Former “Dance Moms” reality star Abby Lee Miller posted her first selfie after cancer diagnosis

 (Abby Lee Miller/Instagram)

On Saturday, Abby Lee Miller delivered her first selfie since being diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma.

“So much gratitude and love for those who listened, those who looked deeper and those who leapt into action,” the “Dance Moms” star shared on Instagram. “So much more I wish I could say… about how quickly your life can change at the hands of others.”

She accompanied the touching caption with a makeup-free selfie from her hospital bed.

The reality star, 51, was hospitalized last week and underwent emergency spinal surgery to save her life.

Miller, who was released from jail in late March, complained about back pain in recent weeks. Upon a further look, an orthopedic surgeon determined that it was cancer causing the star such pain. She was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma.

“It was not an infection, it was a type of a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma … We’re getting an oncologist involved and we have to figure out what the next steps are as far as chemotherapy or radiation or more spine surgery,” said Miller’s own physician Dr. Hooman Melamed. “There’s a chance this can spread to any part of the body … this is probably coming from somewhere else. We don’t know where the source is. Any tumor that spreads anywhere is automatically Stage 4, but we have not determined the stage yet.”

It’s unclear if or when Miller will return to a halfway house to finish serving the remainder of her 366-day prison sentence for bankruptcy fraud.

This article originally appeared in Page Six.

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Avicii, pictured in 2013, was found dead in Oman Friday.

 (AP)

Sweden’s public broadcaster says police in Oman have conducted two autopsies on the body of Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ Avicii, who died Friday at age 28.

Public broadcaster SVT, citing information from an anonymous police official in Oman, reported Sunday that the autopsies revealed nothing suspicious and foul play has been ruled out in the performer’s death.

The broadcaster says the body has been cleared to be taken back to Avicii’s native Sweden, where he was born as Tim Bergling. Fans in Stockholm observed a minute of silence in his honor on Saturday.

Swedish tabloid Expressen says Avicii stayed at the Muscat Hills Resort while vacationing in Oman. Expressen says he spent time with friends, went kitesurfing and enjoyed the country so much was planning to stay a few extra days.
 

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Tennis – US Open – New York, U.S. – August 28, 2017 – Singer Shania Twain performs inside Arthur Ashe Stadium during opening ceremony. REUTERS/Mike Segar – RC1967B5BA00

Country star Shania Twain didn’t vote in the 2016 election, but if she did, she revealed that she would have supported Donald Trump.

Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, the singer described her feelings on the election, noting that while Trump has his flaws, his honesty sold him on her as a candidate to lead the country.

“I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest. Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn’t be able to have both,” she told the outlet. “If I were voting, I just don’t want bull—-. I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?”

The star, 52, has remained largely out of the public eye after going on a 15 year break from making a record after losing her voice. The profile, however, notes that she recently underwent a laryngoplasty surgery to help reconstruct her vocal box after being bitten by a tick and contracting Lyme disease.

After her comments about the president received backlash on social media, the star took to Twitter to walk back her suport of Trump.

“I would like to apologise to anybody I have offended in a recent interview with the Guardian relating to the American President. The question caught me off guard. As a Canadian, I regret answering this unexpected question without giving my response more context,” she wrote. “I am passionately against discrimination of any kind and hope it’s clear from the choices I have made, and the people I stand with, that I do not hold any common moral beliefs with the current President.”

“I was trying to explain, in response to a question about the election, that my limited understanding was that the President talked to a portion of America like an accessible person they could relate to, as he was NOT a politician. My answer was awkward, but certainly should not be taken as representative of my values nor does it mean I endorse him. I make music to bring people together. My path will always be one of inclusivity, as my history shows,” she concluded.

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Actor Verne Troyer died on Saturday, a spokesperson for the actor and his social media pages confirmed.

 (REUTERS/Ralph Freso)

Verne Troyer, known for his role as Mini-Me in the “Austin Powers” movie series, died on Saturday, a spokesperson for the actor and his social media pages confirmed.

The actor, who was born with achondroplasia dwarfism, was 49, E News reported.

