newsmakers
newsmakers
Times Square characters should be licensed, mayor says
NEW YORK
Cookie Monster soon may need a license.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday he believes the people wearing character costumes in Times Square should be licensed and regulated.
Dozens of people — dressed as kids’ favorites such as Elmo, Cookie Monster and Batman — stand near 42nd Street and pose for photos with tourists in exchange for money.
De Blasio said the practice has “gone too far.”
A man dressed as Spider-Man was arrested Saturday after purportedly punching a police officer who told him to stop harassing tourists.
The city council is working on legislation that would require the characters to get a city-approved license.
The mayor said even those dressed as superheroes have to “play by the rules or you won’t be working here any longer.”
The Situation agrees to take classes in anger management
MIDDLETOWN, N.J.
The Situation will be getting lessons in anger management.
Former “Jersey Shore” star Michael Sorrentino, better known as The Situation, has agreed to take the classes as part of a deal to resolve simple-assault charges he faced after a July 15 fight with his brother at their family’s tanning salon in Middletown Township.
A municipal-court judge accepted the deal Monday and adjourned the matter for three months. If Sorrentino successfully completes the counseling program, the charge against him could be downgraded.
Sorrentino’s family — including his brother — attended the court hearing. The family-owned Boca Tanning Club is the setting for a new reality show about them.
The cast members of the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore,” filmed in Seaside Heights, were known for their love of tanning and the motto GTL, or gym, tan, laundry. They also were known for a rowdy, partying lifestyle that resulted in some cast members’ getting in fights and some facing legal troubles related to alcohol use.
Sarah Palin launches her own online subscription channel
NEW YORK
Sarah Palin has started her own subscription-based online network.
The Sarah Palin Channel, which went live Sunday, bills itself as a “direct connection” for the former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate with her supporters, with “no need to please the powers-that-be,” Palin says in a video mission statement on her channel’s home page.
“Are you tired of the media filters?” she asks. “Well, I am. I always have been. So we’re gonna do something about it.”
“We’ll talk about the issues that the mainstream media won’t talk about,” she adds.
Palin says she oversees all content posted to the channel. This will include her own political commentary. Other features for subscribers include the ability to submit questions to Palin and participate with her in online video chats.
Membership is set at $9.95 per month or $99.95 for a year.
Palin remains active elsewhere as a Fox News Channel contributor and reality-TV personality.
The Sarah Palin Channel is part of the TAPP video platform, which launched earlier this year.
Associated Press