Facebook’s Zuckerberg questioned at trial over virtual-reality technology...

                           
                                                             Facebook Inc (FB.O) chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand in Dallas federal court on Tuesday and denied an allegation by a rival company that the virtual-reality technology of Facebook’s Oculus unit was stolen.

Zuckerberg, the founder of one of the world’s largest companies, faced hours of tough, public questioning about where Oculus obtained its ideas and how much he knew about the startup when Facebook bought it for $2 billion.

A jury is hearing evidence in a civil lawsuit brought by videogame publisher ZeniMax Media Inc against Oculus in 2014, in the middle of the Facebook-Oculus deal. ZeniMax said that Oculus unlawfully used its intellectual property to develop the virtual-reality system that includes the Rift headset…

During one heated exchange with ZeniMax lawyer Tony Sammi, Zuckerberg told a jury in the crowded courtroom that the technology was not even fully formed when Facebook bought it.

“Improving on that technology doesn’t make it yours,” Sammi countered. “If you steal my bike, paint it and put a bell on it, does that make it your bike?”

Zuckerberg, wearing a dark suit and striped tie rather than his typical T-shirt and jeans, answered, “no,” but then added: “The idea that Oculus technology is based on someone else’s is just wrong...”

                                   The 32-year-old Facebook founder has spoken about virtual reality as an important part of the company’s future business, especially as the technology becomes less expensive and its uses clearer.

The Oculus acquisition was more expensive than the $2 billion price tag indicated, Zuckerberg said in court, describing $700 million spent to retain employees and $300 million in payouts for reaching milestones. Oculus originally wanted $4 billion,he said…

Sammi questioned whether Facebook knew what it was doing when it made the acquisition. Zuckerberg said the Oculus deal was done over a weekend in 2014, which Sammi said did not show sufficient due diligence. Zuckerberg said, though, in later testimony that Facebook researched Oculus for months...

“It’s pretty common when you announce a big deal that people just come out of the woodwork and claim they own some part of the deal,” Zuckerberg said.

On the stand, he also gave details about Facebook’s $22 billion purchase of messaging service WhatsApp in 2014. While the deal was in progress, another company he did not identify made a last-minute bid that was higher, Zuckerberg said, but WhatsApp declined because of its good relationship with Facebook.

Priyanka Chopra recovering after mishap on ‘Quantico’ set.

                                                           
                                                                   NEW YORK: Actress Priyanka Chopra is resting at home after a “minor incident” on the set of her ABC show “Quantico,” the network said Friday.

Celebrity news website TMZ, citing unnamed sources, said Chopra had slipped and fallen during a stunt and suffered a concussion after hitting her head.

In a statement, ABC did not confirm this but said a “minor incident” took place on the New York set of the FBI drama series on Thursday night.

“It would be premature to comment further until we have all the information. Priyanka was examined by a doctor, released and is home resting comfortably,” the network added.

A representative for the actress said she will return to work after the weekend…

Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS.N) ABC did not comment further on whether production of the show will be halted, but trade publication Variety said production will not be shut down while Chopra recovers…

Chopra, 34, made her transition from Bollywood to Hollywood as the lead of “Quantico,” in which she plays an FBI recruit turned CIA agent. She will also be starring in the upcoming film reboot of “Baywatch.”

Actors Johnny Depp, Amber Heard finalize bitter divorce.

Film star Johnny Depp’s tumultuous divorce from actress Amber Heard was finalized on Friday, ending the couple’s marriage after months of highly publicized claims by Heard of domestic violence and counterclaims from Depp of financial blackmail.

Court papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday detailed a splitting of marital assets and an agreement by Depp, 53, to pay a previously announced sum of $7 million to Heard, 30, that she said will be donated to charity.

Heard filed for divorce in May after 15 months of marriage, and days later obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp.

She said in court filings that Depp was abusive to her throughout their marriage, culminating in an argument in May in which he hurled a cell phone into her face and shattered various objects in her apartment.

A lawyer for Depp denied allegations of abuse and argued that Heard was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.”

As part of the divorce settlement, Heard dismissed her request for a continued restraining order against Depp...

