New England Sun-Times

SmileyBooks From abuse to a McBeef with Jay-Z and, yes, even celibacy, the singer opens up in Soulacoaster.   By: Akoto Ofori-Atta | Posted: June 28, 2012 at 12:33 AM R. Kelly's past is hardly free of scandal. But if you're looking for any juicy details about the singer-songwriter's child-pornography trial (he was acquitted of all charges in 2008), his alleged marriage to singer Aaliyah when she was 15 or recent tax troubles in his new memoir, Soulacoaster : The Diary of Me , you'll be disappointed. Instead, the singer muses about his relationship with his doting mother and shares surprising tidbits that might give some insight into the troubled singer's life. Kelly, who is currently dealing with complications from a recent throat surgery , wrote openly about love, music and sex. We've pulled out a few of the most fascinating stories from his life. Our favorite is his McBeef with...

by JP DelaCuesta June 29th, 2012 @ 4:48pm (AllHipHop News)   Variety reports that  Voice  judge and Grammy Award-winning singer and rapper Cee-Lo has been cast in director John Carney’s new musical drama, Can A Song Save Your Life? Cee-Lo will play the role of Troublegum, a well-known and very successful Hip-Hop star, a familiar notion for the Gnarls Barkley and Goodie Mob member. The film, produced by Exclusive Media, also stars fellow The Voice  judge, Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Keira Knightley ( Pirate of the Caribbean ), Mark Ruffalo ( The Avengers ), Hailee Steinfeld ( True Grit ), and Catherine Keener ( 40 Year Old Virgin ). Production on  Can A Song Save Your Life? is set to begin next week in New York City. Currently, Cee-Lo is working with Goodie Mob on the group’s forthcoming, fifth studio album, Age Against the Machine and despite earlier complaints about the show, he will return as a judge on the ...

Mary J. Blige talked with Hot 97 radio host Angie Martinez on the Burger King controversy recently. (Image: File) by Janell Hazelwood Posted: June 28, 2012 As the R&B diva finally details her 'mistake,' take heed for your own career success   So, we all remember the big backlash R&B superstar Mary J. Blige faced after her controversial Burger King chicken wrap commercial was released on the Web. (I won’t relive it, nor will I reintroduce my side-eye commentary on the subject. Read here and here if you want to know the back story.) Blige gave details—reportedly for the first time—on The Angie Martinez Show yesterday, about how she felt about the outrage. She says doing the commercial was a “mistake” and a “learning experience.” The songstress told Martinez that initially, she felt like she wanted to “crawl under the bed.” “I said, it’s just too much going on for me to try to ...

By Ryan Grannan-Doll   June 27, 2012 Police in Connecticut believe an alleged gangster killed the mother of actor Dylan McDermott.      A man found murdered in Waltham in 1972 murdered the mother of actor Dylan McDermott , according to a two-part series on the Connecticut news website, the Republican-American. John Sponza, an alleged gangster, murdered Diane McDermott in February of 1967, Waterbury, Conn., police have concluded more than 40 years after the crime, says the Republican-American. Sponza was found dead in the trunk of a car in Waltham in 1972, according to the Republican-American. Diane McDermott’s death was first ruled an accident. Sponza told authorities that Diane McDermott accidentally shot herself after picking up a gun he had been cleaning.  Dylan McDermott was just 5 years old when his mother was murdered, according to the Republican-American. He recently contacted Waterbury Police w...

Queen Latifah (Getty Images) By: Jenée Desmond-Harris | Posted: June 4, 2012 at 12:30 PM After a performance at the Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride event that was widely assumed to be a statement about her sexual orientation, Queen Latifah came out -- as a performer who deeply appreciates her gay friends but closely guards her personal life -- but not, to the disappointment of many, as a lesbian. If you're waiting for an announcement about her love life, don't hold your breath. "It's just not gonna happen," she told Entertainment Weekly . Latifah was happy, however, to talk about what the performance meant to her: "I know that the most important thing, and the only thing I have to give, is love. When people are going through hatred and bullying, the biggest thing to fight that is love," she said. "So that's all I encouraged my audience to do that night: to share their light and s...

