Sad/ Tragic (Page 9)

CBS reporter Lara Logan was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted in Egypt just moments after Hosni Mubarak announced he was stepping down. Lara was saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers, and flew back to the United States the next day and has been recovering.

TMZ reports Lara is now back at home with her kids and is vowing to return back to work within weeks.

One source tells us Lara has an "incredibly tough constitution" -- and she is candidly discussing what happened to her. As one friend said, "She is going to be OK." Friends tell us Logan -- a seasoned, tough and respected foreign correspondent -- is "unbelievably strong."

Lara has amazing strength and dedication if she's able to return to work so soon after such a brutal attack. She's one tough woman!

Lara Logan, 39, is the beautiful reporter who was raped and beaten on the job while covering Mubarak's resignation in Egypt. Before today, many may have not known much about Logan, so we've done a little research.

Logan is the mother of a son who she gave birth to in January of last year. She is married to a U.S. Federal Government defense contractor from Texas and she was born in South Africa. Before joining CBS, Logan worked for CNN. She graduated from college in 1992.

An ambitious and determined journalist, Logan begged for an expedited visa to travel to Afghanistan days after the September 11th attacks where she worked for the British morning program, GMTV.  She was promoted to Chief Foreign Correspondent for CBS News in February 2006.

Moments after Hosni Mubarak officially stepped down, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and beaten after she was surrounded by an angry mob of more than 200 people. Logan and her crew were working for "60 Minutes" in Tahrir Square when Lara was separated from her security team.

CBS says 39-year-old Logan "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. [Logan] reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering."

Logan and her team had been detained by Egyptian police 8 days before the sexual assault -- and Logan had reported, "We were accused of being more than journalists, very frightening suggestions were being made. Suggestions that really could be very dangerous for us."

This is so heartbreaking! Our heartfelt condolences go out to Lara, the CBS team and their friends and family.

In her new book titled 'Dancing Lessons' Cheryl Burke reveals she was abused by two of her former boyfriends and molested as a child.  Cheryl says she is opening up about some of her struggles in her past because "They're not secrets. There's no shame."

The sexual assaults which began when Cheryl was 5, were committed by a retired mailman who was well-known and liked in Burke's Bay Area community. He would sometimes pick her up from school and do odd jobs around her home. After he was accused of targeting other children, Cheryl came forward about her own abuse. Having gone through the heartache of her parents splitting up when she was a baby, Cheryl was confused by the attention she was getting from her accuser.

"I felt guilty for wanting his love and affection," she says, calling testifying against him "the hardest thing I've ever done ... I saw his face and lawyers were asking me these questions and I was like, 'What am I doing? Did he even do anything wrong?' "

With her accuser in prison and years of therapy, Cheryl realized how wrong her abuser was and says she's telling her story because "If I can help just one person, for me that's all that matters."

Props to Cheryl for opening up about the rough situations she has gone through in the past. It takes a lot to speak about something so personal and devastating in your life, especially being in the public eye..

French model and actress Isabelle Caro, who became well known for the shocking photo of her body, which was featured in a 2007 ad campaign, has died at the age of 28. Isabelle's acting coach Daniele Dubreuil-Prevot revealed Isabelle passed on Nov. 17, and had been sick for a long time.

Isabelle was also featured on Jessica Simpson's show "The Price of Beauty," where she spoke about her illness. Isabelle said her thinspiration began when a fashion designer told her she needed to lose 20 pounds to make it in the fashion world. She pushed herself beyond the limits and fell into a coma in 2006, weighing only 55 pounds.

After that, she said she was trying to recover from anorexia that had plagued her since she was 13.

"I thought this could be a chance to use my suffering to get a message across, and finally put an image on what thinness represents and the danger it leads to -- which is death."

Rick James' protegee and R&B singer Teena Marie was found dead in her Pasedena home on Saturday night. She was 54 years young. Teena had spent Christmas with her brother and reportedly seemed "fine."

It's unclear what caused the singer's death. It looks like Teena died of natural causes. The L.A. County Coroner's Office will perform an autopsy.

We're told Teena had a seizure a month ago, but it's unclear what triggered it. Marie was nominated for a Grammy four times ... her first top ten hit was "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love."

RIP

Bernie Madoff's son Mark Madoff was 46 years young when he cracked under pressure and hung himself in his Manhattan apartment last night. Mark was married and the father of two children. Several months ago, Mark filed papers in a NY court to legally change his last name.

Mark and his mother, Ruth

An attorney for Mark Madoff released a statement saying, "This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy. Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo."

Two years ago Bernie was arrested for running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Mark was described as "bitter" about his father's deception and maintained that he had no knowledge of the scheme.

Bernie was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison in North Carolina.

Lisa Ling has revealed she suffered a miscarriage six months ago in an interview that will air on 'The View' tomorrow. Lisa says when she miscarried, she felt "more like a failure than I'd felt in a very long time."

At 7 weeks pregnant, Lisa and her husband Paul Song were told the baby had no heartbeat.

"We actually [hadn't] been trying that long. I don't know that I took it as seriously as I should have because it happened so fast. But then when I heard the doctor say there was no heartbeat it was like bam, like a knife through the heart."

I think that's one of the scariest parts of a pregnancy is fear that you may have a miscarriage. Lisa said she decided to open up about her experience to help take the stigma out of talking about miscarriages. Just because she miscarried doesn't mean she won't be able to have children and hopefully one day she'll give it a try again.

Aretha Franklin has reportedly been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The news was originally reported by the National Enquirer but has allegedly been confirmed to Detroit news outlets by family members.

Aretha has sadly been stricken with pancreatic cancer, the same type of cancer which felled actor Patrick Swayze. 

The cancer has only a 5 to 10 percent overall survival rate - according to medical experts. Experts analyzed the singer's age, obesity and poor physical condition which lowers the chances of surviving the disease even more.

Cancer is a ruthless b!tch but since the 'Queen of Soul' is a true strong diva, I think she'll making it through. We're praying for you Aretha!

Mother of four children, Elizabeth Edwards has died of cancer at the age of 61. Yesterday the media became aware that doctors told her she was unresponsive to treatment and should rest at home with family and friends. She was given a prognosis of having a few more weeks left.

"Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth's presence but she remains the heart of this family," the Edwards family says in a statement.

"We love her and will never know anyone more inspiring or full of life. On behalf of Elizabeth we want to express our gratitude to the thousands of kindred spirits who moved and inspired her along the way. Your support and prayers touched our entire family."

She died at her home in Chapel Hill, S.C., surrounded by her family.

Yesterday, Elizabeth thanked her supporters on her Facebook page. Diagnosed with cancer in 2004, the disease later spread to her bone and then had metastasized in her liver.

Elizabeth is from Jacksonville, Florida and was attending law school when she met John Edwards. In her Facebook message, which was posted yesterday, Elizabeth said: "I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful."

Elizabeth was intelligent, graceful, optimistic, and a mature role model for her children and women everywhere. Elizabeth truly led by example and she will be sorely missed. Our condolences and thoughts go out to the Edwards family and friends during this difficult time.