Durango Weeks of Lawnside, N.J., didn’t think there was anything unusual this afternoon when he pulled into a Lukoil station outside Philadelphia until he took a look at the price, which stunned him. It was $9.99 a gallon.

“My (fuel) light was on,” he said, adding that had he noticed the price he would have filled up elsewhere.

Weeks had stumbled on an unusual protest by more than 50 Lukoil franchise owners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who more than doubled their prices to protest what they consider to be the unfair practices of the Russian-owned oil company.

At issue is Lukoil’s practice of  “zone pricing,” in which the company sells gasoline to  stations in close proximity to one another at prices that can vary by as much as 25 cents a gallon, according to the New Jersey Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association. The practice is driving customers to buy their gasoline at cheaper stations, eroding the business at Lukoil franchises, according to the franchisees.

“I feel they have been gouging us,” said Kay Kezbari, who owns a franchise in the Philadelphia suburb of Mount Laurel, N.J, adding that his colleagues have been “begging” Lukoil to lower prices. “We are not looking to get rich.  I am trying to survive.”


Kezbari's usually busy station was mostly deserted Wednesday, although a few motorists were filling up, perhaps not noticing the posted price.

Lukoil, for its part,  accused the the trade group of distorting its views. The company  defended zone pricing in a statement as a “commercially reasonable practice used by gasoline marketers for many years, which is fully compliant with New Jersey statutes."  A company spokesman could not immediately be reached for further comment.

Though most gas station owners depend for their profits on convenience items rather than fuel sales, they depend on gas to draw customers in so they can purchase higher-margin items and services such as automotive repair. Franchisees, many of whom are immigrants, usually invest six figures in their businesses including yearly fees.

The action by the Lukoil station owners is unprecedented and represents the culmination of years of frustration with the oil company, said Sal Risalvato, executive director of the station owners group.

“They have suffered with image problems and high prices that are making them uncompetitive,” he said.  “Enough is enough.”

Paloma Faith, the British chanteuse who wrote one of her biggest songs after falling in love with a busker singing Tracy Chapman tracks, has arrived in the States.

Faith is already a staple among American Anglophiles (perhaps she's even replacing Alex Turner on iPhone lock-screens), but for those who have yet to acquaint themselves with Faith, a quick rapsheet: She ran with the Olympic torch in red stilletos, mentored contestants on Britain's "The Voice," crooned on every major television show (from Jools Holland to Graham Norton), released an album that's still charting in the top five on U.K. charts and received the ever-elusive stamp of approval from Prince (the man who kicked Kim Kardashian off his stage).

But the trip across the pond is always difficult. One Direction notwithstanding, a host of extremely successful Britpop and rock stars have tried to make it in America and failed. Cheryl Cole, a judge on the U.K. "X-Factor" who has earned first-name status in many circles, decided to neither tour nor release her album in the States.

But Faith's not so scared. "I've had quite a lot of preparation, just naturally by default in that I've had one record out already, which didn't come out over there," she told HuffPost Entertainment. "I've almost had the luxury of being able to experience what it would be like on a small scale and I've been able to make a lot of mistakes and not be under an international world microscope at the time that I made them."

The singer has already performed in America, most recently at Joe's Pub in New York. She's touring in support of Fall to Grace, on which her performance has been described as "singing the bejesus out of these big, open-hearted tunes."

Faith rightly bristles at the suggestion that Adele opened the American market for British singers. "I think she's an incredible talent, but what paved the way for British artists was Amy Winehouse's Back to Black," she said. "I'm wholeheartedly sure that that was what opened America up to start listening for British voices."

And it's Winehouse -- not Adele or any boldface name from a previous invasion -- that most directly foreshadowed Faith's career. From the wide, lush sound to the sensual, anachronistic style (Faith says she's excited to visit vintage shops in the States), Winehouse's landing in America reintroduced pop audiences to jazz. The hooks on both Winehouse and Faith's songs are restrained when set against Adele's ever-reaching soars. The imagery is also less opaque: Faith's "30 Minute Love Affair," the song about the busker, is journalistic when compared to "Rolling in the Deep."

hristina Aguilera loves her body, and she loves to flaunt it.

On Sept. 12, the 31-year-old singer gave fans a sneak peek at the cover art for her upcoming single "Your Body," in which she shows off nearly all of hers. The seductive shot proves that Aguilera is all curves, as she's just barely covered in sheer pink fabric.

"Can't wait for you all to hear it. Friday it comes out. Here's the single. #YourBody," she tweeted along with the sexy cover art.

