Houston Chronicle Reports
A felony suspect who tipped the scale at more than 500 pounds carried an unloaded 9mm pistol into city and county jails beneath flabs of his skin even though law enforcement officers repeatedly searched him, authorities said Thursday.
George Vera, 25, was released on $10,000 bail after being charged with possessing or selling unlabeled recordings and possession of a firearm in a correctional facility. Harris County District Attorney's spokeswoman Donna Hawkins said both charges are third-degree felonies, punishable by two to 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Police arrested Vera on Sunday after he was spotted selling apparently bootlegged compact discs out of the back of a sport utility vehicle parked at Hollister and Pitner, Hawkins said.
Police spokesman Victor Senties said Vera was searched three times by police personnel: once at the scene, again, more thoroughly, when he arrived at the city jail, and a final time before he was transferred to the Harris County Jail.
Vera was subjected to an additional search at the county lockup.
City and county law enforcement spokespeople said inmates at both the city and county jails are not required to pass through a metal detector or undergo wand searches.
Vera's possession of the firearm came to light Monday when he approached a county guard during a shower break and admitted having smuggled the weapon, authorities said.
The incident came just days after the county lockup at 1200 Baker passed a surprise inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The review found that deficiencies cited after an April inspection — malfunctioning intercoms, broken toilets and crowded holding cells — had been successfully addressed.
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It's alleged that Stuart Feltham took down his trousers and started acting obscenely
Telegraph.Co.UK Reports
A 26-year old Greek woman has become an overnight national hero after setting fire to the genitals of a 23-year old drunken Briton who allegedly tried to sexually assault her in a crowded bar.
The unidentified woman from the fiercely proud island of Crete won herself even more praise by doing the right legal thing – turning herself over to police and the courts to be put on trial for what she claimed was her "right to self-defence".
She will face a magistrate on Friday to see if the case will go to court.
She is currently facing an investigating magistrate on charges of causing bodily injuries to the Briton and of endangering private property.
The Briton himself, whose name is expected to be released later, is currently in a private clinic in Heraklion, the capital of Crete island, being treated for second degree burns to his testicles and penis.
According to a police statement issued last night the incident occurred at a club in the notorious coastal resort of Malia, which is dominated by young Britons seeking all-night revelry.
It alleged the Briton took down his trousers and started waving his genitals at a number of girls. He then specifically "forcefully fondled" the 26-year old Greek woman, asking her to take hold of his genitals.
After asking him to stop harassing her, the police said, she poured the alcoholic drink Sabucco on his genitals (an Italian brand type of Greek ouzo or French Pernod drink).
This again allegedly failed to stop his advances, so the woman seized a lighter and set fire to the alcohol-drenched genitals, local press reports said.
The charges were levelled after reports claimed that the assailant's genitals suffered considerable damage, requiring that he remain in a private clinic in Malia. Travel operator sources at Malia said his treatment is being covered by his travel insurance. The name of the clinic is not being disclosed and is under discreet police guard, police sources said.
However, the magistrate and prosecutor also unanimously agreed to set the woman free pending trial, an indication that they accepted her argument that she "acted in justified self-defence".
A small crowd of bystanders outside the Heraklion hospital applauded and shouted "bravo, bravo", as she was rushed away under police escort.
Legal counsel for the woman said that at Friday's hearing the court may either issue an immediate verdict or else might postpone for a future date. This will depend on reported plans by the woman's lawyers to also take legal action against the Briton, as soon as he recovers.
Authorities on the island still refuse to release the names of the Briton and the now nationally famous but still unidentified Greek woman, on the grounds that they are bound by the Personal Data Protection law and the particular sensitivity of the case.
