WENN.com

By now, we know in the world of entertainment terms like “exhaustion” and “dehydration” are simple code words for bigger problems. For most celebs, exhaustion usually means someone went a little too hard on the drinks or drugs, but in Beyonce’s case, it’s likely confirmation of what many have been expecting for the last two weeks or so: she’s pregnant again!

The Associated Press just released details of an email from Bey’s publicist explaining why she’s cancelling her concert in Belgium today. AP Says Beyonce’s doctors have ordered her to rest and that is why she won’t be performing  at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp. Consequently, the show will be rescheduled and tickets can be used at the new show. Wednesday’s show at the same arena may also be in the air, as her publicist’s statement says:

 ”She is awaiting word from her doctors before making a decision.”

This news — on top of the fact that we’ve never, in the history of all her gyrating and booty popping, heard of Bey needing to take a break for exhaustion  — only further heightens suspicions that Mrs. Carter is in fact expecting baby number two.  Just yesterday, the NY Post ran a story saying several sources at last Monday’s Met Gala told them Bet is pregnant. Then there’s the issue of those pics of Queen Bey in that skin tight blue body suit with a tiny pudge in the middle that isn’t characteristic of the woman we’ve seen nearly every toned crevice of in H&M ads. And let’s not forget, Bey was just talking about Blue Ivy needing some company in a “Good Morning America” interview last week. Add all of these details together and it sounds quite likely that we’ve got one pregnant mama on our hands.

While the Carters are probably ecstatic about this possibility, I imagine U.S. fans will find the news a little bittersweet as the singer hasn’t even made her way back to the states to start this leg of her Mrs. Carter tour. And if she’s already showing and having medical issues, it doesn’t bit well for the likelihood of her finishing the tour in Brooklyn August 5. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for you and hope the other insiders who told Us Weekly, “don’t be silly,” when they asked if Beyonce is pregnant, are right.

What do you say? Do you think Bey’s expecting again?

Image: iStockphoto

It might be Election Day, but we still have to eat. And the just-released survey of the worst supermarkets in America shows that I have shopped at more than half of them.

A number of factors make these supermarkets so bad, but one thread running throughout is that the bigger they are the worst they are run. There is a major lack of customer service.  And while prices are usually great, they run out the competition. Small grocery stores, where you will most often get great customer service and quality prices, just can’t compete with the supermarket chains.

Ironically, many of these chains were opened decades ago as small grocery stores  but are now supermarket chains. We’re sure when they were small and family run, customers were more satisfied. Today people complain of  long lines, rude employees, unsanitary conditions and poor selection. Consumer Reports surveyed 24,000 shoppers to rank the best and worst out of 52 grocery chain stores.

The stores were rated on  four categories – service (includes employee courtesy and checkout speed), perishables (food quality), price and cleanliness – were scored from “very satisfied,” “fairly satisfied,” “neutral, “fairly unsatisfied” and “very unsatisfied.” “The highest-rated supermarket, Wegmans, received a score of 88,” reports the Fiscal Times.

Among the worst were: Stop & Shop, which scored 73. The store was founded in 1914 as Shopmate and now has locations in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Ralphs, which also scored 73, is a Southern California store founded way back in 1873. After all these years you’d like they would be getting things right. The chain is now actually a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger. It ranked below average on cleanliness.

Food Lion, which was founded in 1957 and is located in the Mid- and South Atlantic regions, is no stranger to bad publicity. A 1992 segment on ABC’s PrimeTime Live show accused the chain of deliberately selling spoiled food. Today, on the Consumer Reports survey it scored 73. “Food Lion was mediocre across the board. Customers weren’t even just a little bit satisfied with cleanliness, service, food quality, or price,”  reports The Fiscal Times.  Maybe next year they will fair better—the company recently announced it would be closing 113 stores and rethinking their marketing strategy.

And if you’re on the East Coast, no doubt you’ve shopped at A & P. The chain, which was launched in 1859, scored just 70 in the survey for issues with poor service and poor prices. According to The Fiscal Times,  the company, which includes supermarkets Food Emporium and Pathmark, filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and is now a private company.

Even though they get the most business (Walmart accounted for 22 percent of American food sales in 2010), Walmart Supercenter is nearly the worst on the list, receiving a rating of 69. Of course you can get everything in one location—from food to furniture—but if you hate going shopping at a Walmart Supercenter, what’s the point?  The only thing people who took the survey were satisfied with about the Walmart Supercenters was price.

But the worst of them all turned out to be Pathmark. The chain, which is located in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, earned a score of just 68. And like most of the those surveyed, I have found Pathmark stores are usually unclean. “One customer on Yelp who reviewed the Harlem, New York location went so far as to call Pathmark, ‘the bane of my existence.’”

