The U.S. President, Barack Obama has awarded a Nigerian Journalist, Mr. Edwin Nwachukwu the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

The Volunteer Service Award is a recognition by the UN President of individuals that have helped to address the needs of persons with disabilities.

Delivering the award, President Obama commended the Nigerian Journalist “for helping to address the most pressing needs in the country”.

By this gesture, President Obama said that Nwachukwu had demonstrated that assisting people with disabilities “are duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit than giving our all to a difficult task. ”

Showering more encomiums on the journalist who is the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) North America Correspondent, Obama said “his volunteer service demonstrates the kind of commitment to his community that moves America a step closer to its great promise”.

While commending Nwachukwu for “devotion to service and doing all you can to shape a better tomorrow” Obama pointed out that while government could open more opportunities to serve the U.S. communities, it was up to each of the citizens to seize those opportunities.

Also appreciating the journalist, Chief Eric Ufom, President of FESTAC – USA & Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities, said “for support and contributions towards improving the image of Nigeria abroad, Nwachukwu deserves to be recognised and honoured ’’.

Ufom, whose organisation is a foundation member of the International Disability Alliance ( IDA ) commended the journalist for “being part of raising Nigeria’s bar very high and setting an excellent standard for the country during the 5th session of the conference of States for those with disabilities.

He also thanked him, “for playing a very major role through all those your excellent publications about our side event at the Nigerian Mission, on the occasion of 5th Session of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), RI World Congress in South Korea, Election of Ms. Ekaete Umoh, as the Vice President, RI African

Lindsay Lohan may have been drinking just before she crashed her Porsche last June on Pacific Coast Highway, Nevertheless, prosecutors are offering her a brand new plea deal that does NOT involve jail.

Law enforcement sources tell say a bottle of alcohol was found next to Lindsay’s Porsche, and her breath smelled of alcohol. For some reason, cops did not perform a field sobriety test at the scene of the crash.

Sources say the Santa Monica City Attorney is prepared to offer Lindsay 60 days in a residential rehab facility in her lying-to-cops case — where she said she wasn’t driving the Porsche. That’s 4 months less than the original offer.

In addition, the City Attorney wants Lindsay to attend another set of AA meetings. And he wants her to do community service. The prosecutor will let her do the community service in New York City, but — unlike Chris Brown — it must be closely monitored.

The wild card is that the L.A. City Attorney is also involved in the case because they’re handling the jewelry heist case where Lindsay is still on probation. Up till now, the L.A. City Attorney wanted jail time for the probation violation, but the prosecutor may back off that position.

Pope Benedict XVI held the final audience of his pontificate before a sea of spectators in Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, a farewell he said would not mark the end of his life in public.

Addressing the crowd, Pope Benedict, 85 years old, said he had “suffered” over his decision to relinquish control of Roman Catholicism’s one billion followers as of Thursday evening, adding that his resignation was in the best interest of the Church.

Though he plans to retire to a life of study and prayer once he steps down, the pontiff told the crowd on Wednesday there was no going back to his pre-papal life, noting that his election eight years ago marked the end of “all privacy.”

“There is no return to the private. My decision to renounce the active exercise of ministry doesn’t revoke this. I’m not returning to a private life,” Pope Benedict said, addressing the square, which thronged with banners from around the world. “I’m not abandoning the cross, but remaining in a new way beside the crucified Lord,” he said.

The pope’s resignation, which was announced two weeks ago, will come into effect on Thursday evening and is an event that hasn’t occurred in six centuries. It shocked the rank-and-file faithful and rocked the Vatican. Yesterday, the Holy See put the finishing touches on the protocols the Church will use to address the future pope emeritus, as he will be called, as well as the vestments he’ll wear.

On the cobblestones around Saint Peter’s, the past week has played out as a series of final bows and last acts. On Sunday, the pope spoke from the window of the papal apartments for the last time, and on Wednesday, he mounted the ivory-painted popemobile for a final ride as its namesake passenger, gliding through a thicket of chants of “Viva, il Papa!”

