Return to reality TV in candidate’s future
A day after presenting signatures to run for U.S. Senate, former state treasurer and convicted felon Thomas Ravenel reversed course Tuesday and said he will return for the second season of a reality TV show based in Charleston, South Carolina.
“It doesn’t make sense to turn down a platform that enables you to spread your ideas to a bigger, more diverse audience,” Ravenel, part of the cast of Bravo’s “Southern Charm,” said in a statement.
In the show’s first season, Ravenel, 51, got a co-star less than half his age pregnant. He now lives with her and their infant daughter.
On Monday, Ravenel presented about 16,500 signatures to the state Election Commission in South Carolina. If officials confirm 10,000 of those signatures, he will run as an independent in November for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Lindsey Graham. Democratic state Sen. Brad Hutto and Libertarian Victor Kocher also are running.
Ravenel is a real estate developer who spent nearly $3 million as a political newcomer running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in 2004, finishing third in the primary.
He was elected state treasurer in 2006 but resigned after less than a year because he was indicted on a felony charge of buying cocaine for himself and his friends. He pleaded guilty and spent 10 months in prison.
Kissinger recovering from surgery
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has undergone an aortic valve replacement procedure at a hospital in New York.
New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan released a statement saying the 91-year-old ex-diplomat was “resting comfortably” following the procedure on Tuesday.
Kissinger served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Lacheys announce pregnancy
Nick and Vanessa Lachey are expecting their second baby, their publicists confirm.
The singer and VH1’s “Big Morning Buzz Live” host first made the announcement on his Twitter account Tuesday, which also marked the couple’s third wedding anniversary.
Lachey, 40, posted a photo of their almost 2-year-old son, Camden, running on the beach with a heart in the sand that says “It’s a girl.”
Vanessa Lachey, 33, last had a role on the sitcom “Dads” on Fox.
The birthday bunch
Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 66. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 66. Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 62. Dancer Michael Flatley is 56. Actress Phoebe Cates is 51. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 47. Actor Corey Feldman is 43.