Getty Images By: Jenée Desmond-Harris | Posted: June 29, 2012 at 4:03 PM Although a recent Tumblr diatribe suggests that she thinks she was justified in skipping tax payments over three years because she was taking time out of the public eye to protect herself and her family, eight-time Grammy winner Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty to not paying federal taxes on more than $1.5 million in earnings today. She faces a maximum one-year sentence on each of the three counts, and she hinted that she'll speak in more detail about her perspective on the case at her sentencing hearing. CBS News reports: Hill admitted she didn't pay taxes on about $818,000 earned in 2005, $222,000 in 2006 and $761,000 in 2007. The money was earned by four corporations she owned ... After the charges were brought, Hill posted a long statement on her Tumblr page that decried pop culture's "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, ...

Jun 29, 2012 John Russell Carver , 51, pleaded guilty to multiple charges after breaking into an Atlanta church and raping a woman, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution . Carver admitted that he was guilty of rape, armed robbery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, burglary and possession of a knife during commission of a felony, said Erik Burton from the DeKalb County District Attorney’s office. Want to Keep Up With NewsOne.com? LIKE Us On Facebook! “This was an extremely violent and vicious act,” District Attorney Robert James said. “He brutally attacked and raped a woman in a local church. Hopefully this guilty plea will bring resolve for both the victim of this crime and the community affected by this monstrous act.” AJC reports: On a Saturday afternoon, Feb. 26, 2011, Carver knocked on the door of St. Timothy United Methodist Church on Memoria...

Jun 25, 2012 By Terrell Jermaine Starr Italian newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport , published a photo of Italian soccer player Mario Balotelli depicted as King Kong (pictured), the New York Daily News reports . It seems that the message behind the photo was suppose to show Balotelli toppling England (which they did in yesterday’s Euro Cup Semifinals ). But obviously, the photo was poorly executed. Balotelli, who was born in Italy but is of Ghanian descent, expressed his fears about anticipated racism in Ukraine and Poland before the tournament started. “Let’s see what happens at the Euro. I hope that there will not be a problem,” he told France Footall. “Because I really can’t handle that.” “I cannot bear racism, it’s unacceptable for me. If it had happened again I would straight away leave the pitch and go home. We are in 2012. It can’t happen,” the 21-y...

June 27, 2012     Police say a nip caused a fight on Boston Street after a man saw the alleged drinker littering. Two officers responded to Boston Street at 8:58 p.m. Monday after receiving a call about a fight, police said. Officers spoke with a man who said he saw another man "consume a nip and throw the empty container on the ground," police said. The caller, who lives next door to the location of the alleged littering, told officers he "told the man to pick up the empty nip," according to police. Then, the man told police, the drinker "attempted to punch him through his open window and open his door," at which point he punched the man back, police said. Police said when officers arrived, the men were involved in a verbal argument. The man who allegedly threw the nip was in a highly intoxicated state and taken into protective custody, according to police.

video platform video management video solutions video player After Valerie Nabors , a former Nevada Department of Corrections inmate, gave birth to her fourth child, she says she was forced to wear shackles ten minutes later, ABC News reports . Nabors also claims that her ankles were chained during labor, an illegal act in Nevada. The only time an inmate can be shackled during labor is she can potentially cause harm to herself or is a flight risk. Nabors fit neither category. The mother of four filed a lawsuit on June 20 against the Nevada Department of Corrections claiming cruel and unusual punishment. Nabors was an inmate at Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center (FMWCC) on Oct. 19, 2011 when she went into labor. She was serving a 12-30 month sentence for attempting to steal $300 worth of chips from a casino. “Ms. Nabors suffered severe and extreme emotional distress as a result of being shackled during the delive...