In his address, the pope reflected on his election and on the tumultuous years that came in its wake. Over the course of his papacy, the pope garnered praise for his writings and drew large crowds during trips abroad. Controversy, however, loomed over his administration, including the spread of the sexual abuse crisis across the world and bouts of infighting within Vatican ranks. That tumult has drawn calls from within Vatican walls and beyond for the election of a successor, capable of reining in the Church’s sprawling ranks.

“I felt like St. Peter aboard his boat on the Sea of Galilee: The Lord gave us many days of sun and light breeze, days in which the fish were abundant,” the pope said.

“There were also moments in which the waters were agitated and the wind against us when, as in the entire history of the Church, the Lord seemed asleep,” he added.

The turnout in St. Peter’s Square was higher Wednesday than in many of the pope’s public audiences in recent years. However, the piazza’s oval contours didn’t brim with faithful the way it did in the early days of his pontificate, following the death of his predecessor John Paul II.

“We have come just for this occasion to say goodbye to this pope, because he worked a lot and was very patient,” said Carmen Marsal Moyano, 54, who had traveled to Rome from Madrid with her husband. The pope, she said “should have been recognized instead of criticized.”

Rev. Sean Kilcawley, a 38 year-old priest from Lincoln, Nebraska, said the pope would be remembered for his teachings on subjects like the nature of love, which he said were sometimes overshadowed by controversies surrounding his papacy.

“Whenever things are reported about the Church, it’s about the problems. We focus on this and forget the Lord is calling us through these problems to a deeper relationship,” Father Kilcawley said, looking on as the pontiff greeted pilgrims in the square.

Once Benedict resigns on Thursday, he will be whisked by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence. He will return to Vatican City once the renovations are complete on his new residence: a former convent.

“I took this step in full knowledge of its gravity and novelty, but with a deep serenity in my soul,” the pope said. And he added: “I’m not coming down from the cross.”

“Argo” took top honors at the 85th Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for Best Picture. The award, presented by First Lady Michelle Obama from the White House via satellite, capped off an eventful awards season for director/star Ben Affleck, who many believe had been snubbed without a directing nod. The Iran hostage crisis thriller also won awards for Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Daniel Day-Lewis made Oscar history, winning his career third Best Actor trophy for his title role as the 16th president in Steven Spielberg’s historical drama “Lincoln.”

Recovering from a bit of a stumble up steps to the podium, Jennifer Lawrence breathlessly accepted the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in the David O. Russell comedy “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Anne Hathaway dreamed a dream of Oscar gold and it came true, winning Best Supporting Actress for her turn as Fantine in the film adaptation of the hit musical “Les Misérables.”

Christoph Waltz claimed the first trophy of the evening with a win for Best Supporting Actor for his role as bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in “Django Unchained,” while writer/director Quentin Tarantino won Best Screenplay for his slavery-era revenge thriller.

Ang Lee took home the Best Director trophy for “Life of Pi,” earning the decorated Taiwanese filmmaker his second Oscar in the category. He previously won in 2005 for “Brokeback Mountain.” “Life of Pi” earned a total of four awards, including Oscars for Cinematography, Visual Effects and Original Score.

Director Michael Haneke accepted the award for Best Foreign Language Film for his acclaimed Austrian drama “Amour.”

“Searching for Sugar Man,” a documentary about the search for a long-lost rock ‘n’ roll legend, won the award for Best Documentary Feature.

Pixar’s adventure “Brave” won for Best Animated Feature — the animation studio’s seventh Oscar in the category. Walt Disney’s “Paperman” won for Best Animated Short.

Pop vocalist Adele won the Oscar for Original Song for her soaring titular theme from the latest Bond film “Skyfall.”

In a rare Oscar tie, “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Skyfall” both won the award for Sound Editing. There have only been four previous ties in Academy Awards history, including in 1969, when Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn both shared the Oscar for Best Actress for “Funny Girl” and “The Lion in Winter,” respectively.

