LOS ANGELES – Nas says he's focusing on music and his children after striking a deal to dismiss a civil contempt charge against him.
A Los Angeles judge dismissed the contempt allegation against the rapper Monday after he paid nearly $50,000 in child support to his estranged wife Kelis (kehl-EES').
Kelis' attorney sought the contempt charge earlier this year after Nas (NAHZ) fell $200,000 behind on child and spousal support payments. He was ordered in December to pay more than $51,000 a month to Kelis and their infant son.
She filed for divorce in May.
In a statement released Wednesday, Nas says, "All I want to do is make music and raise my kids. Nothing else matters."
Both musicians have said they're working on new music.
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has gone into full-fledged damage control mode in the priest sex abuse scandal ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's first foreign trip since it erupted. Officials are promising surprising new initiatives. The pope's personal secretary is speaking out. And bishops around the world are being told to report abuse cases to the police.
The revved-up strategy comes as the Vatican tries to stem the damage from weeks of revelations about priests who raped and molested children — and the church officials who kept it quiet — before the pontiff's visit to Malta this weekend. Abuse victims on that majority Roman Catholic Mediterranean island are seeking a papal audience and apology.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi declined Tuesday to confirm whether Benedict would meet with victims, but didn't rule it out. The pope is prepared to meet with victims, Lombardi said, but "in a climate of meditation and reflection, not under media pressures."
Before previous foreign trips, Lombardi has declined to confirm meetings with abuse victims until after they were held.
The Vatican has been reeling for weeks since reports surfaced that Benedict — when known as Joseph Ratzinger and served as archbishop in Munich from 1977-82 — approved therapy for a pedophile priest who was allowed to do pastoral work. The priest was later convicted of molesting boys. Since then, hundreds of people have come forward with abuse accusations in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, and old cases with connections to Rome and the pope himself have come to light in the United States.
Initially, the Vatican responded defensively, with Vatican officials and cardinals accusing the media, the Masons, pro-abortion rights and pro-gay marriage supporters for plotting attacks against the pope. Recently, the Vatican has shifted course, still complaining about an anti-Catholic campaign but also promising more transparency and taking initiatives to at least give an impression that change is afoot.
Lombardi said new initiatives were being studied, including more papal meetings with victims as well as a "deepening of the measures of prevention and response" to abuse. He declined to elaborate. But victims groups have long complained that the Vatican has never issued any universal norms instructing bishops on the pastoral care they should provide for victims or prevention strategies to make sure pedophiles aren't admitted into the priesthood in the first place.
On Monday during a trip to Chile, the Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said he believed the pope would take further initiatives "which won't fail to surprise us." He declined to elaborate.
Benedict's personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, spoke out Tuesday for the first time since the scandal broke, defending the pope's prolonged silence on the German cases and charging that Benedict had done more than anyone else to crack down on abuse.
"It does not make sense, nor is it helpful, for the Holy Father to comment personally on each case," he told the daily Bild, Germany's highest-circulation newspaper. "It is overlooked too fast that various bishops and bishops conferences carry responsibility."
The Vatican for weeks has been trying to argue the same — that abusive priests were primarily the responsibility of bishops, not Rome. That strategy has also been employed by the Vatican's lawyers in the U.S. who are trying to shield the Holy See from lawsuits alleging it was liable for the failure of bishops to report abuse cases to police.
On Monday, the Vatican posted on its Web site what it claimed is a long-standing policy telling bishops to report abuse to police, where civil laws require it. Such a policy has never before been explicitly spelled out.
Attorney William McMurry, who has sued the Holy See in Louisville, Kentucky, on negligence charges, said posting the policy was nothing more than an attempt by Rome to "deflect attention and responsibility for the past onto the bishops."
"If they always wanted bishops to report, they wouldn't need a black letter policy today," McMurry said.
He has argued that Vatican documents calling for sexual abuse cases to be kept secret and forwarded to Rome were evidence that the Holy See had mandated a cover-up of abuse.
Vatican attorney Jeffrey Lena has said the documents mandated said no such thing and that nothing in them precluded reporting abuse to police.
The posting of the policy nevertheless indicated a strong shift in the Vatican's much-criticized communications strategy. Alongside the policy, which spells out how canonical investigations are conducted, the Vatican has posted key documents and speeches the pontiff has delivered concerning abuse. It has made top officials available to the media. And it has turned to its U.S. lawyer — Lena — to do a lot of its talking.
While it's not clear what prompted the shift in tactics, the Vatican has been keeping a close eye on how the scandal is playing out in the United States and elsewhere, and seems increasingly attuned to the impression it has oftentimes created as an aloof institution that doesn't understand the outrage of victims and their families.
Giovanni Maria Vian, the editor in chief of the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, conceded that there had been communications problems in the initial phases of the scandal, and that some comments by Vatican officials seemingly minimizing the scandal or attempting to deflect it hadn't been "prudent."
But he noted: "Let's be clear. Everyone has communications problems."
"One could do better. Sure one could do better. We're trying to do it every day," Vian told reporters at the foreign press association.