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1. Crooked I - 8-11 (4:33)
2. Tha Vill ft. Ya Boy & The Game - California (4:16)
3. Balance & Big Rich ft. Glasses Malone - On My Shit (4:02)
4. Nipsey Hussle - The Best (2:23)
5. Crooked I - Solo (1:38)
6. Omar Cruz - They Know (3:30)
7. Crooked I - Grudge Me (1:33)
8. 211 - Ice Cream Paint Gmix (1:46)
9. B Stone - Welcome To LA (Unsigned Heat) (2:10)
10. Juice - Ryda Music (2:26)
11. 211 ft. Mitchy Slick & Kokane - 2 Slick (3:55)
12. Snoop Dogg - Infamous (1:18)
13. Crooked I - 8-11 Pt. 2 (3:12)
14. Hot Dollar - Round and Round (4:07)
15. Dubb - Tadowww Freestyle (Exclusive) (2:22)
16. Ras Kass ft. Krondon - Started Somethin (3:22)
17. Bishop Lamont feat Suga Free, Chevy Jones, Bokey & Butch Cassidy - Nothing Could Be Better (3:55)
18. 24hr boyz Feat. Mistah FAB - Still Gone Do It (2:19)
19. Jay Rock - Day One Girl (3:38)
20. Topic - Show Me My Opponent (2:38)
21. Hus - Black Superman (Unsigned Heat) (3:25)
22. Crooked I - 8-11 Pt. 3 (My H's On The Side) (3:23)
23. B Stone - Da Butterflies (Unsigned Heat) (3:39)
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TimesOnline Reports
The man who opened fire on a women’s dance class in Pittsburgh this week had posted videos on YouTube betraying his struggle to contain his emotions and desperation for a girlfriend just over a year before his fatal assault.
George Sodini killed three women and injured nine more when he walked into his gym on Monday night, pulled two guns out of his duffel bag and shot indiscriminately into a Latin dance lesson.
For a year before the attack, Sodini kept an online diary in which he accused his mother of being domineering and described his bitterness at the women who had rejected him in the 19 years since his last sexual relationship.
It emerged today that before charting the preparation for his assault, he uploaded two clips on to the video sharing website YouTube. In one, he describes his techniques for containing his anger while the other offers the viewer a tour of his average two-bed suburban home.
In a video called “Hide from Emotion” posted on June 23, 2008, Sodini stands in his basement in front of his punch bag and explains his attempts to quell his angst.
He says he wants to be able to share better relationships. “My object is to be able to emotionally connect with people," he said.
Then he looks directly into the camera and says: “It is easy for me to hide from my emotions for one more day: take a long drive in the car, listen to some music, daydream or just do some mundane task around the house that doesn’t really need to be done, that’s not too important.
“And there you go, that’s one more day and one more day turns into one more year.”
A little over a year later, he carried out his assault on the LA Fitness Centre with four handguns that he had purchased legally. After firing at least 36 shots from three of them, he turned one of the guns on himself in the dance studio.
In a second video, posted a couple of months earlier, Sodini commentates over a video tour of his house in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. During the tour, he points out his computers, a 32-inch television, the kitchen and basement he refurbished with panelling and a suspended ceiling.
Sodini highlights a pair of speakers on either side of his couch that double as end-tables and remarks that "women will really be impressed" by the matching fabric on his soft furnishings.
He draws the viewer's attention to a stack of books on his coffee table that include How to date young women for men over 35 by R. Don Steele and what looks like another self-help book called Office Politics.
When he moves into his bedroom, he returns once again to an imagined woman's reaction. “Looks pretty clean, I’m sure she’ll be impressed,” he said.
After publishing the videos, Sodini turned his attention to an online diary, which began: "Why do this?? To young girls? Just read below." He goes on to attack his brother for bullying him and his mother for being “very dominant”.
Over the course of the nine-month journal, Sodini appears to have built up to the attack and explained how he was driven deep into depression by his lack of success with women, strained relations with his family and unstable employment status.
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WSVN Reports
Miami Police have released surveillance video of four armed men storming into a barber shop and attacking a local entertainer before robbing him.
Police said four black males between the ages of 18 and 25 years old invaded a barber shop on July 29 where Opa-Locka rapper, "Brisco", was getting his hair cut. The armed subjects ordered the employees and customers to the floor inside the shop located at 6301 Northwest Sixth Avenue.
One of the men pistol-whipped "Brisco" and robbed him of his gold chain, watch, money and his sport utility vehicle. "There was a local rapper who had just left the photoshoot. He went to a barber shop to get his hair cut. They took a little bit more off the top then expected," said Miami Police Officer Jeffery Giordano. "This robbery was off the chain. Four men entered the store, guns drawn, firing shots, luckily no one was hurt, robbing each individual that was in the barber shop. For a rapper to have his bling stolen, they might have well stolen that man's heart. They took his car also. He had a Range Rover. The vehicle was recovered in another location."
Authorities want to question an unknown man who was sitting in corner of the barber shop on a cellphone before robbery took place. Officials said after everything was stolen, one of the subjects tapped that man and he ran out.
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TimesOnline Reports
The micro-blogging site Twitter has come under attack this afternoon, taking it down for more than an hour.
