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SANTA ANA, California —  A woman is accused in California of making more than $8.5 million from an online prostitution business that claimed to employ porn stars and fashion models.
Michelle Braun appeared Monday in federal court in Orange County and was allowed to remain free pending her next pretrial hearing next month.
The Boca Raton, Florida, woman is accused of charging clients $50,000 or more to spend the night with adult film stars, models, and actresses, The Orange County Register reported. Prosecutors say she used her travel business to launder the money.
Braun pleaded not guilty in March to money laundering and transporting someone for prostitution purposes. Prosecutors say she’s expected to change her plea to guilty before her next hearing.
Braun and her lawyer declined to comment.

HOUSTON —  A disgraced federal judge was sentenced Monday to nearly three years in prison for lying to investigators about sexually abusing two female employees, who said they feared him so much they hid from him in the courthouse.
U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent stared at the floor while the women described years of harassment and abuse at the Galveston courthouse where he wielded great authority as the only federal judge. He apologized to his wife, his family and the federal court staff but never specifically referred to the two women.
He could have received up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors said they wouldn’t seek more than three years under a plea agreement. He also was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $6,550 in restitution to the secretary and case manager whose complaints resulted in the first sex abuse case ever against a sitting federal judge.
“Your wrongful conduct is a huge black X, a smear on the legal profession, a stain on the judicial system itself, a matter of concern in the federal courts,” said U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, a visiting senior judge called in from Pensacola, Fla.
Vinson ordered Kent, 59, to surrender June 15 for transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and to serve three years’ probation once his 33-month sentence is completed. He also was ordered to participate in an alcohol-abuse program while in prison.
The chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its ranking Republican demanded that Kent resign immediately from the bench Monday. His lawyer has said he retired rather than resigned, which would allow him to continue drawing a federal judge’s salary.
“Unless Judge Samuel Kent immediately resigns, we intend to introduce a resolution jointly tomorrow to commence an inquiry into whether grounds exist to impeach him and remove him from office,” Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said in a statement Monday.
The women Kent abused told Vinson that they came to work scared Kent might find them, and even neglected to answer courthouse phones to avoid him.
Cathy McBroom, Kent’s former case manager, said he “bragged” about his ability to intimidate people. “He told me everyone was afraid of him.”
McBroom’s complaint began the case, which expanded when allegations from the judge’s secretary Donna Wilkerson were added.
McBroom said making the complaint had been “incredibly stressful” and led to the breakup of her marriage and the loss of her home. She said it forced her to give up what she considered her dream job and put her entire life under a public and legal microscope.
“One would think I was the criminal,” said McBroom, 50.
Wilkerson told of seven years of abuse by Kent and said he tried to molest her on her fifth day on the job. Responding to defense allegations that she had been a willing partner in a romantic affair, she said, “Being molested and groped by a drunken giant is not my idea of an affair.”
Kent, speaking softly as he stood before Vinson, described himself as “completely broken” and “in some ways a better person for that.”
Kent pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in February as jury selection was about to begin for his trial on the obstruction charge and five sex-crime charges. Conviction on the most serious of those charges could have sent him to prison for life. The five other charges were dismissed Monday.
As part of the plea agreement, Kent admitted the sexual contact was against the women’s will.
Kent’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, said the judge had recently been hospitalized for stress-related illnesses and described the judge as an alcoholic.
Kent said he had the “benefit of 26 months of absolute sobriety.”
“I’ve come to see the world as the flawed, selfish, indulgent person I have been,” he said.
DeGuerin has said the judge was retiring due to a disability — which is the only way a judge Kent’s age could leave the bench and keep his $169,300-a-year salary. Retired federal judges collect their full salaries for the remainder of their lives; judges who resign get nothing.
A council of judges from the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit investigated Kent and suspended him in September 2007 for four months with pay but didn’t detail the allegations against him. McBroom had accused Kent of harassing and sexually abusing her over a four-year period, culminating in March 2007, when she said the judge pulled up her blouse and bra and tried to escalate contact until they were interrupted.
The judicial panel transferred him from Galveston, where he’d worked since his 1990 appointment, to Houston, 50 miles northwest. After a Justice Department investigation, he was indicted in August; additional charges stemming from Wilkerson’s claims were filed against him in January.

A sophisticated band of thieves managed to steal personal information and more than half a million dollars from hundreds of New York City bank customers by rigging ATMs in what police say is further evidence of the continued assault on personal data by identity thieves.
Police said the identity thieves installed devices on ATM machines at Sovereign Bank branches in Staten Island that enabled them to collect account and PIN numbers, the New York Daily News reported Monday.
First they placed skimmers on the slots where customers inserted their bank card that could read and store the information. Then a tiny camera was hidden in the lighted sign on the ATM that filmed customers typing in PIN codes, the Daily News reported.
“This crew is sophisticated,” Deputy Inspector Gregory Antonsen, head of the NYPD’s special investigations division, told the Daily News. “And they are coming up with new ways to steal your identity every day.”
The ATM-riggers managed to steal more than $500,000 from more than 250 victims.
They also created fake ATM cards with the same magnetic codes as the victims and used the cards at different banks, police said.
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Driving while texting remains a “serious issue” on the nation’s roadways, transportation officials said Monday, days after a Boston-area trolley operator failed to see a red light while reportedly sending his girlfriend a text message and smashed into the back of another trolley, injuring 50 people.
For every two seconds a driver’s eyes are off the road, a motorist is twice as likely to be involved in a crash, said Troy Green, national spokesman for AAA.
“Texting while driving … requires your full attention and leaves no room for distraction,” Green said. “You’d have to be foolish at best and delusional at worst to think you can send and receive text messages while operating a motor vehicle effectively and safely….
We believe that’s something that should be banned.”
Texting and cell phone use have been blamed for numerous deadly crashes in the past few years, including:
Nov. 20, 2008: Stephanie Phelps, 16, and her 4-month-old daughter, Katherine Pulsifer, were killed when the young mother, who was talking her cell phone, ran a red light and crashed into cement truck in Amarillo, Texas.