Here’s the complete list of the 2013 Academy Award winners(Oscars):

BEST PICTURE
“Argo”

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis for “Lincoln”

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence for “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway for “Les Miserables”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz for “Django Unchained”

BEST DIRECTOR
Ang Lee for “Life of Pi”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Argo”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Django Unchained”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Brave”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Amour”

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall” (Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Mychael Danna for “Life of Pi”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Lincoln”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Life of Pi”

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
“Searching for Sugar Man”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Life of Pi”

BEST MAKEUP
“Les Miserables”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina”

BEST FILM EDITING
“Argo”

BEST SOUND EDITING
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

BEST SOUND MIXING
“Les Miserables”

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“Paperman”

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“Curfew”

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
“Inocente”

Rihanna and Kate Moss have stripped off to appear in a super-sexy photoshoot for V Magazine.
The beautiful duo seductively posed for celebrity photographer Mario Testino for the latest edition of the magazine.

Rihanna and Kate Moss

There are two saucy front covers of the magazine; one features a naked Rihanna with an underwear clad Kate on her lap – and the other reversed – with Moss naked and Rihanna on her lap.

More shots see the pair in various sexy poses including one where Rihanna dons a lacey catsuit while Kate struts her stuff in a basque with a whip in hand.

There is also a steamy behind-the-scenes video which sees the girls getting more-than-a-little raunchy.

The photoshoot idea was born out of a chance meeting. Testino bumped into Rihanna at a Stella McCartney show last year and asked if he could photograph her again, overhearing Moss exclaimed: “I want to do it with you!”

Rihanna told V Magazine: “I was like, Are you f**ing kidding me? I was dying on the inside. All my fantasies were coming true all at once: Mario, V, Kate Moss. I was like, This is an amazing threesome!”

The issue hits newsstands on 28 February.

Rihanna recently celebrated her 25th birthday and posted some pretty hot bikini pictures on Instagram.

Mark your calendars and get ready for an exciting night of glitz, glamour, and industry recognition of cinematic brilliance. The 85th annual Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremony is coming to your television screen on February 24, 2013 at the Dolby Theatre Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Years of Hollywood custom and tradition will be on display on this night. Indeed, the “Oscars” are Hollywood’s ultimate celebration of itself. All of the leading ladies, heroes, villains, and supporting characters will be there in full force, hoping for the ultimate prize.

Below are the nominations for this year’s Oscar Awards:

Best Picture

“Amour”
“Argo”
“Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Misérables”
“Life Of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Actor In A Leading Role

Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Mise´rables”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Actress In A Leading Role

Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Quvenzhane´ Wallis, “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”

Actor In A Supporting Role

Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Actress In A Supporting Role

Amy Adams, “The Master
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Mise´rables”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Animated Feature Film

“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Cinematography

Seamus McGarvey, “Anna Karenina”
Robert Richardson, “Django Unchained”
Claudio Miranda, “Life Of Pi”
Janusz Kaminski, “Lincoln”
Roger Deakins, “Skyfall”

Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, “Anna Karenina”
Paco Delgado, “Les Mise´rables”
Joanna Johnston, “Lincoln”
Eiko Ishioka, “Mirror Mirror”
Colleen Atwood, “Snow White And The Huntsman”

Directing

Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
Ang Lee, “Life Of Pi”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Documentary (Feature)

“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers”
“How To Survive A Plague”
“The Invisible War”
“Searching For Sugar Man”

Documentary (Short Subject)

“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Mondays At Racine”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”

Film Editing

William Goldenberg, “Argo”
Tim Squyres, “Life Of Pi”
Michael Kahn, “Lincoln”
Jay Cassidy And Crispin Struthers, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Dylan Tichenor And William Goldenberg, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Foreign Language Film

“Amour” (Austria)
“Kon-tiki” (Norway)
“No” (Chile)
“A Royal Affair” (Denmark)
“War Witch” (Canada)

Makeup

Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel, “Hitchcock”
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell, “Les Mise´rables”

Music (Original Score)

Dario Marianelli, “Anna Karenina”
Alexandre Desplat, “Argo”
Mychael Danna, “Life Of Pi”
John Williams, “Lincoln”
Thomas Newman, “Skyfall”

Music (Original Song)

“Before My Time” From “Chasing Ice”
(Music and Lyrics: J. Ralph)
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” From “Ted”
(Music: Walter Murphy; Lyrics: Seth Macfarlane)
“Pi’s Lullaby” From “Life Of Pi”
(Music: Mychael Danna; Lyrics: Bombay Jayashri)
“Skyfall” From “Skyfall”
(Music and Lyrics: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
“Suddenly” From “Les Mise´rables”
(Music: Claude-Michel Scho¨nberg; Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil)

