Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Entertainment Now - Friday, March 14, 2008 - Index

Page 2-E
Michael Jackson saves
Neverland Ranch
Michael Jackson has refinanced
Neverland ranch in time to save his
famed California spread from a public
auction that was scheduled for
later this month.
Jackson attorney L. Londell
McMillan told The Associated Press
on Thursday that the pop star has
worked out a "confidential" agreement
with Fortress Investment
Group, LLC. The deal allows him to
retain ownership of the famed property
in Los Olivos, Calif.
“Neverland and MJ are fine,”
McMillan said.
An auction date had been set for
March 19 because of $24.5 million
the singer owed on the 2,500-acre
spread northwest of Santa Barbara.
A source close to the singer who
requested anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the matter said it's not
clear whether Jackson will keep
Neverland. Jackson has not lived
there since his acquittal on child
molestation charges in 2005.
Witness: I saw Remy
Ma approach victim
NEW YORK — A student testified
Tuesday that he saw
Grammy-nominated
rapper Remy Ma cock
a .45-caliber handgun
and get into a car with a
woman who moments
later was shot and
almost killed.
Oluwole Ajudun, 21,
testified at Remy Ma’s
assault trial in
Manhattan, where the
Remy
Ma
26-year-old Bronx rapper is accused of
wounding Makeda Barnes Joseph.
Ajudun said he had known Joseph for
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about six years and she was “like a sister
to me.”
The witness, an accounting student,
testified that early on July 14, 2007,
after a party in Greenwich Village, he
saw Remy Ma get out of her Cadillac
Escalade with a “silver chrome” gun.
“I saw her cock it back and jump in
Makeda’s car,” he said.
Moments later, said Ajudun, he heard
a pop and saw Remy Ma leave
Joseph’s car.
Remy Ma, whose real name is Remy
Smith, is charged in Manhattan’s state
Supreme Court with first-degree
assault and related crimes in the shooting
of Joseph. She has pleaded not
guilty and is free on $250,000 bail. She
could face up to 25 years in prison if
convicted.
Ajudun’s testimony followed that of
Crystal Ricks, who said she saw Remy
Ma approach Joseph’s car but did not
see a gun. Ricks said she heard a pop,
saw a flash and saw Remy Ma get out
of Joseph’s car, but she never saw her
with a gun.
In opening statements Monday,
defense lawyer Ivan Fisher called the
shooting a tragic accident. He said
Remy Ma and Joseph struggled over
the gun and it went off accidentally,
leaving the victim critically injured.
But Assistant District Attorney Jason
Berland told the jury in opening
remarks that Remy Ma shot and almost
killed Joseph because she believed the
woman had stolen $2,000 from her
purse.
Janet Jackson drops
SNL gig with the flu
NEW YORK — Janet Jackson has
dropped out of her upcoming “Saturday
Night Live” performance because she
has the flu, the singer’s representative
said Tuesday.
“Janet did go to the hospital last night
due to the fact she’s been suffering
Philadelphia Tribune Friday, March 14, 2008
from this flu that’s
kicked a lot of people’s
behinds,” publicist Patti
Webster told The
Associated Press in an
e-mail. “She was never
admitted and she is
fine.”
Still, Webster said
Jackson — who visited
a Los Angeles hospital
— was pulling out of the March 15
“SNL” telecast because “she needs
some time to get better.”
An “SNL” representative said
Wednesday that Jackson will be
replaced by Mariah Carey.
Lil Wayne wants
reduced in coke bust
YUMA, Ariz. — Lawyers for rapper Lil
Wayne have filed a motion in Yuma
County Superior Court to reduce a
charge of possession of drugs for sale.
The 25-year-old rapper, whose real
name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.,
was indicted last month on one count
each of possession of a narcotic drug
for sale, possession of dangerous
drugs, misconduct involving weapons
and one count of possession of drug
paraphernalia.
He has pleaded not guilty to all
charges.
Carter’s attorney James Tilson said
Friday that the original complaint given
to the grand jury stated his client was in
possession of about 29 grams of
cocaine when he was arrested in
January.
But Tilson contends a lab report
shows that Carter had fewer than eight
grams, not including the weight of the
packaging.
In Arizona, there is a statutory presumption
that possession of nine
grams or more means an intent to sell,
Tilson said. It could also mean the dif-
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Janet
Jackson
ference between jail time and probation.
A May 13 hearing is scheduled on the
motion to remand the case back to the
grand jury.
Hootie and the
Blowfish go solo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — When Hootie and
the Blowfish play at a fundraiser to benefit
the Animal Mission this week, the
bandmates likely will compare notes on
their recent solo efforts.
Guitarist Mark Bryan
and lead singer Darius
Rucker are working on
their second solo
efforts, while drummer
Jim “Soni” Sonefeld is
making his solo debut.
Bassist Dean Felber
doesn’t have any solo
plans yet.
Bryan’s effort
Darius
Rucker
includes a punkish track “Glad to be
Alive” that didn’t make the cut for the
most recent Hootie effort — 2005’s
“Looking for Lucky.”
“I can totally respect it’s not a Hootie
song,” Bryan said. His “End of the
Front” has a diverse lineup from punk to
pop, rock to bluegrass.
“Stylistically it’s all over the place,”
Bryan told The (Columbia) State. “But
it’s because the songs were written
over a 10-year period.”
Rucker, who released his first solo
effort “Back to Then” in 2002, is going a
little bit country for his second effort.
“I know that a lot of country fans have
‘Cracked Rear View,’ “ Rucker said of
the band’s breakthrough album, which
has sold more than 16 million copies
and put the Columbia-based group on
the map. “We’ve never really been that
far from country. It came out so organically.”
— Compiled by The Associated
Press
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