Former Bad Boy rapper G-Dep may have finally gotten the peace he was looking for but at a hefty cost; 25 years to life.
A New York grand jury officially indicted him for murder Tuesday after he confessed to shooting a man three times in the chest when he was 18 and fleeing the scene.
Since his confession, Dep, real name Trevell Coleman, told The NYPost that he didn't know his victim died when he decided to come clean on the cold case.
According to Dep, he just wanted a clean conscience.
“I was surprised — for some reason, I really didn't think that he died,” the bald and bearded Coleman said in a jailhouse interview. “When they told me, I was like, ‘Oh, I'm not going home after this.”
His lawyer, Michael Alperstein, claims Coleman was prompted to confess to the crime as part of a 12-step program to conquer his battle with drug addiction.
Cam Newton has won the Heisman Trophy after a season in which he played brilliantly but was also the focus of an NCAA investigation.
Newton won in a landslide vote Saturday night, easily outpointing runner-up Andrew Luck to become the third Auburn player to win college football's biggest individual award.
Newton beat out Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Oregon running back LaMichael James and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore.
The week before the Southeastern Conference championship, the NCAA announced that Cam Newton's father Cecil Newton tried to pull off a play-for-pay scheme with Mississippi State, but there was no evidence that his son or Auburn knew about it. The NCAA decided Cam Newton would be allowed to play, but his father's access to Auburn athletics would be limited. The sports governing body has left open the possibility that Cam Newton's status could change if new evidence came to light.
Newton, who was not selected to the Football Writers Association of America's All-America team, led the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 1,409 yards, scored 21 touchdowns and was the nation's top-rated passer with 2,589 yards passing and 28 TD throws.
Newton was greeted by hundreds of Auburn fans when he entered the Best Buy Theatre before the awards show.
Fans clad in orange and blue and carrying signs with slogans such as "War Cam Eagle" arrived nearly an hour ahead of time to recreate an Auburn tradition. Fans normally line the path into Jordan-Hare stadium in a "Tiger Walk" for players before games.
Newton's Tigers will play James and the Ducks in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Az. on Jan. 10.
Every Beatles fan who was old enough to watch the news in 1980 remembers the sickening feeling. The murder of John Lennon took a beloved rock star and willing cultural divining rod from his devoted following. It took a newly maturing 40-year-old man from his wife and two sons.
John Lennon's murder also took an enthusiastic adopted New Yorker from the city he had come to love as his own. That's the approach author Keith Elliot Greenberg took for his new book, 'December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died.'
"I'm not a Beatles scholar, by any means," Greenberg tells Spinner, though he nevertheless does an admirable job of portraying the key moments and relationships in Lennon's life that led to his contented, newly refreshed frame of mind on the eve of his murder. "I am a crime reporter, and a New Yorker. I felt I had the ability to tell the story in true-crime fashion, as well as the passion to convey what life was like in New York in 1980."
As Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment from an evening recording session, Chapman, who had been lingering on the block for days, emerged from the Dakota's archway to shoot the former Beatle in the back. Though Lennon had been in the habit of addressing his own mortality -- on the day of his murder, he'd told a visiting interviewer that he hoped to die before Yoko -- the author is careful not to read too much into it.
"I think John was always referring to his own mortality," he says, pointing out that Lennon lost several people close to him, including his mother, onetime bandmate Stu Sutcliffe and Beatles manager Brian Epstein, during his short lifetime. "If you looked at a transcript of my conversations, you might say the same thing about me."
John and Yoko's life together, and Yoko's grief over the death of her husband, have been covered extensively, acknowledges the author. "I wanted to work the story along the margins. I wanted to tell the little stories in addition to the big story. To me, they add richness to the bigger tale."
Greenberg, a native New Yorker who who was born in the Bronx, raised in Queens and currently lives with his family in Brooklyn, once worked in television for Geraldo Rivera, a friend of the ex-Beatle and his wife. The author was a teenager in the late '70s, when John and Yoko were celebrated (and sometimes hounded) by the New York media.
"John Lennon made me proud to be a New Yorker," he says. Unlike some public figures, Lennon accepted the city on its own terms. Sadly, that's what killed him.
The fact that Yoko Ono did not flee -- she still lives in the Dakota -- is a tribute to the city's resilience, Greenberg says.
"She has enhanced the city by contributing a million dollars to build Strawberry Fields. She made New York a more beautiful, serene, positive place."
In a recent interview with Tim Westwood, Cashville Records rapper Young Buck has offered his thoughts on Game recently wanting to bring back together G-Unit. When Westwood asked Buck if he would ever reconcile with G-Unit, Buck replied,
"Me going back? To be continued. I know the picture you was left with before you done seen Buck again. It was one big family. It was a movement and it was a beautiful movement and I think the fans enjoyed that and I think they want that still. I wouldn't definitely just turn down the situation at this point but it would have to be done in a genuine way as far as the whole movement of what it should be. It would just have to be done in a genuine way."
Buck also spoke on why he put away his differences with Game, and why he does not have beef with anyone anymore.
"I done reconciled with Game because in reality I don't feel like the situation of when there was a situation dealing with the G-Unit and Game it was a situation where I would consider beef...When you consider beef, that's a whole different world. A lot of these are just considered misunderstandings but they're able to make it to the beef categories and carried out like that."
