NeNe Leakes is taking over TV. "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star and recurring "Glee" actress is adding another acting credit to her ever-expanding resume withRyan Murphy's new NBC comedy "The New Normal."

Starring "The Book of Mormon's" Andrew Rannells as Bryan and Justin Bartha as David, "The New Normal" follows the Beverly Hills couple as they try to start a family. The two turn to a surrogate, Goldie (Georgia King), with Ellen Barkin co-starring as Goldie's Archie Bunker-esque grandma. So where does NeNe come in?

"I'm Rocky, one of the gay guy's assistants," NeNe told The Huffington Post on the red carpet for NBC's upfront presentations in New York on Monday. "I take it very personal, honey, if you talk about my gays, honey. Only I can talk about them and I'm fabulous.

"She's very different from Roz Washington on 'Glee'; she's always in workout outfits and sneakers. Rocky wears high heels every day. This is very fitting for me because in my real life, you don't mess with my gays, honey," NeNe said, snapping. "I don't play that."

King was a little out of the loop when it came to NeNe and her stardom. "I'm from London ... everyone was absolutely losing their shit meeting NeNe ... at the table read everyone was like, 'Oh my god' and I felt so ignorant and everyone was taking pictures of NeNe going, 'Oh my god, I'm going to Twitter it!' So I was going, 'I should take one too!'"

Since then, King said she's done her homework. "I've done a little research and I'm with the goddess from Atlanta. I'm aware of these things. I'm learning very quickly. To be fair, NeNe shouldn't be offended I didn't know who she was because I just met somebody and I didn't know who he was and I was like to my agent, 'Remind me, who is that?' And she was like, 'It's Donald Trump.'"

NeNe, who also appeared in a season of Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice," said she wants to keep all of her TV projects going.

"I hope to stay on 'Glee,' I hope to still be a' Housewife' and I hope to do 'The New Normal.' I just want to do it all!" she said. "Why not? I'm only going to be young for a little while longer."

NeNe Leakes is taking over TV. "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star and recurring "Glee" actress is adding another acting credit to her ever-expanding resume withRyan Murphy's new NBC comedy "The New Normal."

Starring "The Book of Mormon's" Andrew Rannells as Bryan and Justin Bartha as David, "The New Normal" follows the Beverly Hills couple as they try to start a family. The two turn to a surrogate, Goldie (Georgia King), with Ellen Barkin co-starring as Goldie's Archie Bunker-esque grandma. So where does NeNe come in?

"I'm Rocky, one of the gay guy's assistants," NeNe told The Huffington Post on the red carpet for NBC's upfront presentations in New York on Monday. "I take it very personal, honey, if you talk about my gays, honey. Only I can talk about them and I'm fabulous.

"She's very different from Roz Washington on 'Glee'; she's always in workout outfits and sneakers. Rocky wears high heels every day. This is very fitting for me because in my real life, you don't mess with my gays, honey," NeNe said, snapping. "I don't play that."

King was a little out of the loop when it came to NeNe and her stardom. "I'm from London ... everyone was absolutely losing their shit meeting NeNe ... at the table read everyone was like, 'Oh my god' and I felt so ignorant and everyone was taking pictures of NeNe going, 'Oh my god, I'm going to Twitter it!' So I was going, 'I should take one too!'"

Since then, King said she's done her homework. "I've done a little research and I'm with the goddess from Atlanta. I'm aware of these things. I'm learning very quickly. To be fair, NeNe shouldn't be offended I didn't know who she was because I just met somebody and I didn't know who he was and I was like to my agent, 'Remind me, who is that?' And she was like, 'It's Donald Trump.'"

NeNe, who also appeared in a season of Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice," said she wants to keep all of her TV projects going.

"I hope to stay on 'Glee,' I hope to still be a' Housewife' and I hope to do 'The New Normal.' I just want to do it all!" she said. "Why not? I'm only going to be young for a little while longer."

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook on Tuesday increased the price range at which it plans to sell stock to the public, as investor enthusiasm in the offering continued to mount and boost the potential value of the world's most popular social network.

The Menlo Park, Calif. company said in a regulatory filing that it now expects to sell its stock for between $34 and $38 per share, up from its previous range of $28 to $35. At the upper limit of $38 per share, the sale would raise about $12.8 billion.

The IPO is expected to be completed late Thursday and begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday under the ticker symbol "FB."