Aug. 6, 2008: Janet Indermuehle, 48, was reportedly speeding and using her cell phone while driving as she lost control of her car and crashed near Mount Horeb, Wis. Indermuehle, her 15-year-old son Daniel, and a 14-year-old passenger, Tiffany Kastner, were killed in the wreck.
Jan. 3, 2008: Stephanie Phillips, 37, and Heather Hurd, 26, were killed when a trucker reportedly distracted by text-messaging on his cell phone crashed into their car along U.S. 27 in Florida.
Aug. 13, 2007: Ashley D. Miller, 18, of Glendale, Ariz., and Stacey Stubbs, 40, of Chino Valley, Ariz., die in a crash after Miller reportedly drifted across the center line because she was text-messaging on her cell phone.
June 28, 2007: Text messages were sent and received on the cell phone of Bailey Goodman, 17, moments before her sport-utility vehicle slammed head-on into a truck, killing her and four other recent high school graduates in upstate New York.
April 26, 2007: Eight people were killed when a semi trailer driven by Leonardo Cooksey, 32, slammed into stopped traffic on the Indiana Toll Road. Cooksey, of Mount Prospect, Ill., told state police that he was distracted when his cell phone beeped, indicating the battery was low.
March 18, 2007: Sela Anne Kalama, 19, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after she reportedly drove off the end of a road and into the Elwha River in Washington. Vanna Francis, 17, and Ronnie Scroggins, 15, were killed in the crash. Kalama and four others swam to shore and suffered only minor injuries.
Dec. 20, 2006: Brittanie Montgomery, a 19-year-old dancer for the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets, died in a crash in Oklahoma City while reportedly using her cell phone as she drove to practice.
June 18, 2006: Karyn “Nikki” Cordell, 22, and her unborn child die in a crash in Deerfield Township, Ohio. Cordell’s 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier was slammed head-on by a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by 16-year-old Alexander Manocchio, who was allegedly reaching for a ringing cell phone at the time of the wreck.
May 29, 2006: Jessalyn Sanders, 6, was struck and killed by a truck as she crossed a street near her home in Tulsa, Okla. The driver of the truck, Justin Pearsall, reportedly told police he had reached down to answer his cell phone and did not see the girl.
No Laws in Most States
Ten states and the District of Columbia currently prohibit texting while driving, with laws in Virginia and Arkansas to take effect later this year — and legislation is being considered in Rhode Island. Some major U.S. cities, including Philadelphia, Detroit and Phoenix, have instituted a ban.
Another 10 states prohibit novice drivers from text-messaging. But the majority of states have no laws that ban sending text messages from behind the wheel.
“It’s a little bit like speeding; everyone at some point has used their cell phone while driving,” said Jonathan Adkins, communications director for the Governors Highway Safety Association. “But the bottom line is texting and operating any kind of vehicle is very dangerous. It takes your mind from the task at hand. It’s a common-sense issue.”
Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according to a 2006 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event.
Despite those daunting statistics, Adkins said many drivers believe they’ll steer clear of any trouble on the road.
“The sense is, ‘I’m able to do many things at once,’” Adkins said. “People feel like if all they’re focusing on is driving, then they’re wasting their time. But people forget that you’ve got to be able to react to the other driver.”
Recent efforts to highlight the dangers of texting while driving include a billboard in Byron Township, Wyo., created by a 17-year-old girl whose classmate was killed in a July 2007 crash. The billboard, created by Ally Steffes, displays the 17-year-old behind the wheel with a phone to her ear and a simple message: “Buckle Up … Hang Up … Heads Up … It all adds up!”

CLEVELAND —  Federal agents carrying John Demjanjuk in a wheelchair put him on a small jet Monday to be deported to Germany, where the retired autoworker is accused of being a Nazi death camp guard in World War II.
Demjanjuk, 89, arrived in an ambulance at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport after spending several hours with U.S. immigration officials at a downtown federal building. Airport commissioner Khalid Bahhur confirmed Demjanjuk was on the plane and that its destination is Germany.
The deportation came four days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Demjanjuk’s request to block deportation and about 3 1/2 years after he was last ordered deported.
The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk is wanted on a Munich arrest warrant that accuses him of 29,000 counts of accessory to murder as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. The legal case spans three decades.
A German Justice Ministry spokesman, Ulrich Staudigl, said the retired autoworker was expected to be in Germany by Tuesday.
Demjanjuk denies Germany’s accusations, saying he was held by the Germans as a Soviet prisoner of war and was never a camp guard. Demjanjuk’s family fought deportation, arguing he is in poor health and might not survive the trans-Atlantic journey.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, a founder of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Demjanjuk deserves to be punished and that this will probably be the last trial of someone accused of Nazi war crimes.
“His work at the Sobibor death camp was to push men, women and children into the gas chamber,” Hier said in a statement. “He had no mercy, no pity and no remorse for the families whose lives he was destroying.”
The center was established to locate and help bring to justice Nazi war criminals.
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The deportation capped a day in which Demjanjuk said goodbye to his family and was visited by two priests at his home in Seven Hills, a Cleveland suburb.
He then slipped quietly into an ambulance parked in his driveway, his family members standing at the edge of the garage and holding up a floral-patterned bedsheet to block the view of reporters and photographers across the street.
Earlier Monday, his son, John Demjanjuk Jr., said an appeal in a U.S. court would go ahead even if his father isn’t in the country.
“Given the history of this case and not a shred of evidence that he ever hurt one person let alone murdered anyone anywhere, this is inhuman even if the courts have said it is lawful,” Demjanjuk Jr. said.
Also Monday, a Berlin court rejected an appeal aimed at preventing deportation.
Once in Germany, Demjanjuk will be brought before a judge and formally charged. He will also be given the opportunity to make a statement to the court, in keeping with standard procedure, Staudigl said.
Demjanjuk is expected to be held in the medical unit of a Munich prison. The government has said preparations have been made at the facility to ensure he will receive appropriate care.
