'Home Alone' Star Macaulay Culkin Death Hoax Goes Viral: Actor Reportedly Passed Away on Sunday

"Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin is the newest star to fall victim to a death hoax. A Facebook post claimed that the 33-year-old actor, who rose to fame with "Home Alone" passed away on Sunday.

 "At about 11 a.m. ET on Sunday (April 20, 2014), our beloved actor Macaulay Culkin passed away. Macaulay Culkin was born on August 26, 1980 in New York. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page," the post that went viral said. 

It received more than a million hits, after which Culkin's spokesperson came to fore and debunked fake death rumors of the star.

The spokesperson told the fans that Culkin is very much alive, reported UPI

Culkin become a household name in 90's when he portrayed the character of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone Part 1 and Part 2. His adorable antics in the film literally attracted people to the theaters. Culkin gained more fame when he appeared in  "Richie Rich", "My Girl", and "The Nutcracker."

While he earned massive amount of money during his stint in Hollywood, he had a disturbed childhood. Culkin told the New York Magazine in 2000 that his father was a dominating figure.

"My father was always, you know, abusive, but it didn't get really, really, really bad until later on."

He also revealed that his father never let him take a break from work .

"I just remember the exact point when I was growing a little more tired -- during The Good Son. I had already done one or two things that year, and I just said to Kit, 'Listen, I'm really getting tired and I'm not at school as much as I'd like to be; I really need some time off.' He said, 'Yeah, sure,' and the next thing I knew I was on the next set doing the next thing, and it just kind of clicked in my brain: Okay. There's basically nothing I can do to make this stop, " Culkin explained. 

Culkin dated Mila Kunis from 2002 to 2010.

(ED:VS) 

ICC Test team rankings

Dubai, July 14:

The following are the ICC Test team rankings released Monday:

1 Australia 123 points
2 South Africa 123
3 Pakistan 103
4 India 102
5 England 100
6 Sri Lanka 96
7 New Zealand 93
8 West Indies 74
9 Zimbabwe 40
10 Bangladesh 21

--IANS

Happy to have saved the match for India, says delighted Binny

July 14:

Having answered his critics with a match-saving 78, Stuart Binny expressed his pride and happiness on getting India out of a sticky situation in his debut Test.

"I was a bit disappointed with the way it went in the first innings. I did the hard work for the first 10-15 minutes - which is the most crucial phase for a batsman - and then played a loose shot to get out. So today I just wanted to go in there and spend as much time in the middle as I could," Binny told bcci.Tv at the end of the match.

"The ball was reversing and wicket started doing a bit especially with the new ball. There are not many players, who get a chance to save the Test for their country on their debut. I did and I am really happy that I took it," the burly Karnataka all-rounder said.

Binny admitted that the Trent Bridge wicket didn't suit his style of bowling but he was desperate to make amends with the willow.

"The wicket didn't suit my style of bowling and I had to understand and accept that quickly. I was told that a Test match lasts five days that so I will be required to play a part at some point.

"So, I went in to bat with a very positive mindset. I knew that if I survived the first 30 minutes, the wicket would ease out. I went with the mindset of playing out balls instead of scoring runs. When you get to 25, that's when you realize, okay, a Test fifty is here for the taking," said the 30-year-old son of current national selector Roger Binny.

Binny however didn't agree that the team management misread the wicket which was a dead track.

"I don't think we misread it. It was a hard wicket but there wasn't much bounce. Even the English guys were surprised at how it played out. When we were batting, it felt like we were batting in India. It was a funny wicket.

Germany will earn $35 million thanks to its World Cup championship

To the victors go the spoils and 1 percent of FIFA's 2014 World Cup revenue.

After Germany defeated Argentina in extra time of the final of the World Cup, not only did it get to hoist an 18-carat trophy, but it also hauled off a cool $35 million.

It’s fitting that the largest prize in World Cup history was distributed in the most expensive World Cup in history. Spain, winner of the 2010 World Cup, received $30 million.

That money is the only thing Germany gets to keep (except for bragging rights) since the expensive trophy stays with FIFA and teams are given a cheaper replica.

[Related: Germany overcomes valient Argentine effort to win fourth World Cup title]

Argentina received $25 million as the runner-up, which is up from $24 million in 2010. The Netherlands earned $20 million for finishing third and Brazil earned $18 million for fourth place.

The United States earned $9 million for making it to the Round of 16. That money will go to each country’s soccer federation and it is at the discretion of each nation how to dole out the winnings.

That prize money is in addition to the $1.5 million each nation was given prior to the tournament for training, travel and other expenses. FIFA also has a pool $70 million to pay to the various clubs that employ the 736 club players in the tournament, which works out to $2,800 per player per day that the player was in the World Cup.

Here’s a look at the prize money distribution for the 2014 FIFA World Cup:

Group Stage (16 eliminated teams): $8 million each
Round of 16 (eight losers): $9 million each
Quarterfinals (four losers): $14 million each
Fourth place: $18 million
Third place:: $20 million
Runner-up: $24 million
Winner: $35 million

If it sounds like a lot of money is being dished out for the five-week tournament, it pales in comparison to what FIFA stands to make, which could be upwards of $4.5 billion thanks to broadcasting revenue, licensing, sponsorships and hospitality.

It’s also just a drop in the bucket for players such as Lionel Messi, who just inked a deal with Barcelona for more than $50 million per year.

It’s unclear how much Brazil, the host country, will take away in addition to its prize money, but it won’t be nearly as much as FIFA’s windfall and won’t come close to covering the estimated $14 billion in costs to build and renovate 12 stadiums, upgrade the country's infrastructure and pay for security.

And there’s probably not enough money in the world to make the country feel better about its last two games, which the Brazilians lost by a combined 10-1.

Mahela Jayawardene will retire from Test cricket

Mahela Jayawardene will retire from Test cricket at the conclusion of the series against Pakistan in August, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced. He will continue to be available for ODI cricket only, having also retired from T20 internationals in April this year.