Friday, March 28, 2008

Rapper T.I. Pleads Guilty to Charges

The rapper T.I. has pleaded guilty to federal weapons possessions charges and he will receive a sentence that will include prison time after he does community service. While he is waiting on sentencing, he will have to complete at least 1,000 out of 1,500 hours of community service, which would involve talking to youth groups about the dangers of guns, gangs, and drugs. He will have to serve about 12 months in prison after finishing the community service.

T.I. pleaded guilty to possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, unlawful possession of machine guns, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. His prison sentence could be increased or reduced, depending whether he fulfills the terms of the deal and good behavior.

Rapper Remy Ma Convicted of Assault

The rapper Remy Ma has been convicted of an incident of shooting a woman outside of a nightclub last summer. She could serve up to 25 years in prison after her conviction in state Supreme Court for assault, weapon possession, and attempted coercion.

Kimora Lee Simmons Files for Divorce

Kimora Lee Simmons has been separated from her entertainment mogul husband Russell Simmons for two years but she has decided to file for divorce in a Los Angeles Superior Court citing irreconcilable differences. She and Russell have an 8 year old daughter named Ming Lee and a 5 year old daughter named Aoki Lee. Kimora is seeking legal and physical custody of the children and has requested that Russell be granted reasonable visitation that is accompanied at all times by the children’s nanny and security personnel.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Pamela Anderson Ends Marriage

Pamela Anderson has ended her short marriage to Rick Salomon with an annulment. Documents list fraud as the reason for annulment. The two married on October 6, 2007 in Las Vegas and separated on Dec 13th. Pamela has been married to both Kid Rock and Tommy Lee, drummer for Motley Crue, in the past. Rick Salomon is known as the ex-boyfriend of Paris Hilton and was previously married to actress Shannen Doherty for nine months.

Tyra Banks Has a Stalker

A man, named Brady Green, has been charged with stalking talk-show host Tyra Banks and has been ordered to stay away from her or go to jail. He has followed Banks from coast to cost since January, sent her letters and flowers, and tried to call her. He was issued a court order last week that required him to leave her alone.

Green was arrested after he showed up several times on March 18th at the Manhattan building where “The Tyra Banks Show” is taped and asked to talk to her. He also had previously showed up several times at her Los Angeles studio and asked to talk to her. He sent her flowers there and tried to call her at least five times.

Tyra Banks told police that what Green had done caused her to have fear that she was in danger. Green was charged with stalking, criminal trespass, and harassment. After his recent arraignment, he was released without bail and was ordered to return to court on May 13th. He could spend up to a year in jail if he is convicted.

Sean “Diddy” Combs Settles Punching Lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs has settled the lawsuit against him with an undisclosed amount. He was being accused of punching a man after a post-Oscar party outside of a Hollywood hotel on Feb 25th. The man suing him also claims that Diddy pushed his girlfriend and spat on another woman.

Hulk Hogan Being Sued Over Son’s Car Accident

The wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, is being sued by the man who was seriously injured in a car crash that involved Hogan’s son. John Graziano’s attorneys filed a lawsuit on Monday in Clearwater against Hogan. The lawsuit claims that Hogan and his wife are responsible as the parents of their son, Nick Bollea, who is currently facing a criminal charge of reckless driving involving serious bodily harm.

Graziano was a passenger in Nick’s Toyota Supra when he lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. Graziano wasn’t wearing a seat belt during the accident and was put in a semiconscious state afterwards. He states that he will require care for the rest of his life.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Singer Corinne Bailey Rae’s Husband Found Dead

The husband of British singer Corinne Bailey Rea, 31 year old Jason Rea, was found dead in an apartment on Saturday in the northern English city of Leeds. Toxicology tests have already been done and police are waiting for the results of them to determine the cause of his death. A 32 year old man was arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs to him and has already been released on bail.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Halle Berry Names Her Daughter

The actress Halle Berry has decided to name her daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry. Nahla is an Arabic name that means to drink and Ariela is a Hebrew name that means Lioness of God.