The case dates to 1977 when the Justice Department moved to revoke Demjanjuk’s U.S. citizenship, alleging he hid his past as a Nazi death camp guard.
A U.S. judge revoked his citizenship in 2002 based on U.S. Justice Department evidence showing he concealed his service at Sobibor and other Nazi-run death and forced-labor camps.
An immigration judge ruled in 2005 he could be deported to Germany, Poland or Ukraine. Munich prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for him in March.

BEIRUT  —  Lebanese police displayed sophisticated devices Monday that they said Israel used to spy on Hezbollah, including a water cooler fitted with sensors to survey the landscape.
Other devices shown to reporters and photographers included a car battery charger that the police said was used to store and transmit data and USB flash drives containing detailed maps of Lebanon. Some of the maps showed bridges and military outposts that were hit by Israeli warplanes during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, police said.
The equipment was seized from Palestinians and from Lebanese who were spying for Israel, they said.
In recent weeks, Lebanese authorities say they have arrested at least 14 suspected spies in the latest episode in the long-running espionage battle between the two countries.
The arrests, which took place mainly in southern Lebanon, appear to be part of a stepped-up campaign against those suspected of gathering information on Hezbollah militants for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrilla group fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006 that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon and 159 in Israel.
“Based on the investigation, it appears that their basic logistics mission focused on defining locations, targets, buildings and outposts as demanded by the enemy intelligence,” a police officer told reporters as he displayed the captured items at police headquarters.
The suspected spies were also asked to monitor specific people and strategic targets and to conduct a wide-scale survey of many areas in Lebanon and Syria by using highly sophisticated surveying equipment, the officer said, refusing to be identified by name in line with government regulations.
“Military maps were seized from some agents who defined hundreds of targets in Lebanese territory” before and after the 2006 war, the officer said. He added that investigation showed that all these targets, including buildings, bridges and military outposts, were bombed by Israeli warplanes during the war.
A masked officer pointed to the items as his colleague read from a prepared statement and refused to take questions.
He said the agents used the equipment provided to them by Israel to relay information via “coded radio messages” through satellite or the Internet. One coded transmission device shown to reporters was built into the interior of a cabinet.
Officers also seized forged Lebanese passports and job application forms that they said were to be filled out by potential agents either in southern Lebanon or abroad in the name of a commercial company.
Most of the recent arrests were based on information from a retired Lebanese general charged with spying for Israel last month along with his wife and his nephew, who was a government security agent, Lebanese security officials have said.
Israeli officials have refused to comment on the recent arrests. “It is not our practice to comment on these sorts of allegations when they arise, not in this case, not in any case,” government spokesman Mark Regev said Friday.
Lebanon considers itself at war with Israel and bans its citizens from having any contact with the Jewish state.
Hezbollah’s TV station has said the arrests were the result of coordinated efforts between the group’s security branch and the intelligence arms of the police and the military.

Somali pirates attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are reportedly selecting their targets with the help of a team of “consultants” based in London.
According to a European military intelligence document cited by a Spanish radio station, “well-placed informers” are in constant contact with control centers in Somalia. The control centers give the pirates information about ships in the area including their routes and cargoes, the Guardian reported.
Cadena SER radio said that in some cases, hijackers even had details on the layout of ships, their ports of call and the nationalities of those on board, the Guardian reported.
The document said pirates seem to be avoiding British ships and those from a few other nations, the paper reported.
The network of informants allegedly extends to Yemen, Dubai and the Suez Canal.
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An Army sergeant opened fire on coalition forces attending a stress clinic at a military base outside of Baghdad International Airport Monday, killing five fellow soldiers, the Pentagon and U.S. Command said.
A senior military official said the soldier had been disarmed after an earlier incident at the center but returned with another weapon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into the shootings was ongoing.
According to the official, the sergeant had been involved in a verbal altercation at the center. His service weapon was taken from him for his own protection and he was driven back to the center later in the day.
When the sergeant returned he had another weapon. It was unclear whether he was returning under orders or of his own volition.
A brief U.S. military

MUNICH —  Suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk arrived in Germany on Tuesday to face a warrant accusing him of being accessory to the murder of 29,000 Jews and others.
The retired Ohio autoworker was deported from the United States and arrived at about 9:15 a.m. (0715 GMT) aboard a private jet at Munich’s airport. The plane taxied directly into a hangar, accompanied by police vehicles and an ambulance.
The 89-year-old, who is allegedly in poor health, was expected to be taken directly to Munich’s Stadelheim prison, where he will be kept in a special medical unit. There, he will be formally arrested and a doctor will check his condition.
The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk says he was a Red Army soldier who was captured by the Nazis, spent the rest of the war as their prisoner and never hurt anyone.
There are Nazi-era documents that suggest otherwise — including a photo ID identifying Demjanjuk as a guard at the Sobibor death camp and saying he was trained at an SS facility for Nazi guards at Trawniki. Both sites were in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The key to Demjanjuk’s fate may not lie with the evidence but rather on a German court’s decision about whether he is medically fit to stand trial. In any case, Demjanjuk, who has been without a country since the U.S. stripped him of his citizenship in 2002, is likely to spend the rest of his life in Germany, either in jail or in a home for the elderly.
Germany’s main Jewish leader, Charlotte Knobloch, told ARD television that Demjanjuk needs to be brought to trial.
“War crimes of the kind Demjanjuk has been accused of do not fall under the statute of limitations,” Knobloch said.
“I hope he receives the punishment he deserves.”
One of Demjanjuk’s German lawyers, Guenther Maull, told AP Television News on Monday that at Stadelheim, a judge will read a 21-page arrest warrant to him. Demjanjuk will have the opportunity to respond, but is not expected to say anything.
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“I will put pressure on him not to say anything, because we need to talk in peace first and digest everything that is in the arrest warrant,” Maull said.
As for his health, a doctor will examine Demjanjuk and a decision will be taken as to whether he should remain at Stadelheim or be sent to an area hospital.
“If he is sick they first have to try to cure him. If he is incurably sick they have to find a place for him to live,” Maull said.
