WASHINGTON - The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned.
Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center since 2007, decided not to return to his agency's "bat cave" nerve center in McLean, Va., until several days after Christmas, two U.S. officials said.
For the first time ever, female solo artists occupy the top five spots on The Billboard 200. Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream logs its sixth week at #1; Lady Gaga's The Fame surges from #6 to #2; Alicia Keys' The Element Of Freedom rebounds from #4 to #3; Mary J. Blige's Stronger withEach Tear drops from #2 to #4; and Taylor Swift's Fearless holds at #5.
Don't worry, "Jersey Shore" fans - we hear the cast of MTV's runaway hit will be back for another summer in Seaside Heights.
Despite rumors that a new crew would be brought in for season two, cast member Vinny Guadagnino let it slip Tuesday night that he and the original Italian-Americans will indeed be returning to the Shore next summer.
"They want us to do another season," he gushed to a group of ladies at the "Youth in Revolt"… Continue
Leave the pole-dancing to the pros.
A Manhattan woman who took a nasty spill while dangling from a stripper pole during a workout at an upper East Side Crunch is suing the fitness chain.
Sue Ann Wee says in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit that she suffered "serious injuries" when she tumbled off the pole during a June class.
"It's a dangerous maneuver," said Nicholas Warywoda, a lawyer for Wee. "But if you tell somebody to… Continue
The principal of a popular Queens high school was fired Wednesday after he was accused of fondling and soliciting oral sex from several of his students.
Quintin Cedeno was yanked from the High School of Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture after the disturbing allegations emerged.
A guidance counselor told investigators that a 15-year-old student accused Cedeno, 33, of asking him for oral sex.
In text messages, the principal allegedly… Continue
The woman accusing Shaquille O'Neal of carrying out a campaign of harassment against her has had major issues with at least two other NBA players in the past, TMZ has learned.
According to several police reports, Vanessa Lopez has had serious legal run-ins with Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West -- during the same time period she claims she was secretly hooking up with Shaq.
A prisoner bolted from custody near a Staten Island precinct Wednesday and led cops on a wild chase before he was nabbed a short time later, police sources said.
Naquan Thompson was linked to 17 other prisoners who were being led out of the 120th Precinct when he slipped his left hand from a cuff and made a run for it.
Thompson, 22, bolted down Wall St. toward the ferry terminal, where leaped off a ramp leading to the Staten Island Railway station and… Continue
So, in the end, the frump didn’t beat the teen queen after all.
For weeks it looked like Susan Boyle might pull a Hail Mary pass, and beat out Taylor Swift as the year’s top album seller at the very last minute. But in a photo finish finale, Swift pulled ahead, selling 3,216,000 copies of her “Fearless” CD, to 3,103,000 of Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream."
That makes “Fearless” the top selling disc of 2009 to Boyle’s No. 2.
Lady Gaga already has superhero-like costumes, but soon she'll have the comic book to go with it.
The "Poker Face" singer will star in a new comic book series called "Fame," which chronicles the lives of celebrities, according to Usmagazine.com.
The publisher behind the series, Bluewater Productions, is also responsible for the "Female Force" biographical series that includes powerful women like Michelle Obama, Princess Diana and… Continue
The NBA has suspended Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas indefinitely.
In a statement, NBA commissioner David Stern said:
"Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game ... Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective… Continue
Ex-child star Gary Coleman was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital Wednesday morning after suffering an apparent seizure, according to reports.
The 41-year-old actor was in Los Angeles promoting a new movie, TMZ.com reported.
He did several interviews early Wednesday morning at the Custom Hotel before he was taken to an area hospital just after 8 a.m.
The "Different Strokes" star has been living in the town of Santaquin, Utah… Continue
Move over skinny-minis!
Despite the fashion world's stick thin model domination, V Magazine has decided to devote an entire issue to curvier women, reports the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
"The Size Issue" includes a high-fashion photo shoot with women who are proud to flaunt their thicker thighs, fuller tummies, large breasts and even their love handles.
The census form for 2010 features a word more often heard in 1966: Negro.
For many New York blacks, the word conjures visions of Jim Crow and segregation - even if the Census Bureau says it's included to ensure an accurate count of the nation's minority residents.
"It's a bad vibe word," said Kevin Bishop, 45, a Brooklyn salesman. "It doesn't agree with me, doesn't agree with my heart."
While on vacation in Mexico on Tuesday, Rihanna and her L.A. Dodger Matt Kemp followed Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson's example and drew more attention to themselves by wearing flashy getups on their heads. Kemp showed his kinkier more playful side by adding a lucha libre mascara aka Mexican wrestling mask to his ensemble.
The couple that wears touristy sombreros together, stays… Continue