A sultry interloper has ousted Oprah Winfrey from the top spot on the Forbes list of the celebrities with the most juice.
Angelina Jolie, who placed third last year, dethroned the media maven despite the fact that Oprah was once again the highest earner on the list.
Neither lady, however, made the cover. That honor went to Beyonce Knowles, who finished in fourth place behind a resurgent Madonna.
"Beyonce is the perfect example of how to succeed in the business of being a celebrity," Forbes Senior Editor Matthew Miller said.
"She became famous singing, and now is maximizing her earnings by singing, writing songs, endorsing products, selling clothes and staring in movies."
Both Winfrey ($275 million) and Madonna ($100 million) made way more more than Jolie ($27 million) in the last 12 months, but the Forbes' celebrity power ranking is also based on exposure.
Jolie garners loads of that as one of Hollywood's leading ladies - and as the better half of Tinsel Town's hottest couple.
Her squeeze is Brad Pitt, who was number 9 on the list, right behind Jennifer Aniston, the actress he dumped for Jolie
Source: New York Daily News
Read more…
HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Among the 147 Hawaiian Gardens gang members and associates named in five separate federal indictments, some 49 remained at large Friday, authorities confirmed.
The search, however, will continue, federal and local authorities vowed.
"Operation Knockout has led to federal indictments against 147 gang members, making it the largest gang sweep in U.S. history," United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said Thursday when the indictments were unsealed and the results of the pre-dawn raid were shared with media.
During Thursday's operation, a total of 88 defendants were arrested on federal and state charges. Of the 88 arrests, 63 were identified in one of five federal indictments.
With 35 defendants already in custody, there are now 98 people ready to be prosecuted in federal court and, if convicted, who will serve at least 85percent of their terms scattered among 118 federal facilities across the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The remaining 49 defendants named in the federal indictments are either fugitives being sought by authorities or individuals who investigators are working to identify and additional arrests are expected in this case, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Some of those being sought are
believed to be in the area while others are suspected to be out of state and out of the country, authorities said.
The indictments and subsequent roundup in Hawaiian Gardens - which included 1,400 law enforcement members from federal, state and local jurisdictions - were the culmination of almost four years of investigation into the tiny town's oldest and most notorious gang, authorities said.
Varrio Hawaiian Gardens waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community through attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments unsealed Thursday.
The indictments detailed numerous alleged incidents, including a charge that George Manuel Flores, the lead defendant in the RICO indictment and a longtime member of the gang, allegedly ordered the murder of another gang member who was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.
Flores also allegedly provided a young gang member with a weapon and instructed him to shoot African-Americans who lived nearby, according to the main indictment.
Included in the gang's plotting was the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was shot in the head in June 2005 by a VHG member while Ortiz was investigating the attempted murder of a black man in the city, O'Brien said Thursday.
It was the cowardly slaughter of Ortiz - a newlywed and father of two sons - that prompted investigators from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department to the FBI to launch "Operation Knockout," O'Brien said.
Gang experts and investigators testified at length about the local gang's efforts to remove all black residents from the community during the 2007 trial for the killing of Deputy Ortiz.
Convicted killer Jose Luis Orozco was found guilty of Ortiz's murder in the 2007 trial.
Ortiz had been investigating the attempted murder of a black man by Orozco when Orozco shot the deputy while hiding behind a door.
The victim, who was hired to do some yard work and fix up a vacant rental property, was targeted by Orozco simply because of his race and because he was in Hawaiian Gardens, witnesses testified.
Orozco is awaiting execution on death row.
Source:presstelegram.com
Read more…
Murder accused Amanda Knox is expected to take the stand in an attempt to clear her name in Italy this month.
She and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are accused of killing Coulsdon student Meredith Kercher after she refused to participate in a drug-fuelled orgy.
She was found strangled and stabbed in the flat she shared with Miss Knox in Perugia, Italy where she was on a year-long exchange program.
The prosecution have finished putting their case forward and Miss Knox, 21, has said she will take the stand in her defence.
Mr Sollecito, 25, has indicated he will not be giving evidence.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution have aimed to highlight Miss Knox’s bizzare behaviour in the aftermath of the murder.
The court has heard she was seen doing cartwheels and splits before being questioned by the police.
Last week Edgardo Giobbi, a forensics expert, told the court when he handed Miss Knox a pair of shoe covers to prevent contaminating the evidence just hours after the murder she swivelled her hips and said ‘opla'.
He said: “I thought it was very unusual behaviour and my suspicions against her were raised.”
The court heard two knives may have been used in the murder as the wound in Miss Kercher’s throat is not compatible with the knife found.
A 30cm knife was found in Sollecito’s flat which was found to have Miss Kercher’s DNA on the tip and Miss Knox’s DNA on the handle.
Meredith Kercher’s family are reported to have flown to Italy and are said to be giving evidence to the court before the defence begins their side of the case.
Source:CroydonGuardian.co.uk
Read more…
DNA results from the two year rape trial of DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay do not match the industry veteran, AllHipHop.com has confirmed.
Hollyhood Bay Bay, real name Terrance Stewart, was arrested in 2007 and charged with one count of rape and intimidation of a witness.
According to prosecutors, the DJ raped a woman who was found drunk and unconscious on the second floor of club Kokopelli’s, located in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The ensuing DNA test used semen retrieved from the alleged victim, and the couch where the crime occurred.
“I believe everything happens for a greater reason and purpose. I was terminated from one station, only to be recruited by the fourth largest black radio station in the country, so there are no hard feelings,” DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay told AllHpHop.com. “I’m just ready to conclude this chapter in my life and get back to what I do, finding the next multiplatinum success story.
Bay Bay previously gained national recognition courtesy of Hurricane Chris’ hit tribute song “Ay Bay Bay,” which was inspired by fans who would chant the DJ’s name at club appearances.