Dramatic photos last month showed Demjanjuk (pronounced dem-YAHN’-yuk) wincing in apparent pain as he was removed by immigration agents from his home in Seven Hills, Ohio, in an earlier attempt to deport him to Germany. However, images taken only days earlier and released by the U.S. government showed him entering his car unaided outside a medical office.
Demjanjuk’s son, John Demjanjuk Jr., said Monday that his father is dying of leukemic bone marrow disease.
The deportation came four days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Demjanjuk’s request to block deportation and about 3 1/2 years after he was last ordered deported.
Throughout three decades of court action in the U.S. and Israel, Demjanjuk has insisted he is an innocent victim.
Among the documents obtained by the Munich prosecutors is an SS identity card that features a photo of a young, round-faced Demjanjuk along with his height and weight, and says he worked at Sobibor.
German prosecutors also have a transfer roster that lists Demjanjuk by his name and birthday and also says he was at Sobibor, and statements from former guards who remembered him being there.
The case dates to 1977 when the Justice Department moved to revoke Demjanjuk’s U.S. citizenship, alleging he hid his past as a Nazi death camp guard.
Demjanjuk had been tried in Israel after accusations surfaced that he was the notorious “Ivan the Terrible” at the Treblinka death camp in Poland. He was found guilty in 1988 of war crimes and crimes against humanity but the conviction was overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court.
A U.S. judge revoked his citizenship in 2002 based on U.S. Justice Department evidence showing he concealed his service at Sobibor and other Nazi-run death and forced-labor camps.
An immigration judge ruled in 2005 he could be deported to Germany, Poland or Ukraine. Munich prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for him in March.

Shirley Jones, who was so wholesome on “The Partridge Family,” might pose nude for Playboy at the age of 75, if her husband/manager Marty Ingels has his way.
“She’s still drop-dead gorgeous, and at the age of 75, a natural beauty,” Ingels told Page Six.
“I’m her husband, and I think it would be sensational. Mature women are relevant.”
Nancy Sinatra was 54 when she posed in 1995, eclipsing Vikki LaMotta, who was 51, and Joan Collins and Farrah Fawcett, who were both 50.

Maxim.com features their hottest stars every Monday on FOXNews.com. This week, they’re counting down to Maxim’s 2009 pick for hottest star on the planet.
At long last the stimulus package America really needs: The eyeball-searing, fantasy-fulfilling, brain-exploding return of the Hot 100!
The full list will be revealed when the issue hits newsstands on Wednesday, May 13.
Until then, Maxim is counting down 10 spots everyday.
Today, we reveal the hottest #30-21.
Who’s up? Who’s down?
Check out some surprises in today’s countdown.
More From Maxim.com
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While racy photos of Miss California Carrie Prejean could cost the outspoken first runner up in the Miss USA pageant her crown, pageant officials don’t seem to care about even steamier photos of Miss Rhode Island that appeared in a men’s magazine.
So is Prejean being targeted simply for her beliefs?
As Prejean has kept busy making appearances with groups opposed to same-sex marriage, officials at the Miss California USA organization have been investigating whether she violated her contract by failing to reveal that she had posed in her underwear as a teenager.
Meanwhile 2009 Miss Rhode Island Alysha Castonguay has also posed in revealing photo shoots, but is apparently not in danger of losing her crown.
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Castonguay posed topless for a Maxim magazine shoot and a few swimsuit calendars before competing in the pageant, but to Miss USA officials, who approved them.
Castonguay even told gossip site TMZ that she felt Prejean was being targeted simply because she answered her pageant question by saying she favored limiting marriage to a man and a woman.
“I personally believe this situation is stemming from the controversy over her opinion and not a photo,” Castonguay said.
Officials from the Miss Rhode Island USA organization were not immediately available for comment Monday.
The final decision over whether she will keep her crown will be reached Tuesday.

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Tennessee-born beauty Cybill Shepherd definitely isn’t one to waste words — and had she no qualms in speaking out about who she thought was to blame for the passing of Proposition 8 in California’s last election, which led to gay and lesbian marriage rights being overturned.
“The Mormons and Catholics,” she told Tarts at the recent L.A Gay & Lesbian Center’s “An Evening With Women” celebration in Beverly Hills. “Most of the money came from Utah, it’s very unfortunate.”
However Shepherd does feel that President Obama is doing enough for the cause.
“I think he is working hard at it, I really do. I am just so encouraged by Iowa and Vermont. We have a tough road ahead in California, but we’ll be hittin’ within a year,” she added with confidence.
The 59-year-old’s passion to pursue the fight for Gay & Lesbian rights actually stemmed from Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968.
“He was killed in my hometown of Memphis, three and a half miles from my high school and I’m a product of the segregated south and I got to see that hatred up close, live that hatred, colored only, whites only, and when he was killed I was stricken with guilt and shame,” Shepherd added. “I felt as though I hadn’t done enough to help the civil rights cause and as I gradually began to understand, what is the most recent excuse to deny people rights under the law? To treat them as less than human and once you get that kind of right thinking you realize how important it is to stand up for the gay and lesbian kids who are at greater risk because they don’t have community support and sometimes their parents kick them out. Particularly in L.A we have more runaways then anywhere in the world.”
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So when it comes to Shepherd’s own faith, she’s developed quite the hybrid of religious convictions.
“I’m a Christian Pagan Buddhist Goddess worshiper, but I’m also a feminist. I think the ultimate glass ceiling is God, in another words, if we think God is a man, then we make man a God, and I studied and learned that there is a whole other history of the worshiping of the great mother,” she explained. “I really think that probably God is a woman, that helped me to break through that celestial glass ceiling.”
But going back to who Hollywood blames for Prop 8, while Shepherd said the Mormons and Catholics, Sharon Osbourne said it’s all to do with our former President.
“Bush, blame everything on Bush,” she said.
Meanwhile “Dollhouse” dame Eliza Dushku and actress Jane Lynch believe it all just came down to an overall lack of understanding regarding the issue.