"Your Body" is the first song off her upcoming album, which the singer has compared to a "rebirth." The as-yet-untitled album is due out in November, and the singer has had plenty of life experience to draw from since she released her last record in 2010.

"I've been through a lot since the release of my last album, being on ['The Voice'], having had a divorce. This is all sort of a free rebirth for me," she told the Associated Press in a recent interview.

The racy cover art comes as no surprise, since the singer's sartorial choices rarely leaves anything to the imagination.

It is not new for Vishal to be rumoured with actresses working with him. But this time, he has been linked with an actress with whom he hasn’t worked so far and the grapevine is spreading like a wildfire in the industry.

It is said that Vishal & Varalaxmi (daughter of ace actor Sarathkumar, who is making her acting debut with Simbu-starrer ‘Poda Podi‘) are seeing each for some time now and they are serious about their relationship.

Actress Varalakshmi Sarathkumar at CIFW Day 2 Vishal denies affair with Varalaxmi

However, reports have it that Vishal‘s father and veteran producer G.K Reddy is against his son’s affair, since he is not in good terms with Sarathkumar, after a fall out that happened during the making of a film.

But Vishal‘s answer is a big no to these reports. Asked him about the alleged affair, he said, “I know Varalaxmi for more than two decades and we are very good friends. That doesn’t mean we are in love.”

The latest hot buzz in Kollywood is that Anjali and Sundar C, who are working together for ‘Madha Gaja Raja‘ starring Vishal in the lead, are moving close with each other.

    However, the ‘Angadi Theru‘ actress has refuted this claim. “This is news to me. It has been a habit for some to spread baseless gossips about me. This is one more addition to the rumour list.”

After sharing the screen space with Sundar C in ‘Ayudham Seivom‘ and working in his direction in the recent ‘Kalakalappu‘, Anjali is now part of ‘Madha Gaja Raja‘, being helmed by the actor-filmmaker.

On the movie, she says, “It is an interesting subject and I play the love interest of Vishal. Varalakshmi is the other heorine of the movie.”

Masala Cafe Anjali 586x332 Anjali denies affair with Sundar C

It has been four years since Mallika Sherawat was seen as a leading lady in a mainstream quintessential Bollywood flick. After being seen as Shabnam in ‘Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam‘ [2008], Mallika Sherawat is now making her ‘heroine’ comeback with ‘Kismat Love Paisa Dilli‘ a.k.a. KLPD and as per makers, her role and performance in the film is all set to surprise many out there.

“Vivek Oberoi is playing this ‘tharki‘ (horny) Delhi guy and for someone like him the ideal girl who he lusts for has to be nothing less than Mallika Sherawat. As a female protagonist, she fits the bill perfectly. Also, while she has been seen in a few films in the interim period where she has either done an item number or appeared in a cameo, in KLPD audience will see a lot more of Mallika Sherawat since she is the female lead”, informs a source attached to the film.

While quite of a few of her songs have turned chartbusters over the years, as a performer she continues to be remembered for ‘Pyaar Ke Side Effects‘ (2006).

    “Well her performance would be very surprising for a lot of people”, says Amit Chandrra, the film’s producer, “The way she made many stand up and notice her act in PKSE, it would be similar with KLPD as well. She has a lot of shades to her in the film and we have made sure that audience are not disappointed in any manner.”

Adds director Sanjay Khanduri, “The film is basically a story about a boy who falls for a girl and in the process of wooing her, a few things go wrong. They come across a series of uncanny events & quircky characters and by morning their lives are changed forever. Both Mallika Sherawat and Vivek Oberoi have quite a few surprises in store for the audience. Stay tuned.”

    Brown's rep tells TMZ that the tattoo in question is actually based off a Dia de los Muertos-themed MAC Cosmetics design: "His tattoo is a sugar skull (associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead) and a MAC cosmetics design he saw. It is not Rihanna or an abused woman as erroneously reported."

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By now, erstwhile lovers Chris Brown and Rihanna can hardly go to the bathroom without somehow being associated with the other, which explains the hubbub being made over Brown's new, hideous neck tattoo. (Sample headline, from the Daily Mail: "Chris Brown reveals new tattoo of a 'beaten woman'... but denies it's his ex Rihanna.")

The tat, which the "Don't Wake Me Up" singer debuted on Sept. 1, features a line-drawing of a woman's face half-embellished by flora and fauna-esque things. The whole thing looks more like "Avatar" than RiRi, to be honest, but we guess if we squint our eyes reeaaally hard, love can be found in a hopeless place. Or something like that. For the record: Brown's rep told GossipCop that his new ink “is not Rihanna.”