Peep the full interview below to see if Buck is down for the G-Unit reunion and more.
Kanye West Media Trainer Quits After Disastrous 'Today' Interview
According to The New York Post, Kanye West's media trainer Susie Arons has quit after only three days on the job following his interview on the "Today" show with Matt Lauer.
As previously reported, Lauer seemed to have went on a personal attack and proceeded to be former President George W. Bush's bodyguard in the interview.
According to The Post, Kanye's camp hired Susie Arons on Monday, an executive vice president at Rubenstein Communications, for help handling the interview. Collectively, they agreed West should cancel the interview, and it was called off Monday night.
But on Tuesday morning, Arons was notified that West was waiting at NBC's Rockefeller Center studio for the Lauer chat, and she rushed over at West's request.
According to a show insider, "West shut himself in a dressing room with Susie, and could be heard rehearsing possible questions and answers. But the interview began, and it was as though he had crammed for a test and then his mind went blank."
As seen around the world, Ye became frustrated around the questions which were obviously brought up to promote the former President's new book which he seems to have lifted from pages of previous published books by his subordinates according to The Huffington Post... Go figure.
The NY Post also reports that when Lauer and West took a break, West "huddled again with the media trainer because he still hadn't found a way to express himself," said our source. The disastrous interview aired Thursday, and Arons resigned from working with him yesterday morning.
Despite the media sabotage and backlash, Kanye's new album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" drops November 22nd and is already being heralded as a classic.
NBA star Ron Artest is an odd fellow. He's won a world championship, but he's better known for his unique brand of behavior.
Artest was the first basketball player to ever run into the stands and attack a fan. Less dangerously, but just as weirdly, he drank cognac during the halftime of games, wore a bathrobe to practice -- and applied for a job at Circuit City, so that he could get an employee discount (while earning millions of dollars a year).
All of this makes Artest a risk to have on your team -- but it also makes him an excellent guest on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' (weeknights, 12AM ET on ABC).
Ron has been on the show before, and Jimmy is excited to have him back. Kimmel is ready for some weirdness. Artest doesn't disappoint him. Mr. Artest showed up in a fake beard, and also wore a crazy hat and socks with sandals. This was a major fashion faux pas, but that was just the beginning. Next, Ron made Jimmy play touch football, and confessed his undying love for singer Celine Dion. It was all so bewildering that ... well, you should just watch it for yourself.
A naked Kanye West and his "phoenix" as cover art didn't jive with distributors, but 'Ye gave fans a glimpse anyway, and blasted retailers who disapprove.
Although he's giving out weekly free songs via G.O.O.D Fridays, Chicago Hip Hop superstar Kanye West has kept a number of things mysterious about next month's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The Def Jam artist's fifth album may be coming November 22, 2010, but it was unclear what the art-inspired rapper's cover would look like.
Today, West tweeted what it will not look like. Kanye's intended cover featured a painting of what is believed to be a naked woman sitting on a naked man's lap. West indicated that the man, who is also holding a bottle, is supposed to be him. The woman, he called his "phoenix."
The cover is below:
With West's label presumingly banning the cover, the rapper criticized retailers that would deem the content unsuitable, specifically Wal-Mart.
West also pointed to the popularity of nudity on album covers in the 1970s. Artists including John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, The Scorpions and David Bowie have all used nudity or overly sexual themes on cover art.
Previously in Hip Hop, Ice-T's Home Invasion and The Coup's Party Music had banned covers
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY - Chesterfield Police have identified the man killed in a train accident Friday night to be a local high school student.
Police say Joshua D. Franklin, an 18 year-old Meadowbrook High School student who lives in the 6400 block of Cosmic Rd. was walking by the tracks near the Defense Supply Center when he was struck by a train. The incident happened at around 9:30 p.m. Friday night.
Franklin was pronounced dead on the scene. The incident remains under investigation.
A vigil is scheduled to remember the victim Monday night. Friends and family will gather at the railroad tracks where Franklin's body was found at 7:00 pm.
His mother tells CBS 6, she believes he was rushing home from a friends house to meet a 10pm curfew.
"He told me he wasn't going to use it again. That's why I knew he was rushing. He probably just wasn't thinking and used the shortcut," said Chrisandra Franklin.
When Chrisandra Franklin got the news about her son being struck by a train, she and her daughters rushed to the scene.
"I went up the train tracks, the police said you can't come up here and I said this might be my son. Once I saw his body, I said, Jesus, I knew it was my son."
Franklin says her son had his faults but called him a special young man.
"He cooked me breakfast every Saturday morning. He watched over my youngest daughter, you know. He was a big brother. It was like he was the man of the house," said Franklin.
Joshua's friends say he worked at the Boys and Girls club on Bainbridge street in South Richmond for the past three years.
They say he loved to play football and had planned to go to college.
And you could always count on him for a good laugh.
"He was a loving person, make you laugh, always put a smile on your face. He was just goofy a real comedian, good to be around," said best friend Casey Trice.
Family and friends comforted Joshua's mother and sisters at their Chesterfield apartment. Still in shock over this tragedy now asking why it had to happen.