“Not enough voters turned out or not enough people are affected by Prop. 8 and what gay marriage is really about which is equality and peace,” Dushku said. “And who could speak against either of those things?”
“I don’t blame. People voted with their own hearts and a lot of people are afraid of it because they’ve been told to be afraid of it and that’s too bad,” added Lynch. “I wish they would think for themselves and not do what their Church tells them to do. Alot of people use the church as an excuse, and I don’t like it and I don’t buy it.”
The theory surrounding autism and vaccinations continues to be one of great controversy in Tinseltown. A firestorm was ignited in 2007 when Jenny McCarthy started advocating that her son’s autism was caused by vaccinations he had at fifteen months old. Soon after, fellow actress Amanda Peet (a spokesperson for Every Child By Two, a non-profit group that wants all kids vaccinated by age two) labeled anti-vaccine parents as “parasites” — a term that McCarthy took great offense to.
And it looks as though the war is still waging, with “Heroes” star Jack Coleman telling Tarts at the first-ever “Heroes for Autism” event in Hollywood recently that in his belief the “autism/vaccine” link was unwarranted.
“My sister is a pediatrician and she is not beholden to pharmaceutical companies, which, I know, that’s the big conspiracy theory out there. They did huge research in Europe and they have not found any ties to it at all, there is no longer live mercury in any of these calculations,” Coleman told Tarts. “I just think that from what I’ve read and heard I don’t think it’s connected. I do know that there is a MMR that it makes your child extremely cranky and sick but I personally don’t it contributes to autism, but I am not a doctor.”
And despite McCarthy and her longtime lover Jim Carrey’s relentless lobbying to put pressure on the federal government to remove toxins from vaccines and fight for fewer childhood vaccinations prior to the age of 2, Coleman still supports immunization all the way.
“I have given my child every vaccination there is, but when you are related to a pediatrician, you tend to look much more kindly at vaccinations. As she says, ‘I’ve never seen a child die from an immunization but I have seen one die because of a whopping cough.’ What our grandparents would give to have those immunizations,” he added. “If five years from now, science says that it is the cause, then I will eat my words, but I don’t see that happening.”
A rep for McCarthy did not respond for comment.
Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges. Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in one in 150 children in the United States, affecting four times as many boys as girls. The prevalence of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.
Millionaire Matchmaker, Patti Stanger, signing her new book at Fred Segal Fun in Santa Monica last Saturday, May 2nd.
Surrounded by a bevy of beauties, U.S. Olympic Wrestler and 2008 Gold Medalist, Henry Cejudo along with U.S. Olympic Wrestler and 2004 Silver Medalist Jamill Kelly, partying at NYC’s THE CHANDELIER ROOM at the W Hoboken last Saturday night.
Alyssa Milano, Andy Garcia and George Lopez at the 2nd Annual Celebrity Golf Classic to benefit The National Kidney Foundation of Southern California at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills on Sunday.
Major Model’s Sessilee Lopez sobbing at the Armani showroom in NYC on Monday morning. The jetlagged beauty thought she was being fitted for the Met’s Costume Institute Benefit but was told otherwise and the waterworks started as she thought she’s been dis-invited. Luckily for Lopez, the event producers had indeed sent her an invite and Zac Posen, the designer who was actually dressing her, had a dress waiting.
Holly Robinson Peete practicing her French with philanthropist and honoree Florence Azria at the “A Place Called Home Presents Girlz in the Hood Women of Achievement” Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday.
On Cinco De Mayo at West Hollywood’s Sunset Tower, Feeding America and special guests David Arquette, Alison Sweeney, Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Jimmy Jean Louis, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez, Niecy Nash, Kamar De Los Reyes, Arianne Zucker, Kyle Lowder, Azita Ghanizada, April O’Brien and executive producer and co-creator Mark Koops celebrated the success of the Pound for Pound Challenge seen on The Biggest Loser.
Holly Madison enjoying dinner inside Strip House at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
Hilary Duff, Sophia Bush, Melissa George and Leona Lewis celebrating The Hervé Léger by Max Azria “bandage dress” and the official debut of LIVE! On Sunset in West Hollywood on Wednesday evening.
Katy Perry shopping at vintage hotspot What Comes Around Goes Around in Soho New York on Wednesday. The “I Kissed A Girl” songstress picked up the Lanai cotton eyelet romper from the WCAGA collection in black, a custom vintage “Roadie” t-shirt, and a men’s Matsue shirt in purple from the men’s WCAGA collection.
Kim Kardashian, Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union, Sophia Bush, Jordana Brewster, Vanessa Minnillo, Chris Evans, Rob Buckley, Samaire Armstrong, Brittny & Lisa Gastineau and New Moon’s Alex Meraz celebrating the L.A. launch of CARRERA Vintage Sunglasses at a poolside bungalow at The Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood on Thursday night.
Katy Perry celebrating the premiere of her new music video, “Waking Up in Vegas,” with a SVEDKA Vodka and People Magazine cocktail party, at Mr. West nightclub in NYC on Thursday. Her pal Rihanna dropped by the party, as well as Perry’s off-again and definitely-back-on-again boyfriend, Travis McCoy.
The “Real Housewives of the OC,” “Girls Next Door” star Bridget Marquardt and reformed rehabber Tara Reid at Beach Bunny Swimwear’s Flagship Grand Opening party in Newport Beach on Thursday evening.
Julianne Moore & Rachael Ray hosting the TS Alliance 35th Anniversary Gala honoring Cartier on Thursday night at Chelsea Piers in NYC.
Members of the Dave Matthews Band and friends celebrating the birthday of bassist, Stefan Lessard, at the Playboy Club in the Palms Las Vegas on Thursday night.
A pregnant Elisabeth Hasselbeck as the honorary chair at the Alzheimer Association’s 7th Annual Junior Committee Gala, on Thursday at Tenjune in New York City.
Benji and Joel Madden and Kyle Howard at Fred Segal Santa Monica on Thursday night for the Casa Noble Tequila/HOPE celebrity poker tournament.