Getty Images Friday, June 29, 10:10 a.m. EDT: Zimmerman attends second bail hearing in bulletproof vest and asks to get out on bond again: George Zimmerman, 28, appeared in court this morning at a bail hearing without the shackles he wore in his last appearance, but the outlines of a bulletproof vest under his gray suit was clearly visible, ABC News reports. He faces the prospect of a prolonged stay in jail if his plea to get out on bond is rejected. The Washington Post explains that the judge will weigh several factors, including whether George Zimmerman is a threat to the community, a flight risk and, maybe most important, whether Zimmerman can persuade the judge he will not be deceptive again. Thursday, June 28, 10:00 a.m.: Zimmerman failed to show up in previous court case, was fined $10,000: Among attorney Mark O'Mara's arguments that George Zimmerman should be freed on bond for the second time is that he isn't a flight risk or a ...

Thinkstock Images     By: Jenée Desmond-Harris | Posted: June 25, 2012 at 1:50 PM Each year the Teach for America program recruits recent college graduates to work for two years in urban and rural public schools, hoping to inspire a lifelong commitment to education. It does the job well: A 2011 study found that the program creates more founders and leaders of education organizations than any other organization or program. Members of Teach for America's "teacher corps" collectively reach 750,000 students -- 50 percent of whom are black. And this year, the organization announced in a press release on Monday, a higher percentage than ever of the educators are themselves African American. But according to Heather Harding, Teach for America's senior vice president of community and public partnerships, that number (700 out of 5,800) isn’t high enough. "If we're going to reach the day when every child receiv...

By the CNN Wire Staff updated 4:59 PM EDT, Fri June 29, 2012   Republicans say Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department are concealing details on Fast and Furious.   STORY HIGHLIGHTS The Justice Department cites the president's executive privilege in the case The U.S. House cited Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress Democrats protested the contempt citation as a political move The dispute involves documents in Fast and Furious failed weapons crackdown Washington (CNN) -- The White House and the Justice Department made clear Friday what had been expected all along: Attorney General Eric Holder will not face criminal prosecution under the contempt of Congress citation passed by the U.S. House. Legal experts noted this week in the runup to Thursday's House vote that President Barack Obama's assertion of executive privilege in the case would prevent a criminal prosecution under a practice dating to...

A mother is furious after a video showing her three-year-old son being bullied by a day-care worker was emailed to her. Tyesha Reese, from Hamden, Connecticut , could not believe her eyes as she watched the video, showing her son Michael get berated and ridiculed at the Sleeping Giant Day Care center. In the video, daycare worker Lindsay Cavallaro is allegedly heard saying to the boy: ‘ News flash, sweetheart. I don’t really like you either ‘cause you throw toys.’ When Michael threatens to throw her phone she encourages him saying: ‘Do it. Go ahead. No balls. Oh you’re a tough guy. Hey boss, show me your nine.’ WTH! The video is believed to have been shot by Cavallaro herself and from the footage it appears as if the boy is becoming increasingly upset by his teacher’s taunts. Tyesha Reese, seen below, said ‘It got into someone’s hands who actually saw the video and was like, wait a minute, I recognize whose son th...

Ok, we’ve been hearing all the hoopla surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision on Obama Care but wth does it mean to us. Basically The Supreme Court decision upholding President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul affects nearly every American, including YOU because the law itself is so vast. Here’s a look at what it means for you. WHAT DOES THE RULING MEAN TO ME? The law tells almost everyone they must have health coverage and guarantees it will be available even if you are already ill or need hugely expensive care. It helps lots of people, not just the poor but many upper-income families, as well, afford coverage. And it requires insurers to provide certain basic benefits — like free preventive care. WHAT THE JUSTICES SAID The high court upheld almost all of the law, including the most disputed part: the mandate that virtually all Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty. The court said that penalty is essen...