Chrisandra Frankllin says "I love him but I know God loves him more. And I know I have angels watching over me but now I have a personal angel looking over me because I know my son was one."
"I just wish he could come back. It's not going to happen but I just miss him and love him," said Trice.
Many kids in living in the Regency Lake apartments in Chesterfield near the accident scene say, they use those train tracks as a short cut everyday, never expecting a tragedy to happen.
Since Joshua's death, there's been a huge outpouring of support from his friends.
So, his family is holding a vigil Monday evening at 7pm near the train tracks at Strathmore and Dundas roads. They're asking the public to bring flowers, roses and candles in memory of Joshua Franklin.
A man died after being struck by a train in Chesterfield County Friday night.
It happened about 9:30 p.m. on the tracks near the Defense Supply Center. Investigators say the victim was walking beside those tracks when he was hit by a train traveling south.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is being withheld under his family has been notified.
Michael Vick told a Virginia Beach, Va., radio station Monday night that he's hoping to miss "maybe a week, maybe two weeks" from his rib cartilage injury.
"There is some cartilage damage up in there and a small fracture up in there, so maybe a week, maybe two weeks," he said, according to philly.com. "I just have to work through it. I've always been a quick healer. It won't be no more than one, two weeks hopefully. Hopefully.
"I'm feeling good, despite the rib injury. I'm fighting through it. Overall, I'm feeling well."
He has already been ruled out of this week's Eagles game against the 49ers, according to ESPN.
Monday afternoon, Eagles head coach Andy Reid called Vick "day-to-day, week-to-week" at his press conference.
Reid noted that Vick was still sore from the hit he suffered when two Redskins converged on him during a 23-yard scramble in the first quarter that was called back due to a penalty. Vick didn't return to the game and Kevin Kolb took over as quarterback in the 17-12 loss.
"The most important thing is just rest," Vick told WXTG Radio. "There is really nothing you can do for a rib injury, especially in the upper part of your rib cage. I'll get rest, I've got a Hyperbaric machine and I'll be spending a lot of time in that trying to restore my blood cells. I'll stay in the treatment room, getting ice for it and just trying to get movement."
Police in New Jersey are searching for the gunman who opened fire at an off-campus party near Seton Hall University, killing an honors student who tried to help a wounded friend.
Four people were wounded in the shootings early Saturday. Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and the school is making counselors available on campus today.
"It's very much an active investigation," East Orange Police Sgt. Andrew DiElmo told AOL News today. "There are no suspects or arrests."
The gunman reportedly was turned away from the party in East Orange, about a mile from campus, but returned and opened fire, reportedly shooting people at random. As the shots rang out, the 100 party-goers scrambled to get out of the chaotic scene inside the row house.
Jessica Moore, 19, of Disputanta, Va., was gunned down moments after going to help one of her friends who was shot in the jaw, a witness told The New York Times.
"Everyone was running out; everyone was watching out for themselves," Jessica Townsend, 19, told the newspaper. "She said, 'I'm going to protect Nakeisha.'"
Nakeisha Vanterpool, a 19-year-old sophomore from the Bronx, was also shot in the arm.
"Jess was an amazing person -- the type who loved everyone, even if she only knew you for two minutes," Vanterpool told The Star-Ledger of Newark by e-mail. "She is more than my friend -- she is my sister."
Also wounded were another 19-year-old female student at the school, a man who attends New Jersey Institute of Technology and a man from New York who is not a student, The Associated Press said.
"It's every parent's nightmare," Vanterpool's father, Leslie Vanterpool, told the New York Daily News. "No parent should have to wake up to hear your kid is shot while attending college."
An unidentified survivor who was on the floor spoke of having the gunman step on her back as he fired randomly. The woman, a 19-year-old sophomore, was left with a bruise in the shape of a shoe print on her back, The Star-Ledger reported.
"I was literally the floor for the shooter -- he was standing on me," she told the newspaper. "When the gunshots stopped, all I saw was blood and Jess lying there."
One of the shooting victims, Xavier Lee, 21, had his left toe grazed by a bullet, fracturing a bone.
"I felt the sharp pain in my foot, so I knew I was hit," Lee told WABC-TV. "I'm hearing all these gunshots, and people screaming and everything."
Sponsored Links "It was one of the worst things I've ever seen," Lee told the station. "You know, people were climbing over each other trying to get out. People were getting knocked over. It was the worst."
After the gunman fled, police were interviewing witnesses.
"They're following up on some leads," DiElmo told The Star-Ledger. "There were 50-plus people at that party. So, there's a lot of people they're still tracking down who fled. ... It was mayhem."
About 500 of Moore's fellow students, friends and teachers gathered Saturday night for a prayer service. Hours after she was slain, Moore, a psychology major, was remembered as strong and selfless, The Associated Press reported.
"She had a magnetic personality," friend Christian Powe told AP after the service.
He and Moore became "real tight" after taking a rhetoric class together. He told AP she's a person "you can really open up to."
Students wrote tributes to Moore on a bulletin board at a dorm, and an electronic sign near the student center said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected," the Times said.
The party was mostly for students from Seton Hall, a 10,000-student Roman Catholic university in South Orange, a suburb about 15 miles from New York City and a separate jurisdiction from the town where the shooting took place.