Will.i.am, Taryn Manning and Vanessa Minnillo hanging in the VIP at Ecco Ultra Lounge in Hollywood on Thursday night.
Ciara in a Halston dress, chatting with Vanessa Carlton, Gretta Monahan and newly dark coiffed Adrienne Bailon at the Operation Smile event at Cipriani in New York City on Friday.
Whoopi Goldberg shopping at Miu Miu in SoHo, New York on Friday evening.
Actor and DJ Danny Masterson aka DJ Mom Jeans performing at Rain Nightclub inside the Palms Casino Resort on Friday night after dining at N9NE Steakhouse.
Will.i.am noshing on chicken noodle soup and carnitas tacos at the Hard Rock San Diego’s Maryjane’s Coffee Shop prior to wowing the crowd alongside apl.de.apm, who wowed the crowd with a sell-out performance.
Actress Sara Paxton celebrating her 21st Birthday at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s hotspot Prive on Friday night by taking shots and dancing to the sounds played by guest DJ Jermaine Dupri. Also at Prive was Jonah Hill, hanging out with Sean “P Diddy” Combs. The two arrived together after 1 a.m. and both greeted Dupri in the DJ booth before retreating to their VIP table where they were surrounded by ladies.
Christina Applegate, Miley Cyrus, her mother Tish Cyrus, Carrie Ann Inaba, Beau Garrett, Marcia Cross, Jordana Brewster, Michael Bolton and Derek Hough at the 16th Annual Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Revlon Run/Walk For Women in Los Angeles on Saturday morning.
Victoria’s Secret Beauty’s Adriana Lima celebrating the launch of the new fragrance and body care collection Noir, dressed as a modern-day Cleopatra. Lounging in a decadent boudoir setting on a grande chaise lounge, the sexy supermodel hosted an afternoon of glamour and mystery at the NY’s Lexington Avenue Victoria’s Secret store.
Actress Malin Ackerman dining at Strip House inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Las Vegas on Saturday evening while Vanessa Minnillo was seen having drinks at the bar.
Kendra Wilkinson as well as Reggie Bush and girlfriend Kim Kardashian at the Red Bull Air Race After-Party on Hard Rock Hotel San Diego’s posh rooftop bar, Float, on Saturday night. Earlier that day Kimmy K launched her new workout DVDs at Kitson on Robertson.
In the wake of her nude snap scandal, songstress Cassie partying alongside her on again/off again lover Sean “Diddy” Combs (as well as four bodyguards and a prominent entourage that included San Diego Charges Pro Bowl defensive end Sean Merriman) on Saturday night at JET nightclub inside The Mirage. Diddy ordered two bottles of his Ciroc vodka and four bottles of Ace of Spades champagne for the party as bodyguards were on full-time duty deterring fans from snapping photos of the group.
Wanda Sykes, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Connie Britton, Rachel Leigh Cook, Tim Daly, Kara DioGuardi, Mariska Hargitay, Dulé Hill, Padma Lakshmi, Meghan McCain, Kai Milla, Eva Longoria Parker, Matthew Settle, Christian Slater, Amber Tamblyn, Chris Tucker, Keisha & Forest Whitaker, Owen Wilson, and Jason Wu at Niche Media’s Capitol File magazine 4th Annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (WHCAD) After Party at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC on Saturday night.
Vanessa Hudgens rocking out to rapper Common at the launch of Diesel’s new fragrance Only The Brave during his intimate live performance at the Diesel store on Melrose on Saturday night.
Brittny Gastineau and her mama Lisa enjoying Mother’s Day lunch at The Ivy on Robertson on Sunday.

A popular Miami

An American journalist imprisoned on espionage charges in Iran for four months was freed Monday and reunited with her smiling, tearful parents — a move that clears a major obstacle to President Barack Obama’s attempts at dialogue with the top U.S. adversary in the Middle East.
The United States had said the charges against Roxana Saberi, a 32-year-old dual Iranian-American citizen, were baseless and repeatedly demanded her release.
Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could also win some domestic political points a month before he faces a re-election challenge from reformers who seek to ease Iran’s bitter rivalry with the United States.
Saberi’s Iranian-born father, Reza Saberi, wiped away tears, then flashed a broad smile as he and his wife, Akiko, arrived at Tehran’s Evin prison — notorious for holding political prisoners — to meet their daughter. Akiko Saberi, who is of Japanese origin, wore a flowered headscarf.
“I’m very happy that she is free. Roxana is in good condition,” Reza Saberi said later at his family home in Tehran. “We had expected her release but not so soon. She will be preparing to leave (Iran) tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
The younger Saberi, who was taken out of Evin through a back door away from journalists, was not seen after her release. She was staying with her parents at a friend’s home, apparently to avoid publicity before leaving Iran.
Her release came when an appeals court reduced her eight-year prison sentence on charges of spying for the U.S. to a two-year suspended sentence, said Iranian judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi. He said Saberi was free to leave Iran.
The court ordered the reduction as a gesture of “Islamic mercy” because she had cooperated with authorities and had expressed regret, he said.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration continues to stress that Saberi was wrongly accused, “but we welcome this humanitarian gesture.”
The release ends an ordeal for Saberi, who was convicted and sentenced in a secret session by a security court. Her father said the trial lasted only 15 minutes and her lawyer was not given time to defend her.
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Her parents, who live in Fargo, N.D., rushed to Iran to seek her freedom. At one point, the younger Saberi held a hunger strike protesting her jailing, but ended it after two weeks when her parents, visiting her in prison, asked her to stop because her health was weakening.
Saberi, who was crowned the 1997 Miss North Dakota, moved to Iran six years ago and had worked as a freelance journalist for several organizations, including NPR and the British Broadcasting Corp.
She was arrested in late January, but it was not known until Feb. 10, when she called her father in Fargo and told him she had been detained. She said it was because she had bought a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran but available on the black market. Her parents decided not to publicize the news until early March when their concerns grew because their regular communications with her were cut off.
The next day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged her arrest, saying she was working in the country illegally because her press credentials were revoked in 2006. But when she was put on trial in mid-April, she was convicted on much harsher charges of spying for the United States.