“It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today,” the statement read. “Verne was an extremely caring individual. He wanted to make everyone smile, be happy, and laugh.”

“Anybody in need, he would help to any extent possible,” it continued. “Verne hoped he made a positive change with the platform he had and worked towards spreading that message everyday.”

The post went on to describe how Troyer inspired people and exceeded expectations. “Even though his stature was small and his parents often wondered if he’d be able to reach up and open doors on his own in his life, he went on to open more doors for himself and others than anyone could have imagined,” the post said. “He also touched more peoples hearts than he will ever know.”

‘AUSTIN POWERS’ MINI ME ACTOR VERNE TROYER HOSPITALIZED

It also said he was “a fighter” and had his share of “battles” during his life, “but unfortunately this time was too much.”

“Depression and Suicide are very serious issues. You never know what kind of battle someone is going through inside. Be kind to one another. And always know, it’s never too late to reach out to someone for help,” the post said.

The social media post confirming his death said he was “a fighter” and had his share of “battles” during his life, “but unfortunately this time was too much.”

 (REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)

In early April, Troyer was hospitalized after a “reported poisoning,” People Magazine said.

A statement later posted to the actor’s Instagram page on April 3 read, “Asking you to keep Verne in your thoughts and prayers. He’s getting the best care possible and is resting comfortably. Appreciate the support from family, friends, and fans around the world. We will keep you updated here.”

AVICII’S EX-GIRLFRIEND RESPONDS TO THE DJ’S SUDDEN DEATH

About a year ago, the actor was admitted to the hospital for alcohol addiction, People Magazine reported. The actor took to Instagram on April 6, 2017 to tell fans that he’d “been receiving treatment” and added, “With your support, I got this.”

“As you know, I’ve battled alcohol addiction in the past and while it’s not always been an easy fight, I’m willing to continue my fight day by day,” he wrote.

Troyer took on the role as Dr. Evil’s diminutive clone, Mini-Me, in the “Austin Powers” movies, which starred Mike Myers as the British spy, Powers, and Dr. Evil, his archnemesis.

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Paris Jackson is pictured at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.

 (REUTERS)

When Paris Jackson posted an Instagram video of herself in March walking along the ledge of a skyscraper, it gave her family flashbacks.

One relative compared it to the infamous 2002 incident in which Paris’ father, Michael, dangled his then-infant son, Blanket, over a fourth-floor balcony of the Hotel Adlon in Berlin.

“But this is worse than that because I still think Michael had control of Blanket and they weren’t nearly as high up as Paris is in this video,” the relative told Page Six. “She’s lost it. She really has.”

In the clip, the wild-child 20-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson can be seen hanging out with her rumored girlfriend, model-actress Cara Delevingne, 25, and some friends at a restaurant. The video shows Paris and Delevingne talking loudly to one another, failing to complete sentences and staggering about.

It then cuts to Paris walking on a ledge as vehicles and pedestrians could barely be seen seemingly dozens of stories below.

She momentarily loses her balance, before slipping back into Delevingne’s arms.

“I almost died!” Paris captioned the video which is no longer on the platform.

“Everyone saw that video, and even though we all knew that she’s now OK, watching it was so traumatic that nobody wants to show it to either Katherine or Joe,” the relative said of Paris’ paternal grandparents.

Jackson insiders reveal a shared fear that Paris is out of control and, per a family source, heading for a “serious meltdown.”

Right now, there are no plans for an intervention, according to the family source. “It’s not happening, but everyone will regret it if she dies out there.”

The worries are compounded by the young woman’s troubled past, which has, by her own accounts, included three suicide attempts and a history that includes self-harming, being cyber bullied and sexually assaulted, and struggling with sobriety and self-esteem issues.

Read more on the New York Post.

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Just when the cheating allegations surrounding Tristan Thompson had begun to taper off, more reports that the NBA star has acted “inappropiately” have surfaced. 

On Saturday, a source revealed to Us Weekly that Thompson engaged in “inappropriate” behavior during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February, following the couple’s romantic Valentine’s Day.

The basketball star was reportedly seen cozying up to models Jasmine Rose and Maya Nova James on February 16. 

