‘Xena’ actress tries to prevent oil drilling
Lawless
Television actress Lucy Lawless climbed aboard an oil drilling ship today in New Zealand, joining six Greenpeace activists to try to stop the vessel from setting off for the Arctic. The protesters hung banners from the drilling derrick reading “Stop Shell” and “#SaveTheArctic.”
The ship is chartered by oil company Shell. Shona Geary, a company spokeswoman, said the ship was due to leave over the weekend for a drilling program in the Arctic but that all operations aboard had come to a stop. “We are taking a very calm and measured approach to this,” she said.
Lawless, 43, a native New Zealander, is best known for her title role in “Xena: Warrior Princess.” More recently she has starred in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand.”
Woman says Chris Brown robbed her
Miami Beach police are investigating a woman’s claim that singer Chris Brown stole her iPhone outside a South Beach nightclub when she tried to take a picture of him.
A police incident report released Thursday says Christal Shanae Spann, 24, and her friends spotted Brown and rapper Tyga leaving the Cameo club early Sunday. Spann told police she saw Brown get into a black Bentley, and she used her phone to take a picture of him sitting in the car. According to the report, Spann claims Brown grabbed her phone and said “… you ain’t going to put that on no website,” and drove off.
Authorities said no charges have been filed. The report listed the potential crime as “robbery by sudden snatching,” which is a felony. Any charges could cause legal problems for Brown, who remains on supervised probation for beating his then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna, in 2009.
Rowling to write one for grown-ups
Adult fans of J.K. Rowling can rejoice: She has a new novel coming, for grown-ups. The kids will have to wait and see.
The author of the mega-selling “Harry Potter” series has an agreement with Little, Brown in the United States and Britain to release her first adult novel, the publishers announced Thursday. The title, release date and details about the book, long rumored, were not announced.
A neighbor of Rowling’s in Edinburgh, author Ian Rankin, tweeted Thursday that he thinks Rowling has written a mystery novel.
The birthday bunch
Actor Abe Vigoda is 91. Actor Steven Hill is 90. Actor-singer Dominic Chianese is 81. Actor Barry Bostwick is 67. Actor Edward James Olmos is 65. Rock singer-musician George Thorogood is 62. Actress Debra Jo Rupp is 61. News anchor Paula Zahn is 56. Country singer Sammy Kershaw is 54. Singer Michelle Shocked is 50. Movie director Todd Field is 48. Actor Wilson Bethel is 28.