Busta Rhymes Sentenced to Probation

The rapper Busta Rhymes was sentenced to 3 years on probation Tuesday for assaulting his former driver and a fan. He was also sentenced to serve 10 days of community service, pay a $1,250 fine and court costs, and enroll in drunken driving program. The judge warned him to stay out of trouble or he will go to jail.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

New Device Makes Cheating More Difficult

Recently, a New York firm is marketing a new device that would allow spouses or parents to recover old text messages from cell phones. The device is a SIM card reader that costs $149 and will even recover messages that were earlier deleted. Half of spouses find something bad on their partner’s phone and to avoid being caught, the spouses and teens being spied on would have to remove the SIM card from their phone and crush it or cut it up with a wire cutter.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Halle Berry Gives Birth to Baby

Halle Berry gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday. It is reported that she is doing great. The father is Gabriel Aubry, a 32 year old model. Halle met him while shooting a Versace ad in Los Angeles two years ago.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

France Steps Up Citizen Surveillance

The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, has decided to increase the amount of surveillance in public places in an effort to keep citizens safer by installing more police video cameras on city streets and sidewalks. There are already 300,000 of cameras set up in public places but Sarkozy wants to triple that number in the next few years.

The French government also has granted itself access to information every citizen’s bank cards, Internet searches, subway cards, electronic tollbooth passes, and more. Most citizens in France don’t know about the secret tracking devices and people have even been refused loans and lost their jobs due to errors that they have caused.

The First Underwater Car

Rinspeed, a Swiss company, has built the world’s first functional underwater car. The car is electric-powered and can travel up to 77mph on land, 3mph on the surface of water, and 1.8 mph at 30 feet underwater.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Ready to Be Sold

A public auction of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch has been scheduled for May 14th. Jackson recently went into default on the $24.5 million that he owes on the 2,500-acre property. Jackson is currently considering whether he wants to refinance or sell the property before the auction happens. He already moved out of the property more than two years ago.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Blue-ray Wins the Format War

The war between the Blue-ray and HD DVD high-definition formats is over and Sony’s Blue-ray is the winner. Warner Bros. has announced that it would release movies for the home video market just in the Blue-ray format. Only two of Hollywood’s six major studios support the HD DVD format. The victory of Blue-ray may be short because of future technology that could allow people to download high-definition movies over the Internet.

Elementary Schools Weighing Students

In Georgia, a new state law is requiring schools to weigh students twice each year, track their body mass index, and post the information on their websites in an effort to try to get a control over childhood obesity. Some people feel that this is an invasion of the children’s privacy and could be traumatic for the kids.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

iPod Defects Being Investigated

Japan is investigating a possible defect in Apple Inc.’s iPod after one of the digital music players shot out sparks while recharging. The problem is assumed to be with the lithium-ion battery in the iPod Nano, model number MA099J/A. The problem was first found in January in Tokyo and Apple reported the problem to the ministry in March. Luckily, no one was injured when the defect happened.

The ministry has instructed that Apple Japan has to find out the cause of the problem and report it back to the government. The iPod was assembled in China but it is not sure where the battery was made. Lithium-ion batteries have already been the problem for some laptops by causing fires.

Woman Stopped While Trying to Bring Skeleton on Plane

A 62 year old woman was stopped at a Munich airport after baggage control handlers found the skeleton of her brother in a plastic bag with her luggage. She and her 63 year old friend were taken away by police after a scan of the plastic bag showed a human skull and other bones. The women were trying to travel from Brazil to Italy.

After questioning, it was told that they woman was trying to fulfill the last wish of her brother to be buried in Italy, who had died 11 year earlier in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The woman gave the appropriate papers from Brazilian authorities for the transport and was allowed to take the skeleton to Italy.

Ledger’s Will Leaves Nothing to Daughter

It is found that the actor Heath Ledger’s will leaves nothing to his 2 year old daughter and former girlfriend, Michelle Williams; because it wasn’t updated after he met Williams. A copy of the will shows that Leger left everything he had to his parents and three sisters. Ledger’s father has said that the family would make sure that Williams and their daughter would be taken care of.