While the home where the party was held was on a street of well-kept houses, a major cross street leads to a rougher area. The university urges students going off campus to walk in groups.
The university's website lists 27 Greek organization but unofficial fraternities have been linked to the university, the Times reported. One came to light when two students were charged with assault in a 2005 hazing-related case, the paper said.
A dorm fire in 2000 killed three students and injured 58. It was started by two students who had been drinking.
We've heard all about the uniform redesigns for the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers. We know about the tweaks made by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. Jerseys be changin', you guys.
But did you know that every single team in the whole NBA will be wearing new jerseys next season? Totally true, because adidas has basically reinvented the NBA jersey without actually changing the way it looks besides tons of extra holes. Confused? Yeah, me too. But check out these sick details on the new "Revolution 30" unis.
Designed and developed by adidas, the uniforms are 30 percent lighter and dry twice as fast as previous NBA uniforms to help enhance player performance by keeping athletes cooler, drier and more comfortable on the court. All 30 NBA teams will wear the new uniforms beginning this season. [...]
The new uniforms, which are made from 60 percent recycled materials, feature adidas' Formotion technology, which reduces seams, decreases friction between the garment and the player's skin and optimizes the player's natural movement through specially constructed material. adidas reduced uniform weight and increased player comfort by switching front and back numbers from heavier, dense materials to breathable mesh. The new uniform absorbs moisture in less than three seconds as a result of adidas CLIMACOOL fabrics, which move heat and sweat away from the body through a combination of moisture management materials, ventilation channels, and three-dimensional garments, helping the uniform dry twice as fast.
Boom — 30 new uniforms all up in your face. They're cool (literally), they're sustainable (kind of), and they optimize player movement (seems chill?). What else could you ask for in a basketball uniform? Nothing, that's what else, because these are going to be a joy to wear.
[Jazz to rock throwback green uniforms]
Probably the best part of these uniforms — aside from the fact that they look significantly less shiny than the previous way-too-shimmery fabric used in the old kits — is that they have special ventilation channels that allow more air into the sweatiest parts of a player's body. We're talking on the back, on the chest and around the crotch. The real hot spots, which definitely need some cooling. There's no telling how this will affect Chauncey Billups'(notes) head or Lamar Odom's(notes) arms, but we can only hope for the best.
The new jerseys are available for purchase for all 30 teams, so if you're into that sort of thing, pick up a few over at the NBA's store. If you're not, enjoy your super sweaty tanktops, creepo.
The documentary painted a hopeless and pessimistic view of the violence in the city. At the time Little Rock was one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Sitting at the intersection of two major interstates from Los Angeles and New York, it had become a haven for drug trafficking. There were prominent gang presences of Bloods, Crips and Hoover's Folk Nation.
The documentary brought much attention to the problems in the city; the Little Rock Police force was quadrupled. As a result, the street gang problem was nearly eradicated.
While gang presence did decrease in the middle 90s, there is current evidence that local youth are once again beginning to identify with street gangs and drug dealers. Many intervention and prevention programs were not funded causing an increase once again in violence among youth.
Steve Nawojczyk GangWar who was the county coroner during the Gang War years, and was featured in the documentary, continues to work in the intervention and prevention of youth gangs. While Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock followed Nawojczyk while he did his grim work as the county's chief coroner, it also showed his attempts at reducing the record-high homicide rate in Arkansas' capital city.
There was a follow up documentary released in 2004 called Gang War 2- Back in the Hood.
It's probably not a good sign for the future of Michigan basketball that there may be more star power in the stands at Crisler Arena next season than on the court.
Jordan Dumars, son of ex-Pistons star Joe Dumars, will be a sophomore at Michigan this season. Jon Horford and Tim Hardaway Jr. are part of this season's incoming freshman class. And then on Tuesday, class of 2012 wing Glenn Robinson III, son of former Purdue star Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, announced that he has committed to the Wolverines.
"I just talked to my mom and dad and coaches and everybody in my family," the younger Robinson told UMHoops.com. "Yesterday I just started to like it more and more and I figured there was no point in waiting. Michigan is where I want to go. They have a great academic program and basketball program. I just like everything about Michigan and that's where I want to be. I think I'll fit perfectly."
Big Ten fans might be curious why Robinson wouldn't attend Purdue like his father, but the answer is because the Boilermakers haven't shown much interest so far. In fact, Michigan was the only Big Ten scholarship offer Robinson had along with the likes of Colorado, Valparaiso, Missouri State and others.
If recruiting the sons of NBA players is going to be coach John Beilein's unusual niche, then maybe the greatest irony is the lone legacy he tried to bring to Michigan but failed to land. That would be Glen Rice Jr., the son of the former Michigan star who now starts at guard for Georgia Tech.
Even without the Rices, a father-son exhibition game at Michigan would draw a lot of fans the next few years. Maybe the kids will improve with time, but right now the smart money would be on the elders.
Gucci Mane's tracklisting for his upcoming appeal album has been released.
As previously reported Gucci recently dropped the video for his new single “Gucci Time” featuring Alicia Keys' husband Swizz Beatz.
