BRING THAT WEEK BACK: WEEK OF APRIL 12, 2009
Kelis and Nas may need your help! Plus | a look at what else happened this week.
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11-Year-Old Kills Himself - Relentless taunting resulted in the tragic death of an 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, who hanged himself last week after being teased by his classmates. Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was often the target of gay jokes and was threatened with physical violence on a daily basis. His mom made frequent phone calls to the school and pleaded for them to address the situation but claims to have gotten minimal response.
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In Court - A Tennessee man accused of plotting to kill President Obama is going to court to get evidence against him tossed out of court. Daniel Cowart claims he was wrongly arrested and his home was illegally searched. He's been jailed since late October on federal charges including conspiracy and firearms violations. Cowart is accused of being a skinhead who plotted to kill dozens of Black people, including Obama.
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Shocking Comments - Hulk Hogan is sounding a little homicidal over the way his wife, Linda, dumped him, forced him out of his $18 million mansion, started dating "some shaggy-haired pool boy 30 years her junior," and spends an alleged $40,000 per month. "I could have turned everything into a crime scene, like O.J., cutting everybody's throat," the wrestler told Rolling Stone magazine.
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Daring Rescue - Navy Seal snipers rescued an unharmed American cargo ship captain and killed three Somali pirates in a daring operation in the Indian Ocean on Sunday. The rescue ended a five-day standoff between United States naval forces and a small band of brigands in a covered orange lifeboat off the Horn of Africa.
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Back in ATL - Michael Vick is back in Atlanta – in the pen. A prison spokeswoman couldn't say whether Vick is heading back to the federal lockup in Leavenworth, Kansas, to await his transfer to home confinement and eventual release. However, the bureau's Web site says the Atlanta prison has a detention center for inmates who are being moved. Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy.
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Black Drug Offenders - The number of Black drug offenders behind bars is on the decline, according to a new study. Experts in criminal justice suggested several reasons for the decline in imprisoned Black drug offenders, including a reduction in racial profiling, a drop in open-air drug sales and a cooling of the crack cocaine trade that devastated urban communities throughout the 1980s and ’90s.
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Combating Violence - C-Murder and a minister who served time for identity theft have announced a plan to combat crime in their part of Louisiana. Corey Miller, who is under house arrest awaiting a retrial on a second-degree murder charge, says their plan includes anti-crime rallies, improving recreation programs and promoting internships for young people.
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Not Giving Up - Madonna tells a newspaper that she plans to appeal a court ruling that she wasn't eligible to adopt Mercy James, the 3-year-old orphan she had been trying to take home. A judge ruled a week ago Friday that Madonna couldn't adopt the child because she hasn't lived in Malawi. Madonna says she wants to educate the girl so she could return to Malawi and help people in her native land.
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Bow Wow Retires - In an almost defensive way of addressing some negative attention that he's been receiving for his underwhelming sales performance, Bow Wow has released a video to the internet announcing his retirement from recording albums. "For me there's no more that needs to be done on the music side. I've done everything....And the scary thing is that I'm 22 years old, and I'm young. I'm still a baby. On the music side, I've been doing this since I was 5. That's 17 years of just nonstop music," he says in t
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Not Dropped - Over the past few days, rumors have circulated that singer Solange was dropped from her label Music World and Interscope/Geffen/A&M. The rumors began shortly after Solange’s former label-mate Kelly Rowland was dropped from the label. Solange herself also issued a statement regarding the rumor, but via her Twitter page. “Rumor control for the day:) I was NOT released from Geffen/Interscope…,” Solange explained.
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Auction Called Off - Forget about trying to score that Michael Jackson glove up for auction. It isn't. Nor are any of the thousands of items that were supposed to be offered from the singer's Neverland Ranch. The terms of the agreement between Jackson and Julien's Auctions weren't made public, but it means basically Jackson will get to keep all his stuff.
