NBA Star Shaquille O'Neal and Wife Reach Divorce Settlement

The NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and his wife have reached a settlement for their divorce, which includes their property, custody, and support. The Florida courts will have jurisdiction to officially divorce the couple and the Florida judge will handle any of the issues that would involve the division of the property and spousal support. The California courts will have jurisdiction over any child custody issues.

Michael Jackson's Burial Delayed

The late singer Michael Jackson's burial will be delayed. He was set to be buried on August 29th, which would have been his 51st birthday, but the date has been changed to September 3rd. It was going to be changed to August 31st, but it would have conflicted with schools re-opening on that day. The burial will be at Holly Terrace in The Great Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Actor Shemar Moore Hit By Car

On Saturday, the actor Shemar Moore was hit by a car while riding his bicycle in Los Angeles. He suffered a broken leg and was rushed to a local hospital. Otherwise, his is doing fine.

Results of Michael Jackson's Will

In Michael Jackson's trust it is revealed that 40 percent of his assets are suppose to go to his mother. His three children will 40 percent of his assets. Twenty percent of his assets are suppose to go to several children's charities. The names of the charities are not specified in the trust. The California Attorney General is currently filing legal papers in the probate case.

Rapper Coolio Arrested on Drug Possession

The rapper Coolio has been released on bail from jail after being arrested on suspicion of drug possession. On Friday, he was arrested and booked on felony narcotics possession after being stopped at a Los Angeles International Airport. He was released after posting $10,0000 bail.

Rapper Kanye West Arrested

The rapper Kanye West and one of his bodyguards was arrested on Thursday morning at Los Angeles International Airport after an altercation with paparazzi where West smashed a camera on the floor. West and his road manager, who is also his bodyguard, were arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism. The two were scheduled to board a flight to Honolulu, Hawaii that morning. The broken camera was valued at worth more than $10,000. West and his road manager were taken to be booked at a Los Angeles Police Department station in Culver City. West has been released from police custody on Thursday afternoon.

Cop Pulls Gun on Rapper Puff Daddy

At about 3:00 AM in the morning, Puff Daddy, also known as Diddy and Sean “Puffy” Combs, was being driven by an entourage on the Sunset Strip. One of the cars didn't have proper tags and deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department pulled the vehicle over. The other three cars in the entourage pulled over also. It is the policy of the Sheriff Department to call for backup when other cars linger around during a traffic stop.

Backup was called and the driver of the second car had to be detained for being uncooperative with the police. At that time, Diddy and the other five or six members left of the entourage got out of their cars and started walking towards the detained member of their group. One deputy drew his weapon not knowing what they were going to do and not knowing that Diddy was part of the group. Eventually things ended well and the detained man was let go. The vehicle that was pulled over wasn't ticketed because it was a rental car.

California Bans Restaurants From Using Trans Fats

On Friday, California became the first state to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants . Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a legislation that will ban restaurants and other retail food establishments from using oil, margarine, and shortening that contains trans fats.
This legislation would start to take effect on January 1, 2010. Restaurants that violate the ban could face fines between $25 and $1,000 and the only exception would be food that is sold in manufactures' sealed packaging. Both California and Oregon already have laws that ban trans fat from being served in schools.

Trans fats are naturally in meat and dairy products in small amounts. Most trans fats are made when vegetable oil is treated with hydrogen to make baked and fried foods have a longer shelf life. Trans fats are considered bad because they are supposedly linked to coronary heart disease.

Hip Hop Singer Nate Dogg Charged With Stalking

The hip hop singer Nate Dogg has been charged by prosecutors on Monday with stalking after he was accused of threatening and stalking his wife. He was arrested last month by the California Highway Patrol after his wife stated that he threatened and followed her while she was driving on a freeway south of Los Angeles.

He will be arraigned on July 16^th on felony counts of making criminal threats, stalking, and a misdemeanor charge of driving while his license was suspended for a drunken driving violation.

Rapper Snoop Dogg’s Wife Arrested

The wife of rapper Snoop Dogg has been arrested in Orange County, California for investigation for driving under the influence of alcohol. Police stopped her vehicle at about 12:15 a.m. on Saturday and took her to jail. She received a citation and then was released. She has a pending court appearance. There was nobody else in the car at the time she was arrested.

McDonald’s Tries New Feng Shui Design

In California, a McDonald’s restaurant has gotten rid of the plastic furniture and red and yellow design to go for a Feng Shui style with leather seats, earth tone colors, bamboo plants, and water trickling down glass panels. The change is supposed to help their customers achieve happiness and fortune. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of arranging things and numbers to promote health, harmony, and prosperity.

