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Call it J.C Penney’s private flash crash. The stock today plunged 19.7% to close at $26.57. That’s even worse than Black Monday 1987. On that day, the stock lost a hair less, 19.2%. It’s unclear if this is the stock’s worst day ever. (Perhaps it suffered an even worse day during the 1930s.) However, it is clear that this is the worst single-day performance in the past 40 years. That’s as far back as our FactSet data goes.*

<p>Long before his administration went into federal court to fight 27 states that are now challenging the constitutionality of the federal government forcing people to buy health insurance, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama told Ellen DeGeneres that—unlike his opponent Hillary Clinton—he opposed forcing the uninsured to buy health insurance, saying that it would be like forcing the homeless to buy homes.</p>

Ellen DeGeneres talks to guests about how she does it. Actress Alicia Silverstone wrote a book about how she does it. A slimmer Bill Clinton made news for talking about doing it, and all Chelsea's friends do it -- at least they did on her wedding day. Ed Begely Jr., the 61-year-old activist and actor, has been doing it for longer than any of them. They eat a vegan diet, as more and more Americans are doing, trend-watchers and cookbook publishers tell us. But what does that mean, exactly?

Daniel Glowacki, a student at a Michigan high school, has found himself at the center of a national controversy. Recently his economics teacher, Jay McDowell, wore a t-shirt printed by a homosexual group. When the teacher demanded another student remove his confederate flag belt buckle, Daniel pointed out it was hypocritical for the teacher to wear a shirt with a message, and not let the student wear his buckle. Then the teacher asked Daniel if he agreed with his shirt. Daniel replied he didn’t because of his faith. The teacher then kicked Daniel out of class while screaming he was...

Portia DeGeneres could be the first celebrity to dance with a same-sex partner on "Dancing With the Stars." The hit competition series is "planning to feature a same-sex couple. You're at the top of the list,"Ryan Seacrest told Portia (who changed her last name from de Rossi to DeGeneres) on his radio show yesterday. The proclamation seemed to surprise DeGeneres, who is married to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Goodness, you really do break news," she said. Rather than flat out pooh-pooh the notion, DeGeneres said, "I'm not gonna pass, let me think about it. I used to be a...

Half the world has been told that Rutgers student Tyler Clementi committed suicide – because he was “gay.” And, according to reports, society is to blame. Even before the private funeral, activists were issuing “gay suicide” template sermons. For some, it was an opportunity.

Filling Simon Cowell‘s seat on American Idol was already a tough task –- now another chair is there for the taking. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who became a full-time judge on the show during its ninth season, is bowing out of the series, PEOPLE has learned. “A couple months ago, I let FOX and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me,” she says in a statement. “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure...

Warner Bros and producer Jerry Weintraub have tried long and hard to mount a remake of the 1977 George Burns comedy Oh, God! I'm told Weintraub just pitched the studio a new version of the film, with Hollywood's hottest octogenarian--Betty White,--as the title character. Paul Rudd was pitched for the role of the hapless mortal played by John Denver in the Carl Reiner-directed original. Weintraub, who produced the original, has been trying for years on the remake, most recently with Ellen Degeneres attached for the lead. This incarnation is nascent--the studio doesn't have a script it loves, and I'm not...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A lesbian high school student embroiled in a legal flap over her school's prom policy has received a $30,000 scholarship on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Constance McMillen was speechless Friday when the talk show host pulled out an oversized check from the Web site Tonic.Com, a digital media company.

The queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, and the queen of the soul-less, Ellen DeGeneres, have one thing in common...bad friggin' ObamaLuv hats. See video here:

After much mocking by Ellen Degeneres about Chris Matthews' dancing abilities on his last appearance on her syndicated show, the "Hardball" host chatted with Degeneres, on Thursday's show, about the election of Barack Obama and actually grabbed a shot glass to toast his win with Ellen (audio excerpt here): ELLEN DEGENERES: Amazing! And you must be thrilled? I mean what, what a moment. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well I am thrilled! DEGENERES: Yeah. MATTHEWS, picking up shot glass: To Barack Obama! DEGENERES, toasting: Yeah. To Barack Obama! A little later in his interview segment, Matthews also took a different kind of shot,...

