A new video surfacing on Tuesday purported to show the beheading of another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Sotloff, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy was last seen in August 2013, and has featured in the earlier video of the execution of James Foley.

“We have seen a video that purports to be the murder of US citizen Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity,” said White House spokesperson Bernadette Meehan in a statement.

“If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” she added.

Looking into the camera, Sotloff said in the video, “I’m sure you know exactly who I am by now and why I am appearing.” He was dressed in the same orange jump suit worn by Foley and inmates of US prisons.
“Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be for preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I am paying the price of your interference with my life?”

The ISIS terrorist standing by side then says that as long as the United States continues “to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people”.

Foley’s executioner had made a similar threat, but airstrikes against ISIL positions in Iraq have continued, now expanding beyond in and around Mosul Dam to also cover Amirli and Erbil.

The central command said Monday it had carried out 123 airstrikes across Iraq since the start of the air-campaign on August 8.

Sotloff’s mother, Shirley Sotloff, had appealed for mercy for her son in a video message last week. “I am sending this message to you, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Quraishi al-Hussaini, the caliph of the Islamic State. I am Shirley Sotloff. My son Steven is in your hands. You, the caliph, can grant amnesty. I ask you please to release my child. I ask you to use your authority to spare his life.”

“As a mother, I ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over.

 I ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the Prophet Muhammad, who protected People of the Book. I want what every mother wants, to live to see her children’s children, I plead with you to grant me this.”

Amber Rose is proud of her husband Wiz Khalifa and she's not afraid to show it. The model and mother of one posted a video to Instagram August 29, in honor or her husband's album "Blacc Hollywood" hitting no. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart -- a first for the rapper, Billboard notes.
Rose captioned the sexy video "In honor of my Hubby's #1 Album #blacchollywood #AssDrop," referencing the track in background.

Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj, take note:

When Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy tied the knot on Sunday, at least one famous relative was not on hand for the nuptials.

Mark Wahlberg tweeted his congratulations and posted an Instagram video for the new couple the day before. The actor's rep said his daughter Ella's 11th birthday was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles over the weekend. (The McCarthy/Wahlberg wedding was at Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois, minutes from McCarthy's childhood home.)
TMZ has another story, though. The site reports that Mark Wahlberg and his wife are not especially close with Donnie and are not particularly fond of his new bride. TMZ also wrote that another Walhberg brother, Bobby, wouldn't be an in attendance either, nor would Donnie's mother, because she's afraid of flying. Brother Paul, on the other hand, was expected to attend.

HuffPost Entertainment contacted a representative for Mark Wahlberg for comment on the TMZ report; this post will be updated if and when they respond.
Donnie didn't seem too distraught by his brother's absence, returning his well wishes on Twitter.

Surgeons are helping a teenager save his neck by shortening it.

Fu Wengui, 15, of Beijing, is preparing to go under the knife because he's reportedly caused immense pain by the three extra vertebrae in his neck.

The teen has 10 vertebrae in his neck while the average person has seven, according to Quirky China, which released photos of him at the hospital. The vertebrae compress his nerves, making it difficult for him to walk.

giraffe boy
"When he was six he was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis and abnormal chest frame," Wengui's father, Fu Genyou, told agency.

Congenital scoliosis is a spinal deformity caused by abnormally formed vertebrae, and usually occurs in early development, according to the Scoliosis Research Society. Wengui's surgery will reduce the size of his neck and hopefully enhance movement and reduce pain.

A Beijing-based charity will sponsor his surgery at Chaoyang Hospital, which is working on a treatment plan, according to Quirky News' press release.

"I just hope I can have a normal neck," Wengui said.

When Katzen Hobbes was a toddler, she had dreams where she saw herself covered in tiger stripes.

When she was 18, she started making that dream a reality.

Now, at the age of 40, 90 percent of her body is covered in stripes.

"I still need a little bit of work under the right armpit and right ear, but I'm pretty close to completion," Hobbes told The Huffington Post. "But I might add something more."

Hobbes considers her body like a sculpture.

Unlike many people who start with one small tattoo and add others on without a firm goal in mind, she always wanted just tiger stripes.

"I wanted to be covered in tiger stripes when I was young, but it wasn't until I was 9 and living in Japan that I realized how I could do it," she said. "My mother said, 'Wait until you're 18."
Most of the feline tatting occurred between the ages of 18 and 28. More than 227 different tattoo artists have inked her up, including 23 at one time.

Hobbes isn't as catty as she used to be. For 14 years, she had plastic whisker piercings through her facial skin.

