Sunday, December 2, 2012

PICTURES: See American Idol's Diana DeGarmo Try on Wedding Dresses

Singers Ace Young (L) and Diana DeGarmo attend Associated Television International's 2012 Hollywood Christmas Parade Concert at Universal CityWalk's 5 Towers on November 20, 2012 in Universal City, California.

American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo got the surprise of her life when boyfriend Ace Young -- from Idol's season 5 -- proposed on live TV last May, and now the bride-to-be is knee-deep in planning her nuptials.

Together for two-and-a-half years before Young, 32, proposed on the season 11 Idol finale, the couple first met when costarring in the Broadway revival of HAIR.

"For as long as I have known Diana, I knew I couldn't live without her," Young -- who signed DeGarmo to his indie Young Brothers Entertainment label -- told Us Weekly after presenting her with a David Webb engagement ring. "She's amazing and deserves the world."

With her June 1, 2013 wedding date looming, DeGarmo, 25, turned to Renee Strauss and her team on TLC's reality show Brides of Beverly Hills to find her perfect princess gown.

Credit: Katrina Marcinowski/Discovery Communications (3)

In these sneak peek photos from Brides of Beverly Hills' Nov. 30 episode, DeGarmo tries on three stunning gowns with the help of Strauss. The Georgia native -- who was just 16 when she placed second behind Fantasia Barrino on Idol -- also gets a surprise visit from her fiance during the fitting, and is forced to quickly cover her gown with a bathrobe.

Tune in to Brides of Beverly Hills Friday at 10 p.m. (EST) on TLC to see which gown DeGarmo selects for her summer nuptials!


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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Madonnas conical-bra corset raises over 30,000 at auction


The 'iconic' conical-bra that caused women, nationwide, to re-evaluate the shape of their undergarments has now had a price stamped on it.

The famed brassiere that pop veteran Madonna wore during her 1990 Blond Ambition tour, and 'Hanky Panky' heyday, fetched £32,450 - more than double the pre-sale estimate of £15,000 - at Christie's, last night. A darn sight more than designer Jean-Paul Gaultier would even have estimated for the green silk costume.

READ: Madonna dares to pose naked for her new fragrance campaign

Other items that stirred Madge fans into a bidding frenzy included a black Lycra two-piece that the 54-year-old wore to sing her hit single 'Vogue'. The suck-it-in body-con dream sold for for £16,250.

The Material Girl's underwear was trumped in the auction stakes - which saw 160 pop culture gems put under the hammer - by the £43,250 fetched for a 1947 painting of American actress Ava Gardner.

READ: Joanna Lumley's 'Absolutely Fabulous' auction raises £15,000 for Prince's Trust

A whip belonging to Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones from the action trilogy additionally raised a cool £20,000. Rock fans, meanwhile, jumped at the chance to pay £20,000 for a white, pearl-embellished, sleeveless jumpsuit worn by Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger on their 1972 tour.

Fans with a penchant for pop star lycra better start saving; Madonna's 'Hung Up' leotards are likely to fetch a tidy sum in twenty years, or so.


Madonna modelling a black lycra two-piece during her 1990 Blond Ambition tour. PHOTO: Rex


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Possible Affordable Care Act Glitch: Too Few Doctors


FRIDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Many doctors who would be most likely to care for patients who become newly insured under the Affordable Care Act may not accept new patients, according to a recent study.

Under the act, it is expected that up to 50 million currently uninsured people will get some type of health insurance coverage.

Doctors who currently care for a large number of uninsured or Medicaid-covered patients are known as "safety-net physicians." Many people who become newly insured under the Affordable Care Act are likely to turn to these doctors, according to the researchers at the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Their study suggests, however, that these doctors may not accept new patients.

The researchers looked at a 2009 survey of 840 primary-care doctors. Of those, 53 percent were safety-net providers, which means that more than 20 percent of their patients were either uninsured or covered by Medicaid.

Half of all the doctors in the survey said they were accepting new patients who were uninsured or covered by Medicaid. Safety-net doctors, however, were much more likely to accept both types of patients, with 72 percent taking new Medicaid patients and 61 percent taking new patients with no insurance.

Study authors noted that the care of Medicaid and uninsured patients is concentrated among a limited number of safety-net physicians and that 28 percent of safety-net doctors who treat Medicaid patients and 39 percent of those who treat uninsured patients are no longer accepting new patients. This suggests that the current health care safety net may have reached its capacity.

"This study raises very serious concerns about the willingness and ability of primary-care providers to cope with the increased demand for services that will result from the [Affordable Care Act]," study senior author Eric Campbell said in a hospital news release. "Even with insurance, it appears that many patients may find it challenging to find a physician to provide them with primary-care services."

The researchers said strategies designed to increase the number of safety-net physicians and provide them with more support could help ensure that newly covered patients have access to primary care.

The study appeared online Oct. 12 in the American Journal of Medical Quality.


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