A silhouette of the three members of ZZ Top appears on the cover of their 15th studio album, La Futura, released Tuesday. But who needs to see their faces as long as their trademark chest-length beards are visible and possibly more identifiable than their music catalog that spans 40-plus years?

Guitarists Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill have been wearing the signature look since the late '70s, while the group's drummer, whose name is ironically Frank Beard, prefers to maintain a clean shave.


Gibbons recently revealed that he and Hill were once offered $1 million to cut off their facial hair, but they declined. In 1984, shaver manufacturer Gillette solicited the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame inductees for an ad campaign but they turned down the lucrative opportunity.


Gibbons told Bravewords.com that they don't regret their decision and still would not take the deal. "No dice," Gibbons said. "Even adjusted for inflation, this isn't going to fly. The prospect of seeing oneself in the mirror clean-shaven is too close to a Vincent Price film…a prospect not to be contemplated, no matter the compensation."

Though ZZ Top formed in 1969, Gibbons and Hill did not don the beards until nearly 10 years later, and their decision to do so was by coincidence. After returning from extended vacations, Gibbons and Hill learned that each had let their beards grow long, according to the album liner notes for the band's 2004 release, Rancho Texicano: The Very Best Of ZZ Top.

"[The manager] called a band meeting, and when the three members arrived, they noticed something had changed during their time apart," music journalist Tom Vickers wrote. "They had always had some form of facial hair, with Frank usually sporting a mustache, while Billy and Dusty had scruffy little beards no more than an inch or two long."

He's everything you've ever wanted. He's handsome, smart, witty, charming, and your friends and family adore him. He arrives on time and calls when he says he's going to call. He's successful and ambitious but knows how to relax and prioritize the things that matter most. He never gets angry. He always compliments you and tells you how beautiful you are. He's emotionally articulate and isn't afraid to show you his true feelings. As soon as you met him, you had that undeniable sense that he's The One. He completely gets you and sometimes even completes your sentences. Your chemistry is off-the-charts, you're always excited to see him, and he still makes your heart flutter, even after a year of dating. The moment he proposed, you said "yes" and never had a moment of doubt about your decision to marry him. You have that feeling of knowing, the one that everyone said would be a sign that you've met your Prince Charming. When you're with him, he makes you feel alive and beautiful. When you're away from him, it's like you're missing your other half. He's everything you've ever wanted, and more.

Okay, stop the press. The above paragraph is a fantasy. It was fun to write, but that guy -- the perfect package, the one who's ambitious and emotionally articulate and gorgeous -- doesn't actually exist. And if he happens to embody all three of those qualities, I guarantee you that he has other "imperfections". Because, let's face it, we're all human. We're all imperfect. We all come through the birth canal with foibles and unattractive qualities. When we're searching for "The One", we first have to let go of the idea that one person exists who will fulfill all of our requirements for a marriage partner. We have to relinquish the dysfunctional, societally-induced message that when you meet the right person you'll "just know" and you won't experience a moment of doubt. And we certainly have to redefine real love from a feeling that makes you complete (thank you, Hollywood, Disney, and Jerry Maguire, for perpetuating this damaging belief), to a choice, an intention, and an act of will (thank you, M. Scott Peck, for this healthy definition of love).

After more than a year since their epic trip through Canada and California, Kate Middleton and Prince William have finally set off on their 9-day royal tour of southeast Asia and the South Pacific to continue Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebration.

Their first stop to ease the couple back into royal tour life after their 14-hour flight was Singapore's botanical gardens. But when you're a royal, you don't just look at flowers like the commoners -- you get one named after you. Will and Kate were welcomed into the country by having an orchid, the national flower of Singapore, named after them and placed in the VIP Orchid Garden reserved for visiting heads of states and international dignitaries.

They're not the first British royals to receive an orchid in the exclusive garden though. The Dendrobium Queen Elizabeth II was named after HRH's visit in 1972 and the Dendrobium Memoria Princess Diana was named for the late Princess Diana. The couple made sure to view both of these flowers during their visit.

So what does one wear to have an orchid named after them? The Duchess of Cambridge, always one to dress appropriately for the occasion, opted for a kimono-style Jenny Packham dress. In a not-so-subtle nod to her locale, the pale pink ensemble featured a delicate orchid pattern. And since looking jet-lagged with flat hair isn't very duchess-like, Kate had her new personal hairdresser in tow to make sure she has the perfect bouncy hair for every appearance (he even styled her hair half up, half down -- a look we seldom see on the duchess). But the real question is: will Kate continue to theme dress throughout the royal tour? Should we expect grass skirts in Tuvalu and sarees in Malaysia?

Check out photos from Kate and Will's first stop on their Diamond Jubilee royal tour below.