On the site's corporate blog, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said: "On this otherwise happy Thursday morning, Twitter is the target of a denial of service attack. Attacks such as this are malicious efforts orchestrated to disrupt and make unavailable services such as online banks, credit card payment gateways, and in this case, Twitter for intended customers or users.
"We are defending against this attack now and will continue to update our status blog as we continue to defend and later investigate."
The site is now back up and running, though Twitter said, "we are continuing to defend against and recover from this attack.
Graham Cluley, from the internet security specialist Sophos, explained on his blog: "A denial of service attack occurs when computers bombard a website with requests for information.
"Typically hackers can control thousands of innocent users' computers centrally and command them to visit a site that they wish to flood with traffic - making it impossible for other internet users to get through.
"It's a bit like 15 fat men trying to get through a revolving door at the same time - nothing can move. In the meantime, micro-bloggers around the world are likely to be left twiddling their thumbs."
Over the years, Twitter has experienced downtime like this before, but the cases have become increasingly infrequent as the site's stability has grown. The site has seen a huge rise in popularity in recent months, experiencing a 22-fold increase in traffic in the past year, according to Hitwise, the internet analysts. Twitter is now the 38th most visited site in the UK.
Reports suggested it was the first time the site has gone down in four months, and potentially the first time due to sabotage. The motive for the attack is as unclear as the identity of those responsible.
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MTV Reports
Five years ago, one of the greatest and most controversial entertainers in a generation died. Rick James, who helped bring R&B and funk to the masses and inspired an early wave of hip-hop with songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby," died of heart failure August 6, 2004. Following his struggle with drugs and a stint in jail, James received a second wave of popularity when he appeared on an episode of "Chappelle's Show" and Chappelle turned the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!" into a household phrase.
But his real legacy is being carried on by daughter Ty. In the five years since her father's passing, she has been working on a number of projects that will pay tribute to her dad's life and career, including a feature film and a stage musical. Though she remains tight-lipped about many of the projects, she admits that "the exact person that needs to play him has pretty much agreed to do it." She wouldn't say who that actor is, but she did bring up the fact that Eddie Murphy is a good friend of the family.
She is also launching a musical career of her own, though for a long time that went against Rick's wishes.
"For a number of years, he wasn't even aware of me going into the studio, because he was trying to keep me sheltered," she said. "He always told me, 'I don't want you going into the industry! It's dangerous!' But I'm his only daughter, so he was just trying to protect me from the lifestyle that he led."
Her dad's lessons didn't fall on deaf ears. "As far as drugs are concerned, I don't do anything white because of him," she said. "I've never had the urge to do cocaine. For him, it was the lifestyle. He was somewhat miserable, and that's why he resorted to those types of things."
Time has given her perspective on her father's drug abuse. "I've been able to deal with it, because he accomplished so much in his life. If that's the outlet that he chose to escape the world, what can I say about that? He gave so much of himself."
Growing up with her father, Ty got to see a side of him that the public never saw. "My dad was an excellent father, but he taught me by example," she recalled. "He taught me by his actions. 'Do this or don't do this, because I'm doing it' — that was how he worked. My dad was a character who knew how to command a room. But there were a lot of things that saddened me as well. But those were the ups and downs in the life of a drug addict. We had a studio in the house, so I would sneak in with my producers, and we would be recording during moments where he was not with us. I don't know if you know anything about a true drug abuser, but he would just not be with us for days at a time."
Ty knows that her father's work hasn't been forgotten, as she sees his influence every day. "All of my peers have so much respect for my dad," she explained. "Busta Rhymes is a really good friend of mine, and he did a tribute record for him. Everybody from Snoop to Kanye — they are totally aware of the effect that he had on the game. That gives me chills, the fact that all these guys know and respect my father."