The increased range is a sign of high demand from investors to own a piece of the world's most popular social network. The initial public offering is the most hotly anticipated in years and would value Facebook at more than $100 billion.

Facebook is selling 180 million of its shares in the IPO. Another 157 million shares are coming from existing stockholders, including the company's earliest investors and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg will remain Facebook's single largest shareholder. And he will control the company through 57 percent of its voting stock.

The IPO is expected to be the largest ever for an Internet company. It is expected to raise more than 10 times as much as the $1.67 billion raised in Google Inc.'s 2004 IPO.

Facebook has more than 900 million users who log in at least once a month.At a value of $38 per share, the high end of Facebook's expected range, Facebook would generate $6.84 billion on its shares. Existing stockholders would collectively make $5.98 billion.

Even at the higher price range, it's going to be tough for the company's fans and everyday investors to get in on the IPO. Most of the shares are expected to go to people with connections to the company or large, active accounts with one of the big banks or brokerage firms directly involved in the stock sale.

Morgan Stanley leads the team of 33 underwriters selected for the Facebook offering, followed by JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

The inclusion of online broker E-Trade Financial Corp. as an underwriter was seen as a glimmer of hope that Facebook might make more shares available than usual for retail investors through discount brokerages. But chances of getting any are very slim regardless.

Analysts say there's so much interest in Facebook's stock that some underwriters are closing their books as early as Tuesday. This means they won't be taking any more orders from potential buyers.

In its Tuesday filing, Facebook also adjusted the timetable for finishing its $1 billion acquisition of Instagram, saying it expects the deal to close sometime in 2012. Previously, it had said it expected to complete the deal in the second quarter.

Some have speculated that the acquisition of the photo-sharing network would come under regulatory scrutiny. If the deal doesn't close by Dec. 10, Facebook could have to pay Instagram a breakup fee of $200 million.

While the number of home sales in Detroit has gone down since last year, owners who do sell are getting a bit more cash for their properties.

According to the Michigan real estate listing service Realcomp, home sales in the Detroit area (including the city, Hamtramck, Harper Woods and Highland Park) were down 22 percent last month from April last year, bringing the number of properties sold in April to 539.

Almost all of that change can be attributed to a drop in foreclosure sales, which plummeted 32 percent from April 2011.

And now, with fewer properties on the market, prices are increasing, albeit slightly, with the median sale price up 2.8 percent to $9,000 in Detroit.

"Bank-owned properties caused oversupply," said realtor Darralyn Bowers of Bowers & Associates in Southfield. "The number of properties on the market is contracting a little bit, but it's contracting in a good way."

"That's why you're seeing property [prices] going up, because the demand is there," Bowers added.

The whole metro area (Oakland, Wayne, Macomb and Livingston counties) saw bigger jumps in home prices and similar decrease in foreclosure sales, with the median sale price now $70,000 -- up $11,000 from last year.

"Detroit has been losing inventory and losing population for a steady period, so the number of properties on the market are reflective of that," she said.The glaring disparity between home prices in the city of Detroit and the rest of the metro area is nothing new, and the small number of properties sold, and on the market, doesn't surprise Bowers.

But Bowers mentioned a condo in the city that had multiple offers and ended up going for $20,000 more than its asking price. In general, non-foreclosure home prices went up 25 percent, which bodes well for some of the city's homeowners. Bowers named New Center, Downtown and the University District as popular neighborhoods for buyers.

"Different pockets of Detroit are really healthy," she said, "and we can't hang on to property."

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, fellow motorcycle riders from across Michigan and safety advocates kicked off May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month today, urging riders to wear the proper gear, take advantage of safety courses and to share the road.

“Michigan has more than half a million motorcyclists and as we head into the warm weather, we need to do everything we can to be safe – wear the proper gear, stay aware and take rider education classes,” said Johnson, who rode a HarleyDavidson Sportster to the kickoff,  held at the Grand Rapids Harley-Davidson Dealership in Hudsonville. “Car and truck drivers, please be cautious. With gas at nearly $4 per gallon and expected to go higher this summer, we’ll probably see more motorcyclists on the road.”

Johnson said new efforts to improve motorcycle safety include an upcoming public service announcement, which is a joint project of the Michigan Secretary of State, Michigan Department of Transportation and the Michigan State Police. Other advances include expansion of the advanced rider motorcycle training course into the Grand Rapids area and a new one-day returning rider or refresher training course.