The pope, officials say, has remained tranquil despite the storm. He took in a film on Friday night about the wartime Pope Pius XII and spent the past week on vacation at the papal summer residence. He remains well-informed about everything going on, Vian said.
"If you ask me if the Vatican feels under siege, I say that I do not feel under siege," Lombardi said.
(CBS/ AP) Senator John McCain said the United States has been backing away from a brewing fight with Iran, while that country moves ever closer to having nuclear weapons.
McCain opened a Senate hearing Wednesday by saying that Iran will get the bomb unless the United States acts more boldly.
Speaking figuratively, the Arizona Republican says the U.S. keeps pointing a loaded gun at Iran but failing to "pull the trigger."
Military and intelligence officials testifying before Congress said Iran's accelerated nuclear program could produce one weapon in roughly a year, if the country decided to go that route.
But Gen. James Cartwright predicts it would still take longer than that to make the bomb usable.
Cartwright said that, historically, it takes a country three to five years to make such a leap. Cartwright is the second highest-ranking U.S. military officer.
The timeline he cited Wednesday could be shortened if Iran pursued ways to deliver a weapon at the same time as it worked to build a bomb.
The U.S. government has prepared a new, classified, assessment of Iranian nuclear ability and intent but has not released it yet.
The State Department's No. 3 official said the United States is working as fast as it can to win new international sanctions on Iran.
William Burns predicted that a resolution will emerge from the United Nations Security Council within weeks. And Burns called the case for new penalties urgent, saying he expects China will agree to some form of sanctions.
The U.S. appeared to have gained support from China, a traditional stumbling block on the United Nations Security Council regarding Iran, during a U.S.-hosted summit on nuclear proliferation this week.
Iran has denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon and maintains its ambitions are strictly energy-related. Tehran has also scoffed at U.S. threats to increase pressure. As the Obama administration welcomed nations to the nuclear summit Monday, Iran was busy celebrating "National Nuclear Day," reported CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer from Tehran.
Despite the rhetoric brushing aside the prospect of sanctions, the head of the country's nuclear program, Ali Akbar Salehi, made a candid admission in a rare interview with CBS News.
"Of course sanctions will affect us," said Salehi, who earned his Ph.D. at MIT in Boston."But it only will delay our projects. It will not stop our projects."
"They will hurt," he added. "Then we will have to come up with our own manufacturing systems."
Iran already uses homemade technology to enrich uranium in one plant, and recently announced it would build six more.
NEW YORK, Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today announced a partnership with award-winning singer/songwriter Keri Hilson, the talent behind the chart-topping Gold certified album "In A Perfect World..." Hilson will serve as the face of Imari, Imari Seduction and Avon's flagship Color brand. Tapped for her magnetic appeal, singular talent and classic beauty, Hilson represents the modern Avon woman.
"I'm so excited and honored to be Avon's newest face," says Hilson. "Avon has always been dedicated to empowering women through beauty. I've always strived to do the same with my music. To be a part of that experience means a tremendous amount to me."
"Keri embodies everything the Avon woman aspires to be -- beauty, grace, confidence and success," says Bob Briddon, Group Vice President, Marketing, Avon North America. "We are thrilled to have her on board as the face of Imari and our Color collection."
Hilson will appear in the pages of Avon's brochure for Imari beginning in August 2010 and for Color throughout the remainder of the year. Her first official appearance on behalf of the brand will be performing at Avon's annual sales conference this month.
Hilson is the most recent star to join Avon's roster of celebrity partners, including Fergie, Courteney Cox, Patrick Dempsey, Zoe Saldana, Reese Witherspoon and Derek Jeter
Eminem made a surprising announcement via his Twitter account Tuesday (April 13).
Apparently the highly anticipated Relapse 2 album has been scrapped.
Em has been hard at work on the project with super producer Just Blaze. It's possible the direction of their collaborations has lead Slim to simply change the title of the album to something else.
Slim had initially announced back on March 29 via Twitter that some big news was coming and this certainly qualifies as that.
(CNN) -- Rescuers carried an 11-year-old girl out of dense, swampy forest in Florida on Tuesday, four days after she disappeared.
The team, carrying Nadia Bloom in a cloth stretcher, trudged through brush for nearly two hours to bring her out of the area near Lake Jesup, northeast of Orlando, Florida, said Chief Kevin P. Brunelle of the Winter Springs Police Department.
He said that Nadia, who has been described as mildly autistic, was found shoeless and covered in insect bites. She was otherwise in good condition.
"She was not complaining of anything other than the fact that she had insect bites," Brunelle said.
"She did make two comments to the officers when they got there: 'Glad you guys found me, can't believe you rescued me,' " he said.
A paramedic with the group administered intravenous fluids to the girl, he said. Nadia was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and a doctor there said she smiled when she arrived and was "doing wonderfully," CNN affiliate WESH-TV reported.
"Her vitals were stable. She clearly has had the effects of being outside for five days," said Dr. Rakish Parekh at South Seminole Hospital in Longwood, Florida, according to WESH. "But she's handling it very, very well."
A member of the Bloom family's church who was participating in the search found Nadia, who had been missing since Friday, HLN reported.
