Pregger Teen Denies Pregnancy Pact, Calls 17 Pregnant Friends A ‘Coincidence’
One of the pregnant teenage girls at a Massachusetts high school denied that 17 students had entered a pact in an effort to get pregnant and called the high rate of pregnancies “unlucky” and a “coincidence.” “There was definitely no pact,” Lindsey Oliver, 17, [NOT pictured] who became pregnant when she was a junior, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” today. “There was a group of girls already pregnant that decided they were going to help each other to finish school and raise their kids together. I think it was just a coincidence.” News of the pregnancies at Gloucester High School made headlines last week after a rumor reported in Time magazine and given credence in an interview with the school’s principal that the girls promised one another to become pregnant and raise their children together. [via ABC NEWS]
FLYING HIGH: Pro-Pot Group Asks Feds To Allow Toking In Airport Lounges
DENVER — One pro-marijuana group is calling on the government to allow marijuana in smoking lounges at airports across the country. Cigarette smoking at Denver International Airport and other airports across the country is restricted to smoking lounges. Members of the Denver-based organization Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) will ask the government Tuesday to allow pot in airport smoking lounges. The group says in a press release that the idea will address the growing number of in-flight problems involving drunk and disorderly passengers. Members claim marijuana is a better alternative to alcohol to help more fliers relax and deal with the anxiety of air travel. [via MYFOXCOLORADO]
MATERIAL GIRL: Is Madge Still Live Nation’s $120 Million Woman?
Live Nation is on the defensive about the health of its $120 million Madonna deal. Big sales around the world for the Material Girl’s upcoming “Sticky & Sweet” tour have been overshadowed in music industry circles by chatter about the large number of tickets still available for a key stop in Los Angeles in November and softer-than-expected sales of her latest album “Hard Candy.” The tour so far has grossed more than $74 million in sales for 13 dates in Europe and piled up a string of sellouts at arenas across North America, according to Live Nation. Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music and CEO of the global touring division at Live Nation, projects the tour will gross more than $250 million in ticket sales — surpassing her record-breaking “Confessions on a Dance Floor” tour two years ago, which pulled in $195 million worldwide. But just over half of the 43,000 seats available for a Nov. 6 date at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium – 27,000 tickets in all — have been sold in their first three weeks of availability, raising red flags about the limits of US demand for the 49-year-old Madonna at this stage of her career.It also comes as Live Nation’s management has been at odds over the strategy of handing out big-bucks, all-encompassing contracts, known as 360 deals, for aging stars like Madonna and Jay-Z. The rift led to last week’s exit of company chairman Michael Cohl. [via NEW YORK POST]