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Michael Jackson investigation focuses on doctors

Michael Jackson, dies at 50

    (CNN) -- Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Wednesday, according to multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.

Michael Jackson, was one of the biggest pop stars in history.

He was 50.

He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspape

Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

In 1982, he released "Thriller," an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country. Timeline: The life of Michael Jackson »

For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad," sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson album -- a new Jackson appearance -- was a pop culture event.

 In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010.

Rise to stardom

Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown.

He made his first television appearance at age 11.

Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group's front man. Music critic Langdon Winner, reviewing the group's first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," for Rolling Stone, praised Michael's versatile singing and added, "Who is this 'Diana Ross,' anyway?"

The group's first four singles -- "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" -- went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, the first time any group had pulled off that feat. There was even a Jackson 5 cartoon series on ABC.

In 1972, he hit No. 1 as a solo artist with the song "Ben."

The group's popularity waned as the '70s continued, and Michael eventually went solo full time. He played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie version of "The Wiz," and released the album "Off the Wall" in 1979. Its success paved the way for "Thriller," which eventually became the best-selling album in history, with 50 million copies sold worldwide.

At that point, Michael Jackson became ubiquitous.

Seven of "Thriller's" nine cuts were released as singles; all made the Top Ten. The then-new cable channel MTV, criticized for its almost exclusively white playlist, finally started playing Jackson's videos. They aired incessantly, including a 14-minute minimovie of the title cut. On the Motown Records' 25th anniversary special -- a May 1983 TV extravaganza with notable turns by the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson -- it was Michael Jackson who stopped the show.

Already he was the most popular musician in America, riding high with "Thriller." But something about his electrifying performance of "Billie Jean," complete with the patented backward dance moves, boosted his stardom to a new level.

People copied his Jheri-curled hair and single-gloved, zippered-jacket look. Showbiz veterans such as Fred Astaire praised his chops. He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. Paul McCartney teamed with him on three duets, two of which -- "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say" -- became top five hits. Jackson became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news.

It all happened very fast -- within a couple years of the Motown special. But even at the time of the "Motown 25" moonwalk, fame was old hat to Michael Jackson. He hadn't even turned 25 himself, but he'd been a star for more than half his life. He was given the nickname the "King of Pop" -- a spin on Elvis Presley's status as "the King of Rock 'n' Roll" -- and few questioned the moniker.

In 2008, when he announced 10 comeback shows in London, beginning in July 2009, the story made worldwide news. The number of concerts was later increased to 50. Seventy-five thousand tickets sold in four hours when they went on sale in March. However, when the shows were postponed until 2010, rumors swept the Internet that Jackson was not physically prepared and possibly suffering from skin cancer.

At the time, the president and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, said, "He's as healthy as can be -- no health problems whatsover." Jackson held open auditions for dancers in April in Los Angeles. He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

Nielsen NARM Report Shows Digital Gains, Physical Shortfalls

WDAS cancels Unity Day

WDAS will not hold Unity Day -- its signature outdoor event -- and indications are that last year's 30th anniversary event was its last.

"For three decades, Unity Day has been a tremendous success for our community, sponsors and for the station," a statement from the Clear Channel station read. "An event of this magnitude and reach relies on both financial and human resources from a variety of entities, organizations, corporations and businesses. Due to the difficult economic times we cannot produce Unity Day this year. However, our commitment and spirit continue." The station will sponsor the Soulful Sounds of Summer Concert Series at Penn's Landing and the Mann Music Center. The schedule has not been announced.

Phil Spector Gets At Least 19 Years For Murder

Eccentric music producer Phil Spector was given a sentence of 19 years to life in prison on Friday for the murder of a Hollywood actress in 2003.

Spector, 69, a successful albeit quirky pop music producer in the 1960s with his layered "Wall of Sound" production technique, was convicted in April of second-degree murder by a Los Angeles jury after a second trial. The first trial ended in a deadlock in 2007.

Lana Clarkson, 40, a B-movie actress, died of a shot to the mouth, fired from Spector's gun in the foyer of his mock castle home outside Los Angeles on February 3, 2003. The two had met hours earlier at a Hollywood nightclub.

The sentence means that Spector must spend at least 19 years in prison before being eligible for parole. If not paroled, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Spector, who worked with The Ronettes, The Beatles, Cher and Leonard Cohen at the height of his fame, denied murdering Clarkson but did not testify at either trial. He has been held in custody since his April 13 conviction after being free on bail following his arrest in 2003. Prosecutors said the shooting of Clarkson was part of a pattern of gun play and violence that Spector displayed toward women over the past 20 years, saying he had a problem with rage and was "a bully".

Spector's lawyers claimed that Clarkson was depressed about her failing career and had committed suicide. She worked as a hostess at the House of Blues in Hollywood when she met the man who produced songs like the Righteous Brothers' hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." Clarkson starred in such little-known movies as "Barbarian Queen" and "Amazon Women on the Moon." Clarkson's family has also filed a wrongful death civil suit against Spector which has yet to be heard.

Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire Team Up For New Music

After several years of touring together and a new joint charity single, Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire are contemplating a full-scale collaborative album project.

"Both bands kind of separately and together said, 'Wouldn't it be great to do an album together, so that's something that's just kind of flying around," Chicago's Robert Lamm tells Billboard.com. "I think the guys that write (songs) are thinking that could possibly be the next project."

In conjunction with their 2009 summer tour, which kicks off June 5 in Orange Beach, Ala., the two groups put together a special set of songs for download, with proceeds going to World Hunger Year. Chicago recorded a version of EWF's "I Can't Let You Go," while EWF covered Chicago's "Wishing You Were Here." The two bands then collaborated on a new EWF-composed song called "You."

Chicago and EWF are asking fans coming to the shows to bring three cans of non-perishable food or $3 -- which will go to local food banks -- in exchange for a download card. The songs can also be accessed by making a donation at EWFandChicago.com.

Lamm says he and Chicago's other songwriters were recently in Nashville "doing some recording for our own amusement" with no firm plans for any of those songs yet. The group's Bill Champlin will release a solo album, "No Place Left to Fall," on Aug. 4, while Lamm says he's "always" entertaining ideas for solo projects and has also been in touch with former Chicago bassist Peter Cetera about doing some writing together.

Attorney: Rihanna Will Come To Chris Brown Hearing

Rihanna's attorney says the singer will appear at a hearing next month as a possible witness in the assault case against Chris Brown. Donald Etra says prosecutors have told him Rihanna will receive a subpoena to testify at a preliminary hearing June 22. The hearing will focus on whether there is enough evidence to continue the case against Brown. Etra said Rihanna will comply with the order. It would mark her first appearance in court since felony assault and criminal threats charges were filed against Brown in March.

If she is called to testify, the 21-year-old singer would be subject to cross-examination by Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos. Brown was arrested in February on suspicion of hitting and choking Rihanna in a rented car hours before the couple were scheduled to appear at the Grammy Awards.

Etra wouldn't address their relationship now, but said Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was following the case closely. A judge on Thursday rejected a motion by Geragos to receive police and investigative records related to the case and the apparent leak of a photo of a beaten and bruised Rihanna. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg told Geragos the motion was premature and he could file it again after the preliminary hearing.

Brown faces possible sentences that range from probation to nearly five years in prison if convicted. Geragos argued that he should have access to the records to properly cross-examine police witnesses during the preliminary hearing. He also said intense public interest in the case should require the records' release.

Schnegg said Brown's fame wasn't an issue she was going to consider. She also called Geragos' motion "a fishing expedition." She also said the records, which Geragos wants to use to search for police bias or misconduct, don't have anything to do with Brown's arrest. She said officers responded to a 911 call and Brown was arrested well before the photo of Rihanna's battered face was posted by a celebrity gossip Web site.

Ernie Barnes, one-time football player and artist, dies

Ernie Barnes, a one-time professional football player who became one of the nation's foremost African American artists, has died after a brief illness, his personal assistant said today. He was 70.

Barnes, best known for a unique figurative style of painting exemplified by his celebrated "Sugar Shack" dance scene, died Monday night at Cedars Sinai Medical Center after a brief illness, said longtime personal assistant Luz Rodriguez.

The "Sugar Shack" scene appeared on a Marvin Gaye album and the closing credits of the "Good Times" television show, influencing aspiring artists and giving rise to widespread imitation.

"Ernie Barnes is one of the premier figurative artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries," said Paul Von Blum, a senior lecturer in African American studies, communication studies and art history at UCLA. "His richly detailed paintings and drawings chronicling the lives of people have made a profound contribution to the contemporary history of American art."

Von Blum said the works that Barnes produced over 40 years "elevated him to the top rank of African American artists in the United States" and "solidified his stature in the grand tradition of visual art, a reputation that will serve as a model for younger artists for generations to come." Barnes' work relied on elongation and distortion to create a sense of energy, power, grace, intensity and fluidity. His art also features people with closed eyes, reflecting his sense, as he once expressed it, that "we are blind to one another's humanity."

Ernest Barnes Jr. was born in Durham, N.C., on July 15, 1938, during the Jim Crow era. As a child, he would accompany his mother, Fannie Mae Geer Barnes, to her place of work, where she oversaw a prominent attorney's household staff at a home where he was allowed to peruse an extensive collection of art books. It was then that his love of art began.

As a junior high school student, Barnes was overweight and introverted, spending time drawing in a notebook while hiding from the bullies who constantly taunted him, Rodriguez said. But a sympathetic teacher put him on a weightlifting program, which enabled him to excel in both football and track and field once he got to high school. When he graduated, he was awarded 26 college scholarships.Because of segregation, he could not consider the nearby University of North Carolina or Duke University, so he attended North Carolina College -- now NC Central University -- on a football scholarship and majored in art.

He was drafted in 1959 by the Washington Redskins, who, on discovering he was black, traded him to the then-world champion Baltimore Colts, according to Rodriguez. He later became an offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos.

In 1965, New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin recognized Barnes' potential as an artist and paid him his salary of $13,500 for one season but freed him to devote himself exclusively to painting, according to Rodriguez. One year later, Barnes made his debut in a critically acclaimed solo exhibition at Grand Central Art Galleries in Manhattan and officially retired from football. "Throughout my five seasons in the arena of professional football, I remained at the deepest level of my being an artist," Barnes wrote in his 1995 autobiography, "From Pads to Palette."

In 1984, Barnes was commissioned by the Los Angeles Olympic Committee to create five paintings for the Games of the XXIII Olympiad. His other notable sports commissions include "A Dream Unfolds" for the National Basketball Association to commemorate its 50th anniversary; "Fastbreak" for Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, and paintings for the owners of the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Boston Patriots football teams.

One of his teammates on the Baltimore Colts -- Jerry Richardson, now owner of the Carolina Panthers -- commissioned Barnes to create a large painting, "Victory in Overtime," which is on permanent display at the football stadium in Charlotte.

But his work extended beyond the sports world, Rodriguez said, adding that his collectors range from Ethel Kennedy to Kanye West, and from Seton Hall University to the California African American Museum. She said that plans for a "highly anticipated traveling exhibition" titled "Liberating Humanity From Within," are continuing.

Barnes is survived by his wife, Bernie; brother James of Durham; sons Michael and Sean; and daughters Deidre, Erin and Paige. Rodriguez said a private memorial is pending. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to Hillsides Home For Children in Pasadena.

Radio One Philly cleans house

Popular DJ Tuchtone, TashaMakia, DJ Milmatic, DC Todd and our Tiffany Bacon have been let go from the station. I guess being popular, great at what you do and professional isn't good enough these days

Producer Phil Spector convicted of murder

US music producer Phil Spector has been convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson, after a five-month retrial. The 68-year-old, famous for the "Wall of Sound" recording technique, faces between 18 years and life in prison.

He had pleaded not guilty to the second degree murder of 40-year-old Ms Clarkson, who was shot in the mouth at Spector's home in Los Angeles. Spector was remanded in custody until sentencing on 29 May. His lawyer has said he intends to appeal.
“I don't think justice was done today," said lawyer Doron Weinberg. Spector had looked frail as he entered the Los Angeles Superior Court, dressed in a black suit with a bright red tie. The jury took some 30 hours of deliberation to reach their unanimous guilty verdict. As the verdict was read out, Spector remained quiet and his wife Rachelle sobbed.

The jury had the option of returning a verdict of involuntary manslaughter, but chose not do so. An earlier trial was abandoned in 2007 after a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision.  Second degree murder falls between first degree murder, which requires proof of pre-meditation, and manslaughter.

Speaking after the verdict, Mr Weinberg congratulated the jury on "trying to do the best honest job they could" with "complete integrity and complete honesty". But he said the jurors had been flooded with "improper and prejudicial evidence" which made it impossible for them to reach a fair conclusion. He said he was "very, very certain" that Spector had not been proved guilty "under the proper legal standard". Mr Weinberg said "the nature of the legal errors" made in the trial were "so significant and so clear that there is every likelihood that this case will be set aside on appeal". One of the jurors, speaking at a news conference after the trial, said the jury had a "complete picture" from the evidence. The unnamed woman said they had "gone through all the information and that's what the conclusion was".

He was often described as being a bully in the studio, a man with a liking for guns and an eccentric personality. During the five-month retrial, five female acquaintances testified that Spector had threatened them at gunpoint in incidents dating back to the 1970s. Mr Weinberg had argued that the evidence from the women should not have been admitted. The defence said Ms Clarkson's death was a suicide and appealed to jurors not to judge the star on his eccentric appearance.
Spector himself opted not to give evidence.

Actress Clarkson, 40, had been working as a hostess at the House of Blues venue in Los Angeles, and went home with Spector on the night of her death. Spector's Brazilian chauffeur, Adriano De Souza, said his boss appeared to be intoxicated and that Ms Clarkson was initially reluctant to go home with the music producer.
She was found dead in the foyer of his house in the early hours of the morning.
A holster that matched the snub-nosed Colt Cobra revolver that Spector used to kill her was found in a drawer in the foyer. Mr De Souza called the emergency services, saying: "I think my boss killed somebody", after Spector emerged from his home with a gun. He told jurors Spector had said: "I think I killed somebody." The defence argued he had misheard his employer. The producer was taken into custody about 40 minutes after the shooting and had to be subdued by officers using a stun gun.

Randy Cain, 63, one of Delfonics founders dies -  Robert Moran

Randy Cain, 63, a founding member of the Philadelphia soul group the Delfonics, which had the 1968 hit "La-La (Means I Love You)," died Thursday at his home in Maple Shade.

Mr. Cain was found dead at his apartment by his hairdresser, said Sheila Hart, the wife of Delfonics cofounder Wilbert Hart. She said Mr. Cain had been in poor health for years. Mr. Cain met brothers William and Wilbert Hart while the three were growing up in West Philadelphia during the 1960s, Wilbert Hart recalled.

After experimenting with different bands, the core trio and three others formed the Orphonics, which became the Delfonics, he said. When the group started making hits, it was down to the Hart brothers and Mr. Cain, who "was more or less the ladies' man with the group," Wilbert Hart recalled. Mr. Cain most recently was working just with William Hart. Wilbert Hart said he was devastated by Mr. Cain's passing.

Authorities do not believe there was any foul play in Mr. Cain's death, according to Burlington County First Assistant Prosecutor Ray Milavsky. A final determination will be made by the medical examiner, he said. The Delfonics, led by songwriter William Hart, worked with Thom Bell, who produced "La-La (Means I Love You)." Bell also produced "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," which won an R&B Grammy in 1970.

FTC Settles with BurnLounge

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that one of the operators of BurnLounge, a digital music distribution service the agency had determined was actually a pyramid scheme, has settled charges and agreed to give up $20,000 in ill-gotten gains.

The FTC charged BurnLounge in June 2007 with operating a pyramid scheme, where consumers were recruited to operate their own online digital music stores -- but instead of selling music, money was made mainly through signing up new store operators at $29.95 to $429.95 per year. A federal court ordered BurnLounge to halt its network marketing scheme, and froze the defendants' assets. "

MC Breed dead

The Michigan hip-hopster best known for the 1993 hit "Gotta Get Mine," featuring Shakur, died of kidney failure Saturday at the age of 37.

Breed (full name Eric Breed) had been ill for some time and died in his sleep at a friend's house in Ypsilanti, a suburb of Detroit. "We are saddened by our great loss. More than just an artist, we mourn the loss of a beloved father, son, brother and friend," his family and management said. "We are thankful and blessed to have been in his presence and want him to be remembered for his creative, caring, talented and hard-working spirit."

Breed's 1991 debut, M.C. Breed & DFC, spawned the single "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'." His 1993 release, The New Breed, featured "Gotta Get Mine" with Tupac. After Shakur's death in 1996, Breed released 10 more albums but never really broke through the mainstream again.

Record producer John Forte's sentence commuted

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Rapper/producer John Forte, who worked closely with the Fugees before being sent to prison on drug charges, had his sentence commuted Monday (November 24) by President George W. Bush.

The musician was arrested at Newark International Airport in 2000 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute. Police discovered Forte with two briefcases filled with liquid cocaine, which they estimated were worth $1.4 million.

He was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 14 years and was serving time in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He will be released December 22 after serving just over seven years. He must serve five years of supervised probation.

Forte, 33, co-wrote two songs on the Fugees' 1996 breakthrough, "The Score." He also released two solo albums, "Poly Sci" (produced by the Fugees' Wyclef Jean) and "I, John." Singer Carly Simon and her son, Ben, who attended Exeter Academy with Forte, were vocal advocates for the artist's release.

Kraftwerk Copyright Case Overturned In Germany

Germany's highest civil court has dealt Kraftwerk a blow in ruling that sampling music does not in principle violate copyright.Today's (Nov. 20) decision overturns a Hamburg state court ruling in Kraftwerk's favor that said reusing even the shortest bit of a song infringed on copyright. The Hamburg court will now have to take up the case again.

The civil court ruling, however, forbids sampling of a song melody and insists that the sample must be part of a completely new musical work bearing no resemblance to the original. Kraftwerk had sued German rap producer Moses Pelham for using a two-second sample from their 1977 track "Metal on Metal" in the rhythm sequence in the song "Nur Mir" by Sabrina Setlur that appeared in 1997.

Yes we did!

Barack Obama elected President of the United States! - By Alex Johnson

Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States.

A crowd of nearly a quarter-million jammed Grant Park and the surrounding area in Chicago, where Obama addressed the nation for the first time as its president-elect at midnight ET. Hundreds of thousands more - Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets - watched on a large television screen outside the park.

"If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," Obama declared.

"Young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans have sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of red states and blue states," he said. "We have been and always will be the United States of America.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," he said to a long roar.

McCain notes history in the making
Obama congratulated his opponent, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, for his "unimaginable" service to the United States, first as a prisoner of war for 5½ years in North Vietnam and then for nearly three decades in Congress.

McCain called Obama to offer his congratulations at 11 p.m. ET, Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told NBC News. Obama thanked McCain for his "class and honor" during the campaign and said he was eager to sit down and talk about how the two of them could work together. "The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly," McCain told supporters in Phoenix, saying that he "recognized the special significance" Obama's victory had for African-Americans. "We both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still have the power to wound," McCain said.

"Let there be no reason for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth," said McCain, who pledged his support and help for the new president.

President Bush called to congratulate Obama and promise a smooth transition of power on Jan. 20, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

"Mr. President-elect, congratulations to you. What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters," said Bush, who invited Obama and his family to visit the White House as soon as it was convenient.

The president also called McCain to say that he was proud of the senator's efforts and that he was "sorry it didn't work out."