“Two girls were hanging out with Tristan and his crew, some other basketball players and Canadian friends, at Avenue in L.A. during All-Star Weekend. The girls were at his table and Tristan was paying more attention to one of them, but he wasn’t all over her,” the source told Us. “These girls are models and were in a fashion show for Angel Brinks that weekend and are shooting a show with her.”

The source then added: “After that the group went to a hookah bar on 3rd called Lavoo Lounge. It was the group of guys and the two girls. Tristan wasn’t kissing on the girls, but he had his arms around and on the one that looks more like Khloé, Jasmine. Tristan was flirting with her and didn’t look or act like someone who had a pregnant girlfriend. The flirting and body language were definitely inappropriate for someone in a serious relationship expecting a baby.”

Ironically, Kardashian accompanied her boyfriend to the All-Star Weekend and the couple was even snapped together at an event on February 17. 

While at the event, an eyewitness observed that the new parents “seemed cute and happy together but only stayed for a little [while],” according to Us Weekly. 

Since Kardashian has given birth to her daughter, True Thompson, the Cleveland Cavaliers player has continued to make headlines. 

The 27-year-old NBA star returned to the court on Wednesday night for the first round of playoff games, but the basketball player didn’t do much playing. Or any for that matter. According to People, Thompson remained on the Cavs’ bench for the entirety of the game. 

And a day before Kardashian gave birth, Thompson was booed by fans during his April 11 game against the New York Knicks. TMZ reported Thompson avoided having his name announced over the PA system.

The father of True is reportedly not living in his Cleveland house with Kardashian and their daughter, according to People. It was reported that Thompson has only been to the home to visit his daughter but does not stay.

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Taylor Swift hasn’t been home for any of the recent alleged stalking incidents at her homes in California and New York, authorities say.

 (Associated Press)

Taylor Swift has millions of fans around the world, but she also continues to draw unwanted attention, authorities say.

On Friday, a Florida man was arrested for allegedly breaking into the pop star’s townhouse in New York City. Authorities said they found him sleeping in the singer’s bed.

It was the third time this month that someone has been arrested at one of Swift’s properties. Luckily, the singer was not present each time. 

Authorities responded to a 12:30 a.m. call in the SoHo district of Lower Manhattan where they found a ladder near a broken window at the “Bad Blood” singer’s home. That led them to Roger Alvarado, 22, sleeping in Swift’s bed, the New York Post reported.

The singer purchased the property a few months ago, but was not living there, the report said.

Alvarado, who apparently took a shower in the apartment before taking his nap, was charged with felony stalking and burglary, among other crimes, authorities said.

On April 14, Julius Sandrock, 38, from Colorado, was arrested on suspicion of stalking Swift outside her Beverly Hills home in Los Angeles. Authorities found the suspect donning a mask and discovered a knife, rope, ammunition, more masks and gloves inside his car, according to police, the New York Daily News reported.

Sandrock was released earlier this week.

On April 8, a homeless man was arrested at the same L.A. property after he allegedly tried to scale a wall and ignored warnings by security guards to leave.

Justin Lilly, 23, was charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to three days in jail, authorities said.

Although being a celebrity has its obvious perks, some of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars have had to deal with alleged stalkers.

In order to help protect celebrities, some communities have passed laws that make stalking a crime, or have limited public access to information regarding celebrities’ driving records and home addresses.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Natalie Portman is snubbing the awards ceremony for the so-called “Jewish Nobel.”

 (Associated Press)

Actress Natalie Portman has announced that she will not attend the June awards ceremony of the so-called “Jewish Nobel” prize there despite winning the honor, the Genesis Prize Foundation said Thursday.

On Friday, the actress issued her own statement, claiming the reason for her decision was “mischaracterized by others.”

The statement read:

“My decision not to attend the Genesis Prize ceremony has been mischaracterized by others. Let me speak for myself. I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu, who was to be giving a speech at the ceremony. By the same token, I am not part of the BDS movement and do not endorse it. Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation. I treasure my Israeli friends and family, Israeli food, books, art, cinema, and dance.  Israel was created exactly 70 years ago as a haven for refugees from the Holocaust. But the mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities is simply not in line with my Jewish values.  Because I care about Israel, I must stand up against violence, corruption, inequality, and abuse of power.   