On the East Atlanta rapper's latest album he'll be accompanied by Bun B, Ray-J, Nicki Minaj, Estelle and Wyclef.
The Appeal is set to hit stores September 28, check out the cover and tracklisting below.
1. Lil Friend (Feat. Bun B) 2. Trap Talk 3. Missing 4. What It's Gonna Be 5. Making Love To The Money 6. Gucci Time (Feat. Swizz Beatz) 7. Party Animal 8. Remember When (Feat. Ray J) 9. Haterade (Feat. Nicki Minaj and Pharrell) 10. It's Alive (Feat. Swizz Beatz) 11. ODog (Feat. Wyclef) 12. Dollar Sign 13. Brand New 14. Weirdo 15. Grown Man (Feat. Estelle)
***Swirv Deniro Said "I Get In FREE SUNDAYS"*** ***Swirv Deniro Said "I Get In FREE SUNDAYS" *** ***Swirv Deniro Said "I Get In FREE SUNDAYS"***
@POSH 1713 E. Main St. In the Heart of Richmond, VAs Shockoe Bottom ************************************************************** (The 1st 92 People At The FRONT DOOR)
Tell Em "Swirv Said I Get In Free" & You Will!!!! Tell Em "Swirv Said I Get In Free" & You Will!!!! Tell Em "Swirv Said I Get In Free" & You Will!!!!
Young Money emcees Drake and Nicki Minaj have decided to start internet frenzy via Twitter.
On her Twitter page, the New York bred femcee decided to have some fun with the following tweet:
“U scurred? @drakkardnoir u ready to make the announcement or wha?”
Adding to the mystery, Drake replies:
“@nickiminaj Baby I am never scared. PROUD is more the word I would use.”
The Tweest that followed next has everyone speculating on whether the two where serious or just pulling a prank on cyber space:
“Please refer to @nickiminaj as Mrs. Aubrey Drake Graham and dont stare at her too long. She's finally mine. :) ”
To confirm, Nicki Minaj decided to confirm the tweet for those in doubt:
“Yes, it's true. Drake and I tied the knot.”
Although many are still questioning the validity of the two's tweets, Nicki did post a follow up tweet that many feel is the true response to the question everyone is asking:
“Gossip Gossip n**ga just stop it / Everybody know I'm a mudaf**kin MONSTA! #pinkfriday 11.23.10 ;) ”
Rihanna was spotted leaving tattoo parlor Eastside Ink in New York, where she got some new ink on her neck. The tattoo reads "rebelle fleur," which translates to rebel/rebellious flower. She got the tattoo during a late night date in New York with beau Matt Kemp. The couple were spotted hugging and kissing as they looked through a book of designs. The 22-year-old singer is said to have at least 15 tattoos.
Back in January, the 'Hard' singer revealed on the 'Ellen DeGeneres Show' that she had "approximately 13" tattoos, one of which reads, "Never a failure always a lesson."
"It's basically saying that it's OK to make a mistake, just don't make them twice," said Rihanna, who split from Chris Brown early last year after he assaulted her.
Performance Schedule 8:00 am – C. Scholar (Richmond’s Got Talent Winner) 8:15 am – Choppa 8:30 am – Red Rum 8:45 am – Durrough 9:00 am – Bobby V 9:30 am – G-Unit
"Ooh La La La" is a single by American R&B singer, Teena Marie. The single was released in 1988 and is featured on her 1988 Platinum album Naked To The World. The single became Teena Marie's biggest hit in the R&B markets, peaking at #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, becoming her first and only #1 on that chart; meanwhile, the single peaked at #85 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The single would have a resurgence in popularity when the song was sampled by the The Fugees, for their 1996 hit single, "Fu-Gee-La".
Rapper/Producer Swizz Beatz and singer Alicia Keys, finally tied the knot this weekend and have gotten married.
According to Miss Info, the rapper and singer who have made headlines for their controversial relationship, have finally became official and got hitched in a private ceremony on a 260 foot yacht.
"The couple brought together an intimate gathering of family and friends and celebrated their new marriage and their baby on the way, aboard a 260-foot yacht on the Mediterranean Sea, near Sardinia's uber-exclusive Costa Smeralda enclave Obviously because Swizz and AK aren't Italian citizens, they got officially hitched in the Tri-State area before leaving for Europe. And at that small ceremony, the bride reportedly wore Vera Wang, the groom wore Tom Ford, and, of course, the footwear was all Louboutin."
As previously reported last week, Swizzy denied rumors that him and Alicia had already had their wedding last weekend.
The couple is also expecting their first child together as a pregnant Alicia Keys still looks as good as she did before the stomach.
The search warrant for the Chevy Malibu of suspect Michael Solomon was returned by Richmond Police this afternoon and revealed many new details into the investigation into the murder of Tameka Claiborne.
According to the search warrant, a witness told police that on the day Claiborne disappeared, they saw a gold-colored car -- believed to be Solomon's Chevy Malibu -- parked near the stoop of her home on Blandy Avenue with the trunk open.
Also according to the warrant, police took DNA swabs, white tennis shoes, a knife and sheath, a piece of duct tape, two pocket knives, red substance samples, rear seat cushions, swabs of red stains and a piece of a purple glove among other items.