Jennifer Hudson's mother.nephew and brother slain, Suspect in custody

By RUPA SHENOY

CHICAGO – Authorities are investigating the shooting deaths of Jennifer Hudson's mother,7-year-old nephew and brother. A suspect in the deaths was in custody Friday night, but young Julian King had not been seen since the bodies of Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, were found Friday afternoon.A family member entering Donerson's South Side home Friday afternoon found the woman shot on the living room floor. Responding officers later found Hanson shot in the bedroom, police said. At least one of the victims suffered defensive wounds, said authorities who described the shooting as domestic violence.

William Balfour, a man suspected in the deaths, was arrested Friday but had not been charged, law enforcement sources told the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said investigators were talking to "a number of people in custody" but she declined to elaborate. An Amber Alert issued Friday said Balfour was a suspect in the double homicide. Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show Balfour, 27, is on parole and spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possessing a stolen vehicle. Public records show one of Balfour's addresses as the home where Donerson and Jason Hudson were shot.

The Cook County medical examiner's office said autopsies for Donerson and Jason Hudson were pending. Balfour's mother, Michelle, said her son had been married to Hudson's sister, Julia, for several years, but they were separated. She also said Donerson had ordered him to move out of the family's home last winter. Jennifer Hudson's personal publicist, Lisa Kasteler, said the family wanted privacy.

The tragedy comes as Hudson, who grew up in Chicago, continues to reach new heights in her career. Her song "Spotlight" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and her recently released, self-tiled debut album has been a top seller. She was featured in this year's blockbuster "Sex and the City" movie and is also starring in the hit film "The Secret Life of Bees." She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls." In an interview last year with Vogue, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for "American Idol," which launched her career. The singer, whose father died when she was a teenager, described herself as very close to her family. In a recent AP interview she said her family, which includes older siblings Julia and Jason, helped keep her grounded.

"My faith in God and my family, they're very realistic and very normal, they're not into the whole limelight kind of thing, so when I go home to Chicago that's just another place that's home," she said. "I stand in line with everybody else, or, when I go home to my mom I'm just Jennifer, (so she says), 'You get up and you take care of your own stuff.' And I love that; I don't like when people tell you everything you want to hear, I want to hear the truth, you know what I mean."

Hudson recently announced her engagement to David Otunga, best known for his stint on VH1's reality show "I Love New York." Hudson's representatives would not disclose her whereabouts Friday. She had been scheduled to appear Monday in Los Angeles to collect an ensemble cast honor at the Hollywood Awards for "The Secret Life of Bees" with co-stars including Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning.

R&B star Lyfe Jennings arrested on gun charges...

R&B singer Lyfe Jennings, real name Chester Jennings was arrested on Sunday (19 October 08) and charged with gun offences in Smyrna, Georgia.30-year-old Jennings was said to be looking for Joy Pound - the mother of his children, according to an arrest warrant the singer had kicked in the door of a house and fired a gun in the street. Police had been in high speed pursuit of his red Corvette after getting reports of gunfire, when they finally did stop his vehicle Jennings refused a sobriety test.

The warrant is alleged to say the star had “had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from his breath. Reports claim that to get himself released he posted a $50,000 bond on Monday night, after being charged with gun offences, trespassing, eluding police and driving under the influence.Jennings is no stranger to being on the wrong side of the law, having served ten years in prison for a felony charge when he was a teenager.

New D'Angelo Single Hits iTunes - Gail Mitchell, L.A.

D'Angelo has prefaced the spring 2009 release of his third album with a new buzz single. "I Found My Smile Again," a remake of the tune D'Angelo originally recorded for the 1996 "Space Jam" soundtrack, became available exclusively via iTunes today (Sept. 30).

"The song is something that's very close to him," manager Lindsay Guion tells Billboard.com exclusively. "He's able to smile again and he's ready to connect [with fans]. He's coming back. And he looks great, by the way."

The iTunes releases follows news of a Q-Tip song featuring D'Angelo, "I Believe," that was leaked online today. D'Angelo went into the studio with Q-Tip a couple of years ago to record the track. While the song is slated to appear on Q-Tip's own upcoming album, "The Renaissance" (Universal Motown, Nov. 4), Guion isn't sure yet if it will also be featured on D'Angelo's new album via J Records/RCA Music Group.

Guion did confirm that D'Angelo is in a Los Angeles studio working on his album, collaborating with Raphael Saadiq, ?uestlove and Roy Hargrove, among others.

D'Angelo has largely fallen off the musical map since 2000's "Voodoo," which has sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The single "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," hit No. 2 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart and No. 25 on the Hot 100.

Bruce Springsteen & Billy Joel Sign On For Obama Benefit - Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

In what is being billed as the first time they've ever played at the same concert, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel have signed on for a benefit for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Oct. 16 at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.

Other "exciting guests" for the show have yet to be announced. Balcony tickets are $500, while premiere seats are $2,500 and lounge seats are $10,000. Springsteen, who endorsed Obama this spring, recently finished a tour with the E Street Band in support of his 2007 album, "Magic." On Sunday, it was confirmed the group will play during the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. Joel, meanwhile, begins a month-long tour of China, Australia, Japan and New Zealand Nov. 12 in Hong Kong.

Janet Jackson Parts Ways With Island Def Jam- Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.

After just 14 months on Island Def Jam, Janet Jackson announced today (Sept. 22) her departure from the label. According to Jackson's publicist, the label agreed to dissolve their relationship with the artist at her request.

After a long stint with Virgin, Jackson inked a deal with Island in July 2007 and released her label debut, "Discipline," in February. When album sales failed to meet expectations, the singer expressed dissatisfaction with IDJ, first telling SOHH.com that the label "stopped all promotion whatsoever on the album" after releasing the first single, "Feedback." Earlier this month, she hinted about potentially severing ties with IDJ to Billboard, stating, "I can't say if we'll be working with them in the future. I don't know what the future holds between the two of us."

Executive produced by Jackson and her boyfriend, Island Urban president Jermaine Dupri, "Discipline" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 in March with 181,000 copies sold. But it has shifted only 415,000 copies in the United States so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and spent just 14 weeks on the chart.

Now, Jackson "will have autonomy over her career, without the restrictions of a label system," reads a statement from her team. "Always known to break new ground and set trends, Janet's departure from Island makes her one of the first superstar artists to have the individual freedom to promote their work through a variety of avenues such as iTunes, mobile carriers and other diverse and innovative channels."

Jackson is currently on the road with her first tour in seven years, "Rock Witchu," with support form LL Cool J and Donnie Klang. The Live Nation-promoted outing began Sept. 10 in Vancouver and runs through Oct. 22 in Dallas. Moving forward, Jackson would seem to be a natural fit at Live Nation Artists, which is already home to Jay-Z, Nickelback and Shakira. A Live Nation spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the subject.

George Michael Apologizes After Drug Bust

George Michael apologized to fans yesterday (Sept. 21) and promised to "sort himself out" after his arrest and caution by police for possession of drugs.

Michael, 45, was arrested in a public toilet in the north London suburb of Hampstead on Friday afternoon after he was found in possession of crack cocaine and cannabis, according to the Sunday People newspaper.

"I want to apologize to my fans for screwing up again, and to promise them I'll sort myself out," said Michael in a statement issued through his publicist. "And to say sorry to everybody else, just for boring them."

Michael has had several brushes with the law over his recreational drug use. In 2006 he was found slumped over the wheel of his car in London and later admitted driving while unfit due to drugs. He was banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

In an interview on BBC radio last year, Michael discussed his drug problems, saying he was aware that he smoked too much marijuana and was trying to reduce his consumption.
"In a strange way I've spent the last 15 to 20 years trying to derail my own career, but it never seems to suffer," he said. "I suffer like crazy. I've suffered bereavements and public humiliations, but my career always seems to right itself like a plastic duck in the bath."

Earlier this year he signed up for a no-holds-barred autobiography which he intends to write entirely by himself.

Milian Signs With MySpace Records - Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.

In the wake of her 2006 departure from Def Jam, Christina Millian has signed a new deal with MySpace Records, Billboard magazine has reported. Her label debut is due next spring. The first single, "Us Against The World," is a "cinematic power ballad" produced by Madd Scientist (Leona Lewis, Jesse McCartney) and will be available via the social networking site on Oct. 6.

"I've been out of the game for one-and-a-half years, and I think I'm long overdue for a comeback, so I'm treating this album like it's my last chance to make an impression. I'm competing with myself and being very detailed," the 26-year-old Cuban-American tells Billboard. "Before, I had a label telling me what direction to go in. Now, it's my choice, so I'm being very particular about it and I'm really excited."

Aside from Scientist, other producers on the pop/urban set, which the 26-year-old powerhouse describes as a "very feminine, strong and independent album," include T-Pain, Cool and Dre, Jim Jonsin, Toby Gad and Danja. Kanye West is the sole guest feature so far, although Milian, who wrote most of the album, does hint at some potential collaborative surprises down the line.

Milian's stint with Def Jam did not end well. She was dropped just a month after the release of her third studio album, 2006's "So Amazin'," allegedly due to poor sales. The set has shifted more than 163,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

But she's viewing the MySpace deal as a chance for a fresh start. "I have a lot of support from my peers. I have lots of people that love me and want the best for me," she says. "Sometimes things don't work out the right way, but I know I work my butt off on my end. As long as you know you worked hard, you feel accomplished. Thankfully, I took the time off to check out what's going on and now I'm back, and MySpace is allowing me to do tons of different things creatively."

Cousin: Nate Dogg Was On Life Support
West Coast rapper Nate Dogg was hospitalized nearly two weeks ago after suffering a stroke, his second in less than a year.

But contrary to Internet news stories that offered an upbeat prognosis, a family member tells E! News that as of Wednesday the 39-year-old hip-hopster was on life support in a Los Angeles-area hospital with a feeding tube in his mouth.

"He has suffered another stroke from his bad eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle," says Donald Smith, Dogg's cousin and a fellow emcee who goes by the moniker Lil' Half Dead. "All we can do now is pray for him."

Dogg has since been taken off life support but as of today still requires a feeding tube, according to Smith.The rapper, whose real name is Nathaniel Hale, was stricken on Sept. 5. Earlier this week, manager Rod McGrew told the hip-hop news site SOHH "the prognosis at this time is favorable. We're positive, prayerful, hopeful and patient." Citing unnamed sources, TMZ offered a starker assessment, saying that while Dogg did not suffer any brain damage, he has exhibited little movement below the neck.The MC, a cousin of Snoop Dogg who made his debut on Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic before signing with Death Row Records, was first felled by a stroke on Dec. 19, leaving him partially paralyzed.

Dogg had continued his recovery in physical therapy, but still relied on the use of a wheelchair.

"He was making excellent progress with his recovery from the first stroke," said McGrew. "This is an unfortunate setback. We welcome all prayers in support of Nate's recovery but we would appreciate privacy."

The rapper's condition will undoubtedly force a Compton judge to postpone a Sept. 24 hearing in which Dogg faces felony charges for threatening and stalking his estranged wife

Poll: US still racist, Racial views steer some white Dems away from Obama
By RON FOURNIER and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles. The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about two and one-half percentage points. Certainly, Republican John McCain has his own obstacles: He's an ally of an unpopular president and would be the nation's oldest first-term president. But Obama faces this: 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.

Adjectives that describe blacks

More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can't win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don't have such views. Such numbers are a harsh dose of reality in a campaign for the history books. Obama, the first black candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, accepted the Democratic nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a seminal moment for a nation that enshrined slavery in its Constitution.

"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Stanford political scientist Paul Sniderman who helped analyze the exhaustive survey. The pollsters set out to determine why Obama is locked in a close race with McCain even as the political landscape seems to favor Democrats. President Bush's unpopularity, the Iraq war and a national sense of economic hard times cut against GOP candidates, as does that fact that Democratic voters outnumber Republicans.

The findings suggest that Obama's problem is close to home — among his fellow Democrats, particularly non-Hispanic white voters. Just seven in 10 people who call themselves Democrats support Obama, compared to the 85 percent of self-identified Republicans who back McCain. The survey also focused on the racial attitudes of independent voters because they are likely to decide the election. Lots of Republicans harbor prejudices, too, but the survey found they weren't voting against Obama because of his race. Most Republicans wouldn't vote for any Democrat for president — white, black or brown.

Not all whites are prejudiced. Indeed, more whites say good things about blacks than say bad things, the poll shows. And many whites who see blacks in a negative light are still willing or even eager to vote for Obama. On the other side of the racial question, the Illinois Democrat is drawing almost unanimous support from blacks, the poll shows, though that probably wouldn't be enough to counter the negative effect of some whites' views. Race is not the biggest factor driving Democrats and independents away from Obama. Doubts about his competency loom even larger, the poll indicates. More than a quarter of all Democrats expressed doubt that Obama can bring about the change they want, and they are likely to vote against him because of that.

Three in 10 of those Democrats who don't trust Obama's change-making credentials say they plan to vote for McCain. Still, the effects of whites' racial views are apparent in the polling. Statistical models derived from the poll suggest that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage points higher if there were no white racial prejudice.

But in an election without precedent, it's hard to know if such models take into account all the possible factors at play. The AP-Yahoo News poll used the unique methodology of Knowledge Networks, a Menlo Park, Calif., firm that interviews people online after randomly selecting and screening them over telephone. Numerous studies have shown that people are more likely to report embarrassing behavior and unpopular opinions when answering questions on a computer rather than talking to a stranger. Other techniques used in the poll included recording people's responses to black or white faces flashed on a computer screen, asking participants to rate how well certain adjectives apply to blacks, measuring whether people believe blacks' troubles are their own fault, and simply asking people how much they like or dislike blacks.

"We still don't like black people," said John Clouse, 57, reflecting the sentiments of his pals gathered at a coffee shop in Somerset, Ohio. Given a choice of several positive and negative adjectives that might describe blacks, 20 percent of all whites said the word "violent" strongly applied. Among other words, 22 percent agreed with "boastful," 29 percent "complaining," 13 percent "lazy" and 11 percent "irresponsible." When asked about positive adjectives, whites were more likely to stay on the fence than give a strongly positive assessment.

Among white Democrats, one third cited a negative adjective and, of those, 58 percent said they planned to back Obama. The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites." Those who agreed with that statement were much less likely to back Obama than those who didn't.

Among white independents, racial stereotyping is not uncommon. For example, while about 20 percent of independent voters called blacks "intelligent" or "smart," more than one third latched on the adjective "complaining" and 24 percent said blacks were "violent."Nearly four in 10 white independents agreed that blacks would be better off if they "try harder." The survey broke ground by incorporating images of black and white faces to measure implicit racial attitudes, or prejudices that are so deeply rooted that people may not realize they have them. That test suggested the incidence of racial prejudice is even higher, with more than half of whites revealing more negative feelings toward blacks than whites. Researchers used mathematical modeling to sort out the relative impact of a huge swath of variables that might have an impact on people's votes — including race, ideology, party identification, the hunger for change and the sentiments of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's backers.

Just 59 percent of her white Democratic supporters said they wanted Obama to be president. Nearly 17 percent of Clinton's white backers plan to vote for McCain. Among white Democrats, Clinton supporters were nearly twice as likely as Obama backers to say at least one negative adjective described blacks well, a finding that suggests many of her supporters in the primaries — particularly whites with high school education or less — were motivated in part by racial attitudes.

The survey of 2,227 adults was conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 5. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

———

Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Julie Carr Smyth, Philip Elliot, Julie Pace and Sonya Ross contributed to this story.

George Michael caught again with drugs

By James Desborough & Lucy Panton, 21/09/2008 HE’S at it again—troubled pop idol George Michael has been NABBED by cops in a public toilet . . . this time with CRACK COCAINE and CANNABIS on him, we can reveal. The multi-millionaire singer was arrested after a tip-off from a suspicious lavatory attendant as he lurked in underground loos near London’s Hampstead Heath on Friday afternoon. Former Wham heart-throb George, 45, was taken to a police station where he admitted possession of Class A and C drugs and accepted a caution.

Last month he played a series of farewell concerts saying he wanted a “quieter life” and declaring: “I’m an old man, I really need to sit down.” But off stage he seems as busy as ever with his sordid pursuits. His shock arrest near his favourite gay haunt comes after the News of the World caught him trawling the notorious north London heath for sex. George’s first toilet shame was in Los Angeles in 1998 when he flashed at a cop. But over the last decade his behaviour has become even more worryingly erratic. He’s been found slumped at the wheel of his car, caught driving under the influence of drugs and smoked marijuana on TV.

Revealing his latest disgrace, a source told us: “George was hanging around the toilets near the heath for quite a while. A lot of people became suspicious. “He is a very well known face and eventually his odd behaviour caused a toilet attendant to call the police. “When the officers arrived Michael was still in the loos. They searched him and found he had drugs on him. He was quickly carted off to the police station.” The toilets where George was caught are just a few miles from his luxury £5 million Highgate mansion. Situated at the bottom end of Hampstead Heath, the notorious loos are close to a seating area of the heath popular with families.

They are well known as a place where men go cottaging for gay sex. Inside is a “No Loitering” sign. A spokesman for Scotland Yard told us: “A 45-year-old male was arrested in the Hampstead Heath area on September 19 on suspicion of the possession of drugs. “He was taken to a north London police station where he was interviewed and received a caution for possession of Class A and Class C drugs.” Cops decided not to refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service for possible further action, saying George had showed ‘remorse’.

Instead, they cautioned him. “He has been released and there will be no further action,” said the spokesman. But there has been far too much action of the scandalous sort in the superstar’s life. His shock arrest comes two years after the News of the World caught him trawling for illegal gay sex thrills in the same London park. He was seen by our reporters emerging from bushes on the heath after cavorting with another man. When challenged George was wild-eyed and trembling. Trying to hide his face under a baseball cap, he screamed: “I don’t believe it! F*** off! If you put those pictures in the paper I’ll sue!“

His descent into shame began when he exposed himself in front of an undercover cop in a Beverly Hills park loo. He was fined £450 by a Los Angeles court and ordered to do 80 hours’ community service. But in recent years drugs have plagued his life. He pleaded guilty to being unfit to drive last year after he was found slumped at the wheel of his car in north London. Tests showed anti-depressants, cannabis and illegal dance drug GHB in his blood. George—who has amassed a £70 million fortune from sales of records including I Want Your Sex and Careless Whisper—confessed he was battling an addiction to prescription drugs during an interview with Michael Parkinson last year.

The star told viewers he thought smoking dope was fine—but said he regretted being filmed using the drug for The South Bank Show. At his last concert at Earls Court in London last month he announced to journalists that there would be no more stadium tours. He said: “It’s been an amazing ride but there seemed to be too many moments when the compromises seemed too huge.” Last night it was unclear whether George was at his Highgate home. His long-term partner Kenny Goss was dropped off at the black gates by a chauffeur-driven black BMW. He stayed at the house for about 15 minutes before he was picked up by a woman driving a silver Mercedes. When asked how the superstar was, Kenny replied: “I’ve got no comment to make.”

Clarence "Uncle Tom"Thomas says Constitution forbids racial preference

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Tuesday that African-Americans are better served by colorblind programs than affirmative action. Thomas, addressing leaders of historically black colleges, said affirmative action "has become this mantra and there almost has become this secular religiosity about it. I think it almost trumps thinking." A longtime opponent of race-based preferences in hiring and school admissions, Thomas said, "Just from a constitutional standpoint, I think we're going to run into problems if we say the Constitution says we can consider race sometimes."Thomas, 60, has voted on the court to outlaw the use of race in college admissions and in determining which public schools students will attend. He wrote with evident resentment in his autobiography "My Grandfather's Son" that he felt he was allowed to attend Yale Law School in the 1970s because of his race and took a tough course load to prove he was as able as his white classmates.