“Please do not take any words that do not come directly from me as my own.

“This experience has inspired me to support a number of charities in Israel.  I will be announcing them soon, and I hope others will join me in supporting the great work they are doing.”

Previously, the foundation said it was informed by Portman’s representative that the Jerusalem-born Oscar winner feels that “recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her” and that “she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”

As a result, Portman “does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel,” the Genesis foundation said.

The prize ceremony will reportedly be canceled as a result of Portman’s decision.

Israel has come under increasing scrutiny for its response to mass protests on the Gaza-Israel border, in which 28 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire since March 30. 

Earlier this month, Israel’s top defense official praised the sniper who shot a motionless Palestinian near the Gaza fence in a video that circulated widely on Monday, saying he “deserves a medal.”

The demonstrations at the border are a new attempt by Hamas to break a crippling, decade-old Gaza border blockade by Israel and Egypt that’s made it increasingly difficult for the Islamic militant group to govern.

NATALIE PORTMAN SAYS SHE ‘VERY MUCH REGRETS’ SIGNING PRO-ROMAN POLANSKI PETITION

The Genesis foundation said it was “very saddened” by Portman’s decision. “We fear that Ms. Portman’s decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized, something we have worked hard for the past five years to avoid,” it said.

The prize was launched in 2013 to recognize Jewish achievement and contributions to humanity. Previous recipients include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Michael Douglas, violinist Itzhak Perlman and sculptor Anish Kapoor.

When Portman was announced late last year as the 2018 recipient, she said in a statement released by organizers at the time that she was “proud of my Israeli roots and Jewish heritage.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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“Smallville” actress Allison Mack was arrested Friday for her alleged involvement in sex slave cult Nxivm.

 (Reuters)

“Smallville” actress Allison Mack was arraigned on Friday at a federal courthouse in New York following her arrest on sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor charges as part an alleged sex cult, Fox News confirmed Friday.

The 35-year-old was last seen in March running after purported cult leader Keith Raniere as police hauled him away from a $10,000-a-week Mexican villa where the pair had reportedly been hiding out.

“I have no comment on the arrest this afternoon of Allison Mack,” a rep for the star told Fox News.

Raniere, the co-founder of the self-help organization and alleged cult NXIVM, stands accused of keeping numerous women as slaves and branding his initials into their skin.

He was was arraigned last week on the same charges as Mack and was denied bail as he awaits his next court appearance on April 27.

Mack appeared in “Smallville,” a TV series about a young Clark Kent, from 2001-2011, before dedicating her life to NXIVM and Raniere.

“As alleged in the indictment, Allison Mack recruited women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere,” United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue said in a statement. “The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants’ benefit.”

According to NXIVM’s former publicist, Frank Parlato, Mack came up with the idea of a secret society of women within the organization who would be branded near their groin area.

“She was the principal recruiter of young slaves for Raniere,” Parlato told Fox News on Friday. “They nicknamed her Pimp Mack.”

Mack’s fellow “Smallville” co-star Kristin Kreuk was also accused of helping to recruit women as sex slaves into Nxivm. She has denied the allegations.

The 35-year-old said in a statement posted to Twitter in March that she took a NXIVM course when she was 23 to help battle her “shyness” but left the group about five years ago.

“When I was about 23, I took an Executive Success Programs/NXIVM ‘intensive,’ what I understood to be a self-help/personal growth course that helped me handle my previous shyness, which is why I continued with the program,” Kreuk wrote. “I left about five years ago and had minimal contact with those who were still involved.”

The actress denied she had any influence within the group and was not involved in its “Dominus Obsequious Sororium” (DOS), which translates from Latin to “Master Over the Slave Woman.”

“The accusations that I was in the ‘inner circle’ or recruited women as ‘sex slaves’ are blatantly false,” Kreuk said. “During my time, I never experienced any illegal or nefarious activity. I am horrified and disgusted by what has come out about DOS.”