"I had them removed because I started to feel they affected my field of vision," she said. She turned to scarification and had six scars on her face to allude to the whiskers.

katzen hobbes front

Hobbes works as a tattoo artist in Austin and as a sideshow performer for the 999 Eyes Freakshow. She feels both jobs allow her to show people that beauty comes from within.

"Most of us are more than skin deep," she said. "I feel more beautiful this way."

Hobbes will have a chance to demonstrate that in spades because she is one of the people who has been selected to appear in the newest Ripley's Believe It Or Not! book, "Reality Shock!" debuting Sept. 9.

Country star Carrie Underwood and NHL player Mike Fisher chose the Labor Day holiday to announce they are expecting their first child.

Underwood and Fisher posted the announcement on their social media accounts on Monday. Underwood's publicist confirmed the couple will be expecting their first child in the spring.
The 31-year-old Underwood shot to fame after winning "American Idol." She has won six Grammys and sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. She was the first woman to twice win the Academy of Country Music's entertainer of the year award.

She will be co-hosting the upcoming Country Music Association Awards with Brad Paisley this November.

Fisher, a 34-year-old center for the Nashville Predators, is recovering from a ruptured left Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the start of the season.

"I have lots of songs to write about. Lots of things to write about." So says a teenage Katy Perry -- then Katy Hudson -- in a newly unearthed video from 2001 posted to Vimeo by award-winning cinematographer and videographer Jim Standridge.

"I was very fortunate to meet and hangout with this genuine talent in the beginning of her career," Standridge wrote in a note accompanying the video. "The other day I was cleaning out some old footage in my office and found 90 minutes of raw footage I had totally forgot about. [...] I think Katy has grown into an amazing entertainer and woman."
Standridge cut the 90 minutes down to just under 13, and the package showcases Perry's preternatural talent. Then a Christian singer-songwriter, Perry's work has an unmistakable Alanis Morisette vibe, but there are some guitar licks that also sound a little like early Radiohead (specifically from "The Bends"). The video closes, appropriately, with Perry singing "Last Call," one of the tracks from her 2001 album, "Katy Hudson."

HuffPost Entertainment contacted a representative for Perry to see if the singer had any comment or remembrance about the video. This post will be updated if and when they respond. In the meantime, watch Standridge's video below.

The hacker said that he or she leaked photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, and a host of other stars.

A rep for J.Law confirmed that the images, allegedly stolen from her iCloud account, are real.

"This is a flagrant violation of privacy," the spokesperson told HuffPost. "The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”

The Los Angeles Police Department told HuffPost that they have "no knowledge" of the hacking "at this time." The FBI said they could not confirm or deny reports of the attack. Apple did not return a request for comment.

The hacker claims to have more NSFW pics as well as videos. The user offered to release more media in exchange for money.
Victoria Justice, who was also targeted in the hack, tweeted that the photos aren't real.

"These so called nudes of me are FAKE people," she said. "Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*"

A rep for Ariana Grande told BuzzFeed that the photos of her are "completely fake."

Horror movie actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead lashed out at the hacker on Twitter.

"To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves," she said. "Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked."

Is Miley Cyrus really over Liam Hemsworth? Sure doesn't sound like it.

In an interview on Australia's "Sunday Night," Cyrus told reporter Chris Bath that she still has a lot of love for her former fiance.

"I love Liam, Liam loves me," Cyrus said, according to Daily Mail.

Following Cyrus' split from "Hunger Games" actor Hemsworth, Cyrus' father, Billy Ray, opened up about how happy his daughter seemed.
"All I know for sure is I heard my daughter say today she's the happiest she's ever been in her life immediately following [the breakup.] That's when I saw Miley being so happy," Billy Ray said in 2013. "Somewhere along the stress and strain of different things I didn't see her smiling as often for a little while and all of a sudden she's like the sun, and when she smiles it's light."

Here's to hoping Cyrus stays so happy ... Hemsworth or no Hemsworth.

In case you needed further proof that Rihanna's life is cooler than yours, here are some awesome vacation photos she shared on Twitter on Aug. 28 that will leave you with zero doubt.

Here she is making history for being the first person to make binoculars look cool:
Then, when that got old, she chilled out with a glass of wine on her yacht because she's fabulous:

Later, Rihanna slipped into a yellow bikini and casually mentioned snorkeling in pirate caves:

Rihanna just wrapped up her Monster Tour with Eminem and is clearly taking some time to relax. We'd be lying if we said we weren't jealous!