James King called authorities around 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday to tell them that he had found her, Brunelle said.
Authorities used King's cell phone to track down his location, and then had a helicopter fly around the area to find him.
"Mr. King, himself, climbed a tree and was able to throw toilet paper on top of the tree back and forth in order to give us a location," Brunelle said.
"Mr. King is a hero. He led us to her," he said.
He said the rescuers had to chop through bushes and trees to carry Nadia back to where her family and reporters were waiting.
"It just shows the compassion of the human spirit when things like this happen. It should give everyone encouragement," Nadia Bloom's father, Jeff Bloom, told reporters after seeing his daughter.
Nadia was on a bike ride when she stopped to take some pictures and got lost, her father said.
"Our daughter's a nature lover," he said.
Authorities are interviewing King for further details, Brunelle said.
Authorities canceled an Amber Alert for the girl on Tuesday morning; the cancellation said "the case has been resolved" but provided no further details.
Last week, in-demand songwriter Claude Kelly called comparisons between Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera “crap,” citing the latter powerhouse vocalist’s decade plus longevity in a business where career success is fleeting.
Now, multiplatinum artist and producer Akon, who signed Gaga to his Kon Live Distribution label in 2008, is giving his own view on the musical battle that's igniting debate on both sides of the fence.
“Aw man, that’s not even any competition,” Akon tells VIBE. “You are actually giving Christina too much credit. She always had her cool little look and way about how she went about things. But soon as Gaga came out everything switched up. Christina stepped out of her own shell to become something different. And the crazy thing is Christina is really talented. She has unlimited range when it comes to singing. Her voice is out of here. I just think she just needs to believe in herself more. I think sometimes she gets insecure because of all of the success Gaga has had not realizing that she was already successful before Gaga came out.”
Akon hopes Aguilera’s upcoming album Bionic showcases more of her dynamic voice and less of the up-tempo, electro pop bad-girl anthems typified by her latest single “Not Myself Tonight.”
“Christina shouldn’t have anything to prove or anyone to compete with,” he continues. “I miss the old Christina Aguilera. I like the old one better than the new one. Honestly, Gaga and Christina could probably get together and do something that’s amazing. But that’s impossible if they are both trying to do the same exact thing musically.”
Akon is set to release his new album Stadium this summer
Former G-Unit singer Olivia recently found herself in the middle of controversy after a record she supposedly recorded with Drake leaked onto the internet.
Drake was quick to condemn the recording saying he didn't authorize it and has never met Olivia.
Now Olivia has responded with a statement:.
"What's up GlobalGrind, it's your girl Olivia. While I'm excited to be the newest member of the GlobalGrind family I have to set the record straight about my song "Control" featuring Drake. In no way was I trying to deceive anyone. The producers, Rony Arzoumanian, Raffi "DJ Special K" Kenadjan and DJ Finesse approached me about the record and asked if I could create a song around the beat and Drake verse they owned and created. Since I had not spoken to Drake, I was very clear that the record could not be used for my album and could only be used for mixtapes.
After the record was done, it was released without my knowledge and we were quick to let people know it was just a mixtape record. The producers put together the record and leaked it before they confirmed with Drake. The record "Control" was for my mixtape "Under the Radar" which comes out on the 25th on Oliviaworldwide.com. I was not pleased when the record leaked and made a statement regarding that on my twitter. My team and I were not ready but it leaked and I did not leak it. It is what it is. It's the internet age we live in, it's a gift & a curse."
This is definitely not the way to get your career back on track Olivia..
Eminem is a busy guy — he isn't exactly the most accessible artist to work with, which is part of the reason why his guest spots on songs like Lil Wayne's "Drop the World" and Drake's "Forever" are such big deals. He doesn't just do it for anybody, because not just anybody can keep up with him. So when the track list for B.o.B's debut album The Adventures of Bobby Ray was released, it was a surprise to see Em's name included.
Six months after his release from prison and deportation to Belize, Shyne is apparently getting his music career back on track. The MC dropped a record called "Messiah" on Monday night, and on Tuesday morning (March 13), MTV News got hold of his handiwork on a remix of Rihanna's "Rude Boy."
T.I.'s wifey Tiny and Lil Wayne's ex Toyo are promoting the second season of their BET show which debuts tonight at 10 pm.
Off the bat Tiny establishes that T.I. won't be needing the porn magazines Chelsea sent to him while he was on lockdown. If you haven't seen the T.I. interview with Chelsea you need to check it out here. Chelsea seemed ready to have sex right then and there.
From there Tiny and Toya talk about their charities and a possible marriage for Tiny & T.I..
Oscar De La Hoya and his partner in Golden Boy Promotions Sugar Shane Mosely stopped by Lopez Tonight to talk about the upcoming mega fight between Shane and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The fight is sure to be the highest grossing pay-per-view event in history.
Both Shane and Oscar are confident Mayweather will suffer his first loss May 1.
Oscar gives his opinion on Manny Pacquiao refusing to take the Olympic Style drug testing.
The two also talk about the origin of their their friendship.
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