J.K. Rowling is building two treehouses fit for a wizard.
Despite some complaints from neighbors, the City of Edinburgh Council in Scotland said Thursday it has approved the “Harry Potter” author’s application to create the large treehouses in her garden for her children.
The structures, each about 40 feet high, feature tall conical roofs and turreted windows in the style of Hogwarts castle in the “Harry Potter” movies.
Artist impressions submitted to the council show that they will be built on wooden stilts and are connected by a rope bridge. Other features included are lanterns above the doors, a spiral staircase, balconies, a trap door and a steel slide.
Several neighbors had written to object, saying the treehouses may be visible from the road through a gap in the conifers that shield the development and could affect the area’s landscape.
But the council granted Miss Rowling’s request, saying the development will not have a negative impact on the conservation area.
Miss Rowling, 47, lives in a 17th-century mansion in an Edinburgh suburb with her husband and three children.
Coroner: Stallone’s son died of heart condition
Sylvester Stallone’s son Sage died at age 36 from natural causes due to a heart condition, coroner’s officials said Thursday.
Sage Stallone’s death July 13 was attributed to a condition that causes blockage of the arteries, and no other factors were involved. It has been classified a natural death.
The actor and film director’s sudden death stunned his family and friends. Mr. Stallone’s publicist described him as “devastated and grief-stricken” and the actor skipped several promotional events for his film “The Expendables 2.”
Sage Moonblood Stallone was the oldest of Mr. Stallone’s children and co-starred with his father in two films. He also became involved in filmmaking, directing the 2006 short “Vic,” which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
He made his acting debut in 1990’s “Rocky V” and appeared with his father in 1996’s “Daylight.”
Also in 1996, Sage Stallone and veteran film editor Bob Murawski co-founded Grindhouse Releasing, a company dedicated to preserving and promoting the B-movies and exploitation films of the 1970s and ’80s.
He was found dead in his home by an employee and a relative. No foul play had been suspected, and toxicology results showed only a minimal amount of hydrocodone in his system.
LeAnn Rimes files suit over recorded conversation
LeAnn Rimes sued two women she claims illegally recorded a phone conversation with her and posted snippets online, one day after she sought professional help for anxiety and stress.
Miss Rimes sued Kimberly Smiley and her adult daughter Lexi on Thursday, seeking more than $25,000 in damages for recording a March phone conversation that ended up online on websites bashing the country singer.
Kimberly Smiley denied she posted the recording, saying she shared it with online acquaintances, one of whom played it for the ex-wife of Miss Rimes’ husband, Eddie Cibrian. “The whole thing is just ridiculous,” she said. “It’s just a celebrity who’s too full of herself.”
The invasion of privacy lawsuit came one day after Miss Rimes, 30, entered an in-patient treatment facility in what her publicist Marcel Pariseau describes an attempt to “learn and develop coping mechanisms.”
Mr. Pariseau said Miss Rimes isn’t seeking treatment for an eating disorder or substance abuse, adding that “while privacy isn’t expected, it’s certainly appreciated.”
The recorded phone call occurred because a friend of Miss Rimes connected the singer and Ms. Smiley to try to stop some negative online postings, according to the lawsuit and an interview with Ms. Smiley.
It is illegal in California for a party to record a phone call without the other person’s knowledge.
“The making of the unauthorized recording and the posting of it and edited excerpts of it on various websites have resulted in a public and damaging depiction of Ms. Rimes, have harmed her reputation and personal relationships, and have caused her emotional distress,” the lawsuit states.
Miss Rimes and Mr. Cibrian were married in April 2011 and their relationship has remained a subject of tabloid fascination, due in part to them being married to other people when it started.
Ms. Smiley, who is a teacher in Northern California, said she has been on the receiving end of bullying from Miss Rimes’ supporters and has kept her Twitter and a YouTube post of the call on private settings. She said she shared the call with others but did not sell the recording, which she said her daughter made because of some “outrageous” things the singer was saying.
“I truly think this is a PR attempt to get people to think she’s been victimized,” she said.
Eddie Van Halen’s surgery forces band to cancel tour
Legendary rock group Van Halen will reschedule a planned tour of Japan after founder and guitarist Eddie Van Halen underwent emergency surgery, the band said Thursday.
The iconic band reunited with original frontman David Lee Roth this year, but had already canceled U.S. dates for the “A Different Kind of Truth” tour, giving no reason and fueling speculation about infighting.
On Thursday, a “special announcement” on its website announced the band would not play in Japan in November as planned.
“Eddie Van Halen underwent an emergency surgery for a severe bout of diverticulitis. No further surgeries are needed and a full recovery is expected within 4-6 months,” it said.
“Van Halen’s scheduled November 2012 tour of Japan is currently being rescheduled and the band looks forward to seeing and playing for their fans in 2013,” the statement added.
Diverticulitis is a condition in which pouches form in the wall of the colon, which can become inflamed or infected. It can be very painful.
Formed in Los Angeles in the 1970s, Van Halen are regarded as one of the most influential American rock bands of all time. Their eponymous 1978 debut album was a chart-topping success and spawned 13 more studio albums. The band has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide.
Van Halen’s 1984 album “1984” was the band’s high point, giving them their only No. 1 single “Jump.”
The creative tension within the band boiled over during the “1984” tour, with Mr. Van Halen and Mr. Roth falling out. Mr. Roth left the band in April 1985.
Van Halen announced a reunion tour in 2007 with Mr. Roth performing with the group for the first time in 22 years. They released their first studio album in 14 years, “A Different Kind of Truth,” in February ahead of the world tour.
• Compiled from Web and wire reports
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