ELLEN DeGeneres says she is "saddened beyond belief" a ban on gay marriage has been approved by Californian voters. DeGeneres married Australian actress Portia de Rossi in August, three months after the Californian Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage. Yesterday's vote for Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage, leaves the stars and thousands of other gay couples in legal limbo. "Barack Obama is our new president. Change is here. I like millions of of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step toward equality," the talk-show host said on her website. "This morning, when it was clear...

Has Ellen DeGeneres won the culture war? It’s somewhat surprising that DeGeneres’ daytime television show has become Republican central over the past several months, with high-profile appearances by Laura Bush, Jenna Bush and John McCain. Even more surprising: the fact that DeGeneres treated both Bushes and McCain with the utmost respect, although McCain and DeGeneres had a civil disagreement over same-sex marriage. One cannot imagine, say, Rosie O’Donnell showing any respect for McCain and the Bush ladies. DeGeneres is far more tolerant—but mere tolerance isn’t the only reason DeGeneres avoids the usual Hollywood anti-Republican shtick. DeGeneres realizes that her show...

Since the California Supreme Court lifted the ban on gay marriages, Ellen DeGeneres has announced her plans to wed Portia de Rossi soon. The two have been going together since December of 2004. Is the viewing audience of Ellen ready for that? Or will they be ready to divorce Ellen for putting gay rights front and center?

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are making it official. Hours after Thursday's landmark ruling by the California Supreme Court striking down a state law banning gay marriage, the 50-year-old daytime host announced during a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she and the 35-year-old former Ally McBeal star plan to swap vows. In the episode scheduled to air later today, studio audience members greeted DeGeneres' news with thunderous applause and a standing ovation as De Rossi watched from the sidelines. The show's publicist was unavailable for comment. Separately, in an interview with The Advocate Thursday, DeGeneres said she...

Ellen DeGeneres asked Jenna Bush a relatively simple question during her talk show appearance: Is she able to just pick up the phone and call home? Jenna dialed some digits and soon Ellen was voice to voice with President Bush. Watch for yourself.

It's a dog-eat-dog week. Yesterday PJ gave us the DUmmie reaction to Randi Rhodes being mugged while she was walking her dog (whom PJ and I both think should be considered a prime suspect). Today we get the scoop, so to speak, on DUmmie reaction to the latest dog in the news, in this THREAD, "What's this about Ellen DeGeneres and a dog?" As you might guess, even though Ms. Degenerate danced around the rules by giving the mutt away, the DUmmies are mostly on her side against the mean-spirited adoption agency. However, a few brave souls (trolls?) show...

ELLEN DeGeneres may be crying in public over the dog she gave up, but her flack, Kelly Bush, is doing the TV host's dirty work behind the scenes. Yesterday on her show, DeGeneres bawled over Iggy, the mutt she adopted a month ago, then passed off to her hairdresser two weeks later, claiming the pup didn't get along with her cats. [snip] But Keith Fink, a lawyer for Mutts & Moms, tells Page Six's Marianne Garvey it's all an act. Behind the scenes, DeGeneres' publicist was calling the small agency and threatening it, says Fink, who played a vicious voice-mail...

That Hillary Clinton -- what a card! According to an email I've received from her campaign, Hillary is really venturing into the lion's den, with TV appearances scheduled tonight on Letterman and on September 4 on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Daring stuff! In any case, according to the email: Ellen is soliciting questions from her viewers to ask of Hillary, and we want to turn it around on her. So if you have a question for Hillary to ask Ellen, submit it here. Such a prankster, that Hillary. Wild 'n crazy stuff! Sure, go ahead and submit a question to...

From Monsters and Critics.com People News Laura Dern blames ten year old Ellen kiss for career backlash By Stone Martindale Apr 24, 2007, 16:06 GMT Laura Dern blames her lack of work on a ten year old kiss with Ellen DeGeneres on television. CNN reports that ten years after the smooch, Dern appeared with Ellen on Monday on DeGeneres' syndicated talk show to reflect on the "aftermath." DeGeneres, 49, came out of the closet in real life while her sitcom character's coming-out episode aired too, Dern kissed the comedian during a guest shot on the ABC series as Ellen's "lesbian...

Ellen DeGeneres reveals in the latest issue of Allure magazine that her stepfather molested her as a teenager. While speaking about her messy breakup with actress Anne Heche, the talk-show host said her stepfather insisted on feeling her breast while DeGeneres' mother was fighting breast cancer. She said the incident later escalated into "other things" and her stepfather, now deceased, tried to break into her bedroom. "I had to kick a window out and escape and sleep in a hospital all night long," DeGeneres told Allure. DeGeneres said she's speaking about the incident because "it's important for teenage girls out...