The conviction and heavy sentence brought strong criticism from the U.S. and other countries at a time when Obama was reaching out to Tehran. Iranian leaders have given mixed signals to the U.S. outreach, sometimes appearing cold, but at times expressing optimism over possible talks. Saberi’s arrest, however, was seen by many in the West as a sign that at least some hard-liners in Tehran may be trying to scuttle any overtures.
In the face of U.S. criticism, Ahmadinejad and others sounded a more moderate tone, promising that Saberi’s case would get a full review on appeal.
On Sunday, the appeals court convened for five hours, allowing the defense to make its case. Her lawyers emerged saying they were able to defend her and were optimistic her sentence would be reduced.
Saberi family friends in Fargo were elated at news of her release. Last month, many had tied yellow ribbons around trees in the quiet upscale neighborhood along the Red River Valley to show support for her.
Marianna Malm, Saberi’s former English teacher at Fargo North High School, was in tears Monday as she prepared for work.
“They are tears of joy,” Malm said. “It’s an overwhelming announcement.”
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said Saberi’s imprisonment “could not stand the test of public opinion.”
“Obviously this means Iran has responded in the right way to this situation,” Dorgan said. “They’re moving to correct something that was a terrible miscarriage of justice.”

Somali pirates attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are reportedly selecting their targets with the help of a team of “consultants” based in London.
According to a European military intelligence document cited by a Spanish radio station, “well-placed informers” are in constant contact with control centers in Somalia. The control centers give the pirates information about ships in the area including their routes and cargoes, the Guardian reported.
Cadena SER radio said that in some cases, hijackers even had details on the layout of ships, their ports of call and the nationalities of those on board, the Guardian reported.
The document said pirates seem to be avoiding British ships and those from a few other nations, the paper reported.
The network of informants allegedly extends to Yemen, Dubai and the Suez Canal.
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NEW YORK —  The Federal Aviation Administration turned down a U.S. Navy request to fly a patrol aircraft past Manhattan on Monday, two weeks after a nerve-racking Air Force photo shoot over the Statue of Liberty caused a brief panic.
The agency said it refused clearance for the flight down the Hudson River because the Navy had given it only a few hours notice of its plans.
The P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane from the U.S. Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, was to have flown past the city, then head back north, sometime around 10:30 a.m.
FAA officials said the four-engine, turboprop admittedly had a low probability of attracting attention. It was to have flown no lower than 3,000 feet, well above New York’s tallest skyscrapers, in an air corridor where planes of a similar size are a common sight.
But after city officials were informed and higher-level FAA officials learned about the request, they declined permission for the flight, saying unannounced military flybys were a bad idea.
Two weeks ago, office workers near the World Trade Center site and across the river in New Jersey ran for cover when a Boeing 747 sometimes used as Air Force One circled the harbor at 1,000 feet with a fighter jet in tow. The photo shoot became a scandal and led to the resignation of the White House official who authorized it.
This time, authorities took no chances.
After the FAA alerted the mayor’s office in the morning that the flight would take place, the city sent out a public notification warning that a military plane would be in the air.
Shortly thereafter, the FAA told the Navy the mission was off.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city did not ask for the flight to be canceled.
“We did get on the phone with them and said we’d prefer to have had a little more time to notify everybody,” he said.
Bloomberg said it was his understanding that the flight was for “some Navy guy who was retiring after many years of service, and they wanted him to take one last flyby.”
A Navy spokeswoman, Cmdr. Pauline Storum, said at least 25 such P-3 flights have been flown through New York City’s airspace since 2001.
“This was a routine training event,” she said, adding that it was not related to anyone retiring.
The details of when the FAA learned about the flight were in dispute.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the air station had gotten in contact with the agency about the planned flight previously, but hadn’t been specific about when it would occur until just hours before the flight Monday.
Storum said the air station informed the FAA a week ago, and was unaware there might be any problem until the crew called Monday morning to confirm the flight plan.
Navy P-3 crews perform most of their missions over the ocean, but occasionally practice flying above cities so they can get experience working with FAA air traffic controllers, she said.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, whose city lies across the Hudson from Manhattan, said it was right to cancel the flight.
“This was a mistake that would have repeated the whole stupid and alarming process that occurred two weeks ago,” he said, referring to the April 27 Boeing flyover near the Statue of Liberty.

Shirley Jones, who was so wholesome on “The Partridge Family,” might pose nude for Playboy at the age of 75, if her husband/manager Marty Ingels has his way.
“She’s still drop-dead gorgeous, and at the age of 75, a natural beauty,” Ingels told Page Six.
“I’m her husband, and I think it would be sensational. Mature women are relevant.”
Nancy Sinatra was 54 when she posed in 1995, eclipsing Vikki LaMotta, who was 51, and Joan Collins and Farrah Fawcett, who were both 50.

Not having enough sex? Maybe your weight is to blame … and I’m not talking about being overweight.
Want to bring sexy back? Start by taking on the “thin is in” campaign we’ve been subjected to for decades. While the media delights in glamorizing eating disorders, those obsessed with being super slim have learned it’s anything but sexy. They’ve learned the hard way that the quest to become model chic — like any mental or physical “disease” — slowly eats away at one’s own sexuality.
Their sexual identity, sexual nature and sexual desires all ultimately pay the personal price for the need to be skinny or to gain control over their lives. Partners of those with anorexia nervosa or bulimia are affected by these sex sideliners as well, with the relationship suffering in a number of ways.
Far from their “girl”-disease stereotypes, anorexia and bulimia afflict the young and old of both genders.
In combating the signs of aging and maintaining their younger forms, more and more older adults are becoming obsessed with their diets. Adult-onset eating disorders appear to be on the rise, with a Cornell University survey finding an increase in the number of women in their 40s being hospitalized for an eating disorder.
Men can be affected too. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, males make up 1 million of the 8 million Americans with eating disorders. And they bear its burdens no more easily.
