Rob Ford cuts the “Cut the Waist” challenge
Image: TwitPic
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has quit the Cut the Waist Challenge, his public diet, just three weeks before its scheduled end.
Saying he’s, “Not even dieting anymore,” Ford admitted on his Sunday radio show that he also does not, “care about the weigh-in.”
Since January, the mayor and his brother launched a weight-loss challenge, with the intent that they would each lose 50 pounds by June, and encourage other Toronto citizens to join in. At the start, Doug Ford weighed 275 pounds, while the mayor weighed 330 pounds.
At the last weigh-in, the mayor was down 16 pounds from his original total, but up four from the week before. The challenge was supposed to end on June 18.
In recent weeks, the mayor has been publicly criticized for being videotaped at a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and repeatedly cancelled his appearances at the weekly weigh-ins. Earlier in May, the mayor said he would only step on the scale once every two weeks, instead of on every Monday, but for now, it looks like he will handle his much-publicized diet privately.
According to reports, the Ford brothers spent an estimated $1, 500 of their own fees to launch a Cut the Waist website at the start of the campaign. All eyes are on the “Join !!! Mayor Ford’s Cut the Waist Challenge” banner, and whether it will still be erected, come Monday morning.
Kofi Annan Flies to Syria
Image: Flickr
International condemnation of the Syrian massacre of 108 people, including 49 children, in the town of Houla, has intensified, and now mediator Kofi Annan is on his way to Damascus for talks with the country’s leaders.
The former UN Secretary-General will meet with Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Monday, and President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday, Reuters reports. While the Syrian government has denied involvement with the killings, new attacks were reported on the central city of Hama, where as many as 25 have been killed, including women and children.
With denouncement from China and Russia, and now Annan’s deployment, the pressure is on the Syrian government to curb the attacks on what it considers to be strongholds of anti-government rebels.
Justin Bieber: Badass reportedly roughs-up photographer
Oh em Biebs! Is it time to start the mugshot countdown? Justin Bieber, 18-year-old badass, is wanted for questioning by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators, following a photographer’s complaint that the singing sensation roughed him up at a nearby shopping centre.
Sheriff’s Lt. Robert Wiard says the photographer called 911 on Sunday to report the attack, while complaining of chest pains. Wiard’s report said the allegedly violent altercation took place after the photographer’s attempt to snap pictures of Bieber and his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, who were reportedly leaving a movie theatre.
Though the now-anonymous photographer was taken to the hospital, treated, and subsequently released, Bieber’s co-operation in the matter has been requested.
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Joanna Adams is the online and social media editor for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at†@nowstarringTO.
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