Gabrielle Giffords shooting

Quotes of the month

Sarah Palin, Aretha Franklin & Tom DeLay said some of January's memorable words.

The deadly shootings in Arizona that injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords -- and reactions to it -- have dominated headlines throughout the month of January.Sarah Palin took heat for the harsh words she unleashed on critics
who attacked the rhetoric and imagery she used against Giffords and other "liberals" during the midterm elections."Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn," the potential 2012 presidential candidate said in a video posted to her Facebook page.
Other news that sparked memorable quotes:
* The vote to repeal health care reform was a close second.
* Certain celebrities turned a few heads.
* As did the mysterious Arkansas fish plague, one of many odd examples of freakish acts of nature in January 2011.
Lloyd Banks

"I think every artist, you make mistakes when you come into the game. I made my first million dollars when I was 20 years old, and I was too scared to touch it. I eat humble pie every morning, so I really didn't have the temptation to go out there and live beyond my means."Lloyd Banks, a member of the rap group G-Unit, may have gotten that dish of humble pie from an incident he blamed on "sticky fingers."
John Boehner

"Repeal means paving the way for better solutions that will lower the cost without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government. Repeal means keeping a promise. This is what we said we would do."House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and former linebacker, made good on a campaign promise when he led the House vote to repeal President Obama's signature health care reform legislation.
Brandy

"Now I'm expecting a child? WOW!!! Please check out the story for your morning comedy.. lol. At in and out... Wondering if I should get a double double since I'm eating for 'two.'"Mississippi-born and California-raised actress and singer Brandy refutes rampant Internet rumors that she's expecting. "Brandy: Special Delivery," you may recall, was a reality series following the R&B singer's 2002 pregnancy with her daughter, Sy'rai.
Aretha Franklin

"Halle Berry is my pick. For the last four years, we've been talking about that, and I have had a number of offers, but unfortunately they were not good offers. Now we have something on the table."Who will play the legendary soul singer in a biopic that's in the works? The legend herself made her choice clear but got a less-than-enthusiastic response from the actress she picked.
Wyclef Jean

"I saw Pras on the flight and as a Fugees member I didn't know whether to elbow him, shoot him or give him a kiss and we gave a hug."Wyclef Jean set aside his differences with an ex-Fugees bandmate after they boarded the same plane to Haiti to mark the anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the impoverished Caribbean country.
Kim Kardashian

"Trust me, I've tried Botox on the show. I'm the first one to talk about anything that I do. It really pisses me off that all of these plastic surgery rumors are always linked to me."Reality TV socialite Kim Kardashian has spawned thousands of websites with before-and-after "evidence" of her Botox injections.
Mark Kelly

"The kids … Claudia and Claire start crying. My mother, you know … I think she almost screamed. And I just, you know, walked into the bathroom, and you know, broke down. To hear that she died is just, it's devastating for me."NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, told ABC News' Diane Sawyer that he watched erroneous television reports that his wife had died in the shootings in Tucson.
Jay Leno on Tom DeLay

"Former House Majority LeaderTom DeLay, once considered one of the nation's most powerful and feared lawmakers, was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday. The judge sentenced him to two years for money laundering and an extra year for his performance on 'Dancing With the Stars.'"Jay Leno piled it on after the famous political powerhouse, who earned this nickname for his strict enforcement of party rules, was convicted in a money laundering scandal.
David Letterman on Hillary Clinton

"Oh, how about this? Getting off an airplane, Hillary Clinton tripped and fell and maybe broke some bones. So just to be precautionary, they took her to the emergency room and wrapped her up in a full-body pantsuit."
Brandon Lewis & Ashley Fansler

"[The doctor] said, 'You know, if we wanted to deliver one this year and then one next year, we could do that if … everything is open … we decided to do it that way, and everything worked out."Brandon Lewis, whose twins were born on each side of the 2010-2011 divide, told an Illinois TV station about how he and his wife decided to space the C-section births of their babies.
Jennifer Lopez

"I feel really anxious about cutting half the kids today, I really do. I'm really not looking forward to it. You want to pick the right ones and you want to see who's really going to make a great show, and at the same time, be great artists. But I feel like we have so many good ones that we're going to lose some good ones today. And that's what bothers me."Voted one of the most influential 20th-century Hispanics, Jennifer Lopez is a first-year "American Idol" judge, along with Steven Tyler, and has spoken candidly about the difficulty of her new job.
Rebecca Mansour & Sarah Palin

"We never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights. It was simply crosshairs like you'd see on maps."In an interview with radio talk show host Tammy Bruce, Sarah Palin political action committee staffer Rebecca Mansour defended the graphics Palin took down off her website after the Tucson shootings.
Some Palin aides suggested the crosshairs had been misconstrued and could instead be seen as these types of symbols.
Nicki Minaj on Rihanna

"I love Ri-Ri! I mean, when she's not grabbing my a** she's a sweet girl ... I like everyone."Rapper and R&B singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj didn't seem to mind the hands-on exchange she had with Rihanna at the 2010 American Music Awards .
Conan O'Brien & Larry King

"Today's Jan. 11, 2011. That makes it 1/11/11, something that only happens once every 100 years. Isn't that cool? When someone told Larry King, he said, 'This again?'"Conan O'Brien is back on TV, and Larry King is off after a long, long run.
Sarah Palin

"I will continue to speak out. They're not going to shut me up."Sarah Palin spoke out on FOX News about accusations that her fiery political rhetoric had a connection to the Arizona shootings.
Malik Mumtaz Qadri