"My suggestion would be to stop the buzz words and to focus more on the practical effect of what we're doing," he said Tuesday. "I can tell you when you have fudge words, it leaves a lot of room for mischief," he said. "People have a tendency to read their personal opinions into fudge words. You want, when it comes to the issue of race, absolute words." Thomas also reminisced about his childhood in Savannah, Ga., when his sports heroes played at the historically black institutions because the flagship state universities in the South — with their big-time athletic programs — remained segregated.

He recalled as a seminal moment the night in 1966 when five black starters led Texas Western to the NCAA basketball championship over an all-white Kentucky team. "I remember sitting alone at the end of that game and saying something has changed dramatically in society," he said.

The coach of the winning team, Don Haskins, died Sunday.

Serena Williams ends magical U.S. Open with championship and No. 1 ranking - Greg Garber

Coming into Sunday night's final, she had not won the championship here in six years, nor been the No. 1-ranked woman in more than five. When it was over, after Williams had finally put down Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 late Sunday night in one of the finest women's finals here in many years, she flung her racket skyward, shrieked repeatedly and started pogo-sticking around the court -- sproing, sproing, sproing -- like a child. "I'm sorry I'm so excited," Serena said, almost convincingly, as she reached across the net to Jankovic.

After her quarterfinal victory over sister Venus, Serena said, "Honestly, I really would just like to win the tournament, with or without the ranking. Believe me, I'm going to be No. 1 sooner or later." How about sooner? She was in the middle of her Serena Slam, tearing up tennis -- she was No. 1 for 57 consecutive weeks -- when injuries and outside interests intervened. "Things happen -- life happened," Venus said earlier in the tournament. "You can't always predict it. The best part is we're still here, going stronger that ever."

Five years and one month after she lost the No. 1 ranking to Kim Clijsters in August 2003, Serena is No. 1 again. That's the longest period between berths at the top by any player since the current ranking system was instituted in the middle 1970s. Andre Agassi (3 years, 5 months) and Jimmy Connors (3 years, 2 months) are second and third on that impressive all-time list. "I always try to do something different," said Serena, a month shy of her 27th birthday. "I've been down in the dumps, the gutter, so long. This is so cool."Five years in the career of a professional athlete is an eternity -- particularly in tennis, where the shelf life of champions is usually fleeting. This might explain the cathartic release we saw from Serena at the end of the title match. "I don't even remember match point," she said. "I'm so excited, I can't even describe it. It's been so long, it's kind of weird.

"It was magical, everything coming together." While her father, Richard, conjectured that this title might mean the most to her, Serena declined to confirm this, saying all her titles are special. Jankovic, was philosophical. "Serena was a little bit better on the important points," she said. "I had some unlucky points, but I should have won them. I let my opportunities slip away."

How focused was Serena on winning? She faced a total of 14 set points in her matches against Jankovic and sister Venus -- and didn't lose one. Afterward, Serena revealed that Venus, who watched from the family box, helped her with a game plan for her past two matches.

Obama accepts nomination - Kevin Vaughan

Barack Obama's moment came exactly 53 years after two Mississippi men murdered a black teenager for whistling at a white girl, and exactly 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr. dared to dream of a world where people would "not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else," Obama said. "In Washington, they call this the 'ownership society,' but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own. "Well, it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America."

The night turned out as only his advisers could have dreamed. A huge crowd - roughly 80,000 in all - at times frenzied, at times rapt. Perfect weather. Fluttering American flags for the television cameras.

On Aug. 28, 1955, in Money, Miss., two white men kidnapped Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who whistled at a white girl. The men beat Till, gouged out one of his eyes, shot him in the head, tied a cotton gin fan to his neck with barbed wire and hurled his body into the Tallahatchie River. A jury acquitted them, but the incident galvanized the civil rights movement, then in its infancy.

Eight years later, on Aug. 28, 1963, King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial before 200,000 people and looked ahead to a day when the dynamic would be different. And on Aug. 28, 2008, Barack Obama became the first black man to accept a major political party's presidential nomination.

"You never thought it would happen in your lifetime," said Lorretta Johnson, 68, a delegate from Maryland who grew up in segregated Baltimore.The evening began, in earnest, with three people intimately woven into King's life - U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon and the last living speaker from that 1963 March on Washington, King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, and son, Martin Luther King III.

"For those of us who stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, or who in the years that followed may have lost hope, this moment is a testament to the power and vision of Martin Luther King Jr.," Lewis said. "It is a testament to the ability of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our history. "It is a testament to the promise of America."

At 8:11 p.m., Obama walked across the blue-carpeted stage toward the microphone and his date with history. He drew a picture of his uniquely American story, where the son of a man from Kenya and a woman from Kansas could reach for the White House.

"It is that promise that has always set this country apart," Obama said. He drove home, again and again, the theme that has dominated his campaign - change.

"Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time," he said. "America, this is one of those moments."Obama ticked off items from his agenda. Tax cuts for "working families" and companies that create jobs. Development of natural gas reserves, clean coal technology, and nuclear power. Health care for all that is accessible and affordable. On each subject, he took a swing at McCain.

Obama made only one veiled reference to his own race.

"I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office," Obama said from a stage backed by Greek columns. "I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington."But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you."

Then he turned to that day 45 years ago when King stood at the Lincoln Memorial.

"The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things," Obama said. "They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustrations of so many dreams deferred. But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.Out in the stadium, the faithful celebrated, some in stunned silence, as the speech ended.

"This is the defining moment of my lifetime," said Anthony Graves, 32, of Denver.

Obama's wife, Michelle, and their daughters joined them on the stage, and fireworks shot into the sky. Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill, joined them, and red-white-and-blue streamers exploded behind them. Obama's daughters, 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia, bounced around, trying to catch star-shaped flakes falling from the sky, tossing confetti. Malia picked up a long blue strand of paper as her father walked toward her. He gave her a knowing look, with a slight, winking smile.Then he headed toward a fall campaign that could land him in the White House.

No iTunes, no US hits for Estelle
British R&B star Estelle has seen her single American Boy plummet down the US chart after her latest album, Shine, was taken off iTunes in the States.

Record label Warner made the move to force fans to buy the whole album, not just individual songs, reports said. American Boy, featuring Kanye West, was UK number one for a month in March. It was in the iTunes top 10 in the US before its removal. It was also at 11 on the official Billboard singles chart - but has now dropped to number 37.

The song has also fallen from number six to 59 on the Billboard download chart. A cover version, by a group called Studio All-Stars, has taken advantage of the situation, appearing at number 43 on the download chart. Meanwhile, Shine, which is nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in the UK, has dropped to number 159 on the Billboard album rundown. The album has spent 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 38.Estelle is currently on a major North American tour, where she is playing up her collaborations with US hip-hop and R&B stars such as Kanye West, John Legend, Will.i.am and Cee-Lo Green.

A Warner spokesman told the paper the removal of Shine from iTunes was part of a broad range of strategies "uniquely tailored to each artist and their fanbase in an effort to optimise revenues and promote long-term artist development". The album is still available on iTunes in the UK, and on other download services in the US, including Amazon, Napster and Rhapsody.

Amy Winehouse 'may have brain damage after two drug overdoses

Amy Winehouse may have brain damage after suffering two major overdoses in the past 12 months where she binged on crystal meth, heroin and cocaine, it emerged today. The singer also smoked pot in a 36-hour marathon session in July where she suffered such bad convulsions, they were 'like a scene from The Exorcist', a close friend told The Sun.

Now doctors have warned the troubled star that one more overdose will kill her. Winehouse first overdosed in August last year from cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, ketamine and crystal meth. She was advised to see a psychiatrist after displaying 'multiple personality traits' that made her a suicide risk.

It was following this second overdose in July that doctors are worried her brain was damaged by the cannabis overdose after she displayed symptoms normally associated with schizophrenia. The Back to Black star inhaled an 'inhuman' amount of hash that left her vomiting uncontrollably and hallucinating, according to her pal. Her loyal father Mitch, 54, said at the time that it was a 'bad reaction to medication', however a close friend refutes this.

'The future is bleak, bleak, bleak,' the pal told The Sun. 'Mitch does everything he can to protect his daughter - but his 'explanation' for Amy's hospital dash in July was just simply untrue.'She had smoked an inhuman amount of hash which resulted in acute cannabis poisoning. You have to take a s***load of pot to suffer that severe reaction.

'It is thought she had been smoking it for 36 hours. 'Amy's fits were as bad as the convulsions she had during her overdose in August last year. 'No one has mentioned her meth use before - but that stuff is truly nasty. 'She is in need of years of psychiatry and medical treatment if she has a hope.'

Meanwhile there is more bad news for the Rehab singer.

She is facing legal action after she pulled out of a concert in Paris just two hours before she was due to headline it. The troubled star disappointed her fans when she failed to show up at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris after she was taken ill at her house in London and was unable to travel to France.

Because of some backstage machinations, Ne-Yo is a little bit richer.

The R&B star has scored a nice payday for being dumped from R. Kelly's road show last year. A Los Angeles judge has ordered Kelly's promoter to pony up $700,320 to the "Because of You" Grammy winner. Ne-Yo went to court in December, alleging he was bounced from the Double Up tour because his opening set was getting better reaction from fans and critics than Kelly's. The bill also featured Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday.

Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey made his default judgment after Georgia-based Rowe Entertainment refused to respond to the lawsuit filed by Ne-Yo under his real name, Shaffer Smith. Per his suit, Ne-Yo was supposed to earn $785,000 on the 25-date jaunt, but the 25-year-old performer was canned by Rowe after the second show on Nov. 15 and only received a fraction of the contracted amount.At the time, the promoter blamed the dismissal on Ne-Yo's camp for not completing the proper paperwork.

There was no immediate comment from either Ne-Yo or Rowe on the judge's ruling. Kelly was not named as a defendant in the suit.It's shaping up to be a big month for the rising star, whose third studio album, Year of the Gentleman, drops Sept. 16

Singer, songwriter Isaac Hayes dies at age 65

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday afternoon, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. He was 65.

A family member found him unresponsive near a treadmill and he was pronounced dead an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, according to the sheriff's office. The cause of death was not immediately known.

In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for romantic crooners like Barry White. And he was rapping before there was rap. His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice of Chef, the sensible school cook and devoted ladies man on the animated TV show "South Park." Steve Shular, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said authorities received a 911 call after Hayes' wife and young son and his wife's cousin returned home from the grocery store and found him collapsed in a downstairs bedroom. A sheriff's deputy administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

"The treadmill was running but he was unresponsive lying on the floor," Shular said. The album "Hot Buttered Soul" made Hayes a star in 1969. His shaven head, gold chains and sunglasses gave him a compelling visual image. "Hot Buttered Soul" was groundbreaking in several ways: He sang in a "cool" style unlike the usual histrionics of big-time soul singers. He prefaced the song with "raps," and the numbers ran longer than three minutes with lush arrangements. "Jocks would play it at night," Hayes recalled in a 1999 Associated Press interview. "They could go to the bathroom, they could get a sandwich, or whatever."

Next came "Theme From Shaft," a No. 1 hit in 1971 from the film "Shaft" starring Richard Roundtree. "That was like the shot heard round the world," Hayes said in the 1999 interview. At the Oscar ceremony in 1972, Hayes performed the song and received a standing ovation. TV Guide later chose it as No. 18 in its list of television's 25 most memorable moments. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

"The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence," he said. "And they'll tell you if you ask." Hayes was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. "I knew nothing about the business, or trends and things like that," he said. "I think it was a matter of timing. I didn't know what was unfolding." A self-taught musician, he was hired in 1964 by Stax Records of Memphis as a backup pianist, working as a session musician for Otis Redding and others. He also played saxophone.

He began writing songs, establishing a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s they wrote such hits for Sam and Dave as "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "Soul Man." All this led to his recording contract. In 1972, he won another Grammy for his album "Black Moses" and earned a nickname he reluctantly embraced. Hayes composed film scores for "Tough Guys" and "Truck Turner" besides "Shaft." He also did the song "Two Cool Guys" on the "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" movie soundtrack in 1996.

Additionally, he was the voice of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis. He was in several movies, including "It Could Happen to You" with Nicolas Cage, "Ninth Street" with Martin Sheen, "Reindeer Games" starring Ben Affleck and the blaxploitation parody "I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka." In the 1999 interview, Hayes described the South Park cook as "a person that speaks his mind; he's sensitive enough to care for children; he's wise enough to not be put into the 'whack' category like everybody else in town — and he l-o-o-o-o-ves the ladies."

Hayes was born in 1942 in a tin shack in Covington, Tenn., about 40 miles north of Memphis. He was raised by his maternal grandparents after his mother died and his father took off when he was 1 1/2. The family moved to Memphis when he was 6. Hayes wanted to be a doctor, but got redirected when he won a talent contest in ninth grade by singing Nat King Cole's "Looking Back."

Bernie Mac dies at 50

Comedian Bernie Mac died this morning in a Chicago hospital - Kelley L. Carter and Glenn Jeffers | Tribune reporters

Comedian and Chicago native Bernie Mac died early Saturday morning from complications due to pneumonia, his publicist confirmed.Mac, 50, had been hospitalized for about a week at Northwestern Hospital, according to his spokeswoman. A few years ago, Mac disclosed that he suffered from sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in tissue, most often in the lungs.

The comic born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough could cut an imposing figure. He stood 6-foot-3, was built like a fullback and carried himself with a bouncer's reticence. But perhaps the strongest weapon in the Chicago comedian's arsenal was that voice, that amalgam of thought and a delivery that could rise like a tidal wave, outpace a Gatling gun and remained, to his last days, loud and unapologetic. He wasn't scared, he told us time and again, to tell anyone what he thought, to say what others were afraid to say. That fearlessness wasn't always welcome, considering Mac didn't get his big break until his 30s. But when he did, the comic skyrocketed to success in stand-up, television and the big screen.

Mac shared screen time with some of Hollywood's larger-than-life leading men, co-starring with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon in the "Ocean's 11" remake and subsequent sequels. Most recently, Mac garnered attention for making unsavory comments at a Barack Obama benefit that the presumptive Democratic candidate had to distance himself from.

Growing up on the South Side a hard-core White Sox fan, Mac discovered early on that he wanted to make a go at being a comedian. Before his 10th birthday, Mac was performing comedy standup, honing his skills on CTA trains and parks before graduating to well-known haunts like the Regal Theater and the Cotton Club. He came to a realization during those first years as a struggling comic: If he could kill in front of a black crowd, he could kill in any crowd. "Black audiences are hard," he told the New York Times in 2002. "You got to come with a little extra to satisfy them." He also learned that comedy isn't a lucrative business when you are starting out. During those lean years in the '80s, Mac drove a Wonder Bread delivery truck to pay the bills.

Life changed dramatically for Mac when he was 32. He won the Miller Lite comedy search that year and that performance took him to the standup stage, which ultimately led to regular performances on popular shows like HBO's "Def Comedy Jam."In a few short years, he was able to put a stamp on this tell-it-like-it-is brand of comedy that audiences had come to know him for. He was a hit on the stage, delivering sordid tales of his early life growing up on Chicago's South Side.His work hit home to the African American audience -- his aggressive, brash comedy had a down home feel to it, tackling everything from family life to black romantic relationships -- yet Mac was able to cross it over, connecting with a majority entertainment scene.

"When I started in comedy in the clubs in 1977, blacks couldn't do certain clubs -- not because they were segregated. They just didn't want to put the [black comics] out there. In Los Angeles, the clubs would have a black night. People would say, 'Why don't you come by and do something?' I would say, 'I'm a comedian -- don't put a title on me.' Don't limit yourself. How you start is how you finish," he told the Tribune in 2007. "If you let people put tags on you, you'll never be able to remove them. You've got to make people respect you. Respect is bigger than dollars and cents."

Mac got his respect and he gained national attention after his set on HBO's popular late-night series Def Comedy Jam in 1992. Decked out in a pair of jeans with his face illustrated, graffiti-style, on the right pants leg, Mac expounded on one taboo subject after another, from the benefits of snitching to his prowess in the bedroom.

"I ain't scared of you [expletive]!" became his signature tagline. Many took note of the blue comic's performance, which later led to a bit part in 1992's "Mo' Money," and later an HBO Special, "Midnight Mac." In 1995, Mac earned a spot in the cult-classic "Friday," and the film helped Mac break out. His portrayal of Pastor Clever was one of the film's highlights, however small it was. He followed it up with bit roles in other films, including "Booty Call," and "Def Jam's: How to Be a Player."

But he wanted more.

Mac sowed the seeds for his success on a cloudy day in North Carolina while taping the 2000 Spike Lee concert film, "The Original Kings of Comedy." There, on a rain-soaked basketball court, buttressed by co-stars Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and Steve Harvey, Mac issued a challenge to Hollywood: "Do I have a television show? Nah," Mac told the cameras. "Why? 'Cause you scared of me, Scared I'm a say something. You [expletive] right. Think I won't say something?!" A year later, Mac got his chance. "The Bernie Mac Show" debuted on Fox in November 2001, drawing critical acclaim, numerous awards, including two Emmy nominations for Mac and, most important, high ratings. Its premiere episode drew 11.4 million viewers. The second episode, which immediately followed the first, drew 12.4 million.

For the next four years, Mac spoke to the American public--via a break in the fourth wall a la Dobie Gillis--with all the befuddlement of a 40-something taskmaster father lost in a sea of talk therapy and "timeouts." "Now, America," Mac would often begin before going into a rant about undisciplined children, cuddling parents or, one of his favorite topics, the differences between black and white people.

But in 2005, the show went off the air. Several reasons contributed to cancellation: The show's ratings had dropped, Mac was getting more lucrative offers from the movie studios. Before the 2000 concert film, Mac's biggest credit was a recurring role on "Moesha."But Mac's health was also a factor. In 2004, he halted production on the show while recovering from exhaustion. A year later, he disclosed that he suffered from sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in tissue, most often in the lungs. In spite of that, his star had risen a great deal. In addition to the highly popular "Oceans" films, he co-starred with Ashton Kutcher in a reverse remake of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 2005.

Last spring, Mac said that he was hanging up his standup career, and instead would focus more on movies. In 2007, he co-starred in "Ocean's Thirteen," "Pride" and had a role in the blockbuster "Transformers." Scheduled for release is "Soul Men," with Samuel L. Jackson, which will be released this year, and "Old Dogs," with Robin Williams, which is due next year.

Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda McCullough, their daughter, Je'Niece, a son-in-law and a granddaughter, Jasmine.

Actor Morgan Freeman is injured in car accident -By HOLBROOK MOHR, AP

JACKSON, Miss. - Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is in a hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday after being seriously injured in a car accident near his home in Mississippi.Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kathy Stringer said Freeman, 71, is in serious condition. The hospital is about 90 miles north of the accident scene in rural Tallahatchie County in the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Ben Williams said Freeman was driving a 1997 Nissan Maxima belonging to Demaris Meyer of Memphis when the car left a rural highway and flipped several times shortly before midnight Sunday.