It is estimated that his belongings are valued at $145,000. This amount includes a $25,000 Toyota Prius, $20,000 worth of furniture and fixtures, and $100,000 in bank accounts. The only debt he had when he died was the rent he owed for February for the New York apartment where he died on Jan 22nd. He had died of an accidental overdose of prescription medication.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The High Costs of Raising Children

It is found that the average cost of raising a child to the age of 21 is $338,000. Providing shelter will cost about $105,000 until the age of 18. Food will cost about $41,400 and health care costs will be about $17,400. The overall average cost also includes the cost of college.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Lisa Marie Presley Sues Newspaper Over Fat Story

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, has sued a British newspaper for saying that she was piling on pounds due to unhealthy eating. She filed a lawsuit at London's High Court stating that the story was slanderous and degrading. Lisa Marie has recently stated on her Myspace page that she is currently pregnant. She was just about to announce her pregnancy when the articles about her weight were written. In her lawsuit she is seeking an apology and damages.

Rapper The Game Released From Jail

The rapper The Game was released from jail just before midnight on Sunday after serving just 8 days of his 60 day sentence. He turned himself in on March 2 at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. Last month, he was convicted of possession of a firearm in a school zone after he was accused of pulling out a gun on a player of an opposing team during a pickup game at a South Los Angeles school several months ago.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Lisa Marie Presley Announces Pregnancy

Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, felt she had to speak up when pictures of her looking very heavy were ridiculed in the media and on the internet. She has announced on her Myspace page that she is currently pregnant. She and her husband, Michael Lockwood, are expecting the baby to arrive this next fall. It will be her third child. She has two children from her previous marriage to ex-husband Danny Keough.

Track Star Marion Jones Goes to Prison

The ex-track star Marion Jones has began her six month prison sentence on Friday. She was convicted of lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs and her part in a check-fraud scam. She turned herself in before noon on Friday at the Federal Medical Center Carswell, which is on the Naval Air Station. She had until Tuesday to turn herself in. The prison that she is in specializes in medical and mental health services, but it also has inmates who don’t need any care.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Kelly Rowland Admits to Having Implants

Kelly Rowland, formerly of the group Destiny Child, has admitted to People magazine that she had breast implants to go from a A-cup to a B-cup. She says that it took her a long time to make the decision and she was tired of not being able to fit her shirts right.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Actor Patrick Swayze Treated for Pancreatic Cancer

The actor Patrick Swayze is currently being treated for pancreatic cancer and is responding well to the treatment. He is doing well enough to keeping working on his upcoming projects. He is currently working on the move “Powder Blue” and a television movie called “The Beast,” which are both scheduled to be released this year.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Brett Favre Retires From NFL

The Green Bay Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, has decided to retire from the NFL after 17 seasons. He has informed his teammates and coach Mike McCarthy of his decision already.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Rapper The Game Turns Himself In

The rapper The Game turned himself in to start serving a 60-day jail sentence. He received the jail sentence as apart of a plea deal after he pleaded no contest to felony possession of a firearm in a school zone. He was also given 150 hours of community service and three years of probation. He also had two other charges against him that were dismissed, which were making criminal threats and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of a peace officer.

The charges are from a 2007 basketball game at the Rita Walters Educational Learning Complex in Compton where The Game beat up another player. He then pulled out a pistol and threatened to kill the man.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Rapper Juvenile’s Daughter Killed

The rapper Juvenile’s daughter was fatally shot by a 17 year old boy, who is named Anthony Tyrone Terrell Jr. The boy shot and killed his mother and her two little girls, which one of the girls was Juvenile’s 4 year old daughter. He was charged with murder on Friday for the killings and is being held without bail. Due to his age, he cannot receive the death penalty. A preliminary hearing will be set for next week. The motive for the killings is currently unclear.

Jennifer Lopez Names Her Twins

Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony have named their newborn twins Max and Emme. The babies were born at a Long Island hospital on February 22nd. Emme was born first at 5 pounds and 7 ounces. Max was born second at 6 pounds. This is Jennifer Lopez’s first time becoming a mother and Marc Anthony has three children from previous relationships.