"President Obama’s plan to widen United States involvement in Afghanistan came after an internal debate in which Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned against getting into a political and military quagmire, while military advisers argued that the Afghanistan war effort could be imperiled without even more troops .. The commanders in the field wanted a firmer and long-term commitment of more combat troops beyond the 17,000 that Mr. Obama had already promised to send, and a pledge that billions of dollars would be found to significantly expand the number of Afghan security forces ..During these discussions, Mr. Biden was the voice of caution, reminding the group members that they would have to sell their plans to a skeptical Congress .. Mr. Obama left a final White House meeting in the Situation Room last Friday signaling to participants that he was close to a decision, but that he wanted to get comfortable with what he was going to do. He mulled the issue while at the Camp David presidential retreat over the weekend. On Wednesday, he told his top aides that he had made up his mind." (NYTimes)
"Madonna is single again... after an unholy bust-up with Jesus. The queen of pop has sensationally ditched her toyboy lover and announced that she's 'glad' to be single again. It comes after a row over 50-year-old Madonna's commitment to the 22-year-old Brazilian model Jesus Luz. We are told that she declined his invite to meet his family - including his mum who is 13 years Madonna's junior - on May 10, which is Mother's Day in Brazil." (3AMGirls)
"Feel that heat? It's another huge weekend at the box office, +35% over last year for $130 million. Due to 3-D blockbuster Monsters vs Aliens which despite so-so elite reviews is performing as well as producer DreamWorks dared to hope, and what distributor Paramount didn't think possible. It opened to $16.5 million Friday thanks to its incredibly wide release in 4,104 theaters, including 1,550 3-D venues (the widest opening yet for a 3-D title) and $3-$4 premium for 3-D. So it could have a $57 million weekend. This would make it the 2nd biggest non-sequel for DWA, behind 2008's Kung Fu Panda. And it's not even a summer or Easter weekend." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
"Lily Allen looked as though she had partied to within an inch of her life last night during a late-night session with Kate Moss. The singer, 23, ended the night at 4.30am this morning looking rather weary after partying with caner Kate at Lil's flat in Queen's Park. Kate, 35, had been to see Lily perform at the Shepherds Bush Empire earlier in the evening, with other guests in the audience including artist Damien Hirst. The supermodel really got into the swing of things, flailing her arms all over the place when Lily did a cover of Britney Spears' Womanizer. The pair left the venue at 11.30pm and headed to Lily's place. They went to Kate's place at 4.15am, with Lily ducking inside for no more than 10 minutes before heading off home." (Thisislondon)
"The nation's top bankers walked away from a summit with President Barack Obama pledging broad support for his bank-bailout program and efforts to revive the economy, but the meeting failed to resolve tensions over executive pay and the president's tough rhetoric of recent weeks. The highly unusual meeting, which came after weeks of public feuding between Democrats in Washington and banks, brought President Obama face to face with 15 of the nation's top bank executives, including the heads of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley. All of the banks have received federal bailout cash -- in some cases after being told they must -- and some have openly bristled over mounting public criticism of their pay and their banks' lending .. For his part, Mr. Obama told the group that bankers should be more modest in their compensation and spending practices, participants said. The bankers responded that the administration should try to cool its anti-Wall Street rhetoric." (WSJ)
"Rashida Jones is kinda having a moment. The beautiful daughter of Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton is a proud part of the No. 1 comedy in America, I Love You, Man; she’s a co-star on the highly anticipated Parks and Recreation, which debuts on April 9 — poor test screening results be damned! And just this week, she sold her first screenplay, the snappily titled Celeste and Jesse Forever, which she co-wrote with actor Will McCormack (Brothers and Sisters)." (Observer)
"Sources tell me that outcast AOL CEO Jon Miller has agreed to join News Corp in a newly created role as CEO, Digital Media. He will report to Rupert Murdoch and be based in NYC and in charge of Internet and mobile businesses in a global role driving digital strategy across all News Corp business. This is a really big job, I'm told, because he will collaborate with the heads of the other News Corp businesses. Post-AOL, Miller became one of the founding partners at the VC firm Velocity. But his former employer Time Warner had a contractual hold on him until the end of this month. The digital media veteran served from 2002 to 2006 as Chairman/CEO of AOL." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
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