"He did blasphemy of the Prophet Muhammad."Malik Mumtaz Qadri, a security guard for Salman Taseer, reportedly confessed to killing the governor of the Pakistani state of Punjab. Taseer had expressed reservations about certain controversial laws in Pakistan.
Tony Parker

"The most important thing is to stay strong mentally, even if these are very difficult times. I've taken refuge in basketball because that's what I've done best since my youth."San Antonio Spurs star guard Tony Parker opened up about how he's handling the end of his marriage to this famous "Desperate Housewife."
Eugene Robinson on Sarah Palin

"In the spirit of civil discourse, I'd like to humbly suggest that Sarah Palin please consider being quiet for a while. Perhaps a great while."Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson was among many commentators who criticized the former Alaska governor for comments she made in the wake of the Arizona shootings.
Keith Stephens & Arkansas Game and Fish

"Right now it's fine to fish. If you go out there you can still fish for bass and crappie, catfish, it will be fine. Obviously don't eat the dead fish."Keith Stephens, spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, tried to reassure the public -- at least somewhat -- after massive numbers of fish turned up dead in the Arkansas River.There were other odd cases of animals dying en masse, like these birds that fell from the sky in Louisiana.
Tom DeLay

"I can't be remorseful for something I don't think I did."Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLaymaintained his innocence even after he was convicted of money laundering. He blamed his fate on the place where he stood trial. He has made his share of enemies over the years and may make more when he goes to prison.
Mohamed Bouazizi

"They are deeply symbolic means of protest in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent."Associated Press correspondent Hamza Hendawi commented on the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, an act that has been credited for helping to topple the Tunisian government.This method of protest grabbed headlines during the Vietnam War. It has a long history.

Egypt's president deputy

The last time Egypt had a vice president was in 1981. His name was Hosni Mubarak.

His 30-year regime now facing intense pressure, Mubarak announced Saturday that the Arab world's most populous nation would once again have a deputy leader. For that role, he tapped Omar Suleiman, the intelligence chief who has been a powerful behind-the-scenes player for a long time.

Suleiman's appointment as vice president was seen widely as an attempt by Mubarak to restore order. He is well respected by the military and is credited with crushing an Islamic insurgency in the 1990s, for which he earned the ear of Western intelligence officials thirsting for vital information about regional terrorist groups.

He has also long been mentioned as a possible successor to Mubarak, along with the aging ruler's son, Gamal, and some analysts viewed his deputy appointment as a way for Mubarak to make a graceful exit.

"His loyalty to Mubarak seems rock solid," a former U.S. ambassador wrote in a classified U.S. diplomatic cable leaked to the website WikiLeaks.

"Suleiman himself adamantly denies any personal ambitions, but his interest and dedication to national service is obvious," said the 2007 document.

If Suleiman's name is not well known, it is intentional. As head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Organisation, known as the Mukhabarat, he has lurked in the shadows of Mubarak's regime, earning him a nickname of "the secret minister."

He has even made trips to Washington without public notice. On one such visit in 2006, he presented former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with a personalized silver box worth $420.

"He is someone that we know well and have worked closely with," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

But if Suleiman's presence has been opaque, his role certainly has not.

Suleiman is even credited with saving Mubarak's life. On a state visit to Ethiopia in 1995, Mubarak was to have traveled in a normal vehicle but Suleiman insisted that the president's armored Mercedes be flown in from Cairo.

Accounts of an assassination attempt on Mubarak vary but it's believed that Suleiman was sitting next to Mubarak when a hail of bullets pinged off the car. The bond forged that day cemented their relationship.

Born in an impoverished area of southern Egypt in 1935, Suleiman chose the military as a career, according to a Foreign Policy magazine biography.

He rose through the ranks of the Egyptian infantry to a lieutenant general. After his country allied itself with the United States, he attended the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in the 1980s, Foreign Policy reported.

He was tapped for Egypt's top intelligence post in 1993, at a time when the Arab world's most populous nation was wracked with terrorist attacks targeting tourists and essential infrastructure.

Defense and security analysis company IHS Jane's says Suleiman's interaction with the Israeli Mossad as well as the Central Intelligence Agency catapulted him to a central role in Egypt's security apparatus.

In 2001, he led Egyptian efforts to confront a Palestinian uprising next door. Later, he played a crucial role in the formation of a new Palestinian government headed by Mahmoud Abbas, according to Jane's.

Now, Omar Suleiman's name is etched into the annals of Egyptian history as the man entrusted to defend an embattled leader. He saved Mubarak's life before, but will he be able to preserve his power?

Barbra Streisand Seth

Streisand and Rogen will play mom and son in an upcoming road-trip comedy. The director from the film 'The Proposal' will also direct this movie, which is expected to start shooting in the spring.

Bbruno Mars Guilty

Pop singer Bruno Mars will plead guilty to a charge of possessing cocaine while in Las Vegas last September. As a result of the deal, he will be sentenced to a year of probation, pay a fine, perform community service and attend drug counseling.

amy locane bovenizer not guilty

Amy Locane Bovenizer, star of the original 'Melrose Place,' plead not guilty to aggravated manslaughter from a fatal crash last June. The actress hit an elderly couple as they were turning into their driveway, killing one of them.

Eva Longoria Dating Penelope Cruz Brother

Eva Longoria's rep is dismissing rumors that the newly-single actress has found love again with Penelope Cruz's younger brother, Eduardo. Speculation started when the two were seen together Christmas Eve morning at Longoria's Los Angeles home.

julie powers schenecker kids

Florida police say Julie Powers Schenecker admitted to killing her teen son and daughter this week. She shot her son first for 'talking back' while she was driving, and then later shot her daughter while she was studying on the computer.