Prosecutors Monday filed a charge of child abduction against Solomon, the primary suspect in the murder of Claiborne. Investigators say Solomon abducted then abandoned Claiborne's son, Malik Ellison, 3, last Tuesday.
Sources have said that Claiborne was stabbed to death. Claiborne's body was found on the shore of a home in Charles City County Friday after a three-day search.
If you feel like you're in over your head with personal debt, you're not alone. Millions of Americans have become overextended, many as a result of easy credit and the recessions. Credit cards, medical bills, personal loans and raising interest rates do not make a good financial mix.
The 5 strategies you may want to avoid:
The first advice of experts in the field is to be sure you don't make your situation worse by making common mistakes. In particular:
1. Beware of just paying the minimum payments on your debts. This will results in your overall debt actually growing and your problems will only become worse. 2. Beware of relying on friends and family as it could damage relationships with the most important people in your life. 3. Beware of unscrupulous credit counselors that demand cash upfront or high fees for help they promise, but don't deliver. 4. Avoid taking out a new high-interest loan to pay off lower interest rate loans. It may be easier to just have one payment but it will actually increase the amount you have to pay back. 5. Declaring bankruptcy when debt settlement may work for you...
Debt Settlement or Bankruptcy
Two common solutions people turn to are debt settlement and bankruptcy. Generally, if you are struggling with a financial hardship and are behind or falling behind on your minimum payments, then debt settlement may be right for you. If your situation is more dire, then you may consider bankruptcy.
However, bankruptcy is a serious step with long term implications for you and your financial future. Most experts would suggest it only as a last resort. The better course is to attempt to work through your debt issue with your creditors and this is where debt settlement companies can help.
What is Debt Settlement?
You may have heard companies advertising recently that they can get much of your debt eliminated. Is this process legitimate?
Working with a Debt Settlement company can actually be a great solution for many people struggling with a financial hardship. Debt settlement is the process of negotiating with your creditors to get them to forgive a potion of your debt. Specialty settlement companies determine a reasonable monthly amount that you can afford to pay, which is based on total amount owed. You make your affordable payment every month into a special purpose account, and as these funds accumulate, the settlement company reaches out to creditors to negotiate a final actual settlement amount. Typically these companies have excellent relationships with creditors and are negotiating on behalf of thousands of people every day.
Every situation is different, but it is not uncommon for debt settlement companies to be able to negotiate a reduction that of as much as 50% of what you owe.
So, how to find a legitimate and trustworthy debt settlement company to work with? A great way to start is by visiting Freedom Debt Relief for a free, no-obligation consultation to evaluate your options.
Welcome to Richmond's Got Talent Contest! Register @ www.ipowerrichmond.com
How does it work? iPower presents Richmond’s Got Talent contest sponsored by the 2010 State Fair of Virginia will begin on 7/19/2010 and end on 9/15/2010. Talent categories include: Step, Drum Line, Cheering, Singing OR Music/Bands/DJ Mixing for individuals/groups between the ages of 12 and 24 years old
How do I enter? Listeners of WCDX-FM who are legal residents of the US, and are 12 to 24 years of age will be able to take part in this contest. To participate in the contest, listeners must do the following: 1. I POWER 92.1 will air promos telling listeners to upload an 8-minute or less video of themselves or their group performing their talent (Step, Drum Line, Cheering, Singing, OR Music/Bands/DJ Mixing) to www.ipowerrichmond.com to have the chance to qualify.
Eligibility Restrictions? 1. The contest is open to listeners of WCDX-FM and www.ipowerrichmond.com who are between the ages of 12 and 24 and are legal residents of the US. 2. Employees of WCDX-FM, Radio One, State Fair of Virginia and Virginia Beach Tourism Corporation, it’s subsidiaries, affiliates, general sponsors, promotional partners, other radio stations in the Richmond, VA. Metropolitan area and members of their immediate families or households of any of the above are NOT eligible to participate or win in this contest. 3. Once an individual wins a prize in this contest, they are not eligible to win another prize in this contest except as specified within these rules.
Are there prizes? Yes. Grand Prize #1: opportunity to perform on the Richmond Coliseum stage during the 2010 Russ Parr Summer Concert, Friday morning, August 6th, 2010 and will be an automatic qualifier in the iPower presents Richmond’s Got Talent Contest Finals Saturday, 9/25/10 at Festival Stage at the State Fair of Virginia (there is only one (1) Grand Prize #1 available). By the consensus of WCDX-FM and Radio One Management, one (1) Contestant/Group will be selected to perform on stage during the Russ Parr Summer Concert at the Richmond Coliseum Friday morning, August 6th, 2010. Grand Prize #2: Talent qualifiers selected by WCDX-FM and Radio One Management will be chosen to compete at the iPower presents Richmond’s Got Talent Contest Finals Saturday, 9/25/10, at Festival Stage at the 2010 State Fair of Virginia: 1st Prize: $1,000 cash and a getaway for four (4) to Virginia Beach, Virginia. 2nd Prize: $500 cash. 3rd Prize: a getaway for four (4) to Virginia Beach, Virginia. All contestants will be selected to compete in the iPower Richmond’s Got Talent finals Saturday, September 25th from 12noon till 3pm by 9/15/2010. Visitors are encouraged to visit and vote often for their friends, however, WCDX-FM and Radio One Management have the final vote. .