"There's no indication that either alcohol or drugs were involved," Williams said. He said both Freeman and Meyer were wearing seat belts. The woman's condition was not immediately available. Freeman was airlifted to the hospital in Tennessee.Clay McFerrin, editor of Sun Sentinel in Charleston, said he arrived at the accident scene on Mississippi Highway 32 soon after it happened about 5 miles west of Charleston, not far from where Freeman owns a home with his wife.

McFerrin said it appeared that Freeman's car was airborne when it left the highway and landed in a ditch. "They had to use the jaws of life to extract him from the vehicle," McFerrin said. "He was lucid, conscious. He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point." McFerrin said bystanders converged on the scene trying to get a glimpse of the actor. When one person tried to snap a photo with a cell phone camera, Freeman joked, "no freebies, no freebies," McFerrin said. The hospital where Freeman is being treated is commonly known as The Med, and is an acute-care teaching facility that serves patients within 150 miles of Memphis.

Veteran broadcaster Edie Huggins dies at 72
Veteran NBC10 broadcaster Edie Huggins has died after a "hard fought, lengthy illness," the television station announced this afternoon. She was 72.

Huggins began at WCAU in 1966 as a feature reporter on the Big News Team with John Facenda and spent her 42-year-career in television at NBC10. She would have turned 73 on Aug. 14. "In her uniquely dignified way, Edie helped open the doors and blazed the trail that made it possible for so many of us to be here," said NBC 10 Vice President of News Chris Blackman. "Personally, I will always appreciate her support ... checking in on me whenever I had a rough day. Although she'll no longer be in our newsroom, she'll remain in our hearts."

Huggins was the first African-American woman to report on Philadelphia television. In the 1970's she co-hosted "What's Happening," with Herb Clarke and also hosted "Morningside" a live-magazine-style program. In recent years, her regular "Huggins Heroes" segments profiled local people doing great deeds. A founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Huggins also this year was honored by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

In 2006, Philadelphia City council declared March 30th "Edie Huggins Day" and adopted a resolution to honor her more than 40 years of accurate news reporting and her dedication to the City of Philadelphia. Her honors include inductions into the AFTRA and Broadcast Pioneers Halls of Fame and being chosen as one of the "Outstanding African-American Philadelphians of the 20th Century" by the Urban League of Philadelphia. She was honored by the Philadelphia Chapter of American Women in Radio & Television as "Communicator of the Year" in 1993.

The Missouri native graduated cum laude from the State University of New York and formerly worked as a registered nurse. She was cast in "A Man Called Adam," a film with Sammy Davis, Jr. and several years ago co-starred in "So Big," an independent film. Huggins was also a longtime member of the Bright Hope Baptist Church where she started a nursing scholarship for women.

Huggins is survived by her son, Hastings Edward, a complex engagement manager with IBM and a daughter, Laurie Linn, a television producer and specialist at Broadcast Advertising.

Alicia Keys, Jack White Team For Bond Theme
Ann Donahue, L.A.
Alicia Keys and the White Stripes' Jack White will record the theme song to "Quantum of Solace," the 22nd James Bond film, which hits U.S. theaters Nov. 7.The song, "Another Way To Die," will be the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. White wrote and produced the song, and also will play drums. The soundtrack to the movie will be released Oct. 28.

Best Buy Stores Expanding To Musical Instruments
July 28, 2008

Hoping to cater to everyone from the garage guitarist to a recording musician, Best Buy Co. Inc. is announcing a massive new initiative that sets aside store space for an array of musical instruments and gear in dozens of sites nationwide.

The nation's largest consumer electronics retailer will announce Tuesday that it plans to open as many as 85 of the music centers inside its stores by the end of the year and could add even more locations in the future, executives told The Associated Press. Each site will use about 2,500 square feet of retail space and include roughly 1,000 different products with well-known brand names such as Fender, Gibson, Drum Workshop and Roland.

"We're not just extending the shelf space in the store, we're creating a designated area specifically for this experience," said Kevin Balon, the company's vice president of musical instruments. "And we're trying to create an authentic and genuine musical instrument store look and feel inside of Best Buy. "The Richfield, Minn.-based retailer - already an industry leader in sales of everything from digital cameras to video games - will use its headfirst jump into the $8 billion U.S. musical instrument market to carve out new revenue opportunities as sales of CDs and DVDs slow, experts said.

When the rollout is complete, Best Buy - already considered by many investors to be a global powerhouse in the electronics retailing world - will become the second-largest instrument seller in the country based on locations. But some observers are cautious about whether the expansion efforts will reap big rewards, particularly as the nation's economy slows and consumers become even more particular about spending hard-earned paychecks.

"It's not a high-growth area and it's obviously going to take up a lot of real estate," said Morningstar retail analyst Brady Lemos. So far, ten sites are already open, including five in California, two in Illinois and two in Minnesota. Best Buy's selection will include everything from accessories - picks, sheet music and cases - to high-end basses, guitars, keyboards and DJ equipment. Instruments will be housed in separate rooms and the company also plans to offer group music lessons.

50 Cent Sues Taco Bell Over Ad Campaign

50 Cent has sued Taco Bell, claiming the fast-food restaurant chain is using his name without permission in advertising that asks him to call himself 99 Cent. The rapper says in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday (July 23) that the Mexican-themed chain features him in a print ad asking him to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent. His real name is Curtis Jackson. The rapper's court papers say the ad is part of Taco Bell's "Why Pay More?" campaign, which promotes items for under a dollar, including Cinnamon Twists for 79 cents, Crunchy Tacos for 89 cents and Bean Burritos for 99 cents. The papers say the Irvine, Calif.-based company sent a bogus letter requesting the name change to the news media but not to the rapper. The rapper's lawyer, Peter D. Raymond, said his client didn't learn about the letter or that he was featured in the ad campaign until he saw a news report about it. Raymond said his client is seeking $4 million in damages.

Taco Bell Corp. spokesman Rob Poetsch issued a statement saying: "We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice."

'Extreme Makeover' house faces foreclosure

More than 1,800 people showed up to help ABC's "Extreme Makeover" team demolish a family's decrepit home and replace it with a sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005. Three years later, the reality TV show's most ambitious project at the time has become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis.

After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it's set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.

The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built. The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home's door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes' employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple's three children and a home maintenance fund.

Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family's financial decisions. "It's aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it," Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper's living room, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Lock up your little girls! - R. Kelly aquitted

Money may not buy you love bit can surely buy "justice"

June 14 - R. Kelly, was found not guilty of charges stemming from a videotape allegedly showing him having sex with an underage girl. The obviously blind 12-member jury in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago found the 41-year-old Kelly innocent of all 14 counts yesterday after less than two days of deliberations. Some of the jurors in the case said the lack of testimony by the alleged victim figured in their decision to acquit.($$$$$$)

``Robert Kelly wasn't guilty of the crimes he was charged with,'' said defense attorney Sam Adam Jr., who represented Kelly with Chicago lawyers Ed Genson and Marc Martin during the five-week trial. Kelly, who records for Jive Records, a division of New York-based Sony BMG, was indicted by a Cook County grand jury in 2002. Genson persuaded the Illinois state court in February 2004 to dismiss seven charges against Kelly because the laws the singer was alleged to have broken hadn't been enacted yet, according to court records.

`Evidence Won?'

``The evidence won the case,'' Genson said of Kelly's trial yesterday. He dismissed the prosecutors' key evidence, a 27- minute video tape, as a fourth-generation copy upon which images were distorted by ``all sorts of video noise.'' Had he been convicted, Kelly would have faced a sentence of four to 15 years in prison, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for Cook County prosecutor Dick Devine.

``We accept the verdict of the jury,'' Devine said at a press conference, adding that he had ``no reservations'' about having brought the case. Devine's deputy, Shauna Boliker, one of two prosecutors who tried the case, said the alleged victim hadn't been subpoenaed to testify. Some jurors said her absence was factor in their decision to acquit. Five of the jurors, who declined to give their names, spent 30 minutes in the courtroom after the verdict answering reporters' questions about the trial.

`Lack of Evidence?'

``At some point, we all thought there was a lack of evidence,'' a female juror said. A male juror said the absence of the victim on the witness stand and her family in the courtroom was ``a major lack of evidence.'' A year after the Cook County Grand Jury indictment, Kelly was arrested in Miami on new child pornography charges, according to his lawyers. The singer pleaded innocent, and the charges were later dropped. Genson said then that the Florida charges stemmed from photos found on Kelly's estate and were related to the original allegations.

Kelly said in a statement at the time that the new allegations were a local jurisdiction's attempt to make headlines by attaching itself to a celebrity case. Following yesterday's verdict, the singer waved to a crowd of screaming fans outside of the courthouse five miles southwest of Chicago's downtown business district, got into a black Ford Expedition and rode away.The case is People of Illinois v. Robert Kelly, 02cr14952, in the Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court, Criminal Division (Chicago).

Fox News refers to Michelle Obama as `baby mama' - DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (AP) - Fox News Channel referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama" in a graphic on Wednesday, the latest in a trio of references to the Democratic presidential campaign that have given fuel to network critics.

The graphic "Outraged liberals: Stop picking on Obama's baby mama" was flashed during an interview with conservative columnist Michelle Malkin about whether Barack Obama's wife has been the target of unfair criticism. In the past two weeks, Fox anchor E.D. Hill has apologized for referring to an affectionate onstage fist bump shared by the couple as a "terrorist fist jab," and Fox contributor Liz Trotta said she was sorry for joking about an Obama assassination.

The incidents are further indications of how closely the endless cable campaign chatter is being watched this year. Hillary Clinton's campaign was angered by what it described as the pro-Obama tilt of some MSNBC commentators. Amid protests, MSNBC's Chris Matthews said he was wrong this winter to say Clinton was a candidate because "her husband messed around." And MSNBC reporter David Shuster was suspended for two weeks for saying Clinton's campaign had "pimped out" daughter Chelsea by having her make political phone calls.

"Obama's baby mama" was never said on the air. Malkin said during her interview that she had seen no gratuitous or cheap shots taken against Michelle Obama by Republican or conservative critics. Joan Walsh, a columnist from Salon.com, criticized the graphic on Thursday as a slur. "Do you try to explain that `baby mama' is slang for the unmarried mother of a man's child, and not his wife, or even a girlfriend?" Walsh wrote. "Are they racist, or just clueless? Isn't there racism even in their cluelessness, if somebody didn't know what `baby mama' means, but used it anyway? Even at Fox, won't somebody have to apologize?"

Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming at Fox, said in a statement that a producer "exercised poor judgment" during the segment. The producer was not fired; no other disciplinary action was announced. Hill's "terrorist fist jab" comment came in a tease to a segment on the candidates' body language, and it wasn't repeated during the subsequent interview. She told Fox it was taken from something she had read online.

No matter: "terrorist fist jab" quickly became an online sensation. Hill apologized on-air four days after she said it. Hill said some people "thought I had personally characterized it inappropriately. I regret that. It was not my intention and I certainly did not mean to associate the word `terrorist' in any way with Sen. Obama and his wife." Fox subsequently canceled Hill's weekday afternoon program as part of a larger reorganization. She remains on staff. Trotta's assassination joke came May 25 as she commented about how some considered it distasteful for Clinton to refer to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination when explaining why she was staying in the presidential race.

"Now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama," she said, quickly correcting herself. "Obama. Well, both if we could." Obama's name has often been confused with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden's, by people ranging from Mitt Romney to CNN's Alina Cho. And MSNBC once flashed a picture of bin Laden as Chris Matthews talked about Obama. Trotta apologized on-air the next day, and hasn't appeared on Fox since. "I sincerely regret it and apologize to anybody I've offended," she said. "It's a very colorful political season and many of us are making mistakes and saying things that we wish we hadn't said."

Ashanti's Bloody Videos Spark Protest- Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.

Ashanti's blood-splattered videos for her single, "The Way That I Love You," sparked a protest earlier this week in Los Angeles calling Universal Records to remove the clips from the Internet.

Led by civil-rights organization Project Islamic Hope and its leader Najee Ali, more than two dozen parents and religious leaders gathered outside the west coast Universal/Motown offices on Tuesday (June 10) to voice their displeasure with the videos.

The clip features a scorned lover, played by Ashanti, who gets revenge on her cheating boyfriend by stabbing him to death. A murder scene with the boyfriend's body in a tub and a bloody knife are among the images featured in it.

A separate promotional video includes a fake news reports about a killing spree allegedly inspired by Ashanti's love crime, as well as bloody walls with the words "black children will die" smeared on them. Prior to the protest it, the promo video was viewable on TheWayThatILoveYou.com, but the site has since been removed.

The site allowed visitors to send customized versions of the promotional video called "gotchagrams," with options to input a friend's name, their "crime" and "weapon of choice." "Following discussions with Ashanti, we have jointly decided to remove the TheWayThatILoveYou.com website that hosts the Gotchagram," reads a statement from Universal.

Two Charged With Supplying Drugs To Amy Winehouse

Police have charged a man and a woman in London with supplying drugs to Amy Winehouse. The charges stem from a video that appeared to show the singer smoking crack cocaine. London police say John Blagrove and Cara Burton have been charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy. The suspects were released on bail until their next court appearance on July 1. Police began an investigation after photos from the footage were published in The Sun newspaper in January. Detectives say Winehouse will not be charged in the case.

Jury Begins Deliberating In R. Kelly Case

The jury is deliberating in R. Kelly's child pornography case in Chicago.

It's been six years since the R&B superstar first was charged with appearing on a graphic video having sex with a girl prosecutors say was as young as 13. But both Kelly and the now 23-year-old alleged victim deny it's them on the tape. Neither took the stand. Prosecutors replayed for jurors today (June 12) the graphic recording at the center of the case during their closing arguments. But defense attorneys reiterated their key argument that it's neither Kelly nor the alleged victim on the tape.

Prosecution witnesses had testified that they recognized Kelly and the girl; defense witnesses said they did not. Both sides included the alleged victim's family members.

Court Allows Promo CD Sales - Susan Butler, N.Y.

A federal court has permitted an eBay trader to continue selling promotional
CDs he bought from music shops and online auctions.

The federal District Court in Los Angeles on June 10 denied Universal Music Group's motion for summary judgment, which requested the court to find Troy Augusto liable for copyright infringement. The record group claimed that promotional CDs it sends to journalists and others to promote and advertise a new release continue to be the label's property and may not be sold.

Universal argued that labeling on the CDs, which stated that the CDs were promotional and could not be sold to the public, were a license to listen to the CDs and not a sale of the CDs. The court disagreed, holding that Universal could not prevent anyone from selling those CDs. Under U.S. copyright law, once the legal title to a lawfully made copy of a copyrighted work is transferred, then the person who obtains that copy owns it and may dispose of it. This "first sale" doctrine does not mean that anyone may make another copy of the sound recording or the composition; the doctrine only involves possession of the material object, like the actual CD. Although movie videos may be rented, music and software may not be rented under U.S. copyright law. The court considered whether Universal transferred title to the promo CDs when the company sent them to "industry insiders."

Augusto argued that the license on the promo CDs was not valid; the insiders could treat the CDs as a gift under federal law; and Universal abandoned the promo CDs under California law. To decide whether it was a license or a sale, the court considered the economic realities of the transaction. Universal did not demonstrate an intent to regain possession of the CDs -- nothing on the packaging label required the recipient to return the CDs to the company, the court wrote in its order. The "license" did not provide recurring benefits for Universal, like a requirement that the recipient promote or expose the material on the CD.

Copies of software are often licensed to users rather than sold, but the court noted that the software must be copied onto a computer to function. Music CDs are not normally subject to such licenses. The court then agreed with Augusto that promo CDs are a gift under federal law. The Postal Reorganization Act prohibits the mailing of unordered merchandise without the prior express request or consent of the recipient. The recipient
may treat merchandise received without such request or consent as a gift -
to keep, use or sell. The court did not agree with Augusto's argument that Universal intended to abandon the CDs, however.

As a result of these findings, the court granted summary judgment in Augusto's favor on the copyright infringement claim. But the court denied Augusto's motion requesting that Universal be responsible for damages as a result of the company's notice to eBay to take down auction from its site. Under copyright law, a copyright holder may be liable for damages caused by an erroneous takedown notice sent to an Internet service provider. Since Universal believed in good faith that Augusto was infringing the company's copyrights, Universal could not be liable for damages. Universal plans to appeal the summary judgment on the infringement claim.

Bertelsmann Wants $1.5 billionn for Sony BMG Stake - Lars Brandle, London

Bertelsmann is valuing its stake in Sony BMG at $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion as the German media group escalates its efforts to pull out of the record music joint venture with Sony Corp, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. According to the report, the companies were keen to reach an accord this summer, although both parties have yet to reach agreement on price. The price of the BMG stake would come down if Sony pledged to buy services from Bertelsmann, the paper noted.

Speculation that Bertelsmann wanted to walk away from the 50/50 JV has gathered pace over the past few months. The joint venture agreement on Sony BMG, struck in 2004, is due to expire in August 2009, and rumblings from within the Guetersloh-based Bertelsmann camp have suggested a deal will come before that time. Hartmut Ostrowski, who took over as Bertelsmann chief executive in January, recently upped the ante, when he said in March, "We might take over 100%, or sell our 50% to Sony so that they have 100% or we might continue the joint venture," he said. "All three outcomes are possible."

Bertelsmann's chief financial officer Thomas Rabe has since reportedly met with at least two private equity companies to discuss the possible sale of its share. Industry sources speculate that the exit of Maarten Steinkamp as president of Continental Europe for Sony BMG signalled a broader transition in power, which would see much of the European company's control shifted to the U.S. Bertelsmann declined to comment.

."The Originator",Bo Diddley dies

Bo Diddley would have been immensely rich had it been possible to copyright a rhythm.
The distorted shuffle beat he created on guitar in the mid-1950s is the taproot of rhythm and blues and rock music. Mr. Diddley, who died Monday of heart failure at 79, was strongly imitated by British guitarists Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones as well as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page during their days in the Yardbirds.

In 1965, The Animals composed a tribute to Mr. Diddley called The Story of Bo Diddley, which traced the early days of R&B and gave Mr. Diddley his due as a pioneer of the music. "I play the guitar as if I was playing the drums," Mr. Diddley once explained. "It's mixed up with spiritual, sanctified rhythms, and the feeling I put into when I'm playing, I have the feeling of making people shout."

Mr. Diddley, born Otha Elias Bates McDaniel on Dec. 30, 1928 in McComb Mississippi, moved to Chicago at age seven. He was a consummate showman and self-mythologizer who named himself after the "diddley bow" - a one-string African guitar. He built his own exotically-shaped guitars, the most famous of which resembled a cigar box with strings.

With his black glasses and low-slung guitar, Mr. Diddley was rock's gunslinger, always moving on. His first recording on the Chess/Checker label in 1955 was the two-sided No. 1 hit on the R&B charts Bo Diddley/ I'm A Man. On Say Man, a 1959 hit, Mr. Diddley traded insults with his maracas player Jerome Green. The song was a musical version of "the dozens," a sort of street corner banter between young men that originated in black neighborhoods across the United States. Some critics cite Say Man as a forerunner of rap music.

Mr. Diddley styled himself "The Originator." His music was heavily percussive, with tambourines and maracas adding textures to his chunking guitar sound, which he achieved by choking the strings as he played. On their first tour of the United Kingdom in 1963, the Rolling Stones opened for Mr. Diddley and the Everly Brothers. Soon afterward, Mick Jagger was playing both tambourine and maracas on the band's first records. The Stones' early sound was epitomized by the one-two punch of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. Their version of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away is notable for its emphasis of the Diddley rhythm.