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Think Your Taxes are Bad? - The state of California would be less in the red if singer Dionne Warwick and comedian Sinbad would cough up some of the cash they owe. Tax authorities say Sinbad is $2.5 million in the hole and Warwick owes $2.2 million. A spokesman for Warwick says the singer has worked out a payment plan. A spokeswoman for Sinbad said she had no immediate comment.
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“Smell” of Success - After putting a stamp on music via Roc-A-Fella Records and clothes with Rocawear, Jay-Z is set to dip his hands—along with consumer noses—into the fragrance game. In addition to securing a line for himself, Jay-Z is also spreading the love—and the wealth—around. Rihanna, Kanye West and an “unnamed female singer” will also get fragrances as a result of the new deal.
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“The Game” Not Canceled - Actors Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall, Coby Bell, Brittany Daniel, Hosea Chanchez, and Wendy Raquel Robinson dispel rumors about the show being canceled and give information about where fans should mobilize to help “Change The Game.” Make sure you view the video below featuring the stars of the CW series asking for your support.
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Suspension Served - Boston Celtics All-Star Ray Allen is now eligible to return to his team - now that he has served his one-game suspension. He was sidelined by the team for elbowing a player from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the groin this past Sunday.
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Coaching Again - Isiah Thomas is reviving his coaching career, not on the NBA sidelines, but deep south at Miami's Florida International University. Thomas' arrival in Miami marks his return to the bench for the first time since last year's firing as New York Knicks president and coach.
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Griffey Returns - Ken Griffey Jr. made his return to Seattle this week as a Mariner after a decade's absence. One fan says Safeco field "is the house that Griffey built" - and it seemed true, as fans showed up in droves with their number "24" jerseys, many of them tucked away in closets since Griffey's departure for Cincinnati.
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Meet Bo Obama - The newest member of the Obama family made his debut this week. Meet Bo Obama: He's the dog President Obama promised his daughters during the campaign. Bo is a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog, who comes to the Obamas through Sen. Ted Kennedy, who gave the pooch to the Obama girls as a gift.
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The Baby’s Name Is… - Nas and Kelis don’t know what they want to name their baby and they are actually thinking of asking for your help to choose one. In fact, Nas, who announced he and Kelis are expecting a boy later this year, told MTV that he's thinking about launching an online contest to choose the child's name and the person who chooses the best name will get paid.
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Quincy’s Not Pleased - Al B. Sure's son, Quincy (pictured left), is not too pleased with his dad. In fact, he’s sounding off about it in a blog and song called, "A Letter to My Father, Al B. Sure." In the piece he says he did everything to make his dad proud: performing well in school, being in the church and playing in the school band, but Al was absent. He went on to say that Sean "Diddy" Combs is his father figure, and that's who he looks up to.
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Wardrobe Malfunction - An extra move here or there and you might have been hearing about how Lil' Kim had a Janet Jackson-like moment on "Dancing With the Stars." She had some trouble with her top at the end of her performance this week. She said in an interview (on KABC-TV) that "the girls were trying to come out."
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'Keshia and Kaseem' - Rudy from "The Cosby Show" is about to show off her life. The Oxygen network announced that it's developing a reality show about Keshia Knight Pulliam and her live-in boyfriend, Atlanta area entrepreneur Kaseem Penn. It will explore what it's like being young, rich, single and cohabitating. No air date is set for the show, titled "Keshia and Kaseem."
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College Hill South Beach - A new cast member joined the “College Hill” crew this week. Kathryn, a student at Florida International University, joined the housemates after original housemate Terri was evicted for fighting fellow pageant queen, Milan. She was welcomed by fellow FIU student, Brandon, but got a luke-warm welcome from most.
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Fantasia Gets 'Real' - "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino will reportedly return to reality TV in a new unscripted series on VH1. The show, which is slated to premiere in 2010, will chronicle Fantasia’s life as a recording artist and single mother. So far, an episode count or length has not yet been determined.