MAN ACCUSES MARVIN HARRISON OF SHOOTING HIM October 10, 2008

Indianapolis Colts star Marvin Harrison is being sued by a man who says the player shot him in the hand and body in April.      

       Harrison, who was never arrested or charged, is being sued by Dwight Dixon for $100,000 in damages in a suit filed in Philadelphia on Sept. 2. Police have opened up an investigation, the District Attorney’s office said Wednesday.      

       Dixon says he sustained “serious and permanent injuries” to his arm and body and a “severe shock” to his nervous system on April 28, reports the Associated Press. His lawsuit contends he was shot by Harrison and he was shot by someone using Harrison’s gun. That approach covers both what Dixon says happened — that Harrison pulled the trigger — and Harrison’s defense that someone else fired the player’s gun.      

       Dixon’s lawyer, Robert Gamburg, told The Associated Press that Harrison has admitted that his gun was used in the shooting, making the player liable because he was negligent in storing the weapon.      

       In late April, Dixon and Harrison had a confrontation, Gamburg said. “It apparently built up over time,” the lawyer said. “I don’t know if it actually came to blows, but certainly there were words exchanged.”      

       Police said the shooting occurred near a North Philadelphia car wash owned by the All-Pro receiver that is about a half mile from a bar he also owns.

GROUPS APPLAUD BET FOR NIXING ‘RAP CITY’ October 10, 2008

The Parents Television Council, the Enough is Enough Campaign for Corporate Responsibility, the National Congress of Black Women, and Industry Ears jointly praised the announcement that BET has cancelled the music video show, “Rap City.”      

       The move comes on the heels of a recent announcement that BET President Reginald Hudlin resigned.

 

       PTC and Enough is Enough Campaign’s recent study of daytime music video programming from BET and MTV concluded that as recently as March 2008, children who watched BET’s “Rap City” and “106 & Park” and MTV’s “Sucker Free” were bombarded with adult content – sexual, violent, profane or obscene – once every 38 seconds.        

       The following is a joint statement by PTC President Tim Winter; Enough is Enough Campaign Founder Dr. Delman Coates; National Congress of Black Women Chair Dr. E. Faye Williams; and Industry Ears Co-Founder Paul Porter:

 

        “We are heartened by the recent changes at BET, and we are gratified that our collective efforts were a catalyst for this positive change. It is apparent that our voices were heard by the public, by the corporate sponsors who underwrite television programming and by BET network executives.  Parents across this country want a cessation of marketing harmful, graphic and offensive images to children.  But let us be clear about our goal: we are not trying to get a particular show cancelled or a particular executive fired.  Rather, our goal is a reduction in the harmful and offensive messages on BET and MTV programming – especially when the programs are targeted at children.  We have called for the networks to take responsibility for their products, and this program’s cancellation is evidence of a step in the right direction.”

OBAMA ADMITS NICOTINE RELAPSES October 10, 2008

 

In the November issue of Men’s Health, Sen. Barack Obama admits that his struggle to quit smoking has not been easy, especially in the midst of a stressful presidential campaign.

 

      “There have been a couple of times during the campaign when I fell off the wagon and bummed one, and I had to kick it again,” Obama says in the article. “But I figure, seeing as I’m running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack.”

 

       His advice for would-be quitters? Eliminate “certain key connections – that first cigarette in the morning, or after a meal, or with a drink,” he says.       

       Obama, 47, says he commits to 45-minute workouts, six days a week. “I lift one day, do cardio the next,” he says. “I wish I was getting a 90-mintue workout. Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts. There’s always a tradeoff between sleep and working out.”

OMAROSA WRITES BOOK ABOUT BEING A ‘B****’ October 10, 2008

Omarosa, TV’s favorite “woman you love to hate,” is hoping to further capitalize on her famous reputation with a new book titled “The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It On and Off.”       

       A press release from Phoenix Books states, “She’s ready to show the women of the world that they, too, can harness the power of the B-Switch. Using accessible, proven tactics, in ‘The Bitch Switch,’ Omarosa shows women everywhere how to turn on and off their B-Switch to increase their assertiveness and conquer whatever obstacles they may be facing: in the workplace, in their relationships, and at home.”

 

       The book includes letters from fans (and foes) in What Would Omarosa Do? segments, presents lessons from her self-taught communication classes, and chronicles her stints working in the White House and competing on NBC’s “The Apprentice.”

      

T.I. TELLS KING READERS TO GET MORE POLITICAL October 10, 2008

 

      “When I’m speaking to young people and they say, ‘Who you voting for?’ I say, ‘Well, what you think’s wrong with the country?,” says the rapper, 28, in a roundtable discussion. “What problems do you need to be fixed? OK, then cut your PlayStation off and turn to CNN and listen to these people.”

 

       “Listen to each of the candidates’ platforms, and whoever you think is speaking passionately and intelligently and will do the things you think need changed, that’s who you vote for,” he adds.      

       In another segment of King’s November issue, T.I. wrote a fantasy collaboration with T-Pain, which included riffs on mistakes the rapper believes President Bush made in his two terms.       

       As for his guest editor gig, T.I. said in a statement: “It’s only right that King would indeed have a king as editor in chief. I guess this is, indeed, my magazine. Understand that. … Keep it pimpin’.”

SCHWARZENEGGER WON’T SIGN COSMETIC-SURGERY LAW October 10, 2008

As far as being enacted into law, it looks the “Donda West bill” in California won’t make the cut.