"We used the harmonica a lot back then ... and maracas, tambourines and that Bo Diddley African rhythm format," former Stones bassist Bill Wyman said in a 2002 interview. "We tried to get that really earthy thing because we liked it. It wasn't fake. It wasn't pseudo. It was really down to earth and very, very exciting. We'd play this stuff to people's faces and we'd see their mouths gape." The Stones never forgot their musical debt to Mr. Diddley. In 1987, Mr. Richards was on hand in New York when Mr. Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and jammed with him afterwards. Later that year, Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood teamed up with Mr. Diddley for a lengthy tour of North America, Japan and Europe as a duo.

Mr. Diddley was also invited onstage with the Stones during their televised concert in Miami during the 1994 Voodoo Lounge tour. The music business was not as kind to Mr. Diddley. In 1994, a Los Angeles court ruled that Mr. Diddley had been cheated by his ex-manager and awarded the singer $400,000 in back payments. It's uncertain how much money, if any, was paid back to Mr. Diddley.

Tatum O'Neal arrested in NYC drug bust buying crack

NEW YORK - Police say Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O'Neal has been arrested after buying crack cocaine near her home in Manhattan. Police say the 44-year-old actress was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

O'Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal, appears regularly on the cable television series "Rescue Me" and was the youngest person to win an Oscar for her role in 1973's "Paper Moon." She chronicled her struggles with addiction in her memoir, "A Paper Life."

New York Governor Pardons Slick Rick - Hillary Crosley, N.Y.

Veteran rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters received a full and unconditional pardon from New York governor David Paterson on May 23 for the attempted murders of two men in 1991, apparently ending a long legal saga.

Walters has already served approximately five years in prison and was released in 1997 on parole and discharged in 2000. But he faces deportation under a federal statute mandating the removal of a lawful resident alien upon conviction of an aggravated felony or a weapon offense. In 1995, an immigration judge ended Walters' deportment proceedings but the decision was later overturned by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Walters can still be deported despite Paterson's pardon, which is expected to slow efforts to return him to the United Kingdom, the country he left at age 11.

"My family and I are eternally thankful to Governor Paterson, my attorneys and all of the people who have supported me throughout the past 17 years," says Walters. "This has been a long and difficult road and I am happy for this to be settled once and for all. I look forward to enjoying this time with my family and friends and to continue leading an honest and productive life."

Paterson said in a statement that Walters is now an artist and landlord in New York who has not had any criminal problems since his release from prison. Walters has also volunteered to counsel youths against violence. Walters is best known for albums like "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick" and songs like "La-Di-Da-Di", "Mona Lisa" and "Children's Story," which have influenced artists such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Montell Jordan.

The Time Settles In For Las Vegas Shows - Mitchell Peters, L.A.

After reuniting for the first time in 15 years for the 50th Grammy awards in February, R&B/funk group the Time has announced additional concert performances at the Flamingo Las Vegas, beginning June 24 and wrapping Aug. 2. All original members of the Time -- Morris Day, Jerome Benton, Jellybean Johnson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Monte Moir and Jesse Johnson -- are slated for 15 shows at the Flamingo. Tickets are currently available via Harrahs.com, with prices ranging between $65 and $125.

During the band's Grammy performance, Jimmy Jam introduced his fellow bandmates and group opened with "Jungle Love," switching over mid-song to a slightly down-tempo, pyrotechnic laden version of "Umbrella" by Rihanna, who then continued with "Don't Stop the Music." In April, Day joined Prince onstage at the ninth annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., for a collaboration on "Jungle Love."

Kanye, Common, Method Man Sued Over Jazz Sample

Rappers Kanye West, Method Man, Redman, Common and their record companies were sued yesterday (May 22) by late U.S. jazz musician Joe Farrell's daughter, who accused them of using her father's music without approval.

The lawsuit, filed by Kathleen Firrantello in the U.S. District Court in New York, names the rappers along with various labels owned by Universal Music Group. None of the record companies or representatives for the rappers were immediately available for comment. The lawsuit said all the rappers used portions of Farrell's 1974 musical composition "Upon This Rock" in three separate songs -- West in "Gone," Common in "Chi-City" and Method Man and Redman in their song "Run 4 Cover." Firrantello is seeking punitive damages of at least $1 million and asked that no further copies of the songs be made, sold or performed, according to the lawsuit.

Judge Vacates $1.5 Million Judgment Vs. DMX

A judge in Upper Marlboro, Md., has vacated a $1.5 million judgment awarded to a woman who filed a defamation suit against rapper DMX after he alleged that she raped him. Prince George's County Circuit Judge Thomas Smith ruled last week that DMX (real name: Earl Simmons) was not properly served with court papers in the case filed against him by Monique Wayne.

Wayne became pregnant after an August 2003 encounter with Simmons in a Washington hotel room. She gave birth to a boy in April 2004 and DNA tests showed it was Simmons' son. But in a 2006 magazine interview, Simmons, without referring to Wayne by name, said she "raped" him while he slept. Wayne denied the claim, and said in a court hearing this year that she awoke to find Simmons on top of her, which led to consensual sex. She said she filed the lawsuit because "he lied to the whole world on me" about what happened.

Wayne was awarded the $1.5 million at a January hearing after Simmons failed to appear. But his lawyers challenged that claim, saying Wayne did not properly serve him with lawsuit papers and was unaware of the case against him. Wayne's lawyer did not return a phone message seeking comment. Simmons' lawyer William "Hassan" Murphy III said Simmons "looks forward to proving her allegations to be wrong" if the case continues. Simmons also faces criminal charges in Arizona for allegedly mistreating pit bulls found at his Phoenix home and felony drug possession. He pleaded not guilty last week.

Phil Spector To Be Re-Tried For Murder - Dan Whitcomb, Reuters

A Los Angeles judge today (May 22) set a September date for pioneering rock producer Phil Spector's second trial on charges that he murdered actress Lana Clarkson in the foyer of his mock castle in 2003.Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler ordered Spector to stand trial beginning on Sept. 29 in the high-profile case. The jury in Spector's first trial deadlocked 10-2 in favor of a guilty verdict in September 2007, forcing Fidler to declare a mistrial, but prosecutors immediately said they would bring the case again. Most of Spector's defense team quit in October, causing delays in the retrial. The new defense team is seeking to have Fidler removed from the case, claiming he is biased against the 68-year-old rock producer.

Clarkson, 40, was found dead of a gunshot to the mouth early on the morning of February 3, 2003, after Spector's driver called police to say that the record producer had killed someone. Prosecutors say Spector shot Clarkson while trying to prevent her from leaving. They called a series of witnesses to testify that Spector had a history of brandishing guns at women when he was drunk and said forensic evidence indicated that the Colt Cobra .38 special revolver went off accidentally after he jammed it in Clarkson's face.

Defense attorneys countered that Clarkson, best known as the star of such B-movies as "Amazon Women on the Moon" and "Barbarian Queen," had been depressed and may have killed herself. Spector did not take the witness stand in his own defense. He told a magazine interviewer early on in the case that Clarkson committed suicide for reasons he could not grasp. After a five-month trial in 2007, the jury deliberated for 12 days before telling the judge that they were hopelessly deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous verdict.

LL Cool J Heads Toward Def Jam 'Exit'

Rapper LL Cool J is gearing up to release his next album, "Exit 13," July 18 via Def Jam. The veteran artist released the first single, "I Cry" featuring R&B singer Lil' Mo, yesterday (May 21) on the Web. "Exit 13" will be LL Cool J's last release on Def Jam because his contract has come to an end, the rapper told New York radio station Hot 97. The MC signed to the label as a teen and has released 12 albums on Def Jam.

Last year, LL Cool J publicly expressed his distaste with how Jay-Z was running Def Jam, and lately told Hot 97 he's optimistic about the label's fortunes now that Jay-Z has departed. LL Cool J's last album, 2006's "Todd Smith," has sold 335,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Witnesses ID Alleged Victim In R. Kelly Trial

Prosecutors trying to prove that a woman appeared in a sex tape with R. Kelly when she was underage -- over her protestations that she didn't -- have turned to one of her childhood friends, the friend's father and two relatives. Kelly is accused in the child pornography trial of videotaping himself having sex with a girl who may have been as young as 13. His attorneys have said Kelly is not on the tape and the alleged victim, now 23, denies she's the person in the video. To try to make their case, prosecutors put Simha Jamison, 24, on the stand in Chicago. She said she and the alleged victim were best friends for about 10 years, until their junior year in high school, and that she recognizes her friend as the one in the tape.

When prosecutors asked Jamison if she recognized the man in the tape, she leaned forward in the witness stand, peeked around the corner of the judge's bench and identified Kelly. She testified that she and her friend visited Kelly at his recording studio and at a Chicago basketball court dozens of times, starting when they were around the age of 12. Her friend first introduced her to Kelly as "her godfather," Jamison said, adding that the singer frequently gave her friend cash gifts -- "no less than $100 and no more than $500." She said the two also visited the home where authorities say the sex tape was filmed between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000. Jamison said her friend never mentioned a sexual relationship with the star.

Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. said the reason the alleged victim never told the witness she was having a sexual relationship with Kelly was because there wasn't one and "because it's not her on the tape." "Are you asking or telling me?" Jamison shot back. Adam also showed pictures of a shirtless Kelly and asked Jamison how she knew it was his body on the video. "His head was attached to it," she responded, drawing laughter from several jurors. During the cross-examination, the defense revealed another of its strategies may be to suggest Kelly's image was computer-generated. "Something could have been done to put a different head on that body," Adam said. He also referred to movies where characters had been digitally altered.

The singer, who appeared grim-faced Tuesday when the sex tape was shown to jurors, looked more relaxed during testimony Wednesday, listening carefully to the witnesses. Jurors also appeared more at ease, taking detailed notes during some five hours of testimony. The 41-year-old Kelly, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to 15 years if convicted. An aunt and an uncle of the alleged victim also identified the female on the tape as their niece. Jamison's father, Peter Thomas, testified that the alleged victim's involvement in the video was the talk of their neighborhood.

The most highly charged cross-examination came after the aunt of the alleged victim -- and a Chicago police officer -- described how she and other relatives viewed and discussed the tape in late 2001, several weeks before someone mailed it to the Chicago Sun-Times, which turned it over to authorities. Adam repeatedly asked the aunt, Delores Gibbon, why she didn't immediately go to authorities with the tape if she suspected it was child pornography. Gibbon said she was torn between her job and concern for the alleged victim and her parent.

At one point, Adam pounded his fist, saying the aunt didn't go to authorities because someone in the family wanted to "get back at Mr. Kelly" for a business dispute and hoped to "extort Kelly" in a possible civil lawsuit. The aunt said she didn't know anything about an alleged extortion plot.

Music Mogul Lou Pearlman Gets 25 Years In Jail

Lou Pearlman, the man who created the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in federal prison for engineering a decades-long scam that bilked thousands of investors out of their life savings. It was the maximum sentence the boy band mogul could receive for allegedly swindling some $300 million from investors and banks since the early 1980s. He pleaded guilty in March to two counts of conspiracy and single counts of money laundering and presenting a false claim in bankruptcy court. U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp noted that many victims were Pearlman's relatives, friends and retirees in their 70s or 80s who lost everything. "The sympathy factor just doesn't run very high with the court," Sharp said. However, the judge said he would reduce Pearlman's sentence by one month for every $1 million returned to investors. It wasn't clear how, or if, investors would ever be compensated. "I want to say clearly that there's no pot of gold out there," defense attorney Fletcher Peacock said.

Pearlman scammed individuals out of an estimated $200 million, and banks out of another $100 million. The courtroom was packed with victims, some of whom gave emotional testimony. Another two dozen or so waited outside. "Over the past nine months since my arrest, I've come to realize the harm that's been done," Pearlman said in a short courtroom statement. "I'm truly sorry and I apologize for what's happened." Peacock said Pearlman meant to pay back all the investors, and noted he had returned about $103 million. He said Pearlman got caught up in lawsuits -- also alleged fraudulent business practices -- over his otherwise successful entertainment ventures in the 1990s that prevented him from returning the money.

Wyclef Jean Launching Haiti Aid Initiative - Joseph Guyler Delva, Reuters

Haitian-born hip-hop star Wyclef Jean launched a new initiative to help his impoverished homeland yesterday (May 20) following last month's deadly food riots. The initiative is aimed at raising $48 million over the next six months to fund expanded food distribution, job creation and assistance for farmers in the poorest country in the Americas.

Dubbed "Together For Haiti" it is backed by the World Food Program, the Pan American Development Foundation and Yele Haiti, Jean's charitable foundation for Haiti. "We have come together to launch this new initiative because I believe we can do more and better for Haiti when we act together," Jean told a Manhattan news conference.

"We are not only interested in feeding people in response to the current crisis, but we want to offer them an alternative that can help them in a sustainable way," he said. "Together For Haiti" plans to employ 1,800 people a day in poor areas, distribute food to 1.5 million people and provide fertilizers to 55,000 farmers. Grants will also be given to 9,000 families to support the development of micro-enterprises. "We want to give them the opportunity to set up a small business which they can live on instead of assisting them every time there is a crisis," Jean told Reuters.

He was accompanied at the news conference by aid officials and by fellow musician and social activist Paul Simon, who promised support.At least six people were killed during a week of violent protests last month against rising food and fuel costs in Haiti, where most people scrape by on less than $2 per day.

Obama wins Oregon Primary - SARA KUGLER and DAVID ESPO, AP

Moves to brink of nomination

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Barack Obama stepped to the brink of victory in the Democratic presidential race Tuesday night, defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Oregon primary and moving within 100 delegates of the total he needs to claim the prize at the party convention this summer.

"You have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination," he told cheering supporters in Iowa, the overwhelmingly white state that aunched him, a black, first-term senator from Illinois, on his improbable path to victory last January. Obama lavished praise on Clinton, his rival in a race unlike any other, and accused Republican John McCain of a campaign run by lobbyists. "You are Democrats who are tired of being divided, Republicans who no longer recognize the party that runs Washington, independents who are hungry for change," he said, speaking to a crowd on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines as well as the millions around the country who will elect the nation's 44th president in November. Clinton countered with a lopsided win in Kentucky, a victory with scant political value in a race moving inexorably in Obama's direction.

The former first lady vowed to remain in the race, telling supporters, "I'm more than determined than ever to see that every vote is cast and every ballot is counted." But in a sign of confidence on the front-runner's part, party officials said iscussions were under way to send Paul Tewes, a top Obama campaign aide, to the Democratic National Committee to oversee operations for the fall campaign. And in a fresh indication that their race was coming to an end, Clinton and Obama praised one another and pledged a united party for the general election. "While we continue to go toe-to-toe for this nomination, we do see eye-to-eye when it comes to uniting our party to elect a Democratic president this fall," said Clinton, whose supporters Obama will need if he is to end eight years of Republican rule in the White House.

Queen Pen attacked

Queen Pen, a tough-talking rapper and advocate for domestic violence victims, is in fear for her life as police hunt her ex-boyfriend, who allegedly pummeled her in front of their children and broke her Grammy Award in a fit of blind rage.

Pen, 35, said she was attacked May 9 after an argument, during which her ex - Kendall Wicker, 29 - trashed her East Flatbush apartment, put a brick through her windshield and threatened to kill her. The outburst came three months after Pen told police that Wicker, who is the father of two of the rapper's five children, punched her in the face so hard during a dispute that she needed oral surgery to secure teeth knocked loose by the blow.

Whitney Houston's Drug Case Dropped

HILO, Hawaii - A judge has dismissed a marijuana possession charge against singer Whitney Houston, leaving her with a clean record in Hawaii, prosecutors said. District Judge Joseph Florendo Jr. dismissed the petty misdemeanor marijuana possession charge Monday after a substance abuse assessment was filed on her behalf, said Deputy Prosecutor Melvin Fujino.The assessment, submitted on Feb. 22 by Michael Burke, a certified substance abuse counselor in Highland Park, N. J., stated Houston doesn't require treatment for substance abuse.

Houston's bag was seized at the Keahole-Kona Airport on Jan. 11, 2000. Fujino and Houston's attorneys stipulated in court in November that the bag contained less than half an ounce of marijuana in two plastic baggies and three partially smoked marijuana cigarettes.

Nas Drops 'N Word' From New Album Title - Hillary Crosley, N.Y.

Nas' controversially named new album, "N*gger," has been changed to an untitled project and will be released July 1 via Def Jam.

"It's important to me that this album gets to the fans," the rapper says. "It's been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages. It's that important. The streets have been waiting for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." Nas recently told MTV that he was being pressured to change the title and rumors swirled online today that the album would be called "Nas." But it will not be a self-titled affair. last year, Nas announced the original title in response to the stir caused by former CBS radio host Don Imus' comments toward the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Nas' last album, 2006's "Hip-Hop Is Dead," has sold 757,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Rihanna's 'Bow' Soars 52 Spots To Lead Hot 100 -Silvio Pietroluongo, N.Y.

Rihanna will make a near-record rise to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 tomorrow (May 14) with "Take a Bow," which blasts 53-1. Opening-week digital downloads (267,000) are the reason for the sudden surge, as the track begins at No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs. The song's bump is the second-best leap to No. 1 in Hot 100 history, trailing only Maroon 5's 64-1 jump with "Makes Me Wonder" last May. Coincidentally, Rihanna is featured on the band's "If I Never See Your Face Again" which will debut tomorrow at No. 57.

With the lofty digital take, Rihanna now owns two of the top three opening week download tallies in chart history. Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" set the mark with 286,000 last month, surpassing the 277,000 moved by Rihanna's "Umbrella" when it debuted in the June 9, 2007 issue."Take a Bow" is one of four new songs on an expanded CD/DVD edition of Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" album, due June 17 via Def Jam.

Remy Ma Gets Eight-Year Sentence For Shooting

Rapper Remy Ma has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub. The state Supreme Court sentence was handed down today (May 13) to the 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Remy Smith, for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion.

Remy Ma, who could have faced up to 25 years in prison, was teary-eyed as she heard the sentence. She says last summer's shooting was an accident; an appeal is planned.

Correction officials say they called off her weekend wedding at the Rikers Island jail after the groom, fellow rapper Papoose, showed up with a handcuff key. Remy Ma's lawyer, Ivan Fisher, denies the key could be used to unlock handcuffs and says the two still plan to wed.

Foxy Brown Pleads Guilty To Assault Charges

Two weeks after receiving probation in Florida, rapper Foxy Brown plead guilty Thursday (May 8) to misdemeanor charges stemming from a 2007 assault in New York. Last July, Brown, born Inga Marchand, struck her neighbor with a Blackberry, according to the New York Post. Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge John Walsh sentenced the MC to time already served, an order of protection and a letter of apology to her victim.

On April 25, Brown also plead no contest in a case stemming from misdemeanor assault charges in Florida. The MC was sentenced to six months probation, 15 hours of community service, court fees and fines, an anger management course and a letter of apology. Brown was released from New York's Rikers Island prison on April 18 after serving eight months for a parole violation.

Frosty Freeze , Breakdance pioneer dies in NYC - ULA ILNYTZKY, AP

NEW YORK - Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie "Flashdance" helped set off a worldwide breakdancing craze, has died. He was 44.