The design is suppose to create a soothing setting and encourage customers to return. The new design has doors positioned in a way to block out bad spirits and keep good spirits inside. There are eight rows of red tiles near the food counter that symbolize fortune because the number eight is considered auspicious. There are metal sculptures of a crane and Koi fish on one wall that represents fertility and prosperity.

Pimp C Autopsy Results

The autopsy of rapper Pimp C revealed that he died due to a deadly combination of sleep apnea and Promethazine/Codeine, which is cough syrup. His death has been ruled as an accident. He was found dead on December 4^th of 2007 in his bed at the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood, California.

Foxy Brown’s Travel Plea Denied

A New York judge has denied the rapper Foxy Brown’s request to get out of jail early so that she could go to California to get her ear examined and get her electronic ear implant repaired. Foxy Brown first revealed she had hearing problems during a 2004 court appearance. In her petition to the judge, she stated that her hearing condition was getting worse in jail and that it would get seriously worse unless she had the cochlear implant reprogrammed and repaired. She could get treatment in New York, but her attorneys say that she needs to be treated by specialists at House Clinic in California.

Hollywood Writers Go On Strike

Film and TV writers plan to go on strike Monday against the largest media companies over profits from DVDs and Internet programming. The Writers Guild of America board members voted to start the strike at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time unless studios offer a better deal with bigger profits from DVD sales and shows sold and streamed over the Internet. They plan to start picketing in New York and Los Angeles after the strike captains meet and discuss and finalize the details.

The strike may have a big effect because all production will be stopped. The entertainment industry contributes about $30 billion a year and $80 million a day to Los Angeles.

Police Shoot and Kill Suspect Who Started California Wildfires

Last night, police shot and killed one of the people suspected in causing the wildfires that have devastated California. The man was found near a campus in San Bernardino by the police and was shot while trying to get away in his pickup truck.

A man named John Alfred who is being held on $750,000 bail on suspicion of arson. Somebody saw him start a fire along Highway 173, which was extinguished, but so far he has not been connected with the fire around Lake Arrowhead. Police are sure that the two fires in Orange County and Temecula were started by arsonists.

California College Uses Roaches to Attract Students

The college UC Riverside in California is using a cockroach petting zoo display to try to attract students and parents to an upcoming recruitment fair. The display will have several species of cockroaches and will include the Madagascar hissing cockroach. The fair is mainly for high school students that are interested in careers as science teachers and engineers.

Mans Wins Contest With 1524 Pound Pumpkin

In Half Moon Bay, CA a man named Thad Starr had the winning pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay pumpkin festival weigh-off. His pumpkin weighed 1,524 pounds and set the record for the largest pumpkin they ever had at the contest. He won six dollars for each pound of the pumpkin and received $9,144. Click This Link to See the Picture: http://images.townnews.com/journaltimesonline.com/content/articles/2007/10/08/ap/strange/d8s59jl00.jpg

Killer Bees Attack New Orleans

Africanized honeybees, also called killer bees, have settled in New Orleans. Earlier this year, demolition workers found and captured a colony of the bees. Recently more bees were found close to the same spot and they may have come from the same colony or may have come from a ship or barge.

The Department of Agriculture put traps along the north-south line throughout the state and at all of the deepwater ports to monitor the bees. Killer bees have the same venom as honeybees, but attack in groups instead of alone. They are also smaller than honeybees. If anyone sees a killer bee, it is recommended to find cover quickly.

Africanized bees first came from an experiment to increase honey production in Brazil that went wrong. A swarm escaped the lab in 1957 and went north. Then they mated with native bees. They reached Texas in 1990 and spread to California and Florida. They were first found in Louisiana in 2005.

Mother Charged with Driving Son to Gang Fight

It is reported in Victorville, CA that a woman, named Sophia Elam, was arrested after she drove her son to school to fight with members of a rival gang. The woman drove her 16 year old son and several other adults to Silverado High School to fight gang members who had been harassing her son.

She was arrested this past Thursday for investigation of child endangerment. Five other adults and one juvenile were arrested when detectives did a search of Elam’s home and the home of a rival gang member. The detectives also found a gun in Elam’s home.

Director John Singleton Accidentally Kills Woman

It is reported that the director John Singleton was diving in his car when he hit and killed a woman while she was crossing the street in Los Angeles. Singleton was not under the influence of anything and after the accident he stopped and waited for the police.

John Singleton earned Oscar nominations for writing and directing the films Boyz N the Hood, Shaft, and Hustle and Flow.