                                                                She also dropped her defamation lawsuit against Depp’s friend, comedian Doug Stanhope, over an article he had written accusing the actress of blackmailing and manipulating her estranged husband.

The divorce papers showed that Depp would retain sole possession of numerous real estate assets, including properties in Los Angeles, Paris and his private island in the Bahamas. He will also keep more than 40 vehicles and vessels, including vintage cars and his motorcycle collection.

Heard will maintain custody of her dogs Pistol and Boo, the two canines at the center of a scandal in Australia in which Heard pleaded guilty to falsifying travel documents to sneak her pets into the country in 2015 without proper quarantine procedures.

Heard said she would split her $7 million divorce settlement equally between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Court papers said Depp has paid $200,000 of the settlement so far, and will pay the rest over the course of the year.

The payments will be made from Depp’s compensation from his upcoming film “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and sale of some of his properties, the papers showed…

Heard’s attorney, Pierce O’Donnell, hailed the finalization as a “great day” for his client, adding, “All Amber wanted was to be divorced and now she is.”

There was no immediate statement from Depp or his representatives.

Madonna blasts criticism over younger lovers.

                                                                                                    Pop icon Madonna has described herself as “oppressed,” saying she was tired of a gender double-standard over her relationships with younger men...

The 58-year-old singer said in an interview published Tuesday that she has endured criticism throughout her entire career despite her professional success.

“I’ve always felt oppressed,” she told Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

“A large part of that is because I’m female and also because I refuse to live a conventional life. I’ve created a very unconventional family.

“I have lovers who are three decades younger than me. This makes people very uncomfortable. I feel like everything I do makes people feel really uncomfortable,” she said.

Madonna has been linked romantically to a number of men in their 20s, most recently Ivorian model Aboubakar Soumahoro and earlier French choreographer Brahim Zaibat and Dutch dancer Timor Steffens.

The Material Girl — who has four children and has been married twice — also said she faced sexism in that she is often asked why she remains active as an artist.

“Did somebody go to Pablo Picasso and say, ‘Okay, you’re 80 years old. Haven’t you painted enough paintings?’ No. I’m so tired of that question..”

Madonna, who last year completed a global tour for her latest album “Rebel Heart,” will soon be directing a movie, “Loved.”

Madonna wrote the screenplay for the film, an adaptation of Andrew Sean Greer’s novel “The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells” about a woman who is transported to different eras as part of psychiatric treatment for depression.

I don’t have a relationship with Kajol. She doesn’t deserve me.

                                                                                               Bollywood director, producer and actor Karan Johar spoke about his falling out with actress Kajol, stating that him and the Dilwale actress can never go back after she accused him of bribing someone to undermine her husband Ajay Devgan’s movie.

In his upcoming biography, Karan Johar opened up about his falling out with Kajol, someone with whom he was known for being close friends with. According to the Bollywood director, K-Jo and Kajol’s relationship turned sour after the latter endorsed an allegation by Ajay Devgan that Karan had bribed Kamaal R Khan to tweet negatively about his movie Shivaay, in a bid to prmote his own film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in a more positive light.

Kajol had retweeted her husband Ajay Devgan’s message with one word-‘Shocking’. That one word, according to Karan Johar, was enough to part their ways for good.

“That tweet validated the insanity, that she could believe I would bribe someone. I felt that’s it. It’s over. And she can never come back to my life. I don’t think she wants to either. I never want to have anything to do with them as a unit. She was the one who mattered to me but now it’s over,” wrote Johar.

“I wouldn’t like to give a piece of myself to her at all because she’s killed every bit of emotion I had for her for twenty-five years.”

Karan also wrote that it hurts him that people he’s close to are also close to the Bollywood actress. He wrote in his biography that when they talk about Kajol, it angers him and that normally he’s not territorial or asks his friends to choose sides but in this matter, he feels quite strongly.

Regarding Ajay Devgan, Karan Johar said that the actor did not mean anything to him.

“He doesn’t matter to me, he never did. I still don’t want to say anything about her husband because I want to respect the history she and I shared,” he said.