For the full list, visit The Fiscal Times.

Virginia voters this morning at a Roanoke fire station. Image: AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Kyle Green

It’s not really that much of a surprise: wealthier Americans, mostly whites, donated much more to the presidential campaigns than minorities. According to a new study by AP, Americans living in predominantly wealthy, white neighborhoods account for nearly all the sizable campaign contributions in this year’s presidential election, as reported by the Huffington Post.

Latinos donated the least. The study found that while 16 percent of the U.S. population is Hispanic, “not even 4 percent of the more than $1.3 billion in 3 million-plus itemized contributions came from mostly Hispanic neighborhoods this year… More than 90 percent came from majority white neighborhoods,” writes HuffPo.

Large donations come into play because there is actually more of them. About 65 percent of donors supporting Obama gave more than $200, compared with 85 percent for Romney. “These donors, including ‘bundlers’ who raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, are most likely to receive invitations to lavish donor parties, state dinners at the White House or policy briefings with senior advisers,” says the article.

For sure income disparity played some part in these findings. According to the 2010 Census, the median household income for Hispanics was $37,759; for non-Hispanic whites it was $54,620. Add to this the high unemployment rate for minorities, about 8 percent.

While it makes sense that minorities, who on a whole have lower incomes than their white counterparts, would donate less because they basically have less money, it’s not so, found the AP report.  “Even among the poorest neighborhoods, non-Hispanics contributed far more regularly to the campaigns and the political groups that supported them. The trend similarly holds true for campaign contributions from mostly black, Asian or Native American neighborhoods,” states the article.

Still, the AP is talking about big-dollar donations. The news organization did not take into account the sources of contributions of $200 or less per person because, under federal law, political groups are not required to disclose any identifying information about such donors.

Perhaps more jarring is the amount of money spent, on a whole, on this election — $6 billion — and the amount that came from outside groups like super PACs — $526 million. Mother Jones has some of these money stats.

Source: nydailynews.com

First and foremost, who knew that Dennis Rodman was 51???

But to the matter at hand. The former NBA star known for his colorful hair, multiple piercings, tattoos and sexual exploits, and oh yeah, his killer rebounding skills, was sentenced yesterday after being found guilty of four counts of contempt for failing to come up with his owed child support in 2009 and 2010. Rodman was hit with 104 hours of community service, along with three years of informal probation on the condition that he keep up with both spousal and child support payments to his ex-wife, Michelle Moyer. He has a son named D.J., 11, and a daughter named Trinity, 10, from his relationship with her. The couple married in 2003, but she filed for divorce in 2004. However, they tried to reconcile time and time again, but in the end, she filed for divorce again, and the marriage was put to an end this year.

Though Rodman’s ex-wife says he owes more than $800,000 in back child support, his lawyer, Linnea Willis, disputes the number (she says it’s much less of course) and says that Rodman isn’t and hasn’t been making enough money to pay up. According to the AP, she says the colorful NBA legend is broke, owing thousands in back taxes. On top of that, his troubles with alcohol and more had made it hard for him to get a job or endorsements to bring in more money, hence the struggle to pay spousal and child support payments recently. But now Rodman says that thanks to a few opportunities to play ball overseas (he’s 51 mind you…if you forgot), he’s doing okay, but not making the same dough he used to. “I’m making enough to keep everyone satisfied.” Rodman will have to report back to court on June 22 about more disputes over child support and additional contempt charges. While he is willing to do what’s necessary to do right by his children, Rodman made it clear that he was disappointed that things had to get so messy:

“It’s all about the kids. It does suck the fact that it had to come to this.”

It happens, brother. Just do better.

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(CBS News/AP) — Fed up with waiting, President Obama announced Saturday he would bypass a vacationing Senate and name 15 people to key administration jobs, wielding for the first time the blunt political tool known as the recess appointment.

The move immediately deepened the divide between the Democratic president and Republicans in the Senate following a long, bruising fight over health care. Mr. Obama revealed his decision by blistering Republicans, accusing them of holding up nominees for months solely to try to score a political advantage on him.

Read More…

(CBS News/AP) — Fed up with waiting, President Obama announced Saturday he would bypass a vacationing Senate and name 15 people to key administration jobs, wielding for the first time the blunt political tool known as the recess appointment.

The move immediately deepened the divide between the Democratic president and Republicans in the Senate following a long, bruising fight over health care. Mr. Obama revealed his decision by blistering Republicans, accusing them of holding up nominees for months solely to try to score a political advantage on him.

Read More…