"Suge" Knight Facing Criminal Charges

Marion "Suge" Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, is facing criminal charges in Las Vegas that come from an incident where he had beaten his girlfriend near a busy thoroughfare in August. Police had arrested him after they saw him beating the woman while brandishing a knife in a parking lot near the Las Vegas Strip. He also had Ecstasy and hydrocodone in his possession when he was arrested. He was released from custody after posting $19,000 bail.

Knight is being charged with two counts of felony drug possession and one count of misdemeanor battery. He could face mandatory probation and up to four years in a Nevada state prison on each of the drug charges. He could also be sentenced to up to six months in jail on the battery charge.

Rapper Lil Kim Sued by Recording Company

The rapper Lil Kim is being sued by a recording company called Brookland Media for $2.5 million. The company states that she hasn’t delivered all of the recordings that their contract requires and they have already spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on recordings, equipment, and advanced payments after contracting the rapper this year. Court papers state that Lil Kim tried to change the contract and refused to continue recording unless the company agreed. Brookland Media wants the court to declare the contract as valid and wants to bar her from recording for another company.

Actor Morgan Freeman Injured In Car Accident

The actor Morgan Freeman was injured in a a serious car accident at about 11:30 pm on Sunday night in Mississippi. He was airlifted from the scene of the accident to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Freeman's health condition is currently unknown but state troopers said that he was talking on the scene before being taken to the hospital.

Beyonce and Jay Z File Marriage License

It is reported that a village clerk stated that a marriage license for Beyonce Knowles and Jay Z, which was dated April 4^th and signed by the person who officiated the wedding, is being filed by the state. The license was received by mail last Friday. The lavish wedding took place at Jay Z’s apartment on April 4^th and guests included Gwyneth Paltrow , Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

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.

China Banning Foreign Cartoons

China is putting a ban on all foreign cartoons that air between 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to protect their domestic cartoon industry. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) says that no foreign cartoons or programs that introduce foreign cartoons can be shown during those hours on all domestic cartoon channels and children channels starting on May 1^st. Only domestic cartoons that are approved by SARFT can be aired. Cartoons that are co-produced by both domestic and foreign producers have to get approval to be aired.

In August of 2006, a ban was introduced that kept foreign cartoons from airing between 5 pm. and 8 p.m. After the ban, domestic cartoon programming for China increased by 38 percent. The ban is supposed to help China’s struggling animation studios space to compete and help their domestic cartoon industry.

Fidel Castro Resigns as Cuba’s President

Fidel Castro has resigned as Cuba’s president and has decided not to accept a new term as president. This will allow Fidel’s brother, Raul, to implement reforms that he wanted to implement since he took over as acting president when Fidel had gotten sick in 2006.

The National Assembly is going to meet to pick the governing Council of Sate, which includes who will be the next president. It is most likely that Raul, Fidel’s brother, will be the next president of Cuba. Fidel had ruled Cuba for almost 50 years before he resigned.

China Putting Limits on Internet Video

China is putting restrictions on the broadcasting of Internet videos by only allowing citizens to use sites that are ran by state-controlled companies. They are also requiring that providers report questionable content to the government. The regulations will start to take effect on January 31^st and were approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and the Ministry of Information Industry.

Under the new policy, Websites that provide videos or allow people to upload videos have to get government permits and applicants have to be state-owned or state-controlled companies. The policy will also ban providers form broadcasting video that has national secrets, hurts the reputation of China, disturbs social stability, or has pornography. Video providers will be required to delete and report this kind of content.

The permits will have to be renewed every three years and video providers that commit major violations might be banned from providing online videos for five years. It is not clear if the popular Website YouTube will be affected since they are available in China and runs a Chinese-language Website. It also isn’t known if any of YouTube’s computer servers are located in China.

Gangs In the Military

Watch the Video of Gangs in the Military: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgwfVJIoBNM

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.