Johnson was joined by Office of Highway Safety Planning Director Michael L. Prince, who said, “Motorcyclists are obviously much more vulnerable to injury than passenger vehicle occupants. For that reason, we urge riders to take the state’s basic and advanced rider safety courses, to always  ride defensively, and to wear protective gear that makes them visible to other motorists. The best person to look out for a motorcycle rider’s safety is the rider.”

Steven Ender, the Grand Rapids Community College president, said he just took a course to refresh his skills after returning to riding:  “I am proud of the fact that in the past 10 years, GRCC has trained more than 10,000 motorcyclists to be safe riders through our Motorcycle Safety Training Program. Motorcycle riding can be so much fun, but safety always has to come first. The first thing I did when I decided to start riding again after being away from it for a few years was to take the refresher course, and I’m glad I did.”

Cathy Hall, 46, of Norton Shores and a motorcycle education coach since 2008, said more women are taking up motorcycling. She earned her motorcycle endorsement in 1994 and has logged more than 250,000 miles.

Hall’s advice to riders? “Education, continual education, is critical. Everyone out there on a motorcycle, you have one shot to get it right. You have to know how to handle whatever situation arises. Education is the best way to handle the risks out there.”

Motorcycling continues to grow in popularity across the state. Since 2007, the number of endorsed riders has jumped almost 50,000, to 553,000. More than 60,000 of those riders are women.

Johnson, who obtained her first motorcycle endorsement as a teenager, is believed to be one of the first women in Oakland County to get endorsed. A motorcycle endorsement on a driver’s license is required by law to ride on public roads.

Riders must successfully complete a knowledge test and a safety course or a skills test with a third-party tester before an endorsement is issued. A safety course is required for 16- and 17-year-olds as well as for adults who fail the skills test twice.

The Michigan Secretary of State’s office administers Michigan’s Motorcycle Safety Program, overseeing a network of 30 public and private training programs. Courses include basic, advanced and refresher courses for Michigan motorcyclists. More than 120,000 students have attended training since 2001.

Visit www.Michigan.gov/sos for a list of motorcycle safety training programs or for more information about safe motorcycling. Information about motorcycle safety training programs and other department services is available at www.Michigan.gov/sos or through the official Secretary of State Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/Michsos) and Facebook updates (www.facebook.com/Michigansos).

Michelle Henry is a mother who has made it her mission to help other mothers.

In addition to raising six children of her own, she has for the last four years provided transitional housing and mentoring to single homeless mothers and their children through a nonprofit she founded called Charismata Homes and Co. 

"I pick them up, get them off the streets," she told The Huffington Post. "They may have nowhere to go. We try to set them up, to help them get out and get a job and break that circle of being homeless."

Charismata currently houses 10 families at five properties in Detroit. The organization provides participants with food, clothing and hygiene products, and has a resource center where it offers mentoring and life-skills classes, including career development, nutrition and crocheting.

The organization works with mothers to develop life plans and to stick to them. Henry cited one notable case where a woman in the program went on to graduate from college and become a nursing assistant.

Henry, 45, is a Southfield resident who works at the Detroit Medical Center, owns a Southfield retail shop and mentors youth at her church. Her work is an extension of her Christian faith -- a fact reflected in the name Charismata, which means "gift of God" in Greek, she said.

Henry started working with homeless mothers in 2004, when she was a single mother herself, and learned that several young women -- friends of her children -- were living on the streets. Henry decided to take them into her home.

She later married, which meant less space to share, but wanted to continue her charity work -- so she got creative. Using her own money, Henry bought some homes in Detroit and fixed them up to provide places where the young mothers could turn their lives around.

Referrals often come from social service workers, hospitals and churches, and Charismata has a number of volunteers who help with programming and offer logistical support.She also started organizing fundraisers and collecting donated supplies. Later, recognizing the extent of her clients' needs, she added a diaper pantry, a food pantry and educational services.

It has provided transitional housing to nearly 50 women since 2009. Some stay only temporarily, like those transitioning from foster care, but others stay longer, finding jobs and working out a payment arrangement with the nonprofit. The ultimate goal of Charismata, however, is independence.

It's difficult to determine exactly how many mothers are living with their children on the streets of Detroit, but according to Henry, the need for transitional housing is urgent; she recently received more than 30 email referrals in single day.

A 2012 report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness relying on data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates 5,100 homeless individuals in the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area out of a general population of about 4.4 million people.

