My Daily Joe

(CNN) — For 16 years, Loretta Zilinger loathed Dean Cage for what she believed he did to her when she was 15 years old.

Dressed in her immaculate Catholic school uniform, she was on her way to class in October 1994. She heard footsteps coming up behind her. By then, it was too late.

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Grammy award winning US singer Taylor Swift thrilled 13,000 predominantly female fans during the Sydney leg of her Fearless tour at the Acer Arena on Saturday night.

The 20-year-old faced criticism after her performance at the recent Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles, which was panned by critics and described by one as “caterwauling”.

But it appeared that all was forgiven as the enthusiastic Sydney crowd screamed, applauded and sang along with their idol to her pop-infused country hits like You Belong With Me, Fifteen and Love Story.

The Nashville-based country sweetheart, who claimed four Read more »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles prosecutors on Monday plan to file a criminal case in the death of Michael Jackson that is expected to include a charge of involuntary manslaughter against the singer’s doctor.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office said on Friday details of its case would be released on Monday, and gave no further details.

But sources close to the case said Dr. Conrad Murray, Read more »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Robin Williams has fired blanks in his lawsuit against an independent producer over an alleged $6 million (3.8 million pound) deal to star in “Cop Out” (formerly titled “A Couple of Dicks”).

Williams’ loan-out company Fiat Risus sued Gold Circle Films in October 2008 in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming the actor was hired to star in the action-comedy before Gold Circle put the movie on ice. Williams said he had a “pay-or-play” deal, meaning he would be paid even if the movie did not get made.

Warner Bros. made the film with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan and will release it February 26. Read more »

James Cameron’s Avatar has sailed past his blockbuster Titanic to become number one on the all-time US domestic box-office chart.

Avatar climbed to $US601.1 million ($A678.29 million) domestically on Tuesday, putting it a fraction ahead of the $US600.8 million ($A677.95 million) haul for Titanic.

With more than $2 billion worldwide, Cameron’s sci-fi sensation shattered the global box-office record of $US1.84 billion ($A2.08 billion) held by Titanic last week.

Avatar still has plenty of box-office life left. It passed $US600 million ($A677.05 million) domestically on its 47th day of release.

Back in 1998, Titanic was at barely half that amount – $US311 million ($A350.94 million) – after its 47th day in theatres.

Factoring in today’s higher admission prices, Titanic still has sold more tickets than Avatar.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Time Warner Inc reported stronger quarterly profit and slightly higher revenue courtesy of hit movies like “Sherlock Holmes” and “The Hangover,” and it became the second major media company in as many days to raise its dividend.

Time Warner, slimmed down since spinning off both Time Warner Cable and AOL last year, posted fourth-quarter net income of $627 million, or 53 cents a share, reversing a year-earlier net loss of $16 billion, or $13.41 a share, that included a host of impairment charges. Read more »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Orlando Bloom will play the lead in “The Good Doctor,” an indie drama for which Michael Pena, Troy Garity, Courtney Ford, Taraji P. Henson, Rob Morrow and J.K. Simmons are in negotiations to co-star.

Bloom also is one of the producers of the Lance Daly-directed picture. The script by John Enbom (“Veronica Mars”), described as a Hitchcockian thriller, centres on a frustrated doctor trying to impress his superiors and colleagues. When an 18-year-old patient, admitted for a kidney infection, provides him with the esteem he so craves, the doctor tampers with her treatment to keep her at the hospital with him. Read more »

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Ten Americans detained and accused of child trafficking in Haiti after they allegedly tried to bus 33 children into the Dominican Republic insist their effort was an attempt to get the children to a shelter.

But Haiti’s prime minister said Sunday that the group was kidnapping the children.

“From what I know until now, this is a kidnapping case,” Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN. “Who is doing it — I don’t know. What are the real objectives or activities — I don’t know. But that is kidnapping and it is more serious because it’s involving children,” he said. Read more »

Jasmina Anema, the spunky 6-year-old Manhattan girl who captured the hearts of President Obama, Rihanna and others with her courageous fight against leukemia, has died. “Today, January 27, at 10:55 p.m., Jasmina lost her fight against leukemia,” her grief-stricken mother, Thea Anema, wrote on the Caring Bridge blog she had set up to keep thousands of well-wishers apprised of Jasmina’s progress. The news sent shockwaves throughout the community that had rallied around the little girl who had inspired a worldwide public campaign to find bone-marrow donors. From the White House, President Obama said, Read more »

In a hilariously candid interview in our current issue, Taylor Swift opens up about her Shakira impression and the koi pond she’s building in her new apartment. Here’s more from the Q&A that you won’t find in the magazine: Swift on her love of John Mayer, bling and last-minute song-writing binges.

How did you spend the holidays?
I was back in Nashville, and it was pretty cool — my brother’s leaving for college next year and I’m moving out in a few months, so this was sort of a moment in time for me, I was definitely recording all of it in my mind, the last Christmas with all of us being in the same place. Read more »