Production Design

Sarah Greenwood (Production Design); Katie Spencer (Set Decoration) – “Anna Karenina”
Dan Hennah (Production Design); Ra Vincent and Simon Bright (Set Decoration) – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Eve Stewart (Production Design); Anna Lynch-Robinson (Set Decoration) – “Les Mise´rables”
David Gropman (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) – “Life Of Pi”
Rick Carter (Production Design); Jim Erickson (Set Decoration) – “Lincoln”

Short Film (Animated)

“Adam And Dog”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head Over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson In ‘The Longest Daycare’”
“Paperman”

Short Film (Live Action)

“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death Of A Shadow” (“Dood Van Een Schaduw”)
“Henry”

Sound Editing

Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn, “Argo”
Wylie Stateman, “Django Unchained”
Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton, “Life Of Pi”
Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers, “Skyfall”
Paul N.J. Ottosson, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Sound Mixing

John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia, “Argo”
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes, “Les Mise´rables”
Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin, “Life Of Pi”
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins, “Lincoln”
Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson, “Skyfall”

Visual Effects

Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White, “Life Of Pi”
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick, “Marvel’s The Avengers”
Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill, “Prometheus”
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson, “Snow White And The Huntsman”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Chris Terrio, “Argo”
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
David Magee, “Life Of Pi”
Tony Kushner, “Lincoln”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”
John Gatins, “Flight”
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Oscar Pistorius

After four days of combative hearings, a South African magistrate on Friday granted bail for Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, in a case that has horrified and fascinated the nation.

Magistrate Desmond Nair announced the decision after hearing impassioned final arguments from the defense and the prosecution in Courtroom C of the Pretoria Magistrates Court in the presence of an emotional Mr. Pistorius, who has testified that he mistook his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, for an intruder and never intended to kill her.

Magistrate Nair said Mr. Pistorius did not represent a flight risk and was not likely to interfere with state witnesses.

“The accused has made a case to be released on bail,” the magistrate concluded. Pistorius family members in the packed courtroom shouted, “Yes!”

The magistrate set bail at 1 million rand, or about $112,000.

Before announcing his ruling, the magistrate reprised the four days of conflicting arguments by defense and prosecution lawyers. Mr. Pistorius’s shoulders shook with emotion and tears fell from his eyes as, at one point, Magistrate Nair said, “The deceased died in his arms.”

Magistrate Nair said bail was not a matter of guilt and innocence but about determining whether justice would be served by holding a defendant in custody.

But he took issue with the testimony and actions of the prosecution’s lead investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, who has since been removed from the case, saying the officer committed “several errors and concessions” and “blundered” in gathering evidence.

“It is his evidence that may have been tarnished by cross-examination, not the state case,” he said. At the same time, the state case was not so “strong and watertight” that Mr. Pistorius “must come to the conclusion that he has to flee.”

In a two-hour summary of the case and of the laws governing bail, the magistrate also read a series of character references from friends of the athlete, who described his relationship with Ms. Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law school graduate, as loving and happy.

The prosecution had opposed the sprinter’s application to be released on bail until a full trial, arguing that he might flee. It said Mr. Pistorius, 26, murdered Ms. Steenkamp when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door at his home in a gated community in Pretoria on Feb. 14 while she was on the other side.

The sprinter, who underwent double amputation as an infant after being born without fibula bones and uses prostheses, has said he believed that the person in the bathroom was an intruder.

Magistrate Nair said that while the prosecution case rested on “nothing more than circumstantial evidence,” there were “improbabilities that need to be explored” in Mr. Pistorius’s account of events.

“The only person who knows what happened there is the accused,” he said. But “I cannot find that it has been established that the accused is a flight risk.”

He cited legal requirements that the defense must establish “exceptional circumstances” to qualify for bail in cases of premeditated murder.

Premeditated murder is the most serious murder charge under South African criminal law and carries a mandatory life sentence, with parole in 25 years at the latest.