 

      In fact, the bill, aimed at helping to prevent plastic-surgery-related deaths, was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

      The bill, prompted by the November, 2007 death of Kanye West’s mother, Dr. Donda West, failed to make it past the governor because of the backlog in California caused by the recently end 3-month budget crisis. West, 58, died a day after undergoing a breast reduction and liposuction surgery.

 

      With the historic 80-day delay in passing the state budget, Schwarzenegger said he had time to enact only the top-priority legislation.

 

      “This bill does not meet that standard, and I cannot sign it at this time,” read the veto message, one of dozens Schwarzenegger issued Sunday.

 

      The cosmetic-surgery bill, AB 2968, received almost unanimous support in the legislature, according to the LA Times, and would have required people to undergo a physical examination, give a complete medical history and get a doctor’s clearance before undergoing plastic surgery.

FOREST WHITAKER STUMPS FOR OBAMA IN MI October 10, 2008

Oscar winner Forest Whitaker has been on the campaign trail in the battleground state of Michigan to drum up support for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

 

      The actor spoke to African American labor, religious, business and grass roots community leaders on the importance of moving from working on voter registration to actually getting people to cast their vote, reports the Huffington Post.

 

       “In Florida, just 500 votes decided the 2000 election. And in Ohio, 2.5 percent of voters decided the 2004 election,” he said, according to HuffPo. “Eleven percent of registered African Americans actually voted in the last election. If we can just move that percentage up we can make a difference.”      

       Also on Whitaker’s schedule are stops in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor through Saturday.     

       The 47-year-old father of four told Obama supporters, “There is no more important state than Michigan in this election.” He cited the 35 percent poverty rate in Detroit and the 11 percent unemployment rate across the state as reason for residents and leaders to move for change.       

       “There are 10,000 homeless people in Detroit alone,” he said. “And the mortgage foreclosures are the worst in the nation.”       

       During Obama’s last campaign visit to Michigan, the John McCain camp announced that it was shuttering its offices and ending media buys in the state.      

       Whitaker said that the Obama campaign was focusing energy in the waning days of the campaign in the cities like Detroit. “Barack wants to implement programs that will help cities move forward,” he said. “Where the bailout offered trickle-down solutions, Barack is working to get bottom-up solutions in place, too.”       

       Obama has said he would appoint the first White House Director of Urban Policy to address the needs of major cities.

MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF DARRENT WILLIAMS October 10, 2008

Police have charged a suspect in the drive-by shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, who was gunned down on New Year’s Day 2007.      

       Willie D. Clark, 25, was indicted Wednesday on 39 counts, including first degree murder, attempted murder, assault, crimes of violence and a weapons violation, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey told the Associated Press.      

       Clark is in federal custody in a separate case. He was long considered a “person of interest” in Williams’ slaying but is the first suspect to be indicted.

 

       Williams a former Oklahoma State standout, was shot and killed while riding in a rented limousine early on Jan. 1, 2007, after leaving the Safari Club, a Denver nightspot. He was 24.       

       The indictment said Williams and Clark were at the club with separate groups of friends when an altercation flared between the two groups. Quoting witnesses, it said Clark got into an SUV, followed the rented limo carrying Williams and opened fire.      

       At least 15 shots were fired into the limo. Williams was shot in the neck, and two other passengers, Nicole Reindl and Brandon Flowers, were wounded, the indictment said.

MARILYN MANSON CALLS NE-YO’S BLUFF October 10, 2008

R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and goth rocker Marilyn Manson may be teaming up to record a duet in the near future. 

 

       Ne-Yo bragged in a media interview that his talent is so far reaching that he could even write a song for Marilyn Manson. The rocker’s people saw the interview and called Ne-Yo to put him to the test.       

       “It’s going to be interesting,” Ne-Yo told E! Online this week at the L.A. premiere of The Secret Life of Bees. “I have no idea what we’re going to do, what it’s going to sound like. Just Ne-Yo and Marilyn Manson in the same room—we’re going to figure something out.”

 

       Also at the “Bees” premiere were Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Sanaa Latham, Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds and Eva Pigford.

PACMAN JONES FLIRTS WITH TROUBLE AGAIN October 10, 2008

Adam “Pacman” Jones is flirting with trouble again after he reportedly got caught up in a fight with one of his bodyguards the night before attending a previously-scheduled team meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.      

 

       According to the Associated Press, no arrests were made and no one will be charged in connection with the fight late Tuesday night in the bathroom of The Joule, an upscale hotel in downtown Dallas. Local news station KTXA claims a mirror was broken in the fracas and Pacman left without paying his hotel bill.      

 

       Jones missed all of last season for the Tennessee Titans while serving an NFL suspension for various off-field incidents. Goodell fully reinstated the cornerback, acquired by Dallas in a trade in April, just before the season opener.      

 

       Before meeting with the Cowboys on Wednesday, Goodell said to reporters in San Antonio: “Adam knows how much emphasis I put on making sure that he makes good choices going forward, that he avoids situations where he can reflect poorly on himself, the Cowboys or the NFL. So far he seems to have been able to do that very effectively.      

 

       “I am supportive of him and am hopeful that he will be able to do that for the rest of his life. I am hoping he will not only be a great NFL player but he will continue to do the right things so he can lead a productive life off the field as well.”