Frost died Thursday at Mount Sinai Medical Center after a long illness, said Jorge "Fabel" Pabon, a senior vice president of the crew where Frost and other so-called b-boys (for beat or break boys) made their name performing complicated and daring dance routines.” He was one of most charismatic b-boys that ever lived," said Benson Lee, director of the new documentary film "Planet B-Boy." Breakdancing emerged from the Bronx and Harlem in the early 1970s, part of the hip-hop culture that also included graffiti, MCing or rapping, and disc jockeys scratching and mixing vinyl records on turntables. During extended pauses, or breaks, in the music, b-boys would mimic James Brown's showmanship and footwork and Bruce Lee's martial arts, adding their own signature moves.

Frost was known for his energetic style, intricate choreography and fearless moves including back flips and head spins. One was even dubbed the "Suicide." Frost got his start in 1978 with the Bronx-based Rock City Crew. In 1981, he became part of the Rock Steady Crew, joining such acclaimed breakdancers as Ken Swift and Lil Crazy Legs. Frost toured the world with the Rock Steady Crew and other hip-hop artists, including Fab 5 Freddy, Futura 2000 and Kool Lady Blue. Frost's performance in "Flashdance" spread the breakdance phenomenon globally, said Joseph Schloss, a visiting scholar in the music department at New York University . "He was one of the first B-boys that most people ever saw," Schloss said. Graffiti artist and close friend Zulu King Slone, who knew Frost for 15 years, said he was "like a walking hip-hop culture encyclopedia." As a member of the Rock Steady Crew, Frost also appeared in several movies on hip-hop culture, including "Wild Style," "Beat Street" and "Style Wars." He also appeared on the cover of the Village Voice in 1981.Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

Beyonce, Jay-Z reportedly tie the knot in NY

NEW YORK (AFP) - Singer and actress Beyonce has married her longtime companion, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, at a private ceremony in New York, People magazine reported on its website Saturday. The weekly quoted an unidentified friend of the couple as saying the couple had tied the knot at Jay-Z's penthouse apartment in the exclusive Tribeca area of the city late on Friday. "Jay wanted it to be a really private affair -- close friends and family," it quoted the friend as saying. Guests at the party, which was reportedly decorated with more than 50,000 white orchids flown in from Thailand, included former Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and the couple's friend Gwyneth Paltrow. Speculation had mounted since earlier this week that the couple were about to tie the knot after it was reported they had just taken out a marriage license -- good for 60 days -- in New York state.

Beyonce, 26, found stardom with the R&B group Destiny's Child before embarking on a solo music career in 2003 with the album "Dangerously in Love."Her second album "B'day" was released in September 2006. Also an actress, she starred as Foxxy Cleopatra in "Austin Powers in Goldmember," going on to appear in the latest "The Pink Panther" movie and "Dreamgirls." Jay-Z, 38, born Shawn Carter, was head of Def Jam records and has sold more than 35 million albums as a rapper since 1996. He was this week reported to be on the verge of signing a 150 million dollar deal with concert promoter Live Nation -- which would be one of the biggest ever deals in the music business.

A HOAX? - One celebrity Web site, TMZ.com, questioned whether the apparent wedding preparations might be for another couple in the building. Another site, eVIPlist.com, suggested the whole frenzy was part of a hoax perpetrated by actor and TV prankster Ashton Kutcher. The camera crews at the scene were undeterred, however. "I can't believe all the paparazzi. It's really exciting," said Sydnee White, 17, one several fans mingling with members of the media hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars. Matrimonial union between Jay-Z, 37, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Beyonce, 26, also known by her full name Beyonce Knowles, would mark one of the highest-profile celebrity unions in recent years.

Sean Levert has dies after a medical emergency in jail.

Sean Levert, a third of the 1980s R&B trio LeVert and son of lead O'Jays singer Eddie Levert, has died after falling ill while serving a jail term. He was 39. Authorities said Monday that an autopsy was inconclusive but foul play was ruled out. Levert was sentenced last week to one year and 10 months in jail for failing to pay $89,025 in child support. He died at Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland late Sunday, less than an hour after he was taken there from the jail, said coroner Frank Miller. Levert was sentenced by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, who said a presentence report indicated he had been addicted to marijuana from the time he was 14 until recently. He didn't speak at his sentencing and gave no indication of any health problems, the judge said Monday.

His brother Gerald Levert, who had success as a solo artist after leaving their trio died in 2006 at age 40 of an accidental mix of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The brothers had formed LeVert in the 1980s with childhood friend Marc Gordon. Their hits included "Baby I'm Ready," "(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" and "Casanova." "Casanova" was nominated for a Grammy in 1988 for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal. It was also nominated for best R&B song. At Gerald Levert's funeral service in November 2006, Sean Levert and his father performed "Dance With My Father" and personalized the words for Gerald. The elder Levert's group, the O'Jays, was known for such smash hits as "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train."Sean Levert found a new third partner last year and was trying to revive LeVert.

An autopsy was done Monday but no immediate cause of death was determined, according to Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County's coroner's office, but he said there was no evidence of foul play or trauma. Levert suffered from high blood pressure and had been hallucinating in jail, Caesar said. Toxicology reports could take four to six weeks, he said. Warden Kevin McDonough said earlier that Levert had been sick and guards were watching him at the jail's regular cellblock because he had been acting strangely.

Rapper Beanie Sigel back in prison after violating probation

Rapper Beanie Sigel has returned to prison. A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced Sigel to three months in prison Friday after authorities say he gave a false urine sample to probation officials. Officials also say the rapper tested positive five times this month for Xanax and Percocet. Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, was already serving a six-month term in a halfway house for having previously violated supervised release. Sigel told the judge he was an addict and had a relapse when he was sent to the halfway house.

Magic' Johnson joins Mayor "Uncle Tom" Nutter in supporting Hillary

WATERLOO --- Earvin "Magic" Johnson is scheduled to make a campaign apperance for Democrat presidential contender Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sources close to the campaign, and fliers and automated "robocalls" to constituents circulated Sunday confirmed the event's time and location. The former president and Johnson, the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s, are planning the Waterloo stop as part of a campaign swing through the state. Johnson is the latest to turn Tom for Hillary Clinton. Andrew Young, former BET Chairman Bob Johnson and Mayor Michael Nutter recently came out to oppose Barack Obama as well.

Anchor Lane arrested in NYC for assaulting a cop - By REGINA MEDINA, DAN GROSS & BOB COONEY

According to the police complaint, the Emmy-winning anchor yelled at the female police officer, "I don't give a f--- who you are, I'm a f---ing TV reporter, you f---ing dyke," according to Philadelphiawilldo.com, a Philadelphia Weekly blog. The Daily News exclusively reported Lane's arrest yesterday on PhillyGossip.com. She was nabbed at 2:04 a.m. at 17th Street and 9th Avenue in lower Manhattan, said New York City police spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves. Lane, 35, her current honey, Q102 morning host Chris Booker, and another couple were in a cab behind a slow-moving unmarked cop car, the New York Post reported. One of the males jumped out and headed to the police vehicle, screaming, "I don't care if you're a cop, drive faster!" the newspaper said. The officers got out and identified themselves to Lane and company, and Lane began to take photos, according to the paper. The female cop asked her to step back and that's when Lane lost it, according to the Post. A station source said Lane's iPhone was confiscated by cops as evidence.Lane was charged with one count of assault with intent to cause physical injury to an officer, Nieves said. The 10th Precinct officer suffered laceration wounds to her face, Nieves said. Lane was released on her own recognizance by 5 p.m. yesterday. No bail was set. A hearing was scheduled for April 3. "No decision has been made" regarding her duties, station sources said.

Lane made national headlines in May when the New York Post reported that she had e-mailed bikini photos of herself to married NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen, which upset his wife, Suzy Shuster. Lane said she and Eisen had been platonic friends for 10 years.

Update - Alycia Lane off the air indefinitely
The anchor went on vacation early, stripped from CBS3 promos and from a holiday special.Anchorwoman Alycia Lane's future with KYW (CBS3) is uncertain after her arrest early Sunday on charges of slugging a plainclothes New York City police officer.

The station announced that Lane, 35, would begin a planned two-week, end-of-year vacation a week early, effective yesterday. Her name and image were stripped from station promos, and her work on the station's holiday special, airing tonight, was edited out. Observers say her return to her $700,000-a-year anchor job hinges not only on her legal case - a felony charge of second-degree assault that could take months to resolve - but the court of public opinion.

CBS, the station's parent company, is deliberating how to handle the public relations fallout. Not only is Lane accused of striking a police officer, she is alleged to have screamed obscenities at the officer and called her a "dyke." In a statement from CBS3 - which reported yesterday on her arrest - Lane denies that she made any comment or that she struck the officer. "Behavior clauses" in the contracts of many on-air personalities hold them to conduct that does not embarrass their station. It's not clear if Lane's contract contains such a stipulation, or if the arrest would constitute grounds for dismissal. Her agent, Gregg Willinger, did not return a call for comment.

Fabolous Associate Murdered After Robbery Attempt, Says NYPD - Brandi Hopper

Rapper Fabolous has tried to distance himself from his childhood friend's recent murder, but New York cops now believe he may be more involved than they first suspected.Fab's long-time pal, 25-year-old Shamel McKinney was stabbed to death during a scuffle at New York club Duvet in the early morning hours of Nov. 23

Authorities originally believed that the knifing took place when McKinney, tried to break up a fight between two women also in Fab's camp. Now, according to the New York Post, police believe McKinney was fatally stabbed while trying to rob another club-goer - the alleged M.O. of his crew Street Family, a roup that authorities believe target and rob celebrities at Manhattan hot spots.

Police suspect that McKinney, nicknamed "Money Mel," was part of the group of up to 20 friends of Fabolous', all hailing from the BK rapper's borough and looking to grab expensive jewelry from celebrity partyers. Apparently law enforcement has been onto Street Family's operation for some time. Sources said the crew became so notorious that FBI agents discussed launching a probe of their crimes, but decided that the robberies didn't rise to the level of organization needed for federal prosecution.

Pro basketball star Sebastian Telfair was one of the gang's alleged victims. The ballplayer was robbed at gunpoint of a $50,000 gold chain near a parking lot close to Justin's, a Chelsea restaurant owned by Hip-Hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. Fab was shot in the leg in the midst of the altercation and while trying to rush to the hospital was arrested after cops found firearms in his vehicle.

Sources told the Post that Street Family's tactics involve identifying entertainers, athletes and others who are wearing flashy jewelry and ambushing them just outside a club or anywhere they are vulnerable. The victims don't generally report the crimes, sources said. Fabolous claims he wasn't at Duvet the night of McKinney's murder, but a club promoter insists he was. The killer threw a bloody, 7-inch switchblade into a nearby dumpster when he fled. Police are still investigating the incident and have yet to make an arrest.

Thousands march in US race rally

Thousands of people have marched to the Justice Department in Washington to call for stronger action against racially motivated crimes. Civil rights leaders organized the demonstration following a series of racially charged incidents. There have been several incidents of nooses being displayed - recalling racist lynchings in the southern US. Black leaders say the noose incidents should be treated as hate crimes and the perpetrators prosecuted. The marchers, most of whom were black, drew particular attention to charges brought against the Jena 6.

The attempted murder charges - which were later reduced - stemmed from a fight which broke out after white students hung nooses from a tree at the school. No-one was charged with a crime for hanging the nooses, which sparked copycat acts in other parts of the US.
"When you hang up a noose, that's no joke to us'; Our granddaddies swung on those nooses," civil rights campaigner Rev Al Sharpton told the crowd in Washington. The Justice Department said it is aggressively investigating recent cases of noose hangings.
It said it has won 189 convictions on civil rights charges over the last year, more than ever before.

Equal treatment?

Prosecutors said they did not pursue such charges in the Jena case because they are not usually brought against minors, the Associated Press news agency reported. Hate crimes are among several covered under civil rights violations. Demonstrators in Washington also said they were angry at a justice system that locks up many more blacks than whites. About one in three black men spend time in prison, compared to one in 17 white men, according to Justice Department statistics." The Justice Department wouldn't come to the people, we brought the people to the Justice Department," Rev Sharpton said.

Donda West Memorial Service Held In Chicago - Gil Kaufman

Dr. Donda West, Kanye's mother, was eulogized and lauded by friends and former colleagues Friday afternoon (November 16) at a memorial service held at Chicago State University, where she was on the faculty for 24 years. Praising her as a mentor, colleague and friend, West - who died on Saturday following surgery - was remembered as an inspiration during a lively event that featured gospel singing, heartfelt reminiscences and pleas for some traditional call-and-response from a colleague who doubles as a preacher.

"She had a vibrant spirit, and one that was nurturing and also supportive, but nonetheless always challenging," Robyn Wheeler, director of university relations, told People magazine before the event. "We felt the service should reflect who she really was." Judging by a live feed of the event provided by NBC5.com, it did not appear to feature son Kanye - who is reportedly still in Europe, where he is slated to kick off his European tour next week - though People reported that Donda West's nephew would be on hand to represent the family.

Rare robbery screams of racism - JULIANA BARBASSA, AP

LAKEPORT, Calif. - Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death - but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder. In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed. "It was pandemonium" inside the house that night, District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. Hughes was responsible for "setting the whole thing in motion by his actions and the actions of his accomplices." Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled. Hughes was charged with first-degree murder under California's Provocative Act doctrine, versions of which have been on the books in many states for generations but are rarely used.

The Provocative Act doctrine does not require prosecutors to prove the accused intended to kill. Instead, "they have to show that it was reasonably foreseeable that the criminal enterprise could trigger a fatal response from the homeowner," said Brian Getz, a San Francisco defense attorney unconnected to the case. The NAACP complained that prosecutors came down too hard on Hughes, who also faces robbery, burglary and assault charges. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. The Rev. Amos Brown, head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and pastor at Hughes' church, said the case demonstrates the legal system is racist in remote Lake County, aspiring wine country 100 miles north of San Francisco. The sparsely populated county of 13,000 people is 91 percent white and 2 percent black.

Brown and other NAACP officials are asking why the homeowner is walking free. Tests showed Edmonds had marijuana and prescription medication in his system the night of the shooting. Edmonds had a prescription for both the pot and the medication to treat depression. "This man had no business killing these boys," Brown said. "They were shot in the back. They had fled." On Thursday, a judge granted a defense motion for a change of venue. The defense had argued that he would not be able to get a fair trial because of extensive local media coverage and the unlikelihood that Hughes could get a jury of his peers in the county. A new location for the trial will be selected Dec. 14.

The district attorney said that race played no part in the charges against Hughes and that the homeowner was spared prosecution because of evidence he was defending himself and his family, who were asleep when the assailants barged in at 4 a.m. Edmonds' stepson, Dale Lafferty, suffered brain damage from the baseball bat beating he took during the melee. The 19-year-old lives in a rehabilitation center and can no longer feed himself. "I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was defend my family and my children's lives," said Edmonds, 33. "I'm sad the kids are dead, I didn't mean to kill them." He added: "Race has nothing to do with it other than this was a gang of black people who thought they were going to beat up this white family." California's Provocative Act doctrine has primarily been used to charge people whose actions led to shooting deaths.

R&B singer La La Brown murdered

MILWAUKEE - A familiar voice to Milwaukee R & B fans has been silenced. Twenty-one year old Yolanda "La La" Brown and her producer, 22-year-old JeTannue Clayborn, were found dead in their recording studio Friday night. Milwaukee police say both were found in the Loud Enuff Productionz studio at 55th and Lisbon. Both had gunshot wounds and had been dead at least a day before being discovered. They were reportedly dating.

JeTannue's mother, Dina Chambers, describes him as energetic, with an eye toward making music his career. "He loved music. He loved people. He was very kind. They called him "Koo Laid" because every time you saw him, he was smiling."

Autopsies were scheduled on both Clayborn and Brown, but the results have not been released She was an upcoming artist that was known for her singing on the songs "Sex" with Lyfe Jennings and "John Doe" with Public Announcement

Update - An arrest was made in the killing investigation, but for obstruction as one suspect was found to be in possession of handguns after he allegedly lied to authorities. The case remains unsolved.

David Copperfield investigated for rape

A Seattle woman has made a rape claim against magician David Copperfield, law enforcement sources tell FOX News. The woman told Seattle police the magician raped her while she was in the Bahamas, sources said. Because the alleged incident happened abroad and the woman did not report it until she returned to the United States, Seattle authorities turned over the case to the FBI.
On Thursday, FBI officials raided a Las Vegas warehouse used by Copperfield. Seattle FBI agent Robbie Burroughs said Thursday the case was related to one in Washington. "The investigation is related to a Seattle case. The Seattle case is pending and that means we can't say anything about it," Burroughs said. Copperfield has been contacted by law enforcement authorities and the FBI has conducted an investigation in Las Vegas, where the magician regularly performs, his lawyer and the FBI confirmed. Copperfield's Las Vegas attorney, David Chesnoff, refused to give specifics about the charge. "If in fact those are the allegations, unfortunately false allegations are all too often made against famous individuals," Chesnoff said. "But we are confident the investigation will conclude favorably."

Racist Louisiana justice system sends Mychal Bell back to jail

Mychal Bell, the black Louisiana teenager at the center of the racially charged "Jena 6" case on Thursday was ordered back to jail. He will spend 18 months in a juvenile facility, after a judge ruled he had violated his probation for earlier juvenile convictions.Bell, 17, who was freed two weeks ago after his adult criminal conviction for beating a white classmate was overturned, was sent to the Renaissance Home for Youth in Alexandria a source told CNN. Bell had been placed on probation until he turned 18. The judge's decision will be appealed said Carol Powell-Lexing, one of Bell's attorneys.

Bell was freed on $45,000 bail on September 27, after an appeals court threw out his conviction on battery and conspiracy charges in adult court and remanded the case to juvenile court. But Judge J.P. Mauffrey agreed with prosecutors that Bell had violated the probation he was given for four previous juvenile offenses, including two simple battery charges, the sources said. Rev. Al Sharpton, who took up Bell's case, said the decision was "revenge" by the judge and called on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco to intervene.

David Bowie donates $10,000to Jena 6 Defense

NEW ORLEANS - David Bowie has donated $10,000 to a legal defense fund for six black teens charged in an alleged attack on a white classmate in the tiny central Louisiana town of Jena.

The British rocker's donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund was announced by the NAACP as thousands of protesters were expected to march through Jena on Thursday in defense of Mychal Bell and five other teens. The group has become known as the Jena Six. "There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena," Bowie said Tuesday in an e-mail statement. "A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented."

Bell was found guilty on second-degree battery charges June 28 by a six-member, all-white jury. Before the case was overturned by the state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, his sentencing had been set for Thursday. The court said Bell, who was 16 at the time of the alleged December 2006 beating, shouldn't have been tried as an adult.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who helped organize the march, planned to do his syndicated radio show from Alexandria on Wednesday, then travel about 35 miles to Jena in an attempt to visit Bell, who remains in jail because he is unable to post $90,000 bond. Sharpton says he expects more than 10,000 marchers. "We are gratified that rock star David Bowie was moved to donate to the NAACP's Jena campaign," National Board of Directors Chairman Julian Bond of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in a statement. "We hope others will join him."

O.J. Simpson held - Ryan Nakashima, AP

LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson's arrest may be the start of a new legal odyssey for the fallen football star, one that could reopen the possibility of prison time more than a decade after his acquittal on murder charges.