Research out of the University of Toronto found that men and women with eating disorders experience similar rates of anxiety, depression, panic disorders, phobias, and alcohol dependency.
Yet the bulk of the information and research data on eating disorders focuses on females, especially those with anorexia. With food and sex among a human’s most basic physiological needs, it’s no surprise that a lack of one impacts the other. Restricting one’s food intake (anorexia) or limiting the body’s retention of food — by vomiting, using laxatives or both — hits couples where it hurts on a number of levels.
Lack of Sexual Interest
Sexual attitudes among women with anorexia nervosa are rather poor. The majority of sufferers are sexually naïve and exhibit sexual disgust. Full of body hate and extremely self-conscious, they see themselves as less sexually appealing and are less interested in sexual activity than others.
They have a great deal of apprehension about their sexual expression, sexual interest and sexual attractiveness to others. Sexually anxious, many see pleasure as threatening. After all, she’s going to great lengths to avoid the pleasures eating offers. Naturally, then, there’s a higher incidence of sexual avoidance and aversion among women of low weight.
The depression, low self-esteem, general malaise, and fatigue lower one’s sex drive and sexual interest even further. Of the anorexics who are sexually active, many report lower rates of overall sexual activity and orgasm, and higher rates of negative emotions during sex. They also rarely engage in sexual fantasy.
But other studies, like one published in the journal Psychological Medicine, report that some females with anorexia report increased sexual activity, despite lowered libido.
This is because many women suffering from this eating disorder become hypersexual, using sex as an expression of power. They enjoy the control involved, even when it becomes self-destructive.
Sexual Functioning
Having an eating disorder is also linked to deficient sexual functioning in women when they become sexually active. When a female severely reduces her intake of food to the point she’s consuming hardly anything, naturally, her reproductive system shuts down.
With low body fat, her body fails to produce sufficient amounts of sex hormones, namely estrogen. Thus, she’ll quit menstruating, making pregnancy difficult for those hoping to reproduce. These endocrinal changes have a domino effect, starting with a lack of vaginal secretions.
This loss of vaginal lubrication makes intercourse painful and uncomfortable. As a result, many develop an aversive reaction to sex and further loss of interest. Lack of orgasm is also common in women with anorexia nervosa.
Relationship Problems
Given these issues, sexual problems are inevitable for the woman dealing with an eating disorder, as well as for her partner.
Determined to be the only person affecting her body, she will keep her figure to herself. This makes sexual advances increasingly difficult for an anorexic to deal with. It makes matters incredibly frustrating for her pained and confused partner, whom she comes to resent.
A strong sense of dislike toward a partner is the most widespread of sexual problems among women with anorexia nervosa. This is further complicated when her body weight is so low that the woman’s sexual attractiveness to her partner may diminish as well. Thus, the aversion becomes mutual. The sex becomes a forgotten matter.
Healing Your Relationship and Your Sex Life
So what are couples to do? First and foremost, the person with an eating disorder needs to get professional help from both a doctor and therapist. Nothing can change until this individual acknowledges that she needs help and seeks it out. Partners need to then buckle down for a long road to recovery. Even after a woman has recovered from an eating disorder, she may still continue to have sexual difficulties.
The good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Research published in Psychosomatic Medicine examining changes in sex drive during weight restoration in patients with anorexia nervosa found that an increase in sex drive accompanied weight restoration.
Until lovers can get to that place of reclaiming their sex lives, they can find faith in this Wayside Pulpit quote: “Look on worries like bad weather; unpleasant, but never lasting.”
Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of . She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”
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The Miss California organization took the self-described “bold step” of appointing a possible replacement for current titleholder Carrie Prejean, pending Donald Trump’s decision as to whether or not the outspoken beauty queen will retain her crown.
Regardless of Trump’s decision, Miss California first runner up Tami Ferrell will serve as “an ambassador” for the state’s organization, appearing at events in Prejean’s absence or in situations where it would be “unwise” to send her, pageant co-directors Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler said at a Beverly Hills press conference Monday.
A San Diego native, Prejean, 21, was named first runner-up in the April 19 Miss USA pageant during which she responded to a judge’s question by saying she favored limiting marriage to a man and a woman.
Since then, the state pageant has been investigating whether the 21-year-old violated her contestant contract by making public appearances with groups opposed to same-sex marriage and by failing to reveal that she had posed in her underwear as a teenager.
While the photos of Prejean are racy — with the beauty queen appearing to be topless with her back turned to the camera — Lewis said that it was not the content of the picture that was a problem, but her failure to disclose its existence.
According to Lewis, Prejean’s actions have caused the Miss California title to be “hijacked,” preventing them from doing the necessary “work at hand.”
“Her contract outlines that she must be available to make appearances,” Lewis said, before adding that they have been unable to communicate directly with Prejean. “It is a huge conflict of interest.”
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Lewis added that Prejean’s appearances with the National Organization for Marriage and other anti-gay marriage groups have created “confusion in the marketplace” because it is difficult to separate Prejean’s personal convictions from those of the Miss California organization.
But Lewis was far more critical of NOM, slamming them for “exploiting” Prejean for their own benefit when they “placed in her in a position to lose her crown, not for her beliefs but for a breach of contract.”
Addressing NOM director Maggie Gallagher by name, Lewis told her to “find a new place to recruit your henchman.”
But while the state organization can provide suggestions for the fate of Prejean’s crown, ultimately it is up to Trump, the owner of the Miss Universe organization, to make the final decision. In an interview with FOX News, he said he would announce that decision in a press conference tomorrow.
Trump has previously skirted around questions as to whether Prejean’s photos violated any pageant rules.
“Most of these girls are models,” Trump said. “They do things that are not necessarily a bad thing. And look, Carrie is a seriously good looking girl. Because of her looks, [they] are making such a big deal with this.”
Despite criticizing her actions and appointing her replacement, neither Lewis nor Moakler would say directly whether they thought Prejean should be fired.
“I want to be supportive of Mr. Trump,” Lewis said. “It wouldn’t be fair to interject [my opinion]. Regardless, I’ll be standing behind him and following through on his directive.”