Snoop Dogg really was living the life he described in his rap songs - one punctuated with women and drugs - and it was destroying his marriage to his wife, who is also the Mother of his three children:
"You know, I was caught up with Hollywood, and the girls and the night life," Snoop said in 2008.
Snoop even filed for divorce, but the couple reconciled and renewed their vows to celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2008; they were originally married in June of 1997.
"I thought I was the man and I was willing to give up what I had at hone for that, until I realized that what I had at home was irreplaceable, so I gave that up to go back home," Snoop said.
Now Snoop and Shante have revealed to People Magazine that the discovery that their then-6-year-old daughter, Cori (pictured above, third from right), had lupus was also one of the reasons that helped bring their family closer.
Initially, the couple noticed spots on their daughter's face. They saw her dropping large amounts of weight without explanation and they saw her hair coming out.
Doctor after doctor couldn't explain what was happening.
"I felt helpless," Snoop told People while fighting back tears. "No power, no friends."
Snoop's wife was also feeling desperate as she watched her child go through test after test:
"No one could tell me what was wrong. They drew tons of blood and said she has old-person cells. They gave her all kinds of [medication]. But she went downhill."
After the diagnosis, Snoop says he and his family went on a journey together to learn about the disease. That difficult process brought his family back together.
Sometimes it takes a tragedy or difficult times for people to realize what's really important in their lives. For Snoop, it was his daughter's illness.
Today, Snoop's daughter is healthier and enjoying being a teenager:
"She's the toughest little thing I've ever met," the rapper says of his daughter. "She's on the honor roll, playing volleyball and softball, living life. She has all this joy. In the beginning, lupus was winning. But now Cori is."
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease, where the body's defenses attack its own healthy cells as opposed to foreign viruses, germs and bacteria. Skin, joints and organs can be affected. The disease can be life threatening, and those who have it go through periods where the disease flares up and then goes in to remission.
Doctors do not know what causes the disease but believe it is related to a genetic mutation. Approximately 1.5 million Americans have the disease and women ages 15 to 44 are most prone.
Women of color are two to three more likely than whites to develop the disease.
Black women also develop the disease earlier, have more severe symptoms (including kidney problems) and are more likely to die from the disease.
Still, awareness about the disease is lagging, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. One survey found that only 40 percent of young people surveyed had even heard of the disease, although young adulthood is when the disease is most likely to strike. Educate YOURself about Lupus & Humanitarian/Philanthropy opportunities: http://www.lupus.org/
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Lindsay Lohan cracks a slight smirk in her new mug shot. She was booked around 10:11 a.m. at Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California to begin her 90-day jail sentence. According to her booking sheet, the 5'6" star weighs 118 lbs.
Lohan was sentenced July 6 to 90 days in jail and a 90-day inpatient rehabilitation program for violating probation on an old DUI case. The actress will likely serve approximately 23 days behind bars because, according to Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesperson Steve Whitmore, female inmates in custody for nonviolent crimes generally serve about 25 percent of their sentence.
Her booking documents list her release date as Aug. 9.
Lindsay Lohan mugshot 2007 Lohan surrendered to officials at the Beverly Hills Courthouse on Tuesday to begin serving her jail sentence. Shortly after the hearing began, Judge Marsha Revel announced she was decreasing the 24-year-old's transition time between jail and her rehab stint from 48 to 24 hours.
Lohan was then relieved of her SCRAM device, handcuffed and taken by car to the Lynwood Correctional Facility.
"She's scared as anyone would be," Lohan's attorney Shawn Chapman Holley said Tuesday. "But she's resolute and she's doing it."
"She asks for your prayers and support" Holley said, adding Lohan "is accepting responsibility and [has] stepped up to the plate and is doing what has been asked of her."
Rapper/Actor Ice Cube shares his comments towards Lebron Jame's decision to join the Heat.
The veteran west coast rapper Ice Cube recently blogged his feelings about Lebron James joining Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade in South beach.
"Kurupt is one of my favorite MC's. He's got complicated metaphors that are still gangsta, 15 minutes after he left the room in came Snoop. We talked about the Lakers kickin' the Celtics a** in the Finals. We laughed about LeBron joining The Heat. It won't work, Lakers are still the team to beat."
Being from the west coat could it be that Ice Cube is afraid of the new 3 headed monster in Miami? Since the announcement many entertainers have spoken on the new team including rappers like Rick Ross who has said
“I'm going to be the Jack Nicholson of the Miami Heat!”
Although many people have many different opinions of the situation, one thing is for certain is that the NBA will be filled with entertainment and everybody's two cent comments.
In a made-for-TV event, LeBron shares an awkward goodbye
"Since they burned his Jersey, yall were fake fans from the Jump, never loyal!"
If it's a book or an article and you want to find the deeper meaning within, the subtext behind the words, you read between the lines. If it's live television, with its cameras, red lights and "30 seconds -- quiet on the set!" commands, you focus on those moments of truth that peek out during commercial breaks. When the cameras blink.
That was when the relentless cynicism of what LeBron James had just announced, and how he was going about it, revealed itself in full.