Mr. Pistorius’s lawyer, Barry Roux, said Friday that if he were prosecuting the case, the charge would be culpable homicide – a less serious charge implying either negligence or a lack of intention to kill. Prosecutors say judges decide the sentence for culpable homicide depending on the circumstances.

With his head bowed as he entered the court on Friday in advance of the ruling, Mr. Pistorius appeared to be struggling to hold back tears, his jaw clenched, as the prosecutor described Ms. Steenkamp’s plight on Feb. 14.

“I am not saying the planning of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp happened weeks ahead, days ahead,” said the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel. “I am saying the planning to kill Reeva Steenkamp happened that night.”

Ms. Steenkamp took refuge in the bathroom to escape either a fight or a gun, he said.

But Magistrate Nair seemed skeptical on Friday about the risk of flight by Mr. Pistorius. “What kind of life would he lead, a person who has to use prostheses, if he has to flee” and found himself “ducking and diving every day” on artificial limbs, the magistrate asked. “His international career would be over in any event.”

“A life not in prison,” Mr. Nel replied, comparing Mr. Pistorius to the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has taken refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, despite his “famous face.”

Piling on emotional pressure on Friday, Mr. Nel linked the death of Ms. Steenkamp to other violence against women in South Africa, including the case of Anene Booysen, a 17-year-old who was raped and murdered in the Cape region earlier this month. “The degree of violence present in this case is horrific,” Mr. Nel said.

The athlete’s longtime coach, Ampie Louw, told reporters on Friday that he is considering putting the athlete back in training “to get his mind clear.”

Mr. Pistorius has canceled planned track appearances and several corporate sponsors – the most recent of them Nike on Thursday – have distanced themselves from him.
While Mr. Pistorius may not be emotionally ready to think about running, Mr. Louw said, “the change is that he is heartbroken, that is all.”

“For me it is tough to see that,” Mr. Louw said. “The sooner he can start working the better.”

In a poignant aside to the case, the South Africa edition of Heat, a celebrity gossip magazine, on Friday published what it said was Ms. Steenkamp’s last interview, a week before her death, in which she said the couple had not been discussing their relationship publicly in the media “because I don’t want to get it tainted.”

“I don’t want anything coming in the way of his career,” she said, according to an advance excerpt from the interview. “He’s such an amazing athlete.

“You know what they do, they make things up, ‘Reeva cheats on Oscar,’ and rubbish like that. I wouldn’t want lies about us jeopardizing it.”

On Thursday, the case was partially eclipsed by developments in the prosecution camp, when the South African police replaced the lead investigator, Detective Botha, after revelations that he was facing seven charges of attempted murder stemming from an episode in which police officers fired at a minivan.

The national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega, said a divisional police commissioner, Lt. Gen. Vinesh Moonoo, would take over the case.

Wiz Khalifa isn’t the only one in first class anymore. On Thursday (February 21), the Taylor Gang captain became a proud papa after his fiancée Amber Rose gave birth to their baby boy, Sebastian Thomaz.

“Happy Birthday Sebastian “The Bash” Taylor Thomaz!!!” Wiz Khalifa tweeted on Thursday. “Everyone welcome this perfect young man into the world.

The countdown for baby Wizbud began Tuesday afternoon when Khalifa hit Instagram with a picture of a fetal monitor and the caption: “Coming soon…” Then earlier on Thursday, Wiz Khalifa posted a picture of himself in scrubs to Instagram with the caption “Daddy Time.”

Wiz Khalifa – Daddy Time

Rose has been getting ready for the blessed event since last week. “Hey Rosebuds & Rosestuds Muva won’t be back on twitter until Wizbud is born I need 2 mediate & focus on our Lil boy Luv u talk soon,” she tweeted on Valentine’s Day.

The couple announced Amber’s pregnancy on the red carpet at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards on September 6 and have been sharing updates with fans and the media every step of the way. In the October/November issue of XXL magazine, Rose pledged to have an all-natural birth. “I’m so ready. I’m going all-natural. I’ve decided that I’m going to have an all-natural water birth. No medicine. I want those bragging rights,” Amber told the mag. “The next time Wiz has a stomachache or anything, I’ll say, ‘I popped out a baby all-natural.’ ”

Khalifa seems ready to be a daddy: During Rose’s pregnancy, the weed advocate even curtailed his marijuana habits. “I smoke outside instead of inside. Everything is all about smells, man. If the smell irritates her, then it gotta go,” he told MTV News last year.

