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.

Singer Akon Pleads Guilty

On Wednesday, the singer Akon pleaded guilty to harassment for tossing a teenage fan off of a stage at a concert in upstate New York in June of 2007. He will not serve any jail time but he will have to perform 65 hours of community service and pay a $250 fine due to his plea bargain. He was originally charged with misdemeanor endangerment of the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment, which is a violation.

Actor Gary Coleman Pleads No Contest

The actor Gary Coleman has pleaded no contest to a disorderly charge from a recent incident at a bowling alley. He also pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge, which will be waived if he doesn't have another violation within a year. He was ordered to pay a $100 fine in a Payson court on Tuesday.

Read More: http://mediatoken.blogspot.com/2008/09/actor-gary-coleman-being-sued-over.html and http://mediatoken.blogspot.com/2008/09/actor-gary-coleman-hits-pedestrian.html

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.

Rapper T.I. Challenges Evidence in Weapons Charge

The rapper T.I., who tried to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers in Atlanta an hour before his scheduled performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, says that the evidence obtained and statements that he made to authorities were illegally obtained. His attorney has filed motions in the U.S. District Court to try to suppress evidence seized from his vehicle and statements he made on the day he was arrested. The attorneys say that his vehicle was searched without a warrant, the statements he made to authorities may not have been voluntary and agents may have not honored his rights.

As of now, T.I. could possibly be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each weapons charge. He is currently free on bond and under house arrest. He asked to host a Thanksgiving Day gathering at the house where he is staying at, but it was opposed. Under his bond conditions he has to have court approval of visitors.

Child Charged with Putting Teacher on YouTube

It is reported in Finland that a 15 year old boy, named Toni Vesikko, was fined for posting a video of his teaching karaoke and claiming she was a lunatic without her permission.

He teen claims the posting was a prank and didn’t mean to hurt the teacher. The teacher claims she suffered from anxiety, depression, and insomnia after the prank. The video was watched more than 600 times before it was removed from YouTube. In the video posting, Toni said that she was a lunatic singing at the karaoke of the mental hospital. He was fined $120 and was ordered to pay $1,000 in pain and suffering damages.

Mike Vick Gets Suspended from Football

It is reported that the NFL indefinitely suspended Michael Vick without pay. The suspension is going to cost him $150 million dollars. He still has to pay fines and legal fees. He will lose $71 million dollars in salary over the next several years if the Falcons terminate his contract. He will lose $50 million dollars in future endorsement income. He could lose more if the Falcons sue him for the bonuses he was already paid under his contract. The Falcons will also want some of their signing bonus money back.