Singer D'Angelo Arrested

The R&B singer D'Angelo, whose real name is Michael Archer, was arrested on Saturday while behind the wheel of his Range Rover after he was caught trying to pay $40 for sex from an undercover cop posing as a prostitute in New York City. He pleaded not guilty in court and plans to fight the charge.

Rapper Serves Prison Time in Arkansas

The rapper T.I. has to report to Forrest City's low-security federal prison by noon on May 26th. He has been sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty in March to federal weapons charges. He has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of his charges in his three count indictment. He will be credited for the 305 days of home detention that he has already served, so he is likely to be at Forrest City prison for only two months. Unless there are custody or security concerns, he will be treated like any other prisoner and will be placed in the general population with the rest of the prisoners. When he is released, he will be on probation for three years and will pay a $100,000 fine as part of his sentence.

Rapper Kanye West Not Charged in Airport Incident

Prosecutors have decided not to file felony charges against the rapper Kanye West and his manager for an incident in which the camera of a paparazzi was broken. Prosecutors referred the case to the city attorneys and they will decide if West will be charged with a misdemeanor.

West was arrested on September 11th at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of vandalism after he was caught on video struggling with a paparazzi and then breaking his camera on the floor. His manager was also arrested on suspicion of breaking the camera and one that belonged to a TMZ videographer.

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.

Rapper Yung Berg Arrested for Weapons and Drugs

The rapper Yung Berg was arrested on Saturday morning in New York City after police went to investigate a complaint that was made by a limo driver about a dispute with five passengers. After police investigated the complaint, they busted Yung Berg and some of his friends on many charges. Yung Berg was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of marijuana, and menacing.

Rapper Foxy Brown Freed From Jail

The rapper Foxy Brown has been freed from the New York City prison that she has been serving time at. She served eight months of the one year sentence. She was originally sentenced to three years on probation in 2006 after she assaulted two nail salon stylists over a $20 manicure but the judge ruled that she was not taking the probation seriously and sentenced her to one year in prison.

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.

Ray Charles’ Hometown Builds Statue of Him

On Friday, Albany, Ray Charles’ hometown, unveiled a revolving lighted bronze statue of him in the middle of a new downtown plaza that is named after him. Family members of Charles showed up at the musical ceremony that honored him. Ray Charles died in 2004 at the age of 73.

Actor Mickey Rourke Arrested

The actor Mickey Rourke, who stars in “Sin City,” “Diner,” and “9 ½ weeks,” was arrested on Thursday for driving under the influence of alcohol. The police reports say that he made a U-turn at a red light and then swerved several times on the road. His face was flushed and he had bloodshot watery eyes with a slurred speech and he had a strong scent of alcohol on his breath. He failed the breath and field-sobriety tests. He was arrested at 4:20 a.m. and booked at the Miami-Dade County Jail. He later was released after he posted $1,000 bond.

Man Dies after Playing Online Games

It is reported in southern China that a 30 year old man died of exhaustion after playing online games for three days straight. The man fainted at a cybercafé in the city of Guangzhou and the paramedics failed at trying to revive him. He was pronounced dead at the café.