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Posted by Billy Baymaac on August 5, 2009 at 10:20pm
Billy- Ok first off, whats going on Iron Mic how's everything been going with you & the Ruthless Bastards ?Iron Mic- Everything is good wit me and the Fam, makin moves gettin the business thing situated still doing music makin classics, mixtapes, videos, shows etc.Billy- That's wassup...still on the grind after all these years, now how did the group Ruthless Bastardz first form together back in the day ?Iron Mic- Well first off, we are all childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood. There were some local rappers in our hood that we were close to we kinda got inspired by them to do music along wit growin up in hip hops golden era. One of the members (Truck) who was a lil older than us was already writing songs and already had the craft mastered so he kinda inspired us also to get together and form a group. Shortly after Ruthless was born.Billy- Unlike most groups you's actually have a real history and real friendship behind the music...off topic quickly, I heard Truck is locked up at the moment will he be returning soon to the music scene ?Iron Mic- Yep exactly a lot of groups are put together, we all came up together, and we go thru things just like a family, we make up like brothers and its done. Yes Truck was locked up for 4 years, he is home now on work release and is back to business. His 1st day home we recorded some heat.Billy- Thats good, nice to know that he's out and back home recording...Had to clear that up for those who thought he was still locked up. Now I've also heard that Apocalipps is doing time right now, any truth to that and if so when is he expected home ?Iron Mic- Yeah Apocalipps is currently locked up he should be home around winter 2010, he's good tho, holdin his head, I correspond with him weekly.Billy- Good to know he'll be home sooner then we all know...now back to the music side, how did you guys link up with Rza & Wu Tang records years ago ?Iron Mic- Well we started recording music and created a local buzz on Staten Island and gained the attention of a lot of promoters etc. We linked up with Mike Mcdonald, the man behind the Wu dynasty, and started putting out some music on the independent side, from there we created an even bigger buzz, and started getting spins on hot 97. From there we had a meeting wit Penalty records around the same time CNN signed with them we didn't sign. Then we had a meeting with Steve Rifkind from Loud records still we didn't sign. Then Mike Mcdonald brought us to Rza and the Wu Tang deal happened. At that time the Wu was on top of the rap game. Which we thought was the best thing for us being from Staten Island. But it was the wrong move!Billy- I could see from how it looks and the situation itself being they were at the top at the time why it would seem like the best thing for you guys, but how did it play out into being a wrong move ?Iron Mic- Well there was a lot of friction going on, on the inside between the members and that whole thing where they were beefing about Rza having all their money etc. I don't wanna go all into that cuz I don't kno the specifics of that situation, but its obvious Rza wasn't being fair with the members. So eventually for some reason Wu Tang Records lost their distribution and that was the end of the Wu situation. But we did feature on the compilation album the Swarm which sold a lot of units it should be platinum, and we are very grateful to have had that oppurtunity because we are known worldwide because of it. And we all have gold plaques to show for itBilly- Yeah I remember from watching the U-God interview hearing about Rza and the money situation but that's on them, but I feel the situation between Rza & Ruthless B's could've been handled much better...now I heard all the shots taken on the Corner Store mixtape, how has that project been received from your fans so far ?Iron Mic- Its been great, there's really no beef at all between Ruthless Bastardz and Wu tang, but as individuals we just voice our displeasures wit the situation. But like I said there's no problems between us, I've done songs with Deck and I'm cool wit most of them, and I have the utmost respect for them and their movement, I was a big Wu fan and in my eyes they are the best rap group of all time. We were and are still considered the next Wu, which is a honor. Anybody who knows the history of the situation knos Ruthless Bastardz were supposed to come right after the Wu and keep Staten Island alive and that we will do!!Billy- Correct, and I believe out of all the groups under the Wu's wings you guys had the potential and talent to keep the ball rolling in Staten...and still do ! Now I remember hearing G-Clef saying you guys broke up a few years ago, was that true ?Iron Mic- No way, we are unbreakable! That probably came about when we started doing solo projects, but if you pay attention to those cds, we all featured on each others solo project. Ruthless is Forever a family not like these put together, make believe, wanna be groups. Excluding nobody!Billy- That's true, speaking on solo projects I'm listening to that "12 rounds vol 1" right now on datpiff.com and you killed it...