They really should have known it wasn’t going to work out when he suggested that “Ellen DeGeneres has crabs.” Sentiments like that are never positive. Perhaps they also should have reviewed one of his lively comic routines before hiring him. Maybe then they would have learned that he’s a racist swine with a penchant for ideas that would make death row inmates blush. Abortion in America is “beautiful”? Not good. No serious person was really surprised to learn that Chris Rock believes only gays watch the Oscars. After his position on gay marriage was recently exposed—“f*** them fa**ots,” he explained...

The biggest lesbian names in Hollywood may play out their next roles in front of a real-life judge as the latest breakup of Ellen DeGeneres could be headed for a showdown in court. The Sunday Times of London reports DeGeneres' former girlfriend is considering legal action against both the comedian and her new lover, "Ally McBeal" actress Portia de Rossi, "in a case that could redraw the boundaries of romantic strife in America." The paper says 35-year-old Alexandra Hedison was reportedly shocked when DeGeneres, 46, asked her to leave the home the couple had shared in Los Angeles for the...

The biggest lesbian names in Hollywood may play out their next roles in front of a real-life judge as the latest breakup of Ellen DeGeneres could be headed for a showdown in court. The London Times reports DeGeneres' former girlfriend is considering legal action against both the comedian and her new lover, "Ally McBeal" actress Portia de Rossi "in a case that could redraw the boundaries of romantic strife in America." The paper says 35-year-old Alexandra Hedison was reportedly shocked when DeGeneres, 46, asked her to leave the home the couple had shared in Los Angeles for the past four...

HELL hath no fury like a Hollywood lesbian scorned. The former girlfriend of Ellen DeGeneres is considering legal action against both the comedian and her new lover, the Ally McBeal actress Portia de Rossi, in a case that could redraw the boundaries of romantic strife in America. Alexandra Hedison, 35, is said to have been shocked after 46-year-old DeGeneres asked her to leave the Los Angeles home they had shared for four years. De Rossi, 31, moved in before Christmas. Hedison is now taking advice from Trope and Trope, a Los Angeles law firm that has represented stars from Cary...

Just weeks after Ellen DeGeneres's girlfriend of four years, photographer Alexandra Hedison, moved out of the couple's Hollywood Hills home, the talk show maven has a new love interest: Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi, a source tells PEOPLE. De Rossi, 31, also recently became single after splitting with her girlfriend of three years, singer-songwriter Francesca Gregorini, 31, who is the stepdaughter of former Beatle Ringo Starr. Although DeGeneres, 46, and de Rossi, who was once featured on Ally McBeal, have been acquainted for some time, their romance came to light at the VH1 Big in '04 awards ceremony in...

LOS ANGELES - Comedian Ellen DeGeneres is getting a promotion - to supreme being. DeGeneres will star as God in a remake of the 1977 comedy "Oh, God!" The original starred George Burns as the creator and John Denver as a supermarket manager tapped as a new prophet.

LOS ANGELES - If Ellen DeGeneres is carrying heavy baggage these days, it's only because she has stuffed it with Emmys. Crowning a successful first season for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, DeGeneres accepted the best talk show trophy at Friday's Daytime Emmy Awards in New York. The syndicated series also received three Emmys for technical achievement, making it this year's most honored talk show. Not bad for a woman who feared her career had suffered permanent damage when she came out as a lesbian on Ellen, her former sitcom. All it took was a family-friendly hit movie (Finding Nemo), an...

ELLEN DeGeneres already has a new job lined up if her low-rated CBS sitcom is canceled. DeGeneres has signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television for a syndicated talk and variety show to debut in fall 2003, the studio announced Friday. Whether she is available for the project, however, depends on whether CBS renews her sitcom, "The Ellen Show." The series' fate will be announced in the next few weeks. Plans call for the new syndicated program to highlight DeGeneres' background in standup comedy, the studio said. DeGeneres starred in the ABC sitcom "Ellen" from 1994-98. It made history...

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) --  Ellen DeGeneres already has a new job lined up if her low-rated CBS sitcom is canceled.</p> <p>DeGeneres has signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television for a syndicated talk and variety show to debut in fall 2003, the studio announced Friday.</p>