Police arrested Simpson on Sunday, saying he was part of an armed group that burst into a Las Vegas hotel room and snatched memorabilia that documented his storied career. Simpson said it was merely a confrontation with no guns. He said autographed sports collectibles, his Hall of Fame certificate, a photograph with former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and video from his first wedding were all his, and that they were stolen from him and were about to be fenced by unethical collectors. Police said they were not sure who owned the memorabilia. But they say the manner in which the goods were taken was under investigation. "Whether or not the property belonged to Mr. Simpson or not is still in debate," Lt. Clint Nichols said Sunday. "Having said that, the manner in which this property was taken, we have a responsibility to look into that, irregardless of who the property belonged to." After being whisked away in handcuffs, Simpson was booked at the county jail Sunday night on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit a crime and burglary with a firearm, police said.

The district attorney said he expected Simpson to ultimately be charged with seven felonies and one gross misdemeanor. If convicted of the booking charges, Simpson would face up to 30 years in state prison on each robbery count alone. A judge ordered Simpson be held without bail, Sgt. John Loretto said. A court date was set for Thursday. Simpson was taken away from The Palms hotel-casino by plainclothes officers around 11 a.m. Sunday, a day after the arrest of a golfing buddy who police say accompanied him with a gun in the Thursday night holdup. Handcuffed and wearing a golf shirt and jeans, Simpson was placed in an SUV. "He was very cooperative, there were no issues," Capt. James Dillon said.he actually done it.

After a deal for Simpson to publish it fell through, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded the book's rights to the Goldman family, who retitled it "If I Did It: The Confessions of the Killer." During the weekend, the book was the hottest seller in the country, hitting No. 1 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

Despite Court’s Ruling on Mychal Bell, Rally for Jena Six in Louisiana Still Set for Thursday - Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com

Lawyers for a black teen in Louisiana jailed for 10 months in connection with a fight with a white schoolmate said they will begin working today to get Mychal Bell released on bail, after an appeals court judge on Friday overturned his conviction.

Bell, one of six black youths in the fight, was set for sentencing on Thursday following his June conviction on criminal charges. A huge rally, being organized on Thursday by several local and national civil rights groups will go on as planned, in spite of the recent developments. “We are glad that the appeals court finally agreed with what we’ve been saying all along. Mychal Bell never should have been in an adult court,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“We still are rallying on Thursday. It’s more important now than ever,” Sharpton said. “Mychal Bell is still is in jail. We don’t know what the prosecutor will do.” Bell, Theo Shaw, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, and an unnamed juvenile were arrested Dec. 4 and charged with beating Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School. Barker’s parents have said that beating amounted to attempted murder.

Bell, has been in jail since his arrest on $90,000 bond. Families of the other teens were able to raise money to get them out on bail. Because Bell was a juvenile at the time of the incident, his new attorneys -- who took the case following the conviction -- argued that the case should not have been in the adult system. On Friday, an appeals court agreed with that argument.The NAACP expects as many as 60,000 people from more than 30 cities to descend this week on Jena, La., a poor, rural community of 3,000 at the center of a racially charged case involving six black high school students charged with beating a white classmate.
The case of the "Jena Six" has attracted national attention. It began in August when a student asked during a school assembly if black students could sit beneath a tree where white students usually sat. The following day two nooses were hung from the tree.

Attack of the ex-husbands - Kid Rock punches Tommy Lee

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Kid Rock was cited for misdemeanor battery after a tussle with Tommy Lee in the audience at the MTV Video Music Awards, police said. The rock-rapper received the citation after police reported to the Palms Hotel and Casino shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday and interviewed people at the scene, Officer Bill Cassell said. Kid Rock was not taken into custody, he said. MTV VJ Sway said during the post-show that he saw Kid Rock walk up to the Motley Crue drummer, who was sitting next to Sean "Diddy" Combs, and "deck him." Both Lee and Kid Rock are ex-husbands of Pamela Anderson, who was a presenter at the show.

Another eyewitness, rap producer Rich Nice, said although Kid Rock threw the only blows that landed - a backhand slap and a punch - Tommy Lee was the instigator. "It looked like Tommy Lee initiated it because Kid Rock was ignoring him," said Nice, who was two tables away. "And Tommy Lee kind of antagonized him. And then when Tommy Lee stood up, it looked a little weird, like 'Yo, what?'" "When Tommy stands up is when Kid hit him the first time with a backhand," Nice continued. "And then Tommy Lee looked like he was trying to get at him to aggressively retaliate and then Kid Rock hits Tommy Lee again - bong. And then security grabs Tommy Lee in a headlock and pulls him off."Security guards let Kid Rock stay for the rest of the show while Lee was dragged out. Cassell said Kid Rock could face up to six months in jail, but that it would be uncommon for someone facing similar charges to receive such a lengthy sentence.

Toni Braxton furious over breast cancer rumors

She insisted that she is fine and not suffering from breast cancer. Singer Toni Braxton fired back at U.S. tabloid reports when she came across rumours that she has breast cancer. The singer was reacting to reports published in the National Enquirer last week, and which spread online. She insisted that she is fine and not suffering from breast cancer. "There has been a rumour circulating that I have been diagnosed with breast cancer,”

Contactmusic quoted Braxton, as saying. "After feeling something uncomfortable in my left breast, I went in for a screening. I was very fortunate that they did not find anything and I am in great health." Braxton however hopes that the story will persuade women who have been holding off cancer checks to take their annual tests. "I encourage women to take their annual tests and suggested precautions to prevent this disease that continues to affect so many women," She added

Britney Bombs at MTV Awards Show- Nekesa Mumbi Moody,AP

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 10) - As in most train wrecks, it was hard to focus on just one thing as the Britney Spears disaster unfolded on MTV's Video Music Awards. There was just so much that went wrong. Britney Spears' VMA performance could have kick-started her ailing career, but her less-than-overwhelming show left more people laughing than applauding. Out-of-synch lip-synching. lethargic movements that seemed choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home, the paunch in place of Spears' once-tight abs. At times she just stopped singing, as if even she knew nothing could save her performance. Designed to drum up excitement for her upcoming album, Spears' kickoff to the Video Music Awards on Sunday night became another example of how far she has fallen. Who expected anything more?

Joke of the day! - No gas price gouging last summer, report finds - Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, Shock

An obviously well Major Gas Company funded "federal report" released Thursday found no evidence of price gouging last year as gasoline prices pushed beyond the $3-a-gallon barrier last year. (I'll pause for the laughter)

The Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice's Antitrust Division Report on Spring/Summer 2006 Nationwide Gasoline Price Increases listed six reasons for the spike in pump prices in 2006:

oSeasonal effects of the summer driving season. (Every year), Increases in the price of crude oil. (Uh, didn't we invade Iraq?), Increases in the price of ethanol. (and….), Capacity reductions stemming from refiners' transition from the fuel additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether to ethanol. (Are we done yet?) Refinery outages resulting from hurricane damage, other unexpected problems or external events and required equipment maintenance. (Every year). oIncreased consumer demand for fuel beyond the seasonal effects of the summer driving season. (How much increase?)

The 26-page report, which was commissioned by oil baron President George W. Bush, found that seasonal effects of summer driving, and higher prices for oil and ethanol added between 42 cents and 49 cents to a gallon of gasoline between February 2006 and summer 2006. In addition, the reductions in refining capacity accounted for the virtually all of the remaining increases to the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said the oil industry shouldn't view the findings as a vindication of its behavior. (Ooh tough talk) By the way, I guess you're asking yourself, "How much does Congress pay for gas?.....Nothing. We also pay for that too.

The last time the FTC investigated allegations of price gouging in the retail gasoline business was in 2001. That probe also (what a coincidence) uncovered "no evidence of tacit or explicit collusion" on the part of oil companies, despite the sharp increase in retail pricing and the reporting of record-level profits for the industry at the time.

A few questions I guess they forgot to ponder is - When they decide to raise the price of gas because the price of crude oil increases, why do all gas stations raise their prices at the same time? Shouldn't the gasoline in their reservoirs be the same price until they're refilled? Also how do they explain the tremendous increase in profits?

ExxonMobil Corp. reported $10 billion in net income in the third quarter, the largest ever by a U.S. energy company. ExxonMobil's earnings announcement that profits rose 75 percent from last year followed a BP announcement of $6.5 billion in profits, up 34 percent and ConocoPhillips reporting its income grew to $3.8 billion, up 89 percent.

I guess that's just a coincidence. - Shock

Eddie Griffin Thrown Off Black Enterprise Stage

Eddie Griffin took the stage as the headliner and "did his best Michael Richards impression", blistering the mostly African-American crowd with a barrage of N-bombs, and wailing, "Why are some black leaders telling us to stop using the N word?"Griffin's mike was promptly cut, and Black Enterprise owner/publisher Earl Graves stomped on stage and proclaimed, "We … will not allow our culture to go backwards … We will pay Mr. Griffin all that we owe him but we will not allow him to finish the show if that's the way he's going to talk."

The crowd gave Graves a standing ovation - A rep for Griffin had no comment.

Luciano Pavarotti dies at 71 - Alessandra Rizzo, AP

ROME - Luciano Pavarotti, opera's biggest superstar of the late 20th century, died Thursday. He was 71. He was the son of a singing baker and became the king of the high C's. Pavarotti, who had been diagnosed last year with pancreatic cancer and underwent treatment last month, died at his home in his native Modena at 5 a.m., his manager told The Associated Press in an e-mailed statement.

His wife, Nicoletta, four daughters and sister were among family at friends at his side, manager Terri Robson said. "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer," Robson said. "In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness." Pavarotti's charismatic personna and ebullient showmanship - but most of all his creamy and powerful voice - made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since the great Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar.

Irv Gotti admits affair with Ashanti

In a radio interview, Irv Gotti former President & CEO of Murder Inc Records admitted to carrying on a longtime affair with R&B singer Ashanti. Irv, who was married at the time, claimed that he and Ashanti's relationship was long, passionate, and in the face of his then wife Debbie.

But the relationship between Ashanti and the now separated Irv isn't all that great these days. Irv says while he and his family were facing criminal charges for money laundering, Ashanti tried to distance herself from him. The former hip hop mogul says that he was "disappointed" in Ashanti for her lack of loyalty during difficult times. And that he wished that she would have stuck by him, like rapper Ja Rule, whom Irv referred to as "his man, his brother, his rider," did. Irv Gotti, who is 10 years older than Ashanti, also admitted that he used a mixture of Viagra and Ecstasy to enhance his romantic encounters with Ashanti. It's not clear whether Ashanti used any illicit drugs at the time.

But despite the two's now rocky relationship, Irv may have the last laugh when it comes to Ashanti's career. He confirmed that Ashanti is still under contract with his label (the "Inc."). And under the contract, Irv has the legal rights to any music Ashanti puts out.

Ashanti's response - "No comment"

15-Year-Old African-American Starts her Freshman Year at Penn - Kathy Matheson

PHILADELPHIA - Brittney Exline is too young to vote, drive a car or go to an R-rated movie, but at the age of just 15 she is beginning her Ivy League career Wednesday when classes start at the University of Pennsylvania. She said she doesn't really notice the age gap between herself and her 17- and 18-year-old peers - and neither do they.

"I didn't tell people right off the bat that I was 15," Exline said. "A lot of people were pretty surprised." Exline grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where at 8 years she was already in sixth grade. By 13 she had finished high school math. She turned 15 in February and graduated a few months later. She's not preoccupied with how unique her accomplishments are. "I wouldn't even really realize that if people didn't tell me," she said.

She excels at math and science and is really interested in politics, so she enrolled in a Penn program that will award her degrees from both the engineering and liberal arts schools when she graduates in 2011. Exline has already been on the Philadelphia campus for about a month, participating in a pre-freshman acclimation program. Program counselor Noemi Maldonado described her as "extremely outgoing, very social, very friendly, very mature for her age." Miguel Gonzalez, another program participant, said Exline revealed her age when a group of incoming freshmen were hanging out late one night. "She's really cool for a 15-year-old," said Gonzalez, who turns 18 later this month. "We were surprised, but I don't think it's too shocking."

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Lady B now on the air EVERYDAY! in Philadelphia!

You heard it here first. Yes, the legendary Lady B is finally back on the radio in Philadelphia! She'd like to thank all of you who wrote letters and signed the petitions for all the love. Lady B will be on WRNB 107.9fm everyday from 3-7pm spinning Classic Hip-Hop and R&B.(Tha Basement Party) Please pass the word and listen to her every Friday & Saturday night! or listen online at http://www.1079wrnb.com/home.asp

Hit her up on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/theoriginalladyb

Family source reports that Tony Braxton is stricken with breast cancer

According to the National Enquirer, the 'Unbreak My Heart' singer is undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy in secret. Braxton reportedly learned that she was carrying the disease two months ago, but preferred to keep the news to herself. Doctors tell Braxton that she caught the disease early enough to beat it.

Braxton is not expected to continue with her 'Toni Braxton: Revealed' show at the Flamingo hotel and casino while undergoing treatment. Thusfar, doctors have been giving her an iron concoction into her twice a week. This mixture is said to fight the fatigue caused by her chemotherapy.

"Toni is a fighter. She initially thought the worst, but doctors assured her the prognosis for her breast cancer is excellent. She still has moments when she gets upset and she may cry a little bit - but those moments don't last long," a family source was quoted as telling the National Enquirer. - Toni Braxton has since disputed the story. we'll keep an eye on this one - Shock

Vick submits guilty plea to judge - Paul Newberry, AP

Michael Vick stood behind a podium, all alone and apologized. He asked for forgiveness and promised to start "bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player."

Looking somber and speaking without notes, Vick said Monday he was taking full responsibility for his actions after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge in Richmond, Va. He could go to prison for one to five years. "I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out there in the world who was affected by this whole situation, and if I'm more disappointed with myself than anything it's because of all the young people, young kids that I let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model," he said.

Vick called dogfighting "a terrible thing," said he initially lied to the NFL and his team about it because he was ashamed, and apologized specifically to all those he deceived about a gruesome dogfighting ring: commissioner Roger Goodell, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino and his teammates.

"I need to grow up," Vick conceded. "I've got a lot of down time, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I've done," he said. "I will redeem myself. I have to."

In Atlanta, the Falcons said they would not cut Vick immediately because of salary-cap issues. The team intends to pursue the $22 million in bonus money he already received in a $130 million contract signed in 2004, looking to reduce the financial burden of his massive deal. "Cutting him today may feel better emotionally for us and many of our fans," Blank said. "But it's not in the long-term best interests of our franchise."

Arlington manager is first black woman to lead a GM plant- TERRY BOX

On Oct. 1, Ms. Alicia Boler - Davis, 38, currently assistant manager of GM's pickup truck plant in Pontiac, Mich., will become the first black woman to be appointed plant manager of a GM vehicle factory.

"It was all around us growing up, but I am the first in my family to work in the auto industry," she said Thursday. "I'm excited about this new assignment." Ms. Boler-Davis, a native of Romulus who has degrees in chemical engineering and engineering, says she knows the Arlington plant mostly by reputation. She said that she realizes that the plant is considered one of GM's best, most efficient factories and that its full-size SUVs have fared well in quality surveys. "I know Arlington has a great reputation," she said.

Pentagon Paid $998,798 to Ship Two 19-Cent Washers - Tony Capaccio

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to a Texas base, U.S. officials said. The company also billed and was paid $455,009 to ship three machine screws costing $1.31 each to Marines in Habbaniyah, Iraq, and $293,451 to ship an 89-cent split washer to Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Pentagon records show. The owners of C&D Distributors in Lexington, South Carolina -- twin sisters -- exploited a flaw in an automated Defense Department purchasing system: bills for shipping to combat areas or U.S. bases that were labeled ``priority'' were usually paid automatically, said Cynthia Stroot, a Pentagon investigator. C&D's fraudulent billing started in 2000, Stroot, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's chief agent in Raleigh, North Carolina, said in an interview. ``As time went on they got more aggressive in the amounts they put in.'' The price the military paid for each item shipped rarely reached $100 and totaled just $68,000 over the six years in contrast to the $20.5 million paid for shipping, she said. ``The majority, if not all of these parts, were going to high-priority, conflict areas -- that's why they got paid,'' Stroot said. If the item was earmarked ``priority,'' destined for the military in Iraq, Afghanistan or certain other locations, ``there was no oversight.''

Scheme Detected

The scheme unraveled in September after a purchasing agent noticed a bill for shipping two more 19-cent washers: $969,000. That order was rejected and a review turned up the $998,798 payment earlier that month for shipping two 19-cent washers to Fort Bliss, Texas, Stroot said. The Pentagon Defense Logistics Agency orders millions of parts a year. Stroot said the agency and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which pays contractors, have made major changes, including thorough evaluations of the priciest shipping charges. Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for the logistics agency, said finance and procurement officials immediately examined all billing records. Stroot said the review showed that fraudulent billing is ``is not a widespread problem.'' ``C&D was a rogue contractor,'' Stroot said. While other questionable billing has been uncovered, nothing came close to C&D's, she said. The next-highest contractor billed $2 million in questionable transport costs, she said.

Guilty Pleas

C&D and two of its officials were barred in December from receiving federal contracts. A federal judge in Columbia, South Carolina, today accepted the guilty plea of the company and one sister, Charlene Corley, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said. Corley, 46, was fined $750,000. She faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on each count and will be sentenced in the near future, McDonald said in a telephone interview from Columbia. Stroot said her sibling died last year. Corley didn't immediately return a phone message left on her answering machine at her office in Lexington. Her attorney, Gregory Harris, didn't immediately return a phone call placed to his office in Columbia. Stroot said the Pentagon hopes to recoup most of the $20.5 million by auctioning homes, beach property, jewelry and ``high- end automobiles'' that the sisters spent the money on. ``They took a lot of vacations,'' she said.

D'Angelo escapes jail for DUI

D'Angelo has been fined $1,500 and given a six-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence The charges stem from a September 2005 Virginia car accident, which left him and his passenger Lynne Sellers injured. According to reports, the R&B singer was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and was ejected from the vehicle. In addition to the fine, Judge Paul Cella, from the Powhatan General District Court in Virginia, suspended D'Angelo's driving license for 12 months. But the R&B star managed to escape being convicted of the more serious offense of reckless driving. According to Assistant commonwealth's Attorney Richard Cox, D'Angelo was not charged because Sellers, the passenger at the time of the accident and the prosecutor's key witness, did not show up to court.

Money issues for deceased MCs - Zack O'Malley Greenburg

The words "rapper" and "estate planning" don't usually go together in the same sentence. Maybe they should, given the travails of some deceased hip-hoppers. Eleven years since he was killed in an as yet unsolved drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, Tupac Shakur still can't rest in peace. Shakur, 25 at the time of his murder, left no will. A fierce battle broke out between his mother, Afeni Shakur, and Marion "Suge" Knight, the founder of now defunct Death Row Records (which included rap icons such as Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg). At stake: Shakur's catalog of six studio albums and 153 unpublished songs, worth an estimated $60 million. The pair settled in 1997, agreeing that Knight would keep the rights to records recorded under Death Row, while Afeni Shakur retained the unreleased tracks. But Knight tried to exploit a lucrative loophole that would allow him to buy an album's worth of Tupac's unpublished tracks for a measly $100,000 during a two-month window that expires at the end of August. Their estimated worth: as much as $10 million. In July an attorney for Death Row petitioned a Los Angeles bankruptcy court to lend it the $100,000 from Knight's liquidated assets to buy the tracks. Knight had filed for bankruptcy in 2006 claiming $137 million in debts.

Afeni Shakur filed an injunction to halt the purchase, alleging that Knight and his Death Row cronies hid some of Shakur's unreleased material from the estate. The parties are now discussing a revised deal. "Rappers live in the moment," sighs Afeni Shakur's attorney Donald David. "But one of the bad things about living in the moment is you don't do your paperwork."