& to me you showed you can easily stand on your own 2, how was it releasing that solo project and what do you feel that did for you ?Iron Mic- Thank you, I appreciate that. From the response and also from my own feelings I knew I could do my own thing and represent Ruthless to the fullest with a solo project. Behind that, the reason the solo projects started was because the members of Ruthless were constantly in and out of jail so as individuals we had to hold it down. Just wait till you hear 12 rounds vol. 2 hosted by dj Absolut, volumes 3 and 4 are also ready to go along with IRON MIC 12 rounds the albumBilly- Now whens that suppose to drop so everyone knows and where can we get it?Iron Mic- In a month or two and it will be available at hungrymen.biz. That is our independent lable. Hungrymen Entertainment/Pop ya head off Rec.Billy- Can't wait for that, now I have a few quick questions before we wrap this up...What's your all time favorite Ruthless Bastards album/mixtape ?Iron Mic- I would have to run wit the two raw for radio hosted by kay slay..Its a toss up between that and 12 rounds vol.2Billy- Yea I'd do with Too Raw for radio too...who are currently all the members in the Ruthless bastards right now ?Iron Mic- Iron Mic, Apocalipps, Truck,Sha gotti, Blizzard, P live, Beno tha kidd and Bless and Freezy the ceoBilly- Will there be a Corner Store Stickup 3 in the near future ? (Previous 2 hosted by Whoo Kid)Iron Mic- Probably so, were gonna drop a couple different projects before that, were gonna drop a few solo mixtapes, myself, blizzard, and p Live, were gonna release wu tang vs ruthless(who really runs Shaolin) and a mixtape called "Kings of the Symphony" using all the classic symphony beats.Billy- Sounds sick, can't wait for that Ruthless vs. Wu-Tang tape...I still listen to the Ruthless vs. G-unit tape...will we get a part 2 to that one? haha...Iron Mic- Maybe, there was dj from out here called dj storm , who dropped that mixtape, those mixtapes aint about no drama, they are just to compare the groups musicallyBilly- Exactly, just to get that cleared up so nobody gets the wrong impression...now any last words or shout outs and where fans can reach you and the other members for music & anything else ?Iron Mic- No doubt, my email is the closest thing to me, so they can hit me at iron456@tmail.com and also ironmicmusic at myspace, the Hungrymen websit which is the home of RUthless will be back up and running in bout 2 weeks, there the fans and real hip hop heads can get the whole Ruthless Bastardz catalog. I wanna send some love to Megatron from bet 106 and park, that's my right hand man,dj Absolut,my boy frado the beatman, Whoo kid and all the loyal Ruthless Fans who been following us from day 1, we will take over the rap game, I promise!!! Big shout out too Apocalipps and Sha Gotti, hold ya heads we got this and my lil brother weezy hold ya head, we love yall. And crazy respect to you, Billy for taking the time out to show Ruthless some love.Billy- No problem at all Iron Mic i appreciate you taking time out and doing this interview and we'll definitely link up and do another one real soon...Iron Mic- No doubt...www.myspace.com/ironmicmusic (Iron Mic's page)www.myspace.com/ruthlessbastardz (Group's page)
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According to Trey Songz, even as Drake was en route to the hospital after his onstage fall, the Young Money artist was planning his grand return home to Toronto. On Tuesday night, an injured Drake took to the stage to perform with his friend during Young Money Presents: The America's Most Wanted Music Festival stop in his hometown.
"I spoke to Drake the night that he actually fell, and you know what I mean — he was just pullin' up to the hospital and we rapped for a second," Songz told MTV News. "I been talking to him ever since then. He already had it made up in his mind that he was not gonna miss performing for Toronto."
Songz was already in Toronto for a club event, and Drake convinced him to stay an extra two days so they could rock onstage together.
"He came out to that 'Successful' — it was like an out-of-body experience," Trey gushed. "They went so crazy for the kid, man."
Since Drake had fallen and missed a couple of shows on the tour, his appearance on Tuesday surprised fans.
"He came out with his cane," Trey said. "He wanted to walk out. He wanted to take his time and he rocked on a stool. But the energy he was giving was like he was standing. With me and Wayne up there it was like an extension of him — [we were on] both sides of the stage. It was stupid ... the energy was so crazy.
"When we stepped off the stage, we gave each other hugs — it was love," he added. "All his peoples came, just givin' us love. It was crazy and we was taking pictures, and then we just sat and rapped about it for a second. He came back out for 'Every Girl.' But the energy was stupid when we got offstage. Everyone was just telling us how amazing it looked ... because none of it was really planned. Like when Wayne came back out — Wayne didn't know I was there — and when he came back out he stayed onstage. It was just the energy, man — it was unexplainable."
Although the night turned out to be successful, Trey said that people were having second thoughts about Drake taking the stage so soon after his injury.
"Everybody's nervous at every second," he said. "You know, making sure he got his cane, making sure he ain't putting too much pressure [on his leg]. I gotta tell him to sit down every now and then when I was up there — he's still a regular person. You want to be able to move. But he stayed on that stool ... there was a couple of times I seen he wanted to come up off that stool, but he stayed down. They went so crazy. Damn, I'm telling you — it was crazy."
Songz recorded a verse for a remix to "Successful," and will join Drake in front of the cameras for the video soon. There is no word if Lil Wayne will appear in the video.
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