Data from a national survey show that homeless families tend to be disproportionately headed by women. A 2009 HUD study found that females made up about 80 percent of individuals who stayed in shelters with their families.

Henry said the women she encounters are often victims of sexual assault or domestic abuse, or have lost a parent. Many have lived in cars or abandoned homes, and a high percentage of them have turned to prostitution to support themselves and their children. She said homelessness can also put mothers at risk for having their children taken away by the state, leaving them depressed and even suicidal.

Working with homeless mothers requires looking beyond appearances to see inner value and gain a better understanding of the struggles they face, she said. "They really love their kids, but don't know what do to keep themselves off the streets. Some people look down on people who are less fortunate, [but] if you get to know them, they are big-hearted and loving."

To find out about Charismata Homes And Company, visitwww.charismatahomes.com or call 248.773.2866.

DETROIT (WWJ) – Whole Foods will break ground Monday morning at the site of its new market in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. Mayor Dave Bing, Senator Debbie Stabenow and Whole Foods Market co-chief executive Walter Robb are expected to take part in the ceremony.

The Austin, Texas-based retailer plans to open a 20,000-square-foot supermarket with about 75 employees next year. The company began looking at Midtown in 2010.

Midtown is one of the few areas in the city that is seeing population growth. It is anchored by Wayne State University, the Detroit MedicalCenter, the Detroit Institute of Arts and Orchestra Hall. Whole Foods also would fill a grocery void in the area. Detroiters have long complained about having few places to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and produce. Whole Foods plans to start accepting applications online at www.wholefoodsmarket.com for employment in January. 

WASHINGTON -- As he tries to become only the second Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt to win reelection, Barack Obama is adopting much of the strategic playbook Republicans have developed and used for 40 years.

Of course, on the core substance of policy -- tax rates, regulation and the size and role of government in the economy -- Obama and the post-Reagan Tea Party Republicans couldn't be further apart as the fall campaign begins. And no matter how shrewd or cold-blooded his game plan, the president probably will lose if the economic outlook does not improve more by fall.

But campaign strategy does matter, and there the GOP has a track record and a theory that Obama has always found to his liking as a candidate.

It is more confrontational and definitive than the model used by Bill Clinton, who won election twice (but never with an outright majority) essentially by blurring his party's differences with a conservative GOP.

Starting with Richard Nixon in 1972, and moving on to Ronald Reagan in 1984 and George W. Bush in 2004, Republican incumbents assembled a strategic doctrine that includes the following basic plays: Stress culture, and exploit cultural and regional divisions, especially if doing so helps detract attention from a so-so (or worse) economic record. Declare one's own strength as commander in chief and the opponent's ignorance or weakness (or both) in military and foreign affairs. Paint the foe as out of the mainstream and/or elitist in terms of money, education or both. Highlight wedge issues to expand fissures in the other party. Where possible, speak in sweeping historical terms about the greatness and uniqueness of the country. And evoke symbols of manly recreational endeavor.

In one way or another, Barack Obama already has used all of those, and it is only May. Consider:

Single-Sex Marriage. By declaring his personal belief in the full right of gays and lesbians to marry, the president turned the four-decades-long culture war on its head. He is betting, and there are data to back him up, that the country has changed on this issue. He thinks that his timing is perfect and that he will push the GOP into a regional, cultural and historical corner. The initial, muted reaction of Mitt Romney's campaign shows that Obama might be right. The gay marriage move also dominated the news over a series of gloomy economic reports.

Who's the Elitist? For a generation or more, Republicans have managed to use cultural attacks as a way to paint Democrats as out of touch and out of the mainstream. Obama and his allies are now doing the same thing to Romney, on both culture and money, portraying him as a wealthy, authoritarian and isolated traditionalist.Osama Victory Lap. A week of solemn and sometimes over-the-top moves generated controversy and criticism. I even engaged in some of it. But for the first time since 1972, when Nixon successfully labeled George McGovern an anti-war appeaser, a Democratic presidential candidate has the upper hand on defense and foreign policy. Romney has no experience on the topics, and Obama will press his advantage.

Wedge Issues. The phrase is often misused. It means forcing the other party to defend an idea, policy or person in such a way that it divides the other party's base. The classic example, used for years if not decades by Reagan, was welfare, which split white and black working-class Democrats. Obama is trying to do the same thing to the GOP on immigration. His administration just filed suit against Arizona's controversial and, to many, egregiously anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The goal is not just to bring him in line, but to make Republicans defend him.