Raniere is accused of masterminding and overseeing a system in which women were told the best way to advance was to become a “slave” overseen by “masters.”

They also were expected to have sex with him, do menial chores for masters, and to keep the arrangement a secret — or face public humiliation, the criminal complaint against him states.

Investigators said Raniere preferred exceptionally thin women, so “slaves” had to stick to very low-calorie diets and document every food they ate.

Women who didn’t follow orders were required to attend classes where they were “forced to wear fake cow udders over their breasts while people called them derogatory names,” or threatened with being put in cages, court papers say.

“He needs to be held accountable for every woman and every underage girl that he has harmed,” Catherine Oxenberg told Fox News. “This is a long time coming.”

Oxenberg, an actress known for her role on the 1980s prime-time drama “Dynasty,” has a daughter, India, who is currently in NXIVM.

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The real lesson of the new movie “Chappaquiddick” is that voters who supported Ted Kennedy after the death of a young campaign staffer in 1969 were are just as corrupt and contemptible as the government officials and others who enabled Kennedy’s rise, a writer contends.

Boston Herald contributor Michael Graham wrote Wednesday that Kennedy was a “drunken, reckless, dangerous dirtbag” — but time and again, Democratic voters in the Bay State proved they weren’t much more principled.

Graham specifically cites Kennedy’s easy re-election win barely more than a year after 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne’s fatal July 1969 car ride with Kennedy, which ended with her dead underwater and him not calling for help of any kind.

Also damning, Graham writes, is that “in 1980, 65 percent of Massachusetts Democrats — nearly 600,000 people” voted for Kennedy over Jimmy Carter in that year’s Democratic presidential primary.

And in 1994, double that number of voters supported Kennedy over Mitt Romney, who would go on to become Massachusetts governor.

REPORT: POWERFUL PEOPLE TRIED TO STOP ‘CHAPPAQUIDDICK’ FILM

“Every single one of those voters knew they were voting for a man who left a young girl in a submerged car to die,” Graham writes. “And, dear reader, many of those people are reading this column right now. Congratulations — you’re in the movies.”

In addition to the voters who celebrated Kennedy as a feminist icon despite his involvment in Kopechne’s death, Graham also singles out a variety of officials for complicity in Kennedy’s behavior.

“Every single one of those voters knew they were voting for a man who left a young girl in a submerged car to die.”

– Boston Herald op-ed writer Michael Graham

“[G]etting Teddy off the hook required a political culture that was corrupt at every level, from the local Edgartown cops to the county prosecutors to former U.S. Attorney Paul Markham, who, the movie reminds us, was partying with Kennedy the night Mary Jo Kopechne was left to die,” he writes.

Kennedy went to Martha’s Vineyard to race in the Edgartown Regatta and on the evening of July 18, 1969, attended a party at a rented house on Chappaquiddick Island. Guests included Kennedy friends and several women, including Kopechne, who had worked on the presidential campaign of his brother Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated a year earlier.

MARY JO KOPECHNE’S COUSIN REACTS TO ‘CHAPPAQUIDDICK’ FILM

Kennedy and Kopechne left the party together and a short time later their car plunged into Poucha Pond. Kennedy escaped from the submerged vehicle and said he made several futile attempts to rescue Kopechne, who was trapped inside.

Kennedy, who died in 2009 at age 77, later described his failure to report the incident to police for 10 hours as “indefensible.”

But Jason Clarke, who plays Kennedy in the new film, told the Associated Press that the late senator “committed this act and he worked his way out of it with help and with his own moral journey to the other side, where he then became one of the longest-serving senators in history. I don’t think — partisanship aside — you can’t take away from what he did.”

For Graham, what Kennedy’s actions ultimately did was expose the deeply “corrupt culture of Massachusetts.”

As for why Democrats, and some in Hollywood, are lionizing Kennedy? It could be the same reason that once-reviled Republicans tend to find a warmer reception generations later, Washington Post contributor Sonny Bunch wrote Wednesday: political expediency.

“If the only good Republican is a dead Republican, then the only bad Democrat is a dead Democrat,” Bunch writes. “And the dead Democrat should always be used to show just how awful the current Republican is.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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