience]."

"I knew all along," Morton smugly revealed to a packed house during the cast Q&A that followed the table read.

"When Joe Morton walked in the room for the very first episode that he appeared in, I almost had a heart attack, because I grew up in a household where Joe Morton is a great American hero," Washington said. "He is the first guest star that we've had that I literally called home about." (Foley feigned indignation at this point, to which Washington responded that her family members were bigger fans of "Brother from Another Planet" than "Felicity.")

"Every week I would say to Joe, 'Oh, I really hope we have some scenes together,' and he would smile and go, 'Do we? Do you think we do?'" Washington laughed.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, creator Shonda Rhimes conceived the character as a means of giving the audience some insight into who Olivia is outside of work. "I've been toying with [Rowan being Olivia's father] a lot since the beginning of the second season. A lot of it was about revealing some of Olivia's past and about revealing who Olivia's father was in general, what that meant and who her mother was."

“There’s a lot of talk in the room about why Olivia has such man issues. She makes very, very, very bad choices,” Rhimes told EW. “Part of bringing [Rowan] on was to open up her world a little bit, but it also revealed another piece of Olivia’s past.”

But since Rowan has been playing puppet-master for half the season, that means he's responsible for orchestrating a lot of questionable -- if not downright life-threatening -- situations for his daughter. "B613 did seem to be trying to kill her, kind of," Rhimes conceded to THR. "At the very least, Rowan was trying to get Jake to have sex with her and then make a tape of it, which seems creepy on many levels, right? At the very least that's a little disturbing on many, many levels. I don't know if they were trying to kill her, that's up to interpretation."

Rhimes confirmed that there wouldn't be much of a time-jump between the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3, telling THR, "I was really adamant about the fact that if we were going to end the season with the idea that Liv has been somehow outed by some unknown force and we meet her dad, we couldn't then just say we're going to jump ahead and cheat the audience of what all that meant."

The executive producer also teased that there was originally a scene towards the end of the episode that would've shown Olivia and Fitz rekindling their forbidden romance after Olivia insisted that she couldn't leave her team at Olivia Pope and Associates, "but the problem with it was that Olivia put the white hat back on and emotionally you had felt like she had found her inner core after losing it so badly. It felt like a cheat; that we were cheating her out of trying to do something good," Rhimes told TV Guide.

Still, as Rhimes pointed out to THR, "There's no forever in Shondaland," and while Fitz and Olivia might be separated for now, that might not always be the case. As Tony Goldwyn told us on the red carpet, "He loves Olivia more than he loves being president, he believes that his destiny is to be with Olivia. But he loves being president and he does feel that that's part of his destiny as well. He wants to find a way to have his cake and eat it too, and is very determined to do that. But he chose, and he chose her, and that's real."

Speaking to TV Guide, Rhimes observed that "[Mellie] took him back in the end, but that was a little bit like a boy coming home to his mama, wasn't it? It wasn't a romantic coming home. That's going to be a very interesting dynamic when we come back next season."

"Fitz has this weird relationship with Mellie, because I appreciate her, I have deep respect for her intellect and her potential, and yet I have contempt for her blind ambition," Goldwyn told HuffPost TV before the table read. "I love her and I hate her and I admire her, I have very complicated feelings about her, and yet … she's the mother of my children so I honor her as such. I feel like Fitz is determined, if he can set Mellie on a path towards the truth, then this will all get sorted out, because he feels like their relationship was corrupt from its beginning. He's committed to reality, he's willing to face that. He's committed to Olivia, he's committed to forcing Mellie to deal in reality, and ultimately I think he would want Mellie to be happy. He doesn't hate Mellie."

Bellamy Young admitted that Mellie is still holding out hope that Fitz will love her the way she loves him, telling us on the red carpet, "What we do in long relationships is assume that the other person doesn't change; we still operate from a place that when we fell in love with them, they thought and acted like this. And I think Mellie's guilty of that in so many ways, and Fitz has been transformed by this love with Olivia. So he really is a different person now and Mellie can't accept it. Mellie is still in the ring, still punching away, trying to get her love back. She doesn't quite accept that you cannot force someone to love you."

Fitz has said and done some pretty terrible things this season, and yet Mellie has continued to pine for him, so we asked Young whether there's anything Fitz could do that would change her feelings towards him. "Like life, we never know what's around the bend in these scripts, and I don't know," she admitted. "I will never say never. I know her love for him is so deep and so true, but I think Mellie's open to evolution. I hope that she finds peace in her heart one way or the other. I know that love can transform, so maybe she can love him in different ways and accept that he doesn't want to be her partner in this life. What I know for sure is that Shonda will think of something so much smarter than I would ever think of."

After half a season of lies and manipulation, the finale saw Jake reveal himself to be a hero at heart, saving Olivia's life once more before surrendering to Rowan and allowing himself to be thrown into the hole that caused Huck (Guillermo Diaz) to lose his sanity, as we saw in "Seven-Fifty-Two."

