Archive for June 2014
Elton: Jesus would back gay marriage
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- Elton John believes Jesus would support same-sex marriage
- He's excited by Pope Francis' message and emphasis on inclusion
- John on his upcoming marriage: "It'll be very quiet and very off the cuff"
(CNN) -- In the same-sex marriage debate, Elton John believes he knows where Jesus would've stood.
The musician, who plans to marry his partner David Furnish next year, talked to Sky News on Sunday about how pleased he is with Pope Francis and how he wishes the Church of England would show greater support for his message.
"The new Pope has excited me so much by his humanity," John said. "He's stripped it down to the bare bones and said it's all basically about love and taking everybody in, inclusiveness. And that has to be encouraged by the Church of England."
So when it comes to issues such as vows of celibacy for Catholic priests and gay clergymen being able to marry, John said the church needs to catch up with the times.
"These are old and stupid things, and the church hierarchy might be up in arms about it -- the traditionalists -- but times have changed," John said. "We live in a different time. If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen.
"He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together, and that is what the church should be about."
As far as coming together for John's nuptials, fans shouldn't expect a large affair.
"It'll be very quiet and very off the cuff," John said. "But we will (marry), and I think it's a great opportunity to take advantage of the new laws, and to celebrate it."
Evacuation slide deploys mid-flight
- "A passenger did not attempt to open the door in flight," airline says
- "I heard this pop," passenger says
- There were no injuries
- The chute opened in the rear of the cabin
(CNN) -- A United Airlines flight was forced to land in Wichita, Kansas, after the evacuation slide accidentally deployed midair Sunday, the airline said.
The Boeing 737 was carrying 96 passengers and five crew members. It was on its way from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California.
The slide opened inside the rear of the cabin.
Evacuation slide deploys midair
"I heard this pop. I turn around and the slide was open," passenger Michael Schroeder said.
There were no injuries, United spokeswoman Christen David said.
"All passengers were seated at the time the slide deployed. A passenger did not attempt to open the door in flight," David said.
Schroeder said the plane didn't appear to lose cabin pressure and "the crew was pretty calm about it."
"Every landing you walk away from is a good one," he added.
In November, a JetBlue plane on its way to Boston was diverted to Orlando after an evacuation slide opened in flight.
And in 2008, an evacuation chute opened aboard a campaign plane carrying then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. The chute deployed because it wasn't properly fastened to the floor and it shifted when the plane made a steeper-than-normal takeoff, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Hello, BET: It's Lionel Richie
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- Richie's name is spelled "Ritchie" in graphic
- Chris Brown returns to the stage
- Nicki Minaj talks about thinking she was going to die
(CNN) -- Hello BET. Was it Lionel Richie you were looking for?
The 2014 BET Awards aired Sunday, and the show honored the legendary singer with the lifetime achievement award. The only problem was that Richie's last name was spelled "Ritchie" in the graphic, prompting the trending of #lionelritchie on Twitter and deliberate misspellings of his name.
But that moment was just one of the hits and misses for the night.
HIT: Chris Brown's performance
The star, recently released from jail, returned to the stage to perform his song "Loyal" with a little help from rappers Lil Wayne and Tyga. His performance energized the crowd -- and also sparked much discussion about his plaid fashion choice.
MISS: Beyonce and Jay Z's 'live' performance
Plenty of TV viewers stayed up to catch what they believed would be a live performance by a superstar couple. Instead, the performance turned out to be a prerecorded video of the pair during a stop of their tour in Cincinnati. It was hot, but not live, and Billboard tweeted that "People are leaving the awards show in droves right now during Jay Z and Beyonce clip #BETAwards."
People are leaving the awards show in droves right now during Jay Z and Beyonce clip #BETAwards @GailBBMitchell
— billboard (@billboard) June 30, 2014
HIT: Chris Rock's opening monologue
The comic hosted this year's ceremony, and he killed.
Rock poked fun at everyone from the performers -- of Chris Brown, he said the singer "just signed a new deal -- too bad it's a plea deal" -- to celebs in the audience, and even got topical with the controversy over racial remarks made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
"What exactly did he say?" Rock asked. "What exactly did Donald Sterling say? 'I don't want my woman around black basketball players.' Me neither!"
MISS: Nicki Minaj's acceptance speech
The rapper and former "American Idol" judge won the best female hip-hop artist award and gave a speech that left many scratching their heads.
After declaring "I don't look at myself as a female rapper 'cause I know what I do," she went on to offer that "When you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it," which some took to be a diss directed at new rapper Iggy Azalea. (Although Minaj quickly added "No shade," meaning she was not directing her remarks at anyone.)
Minaj then went on to describe her recent -- sort of -- near brush with death.
"I just want to say that the other day, literally, I didn't tell anybody this, I really thought I was about to die," Minaj said. "Like, I was saying my prayers to die. And I didn't even want to call an ambulance because I thought, 'Well, if I call the ambulance, it's gonna be on TMZ.' And I would rather sit there and die. And it made me realize -- I don't care anymore what anybody gotta say."
It may take us until the 2015 BET Awards to sort that one out.