Dozens of kids were seated just -- so on two sets of metal bleachers, positioned as backdrop for James' multi-million dollar announcement Thursday that he would spend his next five NBA seasons with the Miami Heat. The "studio" was, in fact, the gymnasium of the Boys & Girls Club in this upscale community 30 miles north of New York City. Back in Cleveland, where James spent his first seven seasons as the sort of hometown hero (he's from Akron) professional sports rarely see, he and his youngest fans would have filled such a room with warmth and love.
Here, the kids were props, LeBron fans for a night thanks to his odd selection of their club as his platform. Given strict instructions to hush during the important yakking between the suddenly former Cavaliers star and handpicked interviewer Jim Gray, the Greenwich kids looked to be having as much fun as Joan Crawford's offspring at Thanksgiving dinner.
They had to sit quietly when the cameras rolled. And when the cameras were off, they got to watch James sit quietly. Seriously. Awkwardly. Grimly.
Here he had just announced the decision that was going to define him and his dream for seasons to come, a dream that he had seeded and nurtured since the last time he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh signed their synchronized contracts, and James looked glum. He took a swig of Vitaminwater, the product so strategically placed during James' and ESPN's co-production, "The Decision." He fidgeted with his ear piece. He stared around and through Gray.
The red light came back on and James dutifully answered Gray's and the studio hosts' questions about his process in choosing Miami and eliminating the others. He talked of what he might face back in the market he just bolted and worded it like this: "I have to go back there twice a year."
Huh? Have to go. He said this a mere minutes after exiting Cleveland, the site of such a slobbering love affair for seven years.
Then it was time for another commercial and James looked like he need to get up, unhook his microphone and take a long, hot shower to rinse away the bad mojo. A nationally televised hubbub entirely of his own doing, yet he seemed to want to be anywhere but in that director's chair turned hot seat.
Maybe it was inevitable that Thursday's staged event would lack joy -- outside of south Florida, anyway, and the inner circles of James, Wade and Bosh that are linked now like Olympic rings. By keeping six teams -- the Heat, the Cavaliers, the Bulls, the Nets, the Knicks and the Clippers -- guessing right till the end, his prime-time reveal could delight only one and disappoint five. While distressing 29, really, each of which might envision the "Miami Threeat" blocking their paths to The Finals and future championships.
"This is history in the making," Wade told ESPN Thursday in a post-"Decision" interview. "To have three guys in their prime -- I mean LeBron 25, Chris 26 and I'm 28 -- [and] to make this sacrifice to come together for one common goal, and that common goal is to do nothing but win..."
A very different, Wade-led Heat team won 47 games last season before losing in the first round against Boston.
Said Bosh, during the same interview: "I think we can win for a very long time if we do the right things and approach everything the right way. ... I'm ready to get this going. I'm ready to work as hard as possible and take whatever role I have to to bring some wins to this team."
Wade and Bosh had it easy Thursday. They had announced their decision to join up in Miami on Wednesday, then waited a day and a half for James climb aboard. That sequencing worked against James, who looked like he was taking haven in a stacked deck of Miami talent while giving up on building and bringing a championship to northeast Ohio. Never again will James (more than his marquee teammates) be an underdog. Never again will he be known for loyalty first and individual pursuits second.
That all-for-one ubuntu concept from which the 2008 Boston Celtics got so much mileage? James used to have that not just with his fellow Cavaliers but with the fans in Cleveland. Now he leaves not witnesses but casualties.
So maybe there was a little guilt mixed into his statements Thursday, leading to so much awkwardness. Up to and including the dreaded third-person references.
"I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James and what LeBron James was going to do to make him happy," he said at one point. "I had seven great years in Cleveland. I hope the fans understand. Maybe they don't. But I'm going to ultimately be happy with my decision."
James had nothing negative to say about his Cleveland era, now officially sealed off with one trip to The Finals (a 2007 sweep by San Antonio) and, most recently, his Game 5 funk and Game 6 elimination by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He just didn't have enough reasons to extend it.
"The seven years we had were like no other," James said. "It ultimately came down to where I felt like I could win the most."
The Greenwich chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, so James' media event was welcomed as one big birthday present. The local kids, their parents, civic types and club directors were present for "The Decision." But the guest list was short and security was tight. Police on the scene weren't shy about banishing many non-ESPN TV, radio, print and Internet reporters and crews to spots across Horseneck Lane from the stately 70-year-old building. A village of production trucks had been in place since morning as the NBA's No. 1 waiting game narrowed down from months, weeks and days to hours and minutes.
Fans and gawkers were herded to the corner at Shore Rd, as many as 300 of them making last-minute pitches for their teams -- hoping that James was whisked in from that direction -- via T-shirts, jerseys and banners. Knicks fans were most prevalent, but there were signs touting the Nets, one fellow in a Michael Jordan Bulls jersey and several wearing James' familiar No. 23 in Cavs' colors.
There also was a flash of green, a cluster of Celtics fans led by a woman holding this sign: "Hey LeBron / It Doesn't Matter / Pierce Will Eat Your Lunch Anywhere."
Not just anywhere. LeBron James filled in the blank Thursday night, even if he do so rather blankly.