Heirs of Brooklyn rapper Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones, cofounder of Wu-Tang Clan, are still tussling over his estate three years after the rap artist died of a drug overdose. Jones left behind an unreleased album, $312,000 in debts and at least seven children by five women. Will? What will? Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, cofounder of the rap group N.W.A., had nine kids by seven women, the last of whom he married days before he died of AIDS in 1995. She got the estate and a welter of lawsuits from heirs and business associates followed. The dispute was later settled.

Master jazz drummer Max Roach dead at 83 - LARRY MCSHANE, AP

NEW YORK - Max Roach, a master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations provided the dislocated beats that defined bebop jazz, has died after a long illness. He was 83. The self-taught musical prodigy died Wednesday night at an undisclosed hospital in Manhattan, said Cem Kurosman, spokesman for Blue Note Records, one of Roach's labels. He said. Roach received his first musical break at age 16, filling in for three nights in 1940 when Duke Ellington's drummer fell ill. Roach's performance led him to the legendary Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, where he joined luminaries Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the burgeoning bebop movement. In 1944, Roach joined Gillespie and Coleman Hawkins in one of the first bebop recording sessions.

What distinguished Roach from other drummers were his fast hands and his ability to simultaneously maintain several rhythms. By layering different beats and varying the meter, Roach pushed jazz beyond the boundaries of standard 4/4 time. Roach's innovative use of cymbals for melodic lines, and tom-toms and bass drums for accents, helped elevate the percussionist from mere timekeeper to featured performer - on a par with the trumpeter and saxophonist. "One of the grand masters of our music," Gillespie once observed.

Floetry breaks up, Amanda Diva joins

Floetry now includes Amanda Diva. According to a person close to the group, Natalie and Marsha had a "personal falling out.". Amanda Diva said. "My homegirl Angela Yee [Sirius Shade 45] knows Marsha's management and they were talking off the cuff one day and expressed that they were looking to get Floetry back up and runnin. She asked if it was something I'd be interested in. I said, 'Yea of course' and she suggested it to them."

From there, it was just a matter of bringing all parties involved together and watching their natural chemistry unfold. "Next thing, I got a call from her management, wanting to meet up," Amanda recalled. "They spit their idea to me, then Marsh and I met. We clicked from jump but we still weren't sure if the tour was for real. A month later we saw the tour dates and it was like, 'Oh @#!*!' We got in the lab in Philly and started working. I already know the cats in the band because they've played for me a couple times in the past so the pieces were there for things to come together." The former MTV personality, who also is an accomplished poet, singer/rapper, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio personality, preferred not to comment on why Stewart and Ambrosius parted ways, "In due time folks will know. It's not my story to tell." Amanda Diva confirmed that she and Marsha will also continue separate solo careers, adding, "but as of right now, we've come together because it makes sense." While she hasn't ruled out a future Floetry album by the new lineup, for now Amanda says their full focus is on the tour. "I think for everyone involved that would be great, but first and foremost we're focused on burnin' these shows down and bringing some music to the game," Diva said.

BET (now a white owned cable station) sparks outrage with Hot Ghetto Mess, another show aiming to disgrace African-Americans By Bobbi Booker -Tribune Staff Writer

Black Entertainment Television (BET) decision to broadcast "Hot Ghetto Mess," also called "HGM," has been met with criticism that has led to two sponsors pulling their ads from the premiere broadcast, scheduled to air July 25. HGM is adapted from the popular Web site HotGhettoMess.com, which features photos and video footage of random African Americans engaged in behavior or dressed in attire considered embarrassing and socially unacceptable.

Critics say BET is putting Black stereotypes on display but the channel calls the 6-week series "a blend of tough love and social commentary."

Viacom Corp.-owned BET would not specify which advertisers dropped out, but released the following statement: "A few of our clients have asked to move to other programming dayparts, and we simply accommodated their request. "Other advertisers remain in place and there are no plans to change the series at this point, the channel said Tuesday. State Farm Insurance Cos. and the Home Depot have released statements confirming their request that ads be removed from the television show and from a Web site promoting the series.
"We have reviewed the content of this program, which we just heard about, and we will not be airing any State Farm advertising during this program on BET," a State Farm spokesman wrote. "Is my goal to discuss these issues in a format and context that makes people who don't watch the channel comfortable or do it in a way that engages the 18- to 34-year-old viewer and makes them really think about these things?" Reginald Hudlin, BET entertainment president, told the Hollywood Reporter.

Docta Shock said he was "embarrassed" when he encountered the HGM website—featuring photos of men and women, mostly Black, with extreme hairstyles and clothing typically linked to hip-hop fashion—two weeks ago. "Here we go again," said Shock, a Philadelphia-based music producer/journalist and media watcher. "Controversy sells, but we're not in a position right now to sell out at that price. If everybody were equal than it wouldn't matter, but at this point we don't have the luxury to point fingers at ourselves and laugh in public. We're not at that point yet."

Criticism has also come from "What About Our Daughters?", a blog and audio podcast addressing depictions of Black women in popular culture. "This is just a latest in a prolonged and consistent pattern of BET profiting off of promoting images that malign and degrade African Americans," a posting on What About Our Daughters said of "Hot Ghetto Mess." The site has targeted advertisers that appeared on a BET.com Web page advertising HGM, including AT&T Corp., DaimlerChrysler and Target. Ironically, the stated intention of HGM's 3-year-old Web site—which comes with the tag line "We got to do better"—is for African Americans to examine the social impact they have on themselves and others. However, pop culture commentator Richard Torres says BET's decision to air the program is simply demeaning. "Is this entertainment?" asked Torres. "I know it's television. I just don't know if it's Black and I don't know if it's entertainment." - Bobbie Booker and the Associated Press contributed to this report

Remy Ma arrested for attempted murder

According to sources, the entire incident began when Remy noticed that $2,000 was missing from her purse. One witness said, "Remy was very upset. She was yelling at everyone and threatening people ... You have to understand, that's Remy's style - she's quick to want to fight."

According to witnesses, Remy confronted Makeda Barnes-Joseph about the missing $2,000. "Makeda told [Remy] that she didn't take her money, but Remy didn't believe her [Remy] was all in Makeda's face talking real wild."That's when, according to the witness, Makeda fought back. The witness says, "[Makeda] told Remy that if she didn't back up, she'd get her jaw cracked ... Remy knew that [Makeda] wasn't playing, so she quieted down. "After all that, it was very uncomfortable [in the Pizza Bar], so Makeda left." But unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. According to police, Remy cowardly followed the 23 year old college student to her car - and shot her twice in the stomach. Then, Remy and her friends jumped into her blue Cadillac Escalade to get the hell out of there. Two blocks later, they crashed it into a parked car. . . so they took off running. Witnesses pointed the cops to Remy, and she was arrested. Yesterday, at her arraignment, she pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, assault and weapons possession. Right now Makeda remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition. Remy Ma was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault. She's was however, released after posting $250,000 bail.

"Witness" from entourage comes forth
The woman, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said she was on the scene with Remy Ma and her entourage, when the shooting took place, around 4:00 am on Saturday (July 14).

According to police, Remy Ma, born Remy Smith, allegedly shot Makeda Barnes-Joseph, 23, twice in the torso, as the two argued in Barnes-Joseph's Nissan Maxima after a night of partying at The Pizza Bar in Manhattan. The source said Remy Ma had accused Barnes-Joseph of stealing in the past, despite the fact that they were childhood friends. "Everyone was good until we went outside and Makeda tried to quickly slip away," the woman told AllHipHop.com. "She has [allegedly] stolen from Remy before and Remy forgave her the first time. Remy even paid Makeda's rent before, when she spent her money on shopping." According to the woman, who said she witnessed the entire event, Barnes-Joseph exited her vehicle and the two women argued in the street. "Remy never got in her [Barnes-Joseph's] car," the witness revealed to AllHipHop.com. "Makeda [allegedly] threatened Remy in front of everyone and demanded that she didn't take her money. She also threw her purse at Remy to check and that's why Remy had her purse and emptied the contents. " Remy Ma's friend said that she and the others in the entourage walked up to the two women as they were arguing and that's when shots rang out.

The rapper surrendered to police Saturday (July 15) and was charged with attempted murder, assault and various weapons charges. She was released on $250,000 bond.Remy Ma is due in court on August 14.

-I guess we still don't learn from our mistakes. How many times do we have to hear about idiots like this? What ever you believe, a woman is fighting for her life because a coward with a gun chooses stupidity over good sense. Brothers and sisters, it's not cool to be stupid anymore. Not at all! - Shock

Randy Hubbard Parker, KRS-One's Son, Dead At 23 In Apparent Suicide - Shaheem Reid

Randy Hubbard Parker, son of rapper KRS-One, was found dead in his Atlanta apartment over the weekend in an apparent suicide. He was 23.

Simone Parker, KRS-One's wife and Randy's mother, said Tuesday (July 10) in a statement that her son's death was related to "severe depression." The family is planning a private memorial service in Florida on July 18, which would have been Randy's 24th birthday. Plans for an August memorial service in New York are under way. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said Parker died on Friday from a gunshot wound to the head, and listed the cause of death as suicide. KRS-One was on tour overseas with producer Marley Marl and was not available for comment at press time, but the statement conveyed his and Simone Parker's appreciation to everyone who has offered condolences.

Sports broadcaster Bill Maas arrested on drugs, weapons charges

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- Former NFL player and Fox Sports broadcaster Bill Maas was charged with drug possession and weapons charges following a roadside safety check. The 45-year-old Maas and a passenger in his Hummer, Sarah J. Murphy, 27, were arrested late Friday by Illinois State Police. During the stop, police indicated Maas seemed nervous, and he agreed to a search of his vehicle. Police found a .22-caliber revolver, 5 grams of suspected marijuana, 6 grams of suspected cocaine and 28 pills of Ecstasy. Maas and Murphy were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Maas was also booked on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon.

"We didn't recognize him until about 5 p.m. this afternoon," Trooper Tony Halsey told the Journal Star of Peoria on Saturday. Halsey said he had no idea why Maas and Murphy, both residents of Lee's Summit, Mo., were in the area.

They were taken to the Tazewell County Jail in Illinois and will appear for a bond hearing Sunday before a county circuit court judge. Maas was drafted from the University of Pittsburgh by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1984, and was the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was a two-time All-Pro selection. He played with the Chiefs until 1992 and joined the Green Bay Packers the following year. Maas joined Fox in 1996. From 1998-01, he served as studio anchor and game analyst for NFL games. Last season he reported games for the network.

Cosmetic giant L'Oréal, guilty of racism, fined for recruitment campaign

Part of the cosmetics giant L'Oréal was yesterday found guilty of racial discrimination after it sought to exclude non-white women from promoting its shampoo. In a landmark case, the Garnier division of the beauty empire, along with a recruitment agency it employed, were fined €30,000 (£20,300) each after they recruited women on the basis of race. The historic ruling - the first time a major company has been found guilty of systematic race discrimination in France - saw a senior figure at the agency given a three-month suspended prison sentence. The French campaign group SOS Racisme brought the case against L'Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics firm, over the campaign in 2000. Garnier France sought saleswomen to demonstrate the shampoo line Fructis Style in supermarkets outside Paris. They sought young women to hand out samples and discuss hairstyling with shoppers.

In July 2000, a fax detailing the profile of hostesses sought by L'Oréal stipulated women should be 18 to 22, size 38-42 (UK size 10-14) and "BBR", the initials for bleu, blanc, rouge, the colours of the French flag. Prosecutors argued that BBR, a shorthand used by the far right, was also a well-known code among employers to mean "white" French people and not those of north African, African and Asian backgrounds. Christine Cassan, a former employee at Districom, a communications firm acting for Garnier, told the court her clients demanded white hostesses. She said that when she had gone ahead and presented candidates "of colour" a superior in her own company had said she had "had enough of Christine and her Arabs". One woman working in the recruitment firm involved said foreign-sounding names or photos showing a candidate was of Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian or other African origin would ensure candidates were eliminated. Another said: "I once had a good woman candidate but she was non-white. I had to ask someone to pretend that our list was full. It was hard."

One experienced candidate said she realised she was not eligible because she was of mixed race. In a normal sample of women recruited for similar sales work, around 40% would be non-white. For the Fructis project, less than 4% were of "non-European" origin. SOS Racisme said hundreds of jobs had been subject to discrimination in the case. Garnier and the recruitment company were initially acquitted last year, but the appeal court yesterday overturned the ruling. A former Garnier head and a senior recruitment agency executive were acquitted.

Anti-racism campaigners in France hailed the ruling. Racial discrimination in employment is a huge problem in France with a recent survey finding three out of four firms preferred white workers. President Nicolas Sarkozy's new justice minister, Rachida Dati, the first woman of north African origin to hold a ministerial post, has ruled that special departments in prosecutors' offices should be set up to deal with race discrimination. Samuel Thomas of SOS Racisme told the Guardian: "This ruling is an enormous victory for everyone suffering race discrimination in France. It shows that economic interests cannot be put before the law and morality. Companies here clearly thought that racism was in their financial interest."

Warner Bros. Records executive Stan Sheppard, to launch a new music label

Warner Bros. Records has joined with entertainment industry executive Stan Sheppard to launch a new music label and a series of star studded Rap & R&B compilation albums, which will raise funds for the national anti-gang organization called The "Amer-I-Can/Unity One Foundation For Social Change."

All of the proceeds from the sale of the album will go directly to the "Amer-I-Can/ Unity ne Foundation for Social Change." Sheppard will direct the promotional and marketing campaign surrounding the project on a daily basis, and will coordinate all activities with the Warner Bros Records staff. In an unusual marketing/promotional approach, Sheppard will release 3 new recordings from the album simultaneously in various parts of the country to generate interest in the album. Those 3 releases are; "What's Goin On" by Snoop Dogg & Akon; "Get Off Me" by Kurupt & "The Ghetto" by Lil Wayne. Supporters of this cause include celebrities such as Magic Johnson, Harry Belafonte, George Foreman, Spike Lee, James Ingram, Bill Russell and Denzel Washington. For interviews and/or more info or to become involved with the project, contact Stan Sheppard at 818-388-2933.

Charges dropped in Ravens' quarterback Steve McNair's "Driving While Black Case"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The drunken-driving charge against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was dropped Tuesday because a related DUI charge against his brother-in-law was reduced to reckless driving. This case was interesting because Steve McNair was charged with DUI when he was neither drinking nor driving!

"It's good. I'm glad it's over," McNair said as he left the court room.

McNair was a passenger when Nashville police stopped his pickup truck May 9 for speeding. The former Tennessee Titan was charged because police said McNair allowed his vehicle to be driven by someone who was inebriated, brother-in-law Jamie Cartwright. Cartwright refused to take a breath test and was charged with drunken driving. Police said he acknowledged drinking two beers, smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test. Cartwright will serve two days in jail within a month, pay a $350 fine and attend DUI school. Because Cartwright's DUI charge was dropped with his plea bargain, the charge against McNair was dismissed. McNair was arrested on DUI charges once before in Nashville in 2003, when he also was charged with illegal gun possession. But a judge dismissed those charges a year later, ruling police didn't have sufficient reason to pull over McNair.

Senator's Number on Escort Service List

Sen. David Vitter, apologized Monday night, July 9, 2007 for "a very serious sin in my past" after his telephone number appeared among those associated with an escort service operated by the so-called "D.C. Madam. Vitter apologized Monday night, July 9, 2007 for "a very serious sin in my past" after his telephone number appeared among those associated with an escort service operated by the so-called "D.C. Madam." Sen. David Vitter says he is sorry for a "serious sin" and that he has already made peace with his wife. "Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there , with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."

Egypt outlaws all female circumcision

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt on Thursday finally banned all female circumcision, the widely-practised removal of the clitoris which just days ago cost the life of a 12-year-old girl.
Officially the practice, which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt and goes back to the time of the pharaohs, was banned in 1997 but doctors were allowed to operate "in exceptional cases". On Thursday, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali decided to ban every doctor and member of the medical profession, in public or private establishments, from carrying out a clitoridectomy, a ministry press official told AFP. Any circumcision "will be viewed as a violation of the law and all contraventions will be punished," said the official, adding that it was a "permanent ban".

A survey in 2000 said the practice was carried out on 97 percent of the country's women. In the latest fatality, 12-year-old Bedur Ahmed Shaker was taken by her mother to a private clinic in Minya, a town on the Nile south of Cairo, for the operation. She died before she could be transferred to hospital. Her mother accused the woman doctor of negligence, charging that her daughter's death was linked to the anaesthetic and not the removal of the clitoris, for which she had paid 50 pounds (nearly nine dollars). Police have arrested both women.

Few answers in wrestler's death

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Police offered no motive Tuesday to explain why Chris Benoit, a World Wrestling Entertainment star, strangled his wife and suffocated his 7-year-old son before hanging himself at their home in suburban Atlanta last weekend.Benoit, 40, left no suicide note. He did leave Bibles next to the bodies of wife Nancy, 43, and their son, Daniel.Investigators found prescription anabolic steroids in the house. Steroids, used by athletes to enhance performance, have been linked to suicide, aggression and violent behavior referred to as "'roid rage." Several pro wrestlers have died in recent years after steroid use. Among them was one of Benoit's friends, wrestler Eddie Guerrero, who died at 38 in 2005 from heart failure that the medical examiner linked to long use of steroids.

Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, which found the bodies Monday, said at a news conference that it may take weeks to get results of tests for substances in Benoit's blood.Pope said the deaths, which have been ruled a double murder-suicide, took place over at least 24 hours. He said Nancy Benoit, a wrestling manager whose ringside name was "Woman," died Friday in an upstairs room. Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said at the news conference that her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head. Daniel's body was found in his bed. He was most likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday, Ballard said.

The boy had old needle marks in his arms, Ballard said. He said he had been told the parents considered him undersized and had given him growth hormones. "The boy was very small, even dwarfed," Ballard said.

The couple, whose romance started in the 1990s as a script written for the ring by Nancy's then-husband, had been through rocky times. They married in 2000 just after Daniel was born. She filed for divorce in May 2003 alleging "cruel treatment." She petitioned for court protection, alleging that Benoit had threatened her and destroyed furniture in their home. Three months later, she asked for the divorce and protection petitions to be dismissed. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Benoit was a former world heavyweight champion who also held several tag team titles. In 1995, according to SLAM!, the Montreal-born Benoit accidentally dropped an opponent on his head, breaking the wrestler's neck and gaining his nickname, the "Canadian Crippler."

Spice Girls announce reunion tour

Following a calculated publicity buildup, the original Girl Power group of the 1990s announced Thursday that they have agreed to reunite for six concerts around the world - their first since breaking up in 2001. Talk of a reunion had swirled for weeks - boosted by Sporty Spice herself. Victoria (Adams) Beckham (Posh Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) and Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) formed the Spice Girls in 1994. They became a global hit. Chisholm, who had opposed a reunion, recently told the British Broadcasting Corp. she had changed her mind.

"For the first time ever, there is some truth in the rumors. We've been discussing it and it could possibly happen," the 33-year-old singer told BBC radio. "I've always said, `I don't want to do it, the past is the past. It was amazing, it was magical. We could never recreate it,'" Chisholm said. "But this year people have been talking about it and some of the girls have expressed an interest in doing it." The Spice Girls' 2000 album, "Forever," had weak sales, and they began concentrating on their solo careers.