The rape accusation has proved damaging to Hollyhood’s career over the last two years.
The fallout resulted in him being terminated from his position at Shreveport’s 103.5 The Beat, and losing his longtime club MC position at Kokopelli’s.
He later signed on to Dallas’ KKDA 104.5, and maintains a weekly radio slot from 3PM from 7PM.
Despite the serious accusation that has lingered over his head, DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay feels he’s been blessed with a better opportunity in Dallas and is hopeful the charges will soon be dropped.
"This entire situation is unfortunate, but all I can do is continue to live my life until it is over and I am fully cleared of all charges,” added DJ Bay Bay.
Since relocating to Dallas, the DJ assisted rapper Dorrough in closing a deal with E1 Music.
On the community service front, he founded Bay Bay’s Kids, which aims to decrease high school dropout rates through education-focused speaking engagements and camps.
At press time, Caddo Parish District Attorney Brady O’Callaghan has not dropped the rape charges against DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay.
Source:allhiphop.com
Read more…
Lindsay Lohan continues her downward spiral.Her movie career is in shambles,she got dumped by her lesbian girlfriend,now she can't even take proper care of her feet.I can only guess she's on heavy drugs.........again.
Read more…
Rap star Eminem was the victim of a robbery on Sunday (May 31) at the MTV Movie Awards.
According to reports, the rapper's hotel room was burglarized during the infamous awards show, as robbers made off with a $60,000 necklace.
Additionally, the thieves stole Eminem's personal laptop computer.
The news comes on the heels of a now infamous incident, in which comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" landed bare bottom - in Eminem's face.
In more positive news, the rapper's album Relapse album topped Billboard’s Top 200 Album's chart having moved over 608,000 copies last week.
The album also sold another 225,000 copies, making the top selling album on the Billboard 200 chart this week as well.
At press time representatives for Eminem could not be reached for comment.
Source:AllHipHop.com
Read more…
(CNN) -- A pregnant British woman accused of smuggling heroin into Laos was sentenced to life in prison, the British Foreign Office said Wednesday.
Briton Samantha Orobator has been sentenced to life in prison for heroin smuggling.
Samantha Orobator, 20, was jailed last August at the airport in the Lao capital, Vientiane, and charged with carrying about half a kilogram of heroin.
She is more than five months pregnant, and enters her third trimester on Saturday.
The circumstances under which Orobator became pregnant in prison remain unclear.
She told her mother she was not raped in prison and that the father is not a Lao prison official. Watch what's known about Samantha Orobator »
A newspaper run by the Lao government reported Orobator as saying she impregnated herself with the sperm of another prisoner being held in the same jail.
A spokeswoman for legal aid charity Reprieve spokeswoman said the charity did not know if the newspaper report was true.
"We haven't seen her to confirm this, but are keen that this issue -- which is irrelevant to the case -- does not delay or affect the trial," Katherine O'Shea told CNN via e-mail.
Orobator could be returned to the UK to serve her sentence. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell met Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith last month to discuss the case and sign a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries.
Source:CNN.com
Read more…
Rapper FLESH-N-BONE is free from jail after Los Angeles authorities dropped charges against him for a parole violation.
The Bone Thugs-N-Harmony star, real name Stanley Howse, has been locked up for the last two months after he was stopped by traffic cops in Santa Clarita, California, for driving with a broken brake light.
Because Howse was on parole for an earlier probation violation, police decided to search his Canyon County home, leading to the discovery of a gun. Weapons possession charges were subsequently scrapped in April (09) after Howse proved the gun belonged to his wife, a police officer with the Chicago, Illinois force.
He was still being held behind bars at Los Angeles County Jail on the parole violation, but on Tuesday (02Jun09) authorities let him walk free after deciding not to pursue the remaining charges, reports TMZ.com.
Read more…
Kim Kardashian says she’s just saving time and stress — by shopping for her own engagement ring.
The celebrity socialite is not yet engaged to boyfriend and NFL star Reggie Bush, but she told E! Online recently she’s ready to show him just what kind of ring she wants.
Football player Reggie Bush (left) and TV star Kim Kardashian aren't engaged yet, but she's shopping for rings anyway.
"It's just easier," Kardashian says. "Isn't it easy if someone's like, 'This is exactly what I want.' It'll make your life so easy."
Kardashian has also clued sisters Kourtney and Khloe in to which baubles she's after, figuring Bush will ask them for their ideas when he’s ready to pop the question.
"She found one the other day and she was like, 'It's only $20 million,' " Kourtney tells E!.
Kardashian is best known for her reality series, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” on the E! cable network.
Read more…
Rihanna plans to leak Chris Brown's nude pictures following her naked images which have been spread in Internet earlier this month. Although her allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend denied leaking the photos, the "Umbrella" songstress doesn't seem to ignore it and is threatening to reveal Chris' uncovered snaps in revenge.
"She says she's going to release her own photos of Chris. She has less-than-flattering nude pics of him that she plans on leaking. Rihanna says he'll be really embarrassed," Rihanna's pal said. The source informed that Rihanna sets this plan once after she has calmed down from the rage after the leak of her nude photos.
Not only pictures, Rihanna also reportedly plans to reveal Chris' sexual performance to make him ashamed. Rihanna is already telling friends that Chris was a clumsy novice at lovemaking until "she taught him everything he knows." The pal added, "She's going to ruin his sexy image."
Moreover, Rihanna is believed saying more scary threat as her early reaction when finding out her nude images plastered all over the Internet. "She was saying crazy things like, 'I'm going to burn down his house,'" a friend of the 21-year-old singer told the June 7 edition of Star magazine.
Source:Celebrity-Mania.com
Read more…
}