Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker, with annual salaries of $30 million each, are the highest paid actresses in Hollywood

Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker, with annual salaries of $30 million each, are the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, according to a new ranking.

Jolie topped the Forbes.com list thanks to the worldwide success of her action film "Salt," which brought in $300 million, and "The Tourist," which also featured Johnny Depp and earned $280 million in global sales.

Much of Parker's hefty salary comes from reruns of her hit television show "Sex and the City, which she starred in and produced, and earnings from the second film from the series which generated $290 million.

"People may be surprised to see Sarah Jessica Parker up there but they may not realize that in addition to acting, she earns big from her perfumes and endorsement deals," said writer Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes.com. "Also she's coming off of Sex and the City 2 which turned a healthy profit."

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were not far behind in the rankings with each actress bringing home $28 million.

Aniston film "Just Go With It" is her fourth highest earning film in the U.S.

The top 10 earning actress made a total of $218 million between May 2010 and May 2011, according to Forbes.com, which compiled the list by talking to producers, lawyers, agents and Hollywood insiders to estimate what each actress earned.

Last year's top earner, Sandra Bullock, has enjoyed a 12-month movie hiatus and dropped to No.9 with earning of $15 million.

Ex-Iron Maiden rocker was suicidal

Former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley's pregnant girlfriend forced the rocker to seek professional help after he developed suicidal thoughts during a tour of South America.

Bayley was struggling to find the money to get from one gig to the next and could not afford to complete the Blaze Bayley Band album. He had even started selling memorabilia to raise cash.

The pressures got the better of him and he started to worry his girlfriend with desperate talk about ending it all.

He tells Scandinavian rock website Critical.Mass.se, "I was under a lot of strain, and to get the album out we had to borrow money. I had to beg all my friends to lend me money... I couldn't pay my rent.

"I wanted to start a family with my girlfriend, as she was pregnant, and there was one day when we had no electricity and no food. I had to sell my silver album, the first silver album that I ever had from Iron Maiden. I had to sell that and I started to sell all my stuff... My stereo, everything... I got back from the tour in debt.

"When I was in Brazil in January, I was having suicidal thoughts and when I got back, my girlfriend made me go to the doctor and see a psychologist. I felt like a fraud, because all my lyrics are about 'fight, carry on...' But I felt crushed at the time and I just didn't want to carry on at all with my life.

"It was terrible and it was just getting worse and worse, so I couldn't carry on. I lost my will to live, really, and I wasn't comfortable in darkness."

In a bid to end the desperation, Bayley agreed to scrap his solo project and reunite Wolfsbane - the band he fronted before joining Iron Maiden: "When it finished, I just started to feel myself coming back to life and I went to see the doctor. I started my medication and all of this and I started to feel like maybe there is a future. Maybe I can make another album. Maybe I have got something to say."

 

Former IMF chief ­Dominique Strauss-Kahn is facing a potential fresh claim of attempted rape.

French novelist Tristane Banon, 31, who claimed in 2007 to have been attacked, said yesterday she intended to file charges.

She alleged at the time: “He opened my bra and tried to undo my jeans.”


If filed, the case may be assessed for sufficient evidence before being potentially passed on to a judge.

A French poll showed 49% of people want Strauss-Kahn, 62, to return to politics.

Wisconsin storms leave 1 dead, 39 injured

Emergency officials sifted through damage and debris scattered across roadways Saturday after a line of fast-moving storms and high winds swept through northwestern Wisconsin the night before, leaving at least one person dead and 39 others injured.
Three people were critically injured and a second person died, though not as a result of the storm, Burnett County spokeswoman Dawn Sargent said.
The storms also contributed to "widespread power outages" in a county with a population that normally swells to more than 80,000 people during the Fourth of July weekend.
Burnett County's typical population is about 17,000.
"We ask nonresidents to avoid the area because of the road closures and the presence of emergency crews trying to clear debris from the roadways," Sargent added.
Roughly three-quarters of the county have been affected, while its northern sections were more heavily hit.
The towns of Grantsburg, Washburn, Danbury and Web Lake were among the hardest-hit areas, said Wisconsin's emergency management spokeswoman Rhonda Reynolds.
"Last night we were working, and at about 7 o'clock the winds really picked up," said Carinna Coy, an employee at T-Dawgs restaurant in Grantsburg. "From what we could see today, there's a lot of trees that tipped over and a lot of roads that are closed.
"Main Street is a mess," she added.
A hardware store owner in neighboring Washburn described gusty winds, heavy rains and lightning that preceded power outages.
"Power's been out in parts of Washburn for most of the day, though they say that hopefully it'll be back soon," Nate Swiston of Washburn Hardware said.
An aerial survey of the region revealed storm damage to homes and downed trees throughout the region.
Officials said Saturday that they are focused on looking for trapped residents and distributing food, water and emergency medical supplies.
The American Red Cross also opened a meals station for the general public at the Grantsburg Middle School, Sargent said.

 

Strauss-Kahn's Political Fortunes in France Rise as Rape Case Unravels

Reports that a New York sexual assault case may be unraveling against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has thrown French politics into turmoil. Strauss-Kahn's case also lays bare sharp divides over matters of sexuality and power in France.

Just a week ago, most analysts and ordinary French considered Dominique Strauss-Kahn a political has-been.  Many once considered the Socialist politician a strong candidate to be France's next president.  But that changed in May, when a New York hotel maid filed sexual assault charges against him.

Strauss-Kahn was placed under house arrest and quit his job as head of the International Monetary Fund.  

Now, questions are mounting about the accuser's credibility.  And two new polls find French split over whether Strauss-Kahn should return to politics if the charges are withdrawn.

On the streets of Paris, some like 19-year-old David Mourjan are in favor of a comeback.

"He is going to come back in France and he will be welcomed as a hero because he was a victim of a plot ...  I think he is the one with the more chances to be the new president in France, even if we know the events," he said.

A number of Socialist Party politicians are similarly upbeat.  But Strauss-Kahn's case and his reputation as a womanizer have also unleashed a passionate debate in France about machoism and sexuality in politics.

Researcher Nicole Bacharan, of the Paris-based Foundation of Political Sciences, says while she sees Strauss-Kahn's male supporters elated at his potential comeback, women are shocked his past behavior might be forgotten.

"If Dominique Strauss-Kahn did not rape this woman, he should walk free.  No question.  However, I think this whole mess will make it more difficult for women anywhere to come forward anywhere and say they have been raped.  That is not very good news," Bacharan said.

American University of Paris Political Science Professor Steven Ekovich believes that whatever Strauss-Kahn's future, his case has offered a civics lesson for many French.

"This is the presumed Socialist candidate for president ... and the Socialist stand in principle for the downtrodden, the poor, those who have not had privileges in life.  And the roles have of course been completely reversed in this particular situation.  So as typical of a political scandal, a political sex scandal even, the question of hypocrisy comes into play.  And here we have a glaring example of hypocrisy," he said.

Strauss-Kahn's worries are far from over.  According to news reports, a young writer plans on filing sexual assault charges against him Tuesday in France.