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.

Sony Laptop Recall

Sony Corp is recalling 440,000 Vaio laptop computers worldwide due to a wiring flaw that could cause overheating. The recall involves 19 models in the Vaio TZ series manufactured between May 2007 and July 2008. The company had improperly placed wires near the hinge connecting the body of the laptop and its display could wear quickly and cause a short circuit and overheating. A mistake in a circuit board inside the display could also cause overheating inside its rim. Sony has already received 209 reports of overheating worldwide and seven cases where people received minor burns.

Akon Goes to Trial in Fan Tossing Case

The singer Akon will go to trial on criminal charges that he tossed a fan offstage at a concert last summer. He is being accused tossing a teenager off of a stage during a concert in June of 2007 at a minor league baseball stadium near Poughkeepsie. Another woman claimed that she suffered a concussion when the tossed boy landed on her.

Akon is due back in court on December 1st. In December, he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment.

Eleven Year Old Boy Causes High Speed Police Chase

In Boutte, LA, an eleven year old boy led police on a chase that reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour. His parents, Leona Calloway and Rodney Brown, were charged with improper supervision of a minor and allowing an unlicensed minor to drive. The child was charged with felony flight from an officer, reckless driving, speeding, passing on the shoulder, improper lane usage, and having no driver’s license. The parents and the boy were not arrested or sent to jail and the child was released to the custody of an aunt.

The chase started at 6:30 in the morning on the Interstate outside of New Orleans when a state trooper saw a sport utility vehicle and clocked him doing 80 miles per hour in a 60 mile per hour zone. The trooper turned on his lights and siren to stop the driver but the boy accelerated and passed other cars on the shoulder and forced cars off the road. The boy eventually got off the Interstate and drove to the Burger King that his mother worked at. The police say that the boy was trying to drive home after dropping off his disabled father at an appointment at a hospital in Kenner.