February 2013 Archives

By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - Global activist and U2 lead singer Bono took to the TED stage Tuesday with an inspiring message about the fight against poverty.

The rate of those living in extreme poverty - living on less than $1.25 a day - is rapidly declining as the world makes gains in technology, noted the Irish musician, who refers to himself as an activist and "factivist."

The number of those living in poverty has been cut in half in the past two decades, dropping from 43 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2010.

"Have you read anything, anywhere in the last week that is as remotely as important as that number? It's great news, and it drives me nuts most people don't know this," he said. "The rate is still too high and there's still work to do, but it's heart-stopping, mind-blowing stuff."

Bono is one of dozens of speakers scheduled this week at the annual TED conference at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. The sold-out invitation-only conference, whose name stands for technology, entertainment, design kicked off Monday and will run through Friday for its fifth and final year in Long Beach. The conference will move to Vancouver, Canada, next year.

AOL Real Estate

We never imagined that Bruce Willis and U2 bassist Adam Clayton would ever have anything in common. But it turns out they do: this stunning co-op on Manhattan's exclusive Central Park West. The New York Post first reported that Willis was in contract to buy the home, but Zillow and other reports followed up, saying that it was originally listed by Clayton back in October for $8.695 million. Willis scored the three-bedroom, four-bathroom home for $8 million.

Best known for playing John McClane in the "Die Hard" movies, Willis is currently on theater screens in the fifth installment of the film series, "A Good Day to Die Hard." So we're guessing Willis took that big fat paycheck to splurge on the fabulous apartment. And fabulous it is: It's a pre-war "art deco gem," the listing said, with a gourmet kitchen (high-end appliances included, naturally) that has slate countertops and terrazzo floors. There are huge spaces, including a living room, formal dining room and gallery hallway. There's plenty of space: When Clayton owned it, the space was originally two separate units that he converted into one, according to Zillow.