Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage; X17online

Denise Richards: Why She's Caring for Charlie Sheen's Kids with Brooke Mueller

Originally posted 05/18/2013 05:30PM

The knock on the front door of Charlie Sheen's troubled ex-wife Brooke Mueller's home came around 9 p.m. on May 2. Social workers from L.A.'s Department of Child and Family Services, alarmed by Mueller's erratic behavior in recent weeks, had arrived for one explicit reason: to take custody of her two 4-year-old twins, Bob and Max.

"It was a real mess," says a Sheen friend familiar with the incident.

But what happened next came to many as a shock.

Denise Richards, 42, Sheen's ex wife, stepped forward to offer her help, caring for the children. "Denise told Charlie that she wished she could take them," says a source in their circle. "Someone needed to step up."

Read More

Credit: Kevin Foley/ABC

The Bachelorette

The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock: 'There's Going to Be Tears'

Originally posted 05/18/2013 02:30PM

After a hometown date from hell, The Bachelor's Sean Lowe withheld the rose from early frontrunner Desiree Hartsock. The L.A.-based bridal stylist was devastated and the audience was stunned, but now the fan favorite will be the one handing out the flowers when The Bachelorette premieres May 27 on ABC. Although she would not say if her TV journey ended in jewelry, Hartsock spoke to reporters this week about her suitors, strategies and surviving Sean.

What did you learn from your experience on The Bachelor? Did you steal any of Sean's strategies?
I was able to put myself in the guys' shoes to really understand what they were feeling. From Sean, I [learned] to take each and every day separately and really focused on each and every relationship.

You seemed heartbroken when Sean eliminated you. Why put yourself through this very public experience again?
I was upset when Sean sent me home but that just showed the emotions are real and you really can fall for someone. But before going on this show, I had already [moved] past that and knew Sean and I weren't meant to be together. I figured why not give The Bachelorette a chance? I was honestly able to put my whole heart out there and just let it happen.

Read More

Angelina Jolie: 'This Was the Right Thing to Do For Our Family'

Originally posted 05/18/2013 10:30AM

She was facing down the most frightening challenge of her life, but on Valentine's Day of this year, Angelina Jolie was focused on nothing more than dinosaurs, bugs and precious family time.

When the star visited the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles on Feb. 14 with fiancé Brad Pitt and their 4-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox, "the kids could barely contain themselves, but Brad and Angie spoke to them in quiet voices to calm them down," says an observer. "They stayed back and let the kids explore fossils and insects on their own. They all seemed to have fun."

Before Mom and Dad headed out for a romantic dinner later that evening, they gathered all six children together for a family gift exchange – the very sort of tradition Jolie's mom, Marcheline Bertrand, delighted in fostering during Jolie's own childhood. "The older kids had made art projects at school that they gave Brad and Angie," says a family source. "Every special calendar day sparks a big celebration for them."

It would be the last such celebration before the surgery that Jolie would quietly undergo just two days later: On Feb. 16 – and with Pitt, 49, by her side – the 37-year-old Oscar winner underwent a preventive double mastectomy at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills. In a candid op-ed published in the New York Times on May 14, the actress explained the gut-wrenching decision as a "proactive" choice that was "not easy" but "is one I am very happy I made."

Read More

Credit: Gregg DeGuire/Filmmagic

Ancient Creature with Scissor-Like Claws Is Named After Johnny Depp

Originally posted 05/18/2013 08:15AM

Johnny Depp was already a pretty unique guy. And now he can further boast that he's the only actor to have an obscure, extinct creature that lived half a billion years named after him.

A 505-million-year-old fossil discovered recently has been named Kooteninchela deppi because of its scissor-like claws, which reminded the scientist who discovered it of Depp's character from the 1990 movie Edward Scissorhands.

"When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species, I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands," the scientist, David Legg, said on the website of London's Imperial College (see an image of the creature there). "Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film, as 'chela' is Latin for claws or scissors."

Read More

Credit: Christopher Sturman

In the Kitchen with Sandra Lee

Originally posted 05/17/2013 07:15PM

Food Network star Sandra Lee created an all-white oasis in the kitchen of her Westchester, N.Y., home, because "our days are so cluttered with stuff we have to do – chores, homework and work – so I try to keep the kitchen as uncluttered as possible."

That is until her boyfriend, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, 55, and his daughters Cara and Mariah, 18, and Michaela, 15, come home for dinner.

"We all chip in," says Lee, 46. "Some cook, some clean, some stand in front of the refrigerator and just stare, because they just can't decide on what they want!"

Read More