Before the episode aired, Foley admitted, "Everybody who we know who's been in B613, from Huck to Charlie [George Newbern], they all seem to want out, they all seem to be in a position where they don't like their job. And maybe Jake's in the same position -- if they want out, why wouldn't he? They seem like they loved their jobs at one point. I think Jake has, to a degree, taken matters into his own hands in regards to what both Fitz and Rowan have asked him to do, and I think we'll see the consequences for that, and that may or may not end Jake as we know him."

He wasn't lying -- and while Rhimes wouldn't reveal anything about Jake's ultimate fate at the Q&A, Foley's character seems far too compelling to be relegated to the hole forever, especially since it seemed like Olivia was finally starting to come to terms with her own feelings for him in the finale. "It's complicated -- it's a complicated relationship, for sure," Washington laughed on the red carpet.

For his part, Foley is hoping Jake will get the chance for a proper interaction with Huck, as they're both B613 rebels who care for our head Gladiator. "I think that'd be interesting, to have the two of them sit down and hash it out. Who loves Olivia more, Huck or Jake? Fitz needs to go back to his wife and calm down," he teased before the panel.

For more on the "Scandal" finale, head over to THR, EW and TV Guide.

What did you think of the "Scandal" season finale? Do you want to see more of Jake? Do you think Rowan was really trying to kill Olivia? Are you still rooting for Olivia and Fitz? Weigh in below!

WATCH: How Prince Was Influenced By Sheila E.'s Family

2013-05-17T21:16:44Z

From “Holly Rock” to “A Love Bizarre,” Prince and Sheila E. recorded a string of timeless classics that are known to rock a party to this very day.

Today, during an interview with HuffPost Live, the award-winning percussionist reminisced on her early career and opened up on how her family influenced the legendary icon.

“He was influenced by the Bay Area; that’s why he came to record there. There’s a lot of great music that has come from the Bay Area,” she explained to host Marc Lamont Hill. “So me being born and raised there has been amazing,” she went on to say.

“Because he followed my career, he knew about my family, my dad and his brothers, and then the family band. He loved to come and watch the band and he would always tell us, ‘Where did you guys come from? How did you get your dad and your brothers to play together? You’re playing and doing stuff and it’s like you’re not even giving cues. You guys just know where to go.’ And he loved that about our family. It’s like that kind of family he wanted. His family was different, but he was very influenced by our family,” E. said.

Check out more of Sheila E.’s interview in the clip above.

Original 'Voice' Coaches Officially Returning

2013-05-17T20:58:46Z

"The Voice" is officially bringing back Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green for Season 5!

After weeks of rumors, NBC has officially announced that the original "Voice" coaches, who took a break for the reality competition series' current fourth season, will be back in the fall.

Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will also return for Season 5 and Season 6, which will see newbie coaches Shakira and Usher return after the Winter Olympics in February from Sochi, Russia.

“We locked in a plan several months ago to have the outstanding Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green rejoin Blake and Adam for cycle 5, and we’re pleased to announce that the original four coaches are going to be back together in the fall,” said Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming for NBC Entertainment, in a statement. “They’re the reason this show was launched so strong for the first three cycles and we owe them a debt of gratitude. And after careful consideration of everyone’s schedules for next spring, we are excited to be returning the current cycle of judges -- Shakira and Usher along with Blake and Adam -- for cycle 6, which will premiere after the Winter Olympics.”

Although Shakira and Usher have been popular with viewers -- and the show continues to dominate the ratings -- it was always expected that Aguilera and Green would retake their spinning chairs for the show's fall cycle, having taken a break to work on other projects.

Rumors of Aguilera's return to "The Voice" have been stirring this week. The Wrap reported that Aguilera was nearing a $17 million contract, the same amount she earned for Season 3 -- slightly less than Mariah Carey's reported $18 million for "American Idol" -- but a source close to the situation told The Huffington Post earlier this week that Aguilera's figure where somewhere nearer $12 million.

"As I have expressed since day one of the show, that I am a singer and performer first and I am so excited to get back to that love," Aguilera said back in September when she left "The Voice." "Since this year NBC and 'The Voice' have decided to tape back-to-back seasons, requiring a full-year commitment, it is important for me to take season four off, allowing me to support my music that my fans have been waiting for -- with the release of my new album 'Lotus' on November 13. By pursuing my first passion of music during the break, I am also able to come back and offer even more to my team on 'The Voice' in the future.”

Green has also long expressed his desire to return to "The Voice." Back in December 2012, shortly after Season 3 of the NBC reality series ended, the coach stopped by "Today" and said, "Let's be straight about this, ladies and gentlemen: I'm not leaving 'The Voice.' I'll be back for Season 5. I'm going on hiatus. I'm doing a Las Vegas residency next year."

Green recently appeared on "The Voice" as a musical guest and is set to return for the May 20th installment as a mentor to Team Shakira while Shakira's original Season 4 mentor Joel Madden is filming "The Voice" Australia.

Shakira confirmed she was leaving "The Voice" earlier this week, telling E! Online, "It was a hard decision for me to make, because I'm really fond of the coaches, the people in production and everybody around me ... And I really enjoyed 'The Voice,' but I also have a musical career and I'm also a mother now and my poor baby's so tired flying such long distances." She added, "We'll see what happens in the future."

Are you happy to see Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green back on "The Voice"? Sound off in the comments!

"The Voice" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.