Life is about to get slightly more expensive for strip club patrons in Houston. The city council voted 14-1 to pass a $5-per-customer fee on strip clubs. The money raised from the fee — a “pole tax,” if you will — is slated to help clear the city’s massive backlog of unprocessed rape kits. “We have to do something to help the 4,000-plus women, children and men who have been sexually assaulted,” said the law’s sponsor. “I think we’ve waited long enough.” The Houston Chronicle reports that the folks who operate strip clubs are less than thrilled about the idea that the fee poses a link between nude dancing and sexual assault. One City Council member pointed out that such assaults most frequently occur in apartment complexes, while sexually oriented businesses are only the 10th most-common locations. Last year, a court in New York ruled against strip clubs that tried to argue that lap dances and door fees were exempt...

How many ratchet reality shows can one take!? There’s one more coming down the pipeline, and from the looks of the trailer (watch below), this show is going to be another hot mess. Mickey “MeMpHitz” Wright, music executive and husband of Toya Carter, Lil’ Wayne’s ex, is the brainchild behind “The Real Mistresses of Atlanta .” Yes, the same dude who allegedly beat the crap out of Love & Hip Hop Atlanta star K.Michelle (seen below). Drake’s ex and popular stripper, Maliah, leads the cast, which consists of a lot of jump offs you probably haven’t even heard of! Sarah Oliver is a white “video vixen”/booty model who takes the cameras into her plastic surgery appointments to document her ass shots. And she explains why she only dates married men. She also called black women’s genitalia “gross” and says, “A brown skin pu**y with a pink inside…who would want that?!” I guess white women who purposely parade th...

You know ex NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is always trying on wigs & dresses to get laughs. Well this time he’s getting paid to look crazy lol! Shaq outgrew his hair on the set of movie Grown Ups 2 in Massachusetts this week. The former basketball star donned a ridiculous wig for his role as a policeman for the comedy sequel. And it appears his character is as good at catching criminals as he was at grabbing rebounds. At 7′ 1″, the gigantic center would certainly make an intimidating law enforcement officer – at least until he took his hat off. An unexpected moment of comedy came when the thirsty star, who actually qualified as a reserve police officer in Miami in 2005, decided to down a soft drink, with his massive frame making the can look like a freakin’ juice box! Did you wanna see this movie? Does Shaq’s wig remind you of LeBron James…jus sayin lol! SCOOP: DM

CHICAGO cops say they have very good leads in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl. 7 year old Heaven Sutton, wanted to move because she was scared of shootings around her North Austin neighborhood home. Now, police are searching for two men who opened fire at a group of people Wednesday night, and took Heaven’s life. Heaven and her family had moved to the neighborhood just six months earlier. Her mother, Ashake Banks, said the family was planning to move again soon because of all the violence. This particular week, Heaven was looking forward to escaping the neighborhood with a trip to Disney World next month. She had just gotten her hair done for the trip Wednesday, when the shots rang out around 10:40 p.m. in front of her home. Police say two men walked up to the group and opened fire as she stood outside selling candy and snacks outside her home with her family. Heaven’s mother, Ashake Banks, ran the candy s...

In a dramatic victory for President Barack Obama, the Supreme Court upheld the 2010 health care law Thursday, preserving Obama’s landmark legislative achievement. YES! Basically they gave a thumbs up to the individual mandate which will allow most Americans to buy health insurance. The court said the mandate couldn’t be upheld under the commerce clause, but said it could be upheld under existing tax authority. The ruling gives Obama and congressional Democrats a big win leading up to the November presidential vote. The White House and congressional Democrats had been bracing for four possibilities: that the high court would uphold the the Affordable Care Act, strike down parts of it, throw it out entirely or delay a ruling until 2015, when the law fully went into effect. A recent NBC News /WSJ poll found more Americans said they would be pleased if the law was ruled unconstitutional than constitutional. Republicans...