BP to place last pipe in relief well in next week-US govt

July 25 (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) will finish placing the last bit of pipe into a relief well intended to help kill its Gulf of Mexico oil leak “sometime in the next week,” the top official overseeing the spill response said on Sunday.

Once the pipe, or casing, is cemented in place, BP will begin the plugging process with a “static kill” the first week of August, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told reporters at a briefing.

Allen had said the static kill could start in three to five days after the pipe was in place, but on Sunday he said that timeline had been “refined” to be more conservative after consulting with BP. (Reporting by Kristen Hays; Editing by Eric Beech)

‘Scared’ Kristen Stewart ‘stocks garlic to keep away vampires’!

Washington, September 14 (ANI): Actress Kristen Stewart is reportedly so scared of vampires that she keeps a huge stock of garlic at home to keep them at bay.

The ‘Twilight’ star, who plays Bella Swan in the hit vampire series, was said to be so terrified of the mythological blood-sucking creatures that she hangs pouches of the foodstuff on her bedroom door.

The 19-year-old even keeps an emergency stash in her car, according to sources.

The ‘Twilight’ actress, who plays Bella in the vampire film franchise, is so terrified of the mythical blood-sucking creatures she festoons her home with cloves of garlic in an attempt to deter them.

“People are always remarking how smelly it is, but Kristen doesn’t care,” Contactmusic quoted a source as telling National Enquirer magazine.

“She’s been afraid of vampires for years, even before she signed up to do the movies, and read somewhere that garlic is supposed to repel them,” the source added. (ANI)

Robert Pattinson, Kirsten Stewart “totally smitten”

London, Sept 9 (ANI): Twilight co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kirsten Stewart have become real-life lovers and are “totally smitten”, it has emerged.

Although both the stars refuse to confirm their relationship, pals reveal a different story altogether.

“The pair are totally smitten,” the Daily Star quoted a source as saying.

Meanwhile, rumours are abuzz that Pattinson and Stewart are set to share a new love nest as they are looking at a 3-million-dollar pad in West Hollywood.

A source told American tabloid the National Enquirer: “Kristen wants a super-romantic place to share with Rob in Los Angeles.” (ANI)

NY ladies hit back at Spitzer girl’s claim ‘they are no better than prostitutes’

New York, Sep 5 (ANI): The ladies of New York have hit back at high-priced Eliot Spitzer escort Ashley Dupre’s claim that the average NY woman is no better than a prostitute as she strives to marry a wealthy man.

Dupre, 24, had posted an online diatribe on September 2 on rap impresario Russell Simmons’ Global Grind Web site, stating that she has seen a lot of women toy with men, go on dates to get good food, beg for clothes and ask for rent money. “I don’t agree with what she said-I would totally never do anything like that,” the New York Post quoted a disgusted Justyna Cichon, 29, of Long Island City as saying.

“She did it, [and] she thinks that every woman is like that.

“When she says that all women are that way, I’m included. So I think that’s offensive,” she stated.

Another lady, who was outraged by Dupre’s statement, was Lena Herdoon, a 21-year-old student from SoHo.

“What she said about all women isn’t true. I think it’s offensive. In today’s society, you shouldn’t have to put yourself out there to get ahead,” Herdoon said.

“It’s disheartening she feels this way about women. When she says that women have to do that to get ahead, I completely disagree. As a woman, you have to have self-respect,” she added.

But while some city women were incensed, others agreed that there are some women who go about doing exactly what Dupre said.

“I agree. There are a lot of women like her. It’s expensive to live here,” Jasmin, a 20-year-old Queens woman, said.

Kristen, 24, of Manhattan, who asked her last name not be used, said she was on the same page as Dupre.

“It’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man, so why would you go with the poor guy?” she said.

“This city is filled with very wealthy men, and it’s not difficult to do. It’s a certain type of girl who will do that. There are girls who will play that game. [That's why] you’ve got those services like Sugardaddy.com,” she added.

Autumn, 29, a Manhattan woman who also asked to remain anonymous, said Dupre exposed one of the city’s ugly truths.

“It’s reality in New York. It’s true. I’d like to say it’s not, but it is,” she said.

“There is many a story: When you move to the city, you meet rich, 40-year-old guys who buy you drinks and offer to put you up in a hotel room.

“They are not giving you direct cash, but you’re getting things for sleeping with them. You’re getting something you want, and he is getting someone he wants,” she added.

Meanwhile, Dupre spoke out on September 4 on Twitter thanking supporters and saying that she was only speaking the “ugly truth”.

“I am only fighting to be who I really am,” she tweeted. (ANI)

Kristen Stewart strips for James Gandolfini’s ‘Welcome to The Rileys’

Washington, Aug 21 (ANI): Actress Kristen Stewart will appear nude in her new film Welcome to The Rileys.

The Twilight star plays a young lap dancer plus prostitute, and walks around naked in many scenes in James Gandolfini’s new flick.

Apparently, the teenage star was a little nervous to film the scenes, and so she asked her Twilight co-star Nikki Reed to join her on the set of the film in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“I’m going with Kristen to New Orleans… while she’s shooting and I’m a good support system… I have to go to be with Kristen,” Contactmusic quoted Reed as telling About.com.

But Stewart is excited about the film and feels that her nude shots will lure her fans to theatres.

She said: “It’s an independent movie that nobody would normally see and now it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s go see Bella (Twilight character) in this stripper movie; it’ll be crazy!’”

Also, Kristen is delighted to work with the Sopranos star and considers the role in the film to be the hardest she has ever done.

She added: “Working with James Gandolfini and (co-star) Melissa Leo, who is just incredible, was the most fruitful life-changing experience on a movie that I’ve ever had.

“It was just the hardest subject matter I’ve ever had to deal with – I play a very broken young girl who is a runaway. She’s a street kid. She’s working in a strip club and James Gandolfini’s character is just as dead inside as she is – and they wake each other up.” (ANI)

Breakthrough in ‘floppy baby’ syndrome

Washington, May 26 (ANI): Australian researchers have successfully treated mice with a devastating muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome.

The breakthrough could ultimately help thousands of families across the globe.

The research, published online today in the Journal of Cell Biology, reveals how a team at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) has restored muscle function in mice with one type of Floppy Baby Syndrome – a congenital myopathy disorder that causes babies to be born without the ability to properly use their muscles.

The currently incurable genetic diseases render most of the affected children severely paralysed and take the lives of the majority of these children before the age of one.

Dr Kristen Nowak, lead author on the publication, said the team was extremely encouraged that it had been able to cure a group of mice born with the condition.

“The mice with Floppy Baby Syndrome were only expected to live for about nine days, but we managed to cure them so they were born with normal muscle function, allowing them to live naturally and very actively into old age,” she said.

“This is an important step towards one day hopefully being able to better the lives of human patients – mice who were cured of the disease lived more than two years, which is very old age for a mouse,” the expert added.

Dr Nowak said the team was able to cure the mice with the recessive form of the genetic condition by replacing missing skeletal muscle actin – a protein integral in allowing muscles to contract – with similar actin found in the heart. (ANI)