In January, the couple shared pics of Amber’s baby shower on Instagram. The couple decided on a baby name long ago, but only teased it during a radio interview last month. “It’s a total boss name for a boy,” Rose said.

Send your congratulations to Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose in the comments below!

Just in case the message isn’t getting through, the Miami Heat are more than happy to repeat it. The championship still is in their hands and good luck trying to pry it away.

The Heat won their season-high ninth straight Thursday night with an 86-67 win over the Chicago Bulls behind LeBron James’ 26 points, and supplied more evidence that they’re ready to put away the rest of the Eastern Conference.

More important, they’re looking like a team that’s poised to defend their championship.

“We all had a vision of how this team was going to really operate together, but there is no limit,” Chris Bosh said. “We can continue to get better. We can continue to play better together. Our defense can continue to improve. If we want to win in the postseason, it’s going to have to.”

They sure are looking good at the moment. They blew out Oklahoma City on the road before the All-Star break and followed it up with a win at Atlanta on Wednesday before taking out the Bulls.

LeBron James also had 12 rebounds and seven assists in another big performance after ending his franchise-record seven-game streak of scoring at least 30 the previous night.

Dwyane Wade added 17 points, and the Heat took control in the first half, sending the Bulls to their fifth loss in seven games on a night when the Derrick Rose recovery story took another twist.

After saying last week that he wouldn’t rush back from his knee injury to play this season if he wasn’t ready, Chicago’s sidelined superstar had to go into damage control mode after his older brother, Reggie, blasted the organization in an article for not making a move before Thursday’s trade deadline.

Things didn’t get much better for the Bulls once the game started. They set a season low for points while committing a season-high 27 turnovers, the most for the Bulls since they had 29 against Washington on Dec. 4, 2004.

“We’re putting together some good basketball right now,” LeBron James said. “We’re defending. We’re creating turnovers. We’re winning the turnover game offensively. We’re the best shooting team in the league … so if we don’t turn the ball over, we get good shots at the rim, we could also have a good chance to win.”

Nate Robinson scored 14 points for Chicago but also committed five fouls with Kirk Hinrich sitting out because of ongoing trouble with his right elbow. That explains some of the Bulls’ problems hanging onto the ball, although general sloppiness and Heat’s athleticism certainly played a role.

Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Joakim Noah added 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but he also had four turnovers.

Chicago was particularly bad in the first half, coughing it up 17 times as the Heat built a 45-35 lead, and the Bulls came up short after winning at Miami last month. This time, the Heat took control in the second quarter, scoring 13 straight points during a 4 1/2-minute stretch to turn a two-point deficit into an 11-point advantage even though LeBron James was on the bench for much of the run.

It started after a soaring right-handed dunk by Taj Gibson to give Chicago a 28-26 lead with 8:16 remaining. Allen answered with a driving layup, Wade followed with two jumpers and the Bulls turned it over five times as the Heat built a 39-28 lead.

Marco Belinelli ended the scoring drought for Chicago with a free throw, and Boozer then nailed a jumper after Bosh buried a 20-footer. But it was a rough night all around for Chicago, even before the Bulls took to the court.

Rose, recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, found himself at the center of attention after his brother went off, and he wound up releasing this statement in response: “I have always felt that the Bulls organization’s goals have been the same as mine and that is to bring another championship to this city.”

That comment came after Reggie Rose ripped the Bulls, saying they don’t have the talent to compete for a championship and that their decision to stand pat before the trade deadline could be a “big factor” in whether Derrick plays at all this season.

“It’s frustrating to see my brother play his heart and soul out for the team and them not put anything around him,” said Reggie Rose, Derrick’s manager.

Coach Tom Thibodeau brushed off his comments, saying they’re “no big deal.

“We all want the same things,” he added. “We want Derrick’s health. Obviously we’re trying to pursue a championship. We share that in common.”