Transitions in American History. President Obama has, from time to time, expressed his admiration for what he calls Ronald Reagan's transformational role in American life. Reagan was focused on fiscal matters and economic psychology; Obama sees himself as a transformational figure in terms of sociology, demographics and individual rights. Reagan “changed the trajectory of America” and restored economic hope. Obama might not be able to do the same economically, but he wants to sell another kind of hope.

Macho Symbolism. Obama isn't a Sunday rancher like Reagan or George W. Bush. But he is a good athlete and a fanatical fan, and uses both to burnish his regular-guy image on ESPN and elsewhere. The morning after his glitzy and colossal Hollywood fundraiser this week -- just the kind of event that might paint him as "elitist" -- heplayed basketball with his staff, George Clooney and Tobey Maguire. No disastrously Kerry-esque windsurfing photo ops for the president. And, by the way, Romney is admittedly not much of an athlete. Expect a lot more Obama hoops between now and November.

The only thing better than a good scandal is even more "Scandal" -- ABC has renewedShonda Rhimes' freshman drama series for a second season, which Rhimes announced herself on Twitter.

"Scandal" stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a high-powered fixer with a resourceful crisis management team behind her (played by Henry Ian Cusick,Darby Stanchfield, Guillermo Diaz, Columbus Short and Katie Lowes), and a complicated relationship with her old boss, the President of the United States (played by Tony Goldwyn).

Season 1 of "Scandal" is just wrapping up its short seven-episode run (season finale airs Thurs., May 17, 10 p.m. ET on ABC), and ratings in the post-"Grey's Anatomy" timeslot have exceeded expectations

@shondarhimes 
shonda rhimes

Am super proud to say that @ScandalABC has been picked for a 2nd season!!! Am doing a little dance of joy. Still waiting to hear on PP...

And star Kerry Washington tweeted her thanks to fans

@kerrywashington 
kerry washington

Cant express in words the utter excitement & gratitude Im experiencing! Thank YOU #Gladiators for watching supporting & spreading the word

The show has a case-of-the-week element, but also a larger mystery of the first season, which Rhimes has promised will wrap up in the finale, leaving fans with some lingering questions to address in Season 2.

"I felt really strongly when we got our episode order that, instead of going, 'We're doing seven [episodes] but are hoping for 13' -- given that I'll be doing 54 episodes of television this year -- we could look at these seven like you would a British miniseries. 'Let's 'State of Play' this and have a really great seven episodes that's a complete and total story.' So, yes, it does have a beginning, middle and an end," Rhimes said 

Her producing partner, Betsy Beers, agreed, but teased that there are still unresolved issues: "But we do leave just enough out there. Nothing is ever fully resolved."

When asked on Twitter whether Season 2 will be a shortened, British miniseries-style season again (noting that they could accomplish that same movie-every-week feel with, say, 13 episodes), Rhimes responded: "That is always the plan!" No definitive episode order has been announced.

Rhimes' "Grey's Anatomy" has already received a ninth season renewal at ABC, with many of the main stars having signed on as well; "Private Practice," which moved to Tuesdays to make way for "Scandal," remains on the bubble.

Marissa Alexander, the 31-year-old Florida woman who fired what her family calls a warning shot at her abusive husband, was sentenced Friday morning to 20 years in prison.

Alexander was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for firing into a wall near her husband and his two young children at their Jacksonville home in 2010. Alexander has maintained that she wasn't trying to hurt anyone and that she was standing her ground against a man who had over the course of nearly a year punched and choked her on several different occasions. Alexander says that she believed she was protected that day under the state's Stand Your Ground Law, which gives people wide discretion in using deadly force to defend themselves.

A judge and a jury disagreed.

The State Attorney's Office offered a plea bargain that would have sent Alexander to prison for three years, but she rejected it, hoping to convince a jury that she had been defending herself when she fired the weapon.

Alexander's case has become the latest battleground in a fight against what Alexander's supporters call the misapplication of the Stand Your Ground Law and Florida's mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which offer stiff sentences for crimes involving guns.

According to Florida's 10-20-Life statutes, anyone who pulls a gun during a crime receives a mandatory 10-year sentence. Firing a gun during the commission of a crime equals a mandatory 20-year sentence. Anyone convicted of shooting and killing another person during a crime is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Alexander, who did not have a criminal record before the shooting, was convicted of felony assault with a gun.