US Weekly Reports
Tiger Woods is very, very sorry.
The golfer released a new statement on his website Wednesday. He does not specifically mention his rumored affairs with Jaimee Grubbs, Rachel Uchitel and other women. He does shoot down talk that a physical fight with his wife Elin Nordegren led to his Friday car crash, calling such stories "utterly false and malicious." Yet, in vague language, he says, "I have let my family down...I am dealing with my behavior and my personal failings behind closed doors with my family."
The embattled 33 year-old suggests that he won't be divulging any more details on his marriage or alleged infidelity: "Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions...I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves." He and Nordregren have two children: daughter Sam, 2, and son Charlie, 9 months.
The full statement is below:
I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.
But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don't share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.
Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it's difficult.
I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.Read more…
UK Mirror Reports
Floyd Mayweather Junior's superfight with Manny Pacquiao is close to being sealed.
A source close to the negotiations claims that world pound-for-pound king Mayweather is edging nearer to agreeing terms.
The date of March 13 has already been pencilled into the fight diary and the Las Vegas casinos, New Orleans and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are falling over themselves to stage the showdown which will be the richest fight in history.
Both sides have agreed to a gagging order to reduce the chance of the negotiations being derailed by mud-slinging and talks are said to be progressing well.
Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank set the ball rolling when he met Mayweather's promoter, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, last week.
Arum says he is now flying to see Pacquiao in his Philippines homeland to discuss the terms of a possible deal.
Pacquiao is coming off his latest win over Miguel Cotto and his showdown with Mayweather is expected to be at welterweight again.
This will be an advantage for Mayweather, who has beaten Oscar De La Hoya at light-middleweight, and two fights ago, Pacquiao was campaigning at lightweight.
Pacquiao's camp are relaxed about the 147lbs-limit for the fight because the Filipino has looked comfortable as he has moved up through the divisions.
The fight to stage the contest is already raging and Jones wants to put it on at his new home for the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.
The Louisiana Superdome is a long shot and Arum would prefer to see the fight take place in Vegas, where he is based.
He is even looking into the possibility of staging the superfight in 30,000-seater temporary arena on The Strip.
Read more…
Video After The JumpMTV Reports
CHICAGO — Today R. Kelly dropped his first album in two years, Untitled, and he's still coming with those eyebrow-raising lyrics.
"See I'm a player so man, I ain't trying to take her on no dates/ But much like Patron man, I'm just trying to take it straight," he sings on the album's last track, "Pregnant." "Until I met this girl in the club with a unbelievable booty/ Sweetest girl in the world to me, and on top of that she's a cutie/ If I had a girl, she'd be the one to bare my child."
Tyrese, Robin Thicke and The-Dream are all featured on the song.
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US Weekly Reports
A Los Angeles cocktail waitress tells the new Us Weekly (on newsstands Wednesday) that she had a steamy 31-month fling with Tiger Woods and has a voicemail recording and text messages to prove it.
Jaimee Grubbs, now 24, tells Us Weekly she began having an affair with Woods, 33, in April 2007.
She tells Us Weekly they went on to have 20 sexual encounters.
Grubbs, who recently appeared on VH1's Tool Academy, also tells Us Weekly she has more than 300 racy texts from Woods, who wed model Elin Nordegren in 2004.
Come back to Usmagazine.com Wednesday morning to listen to a Nov. 24 voicemail Woods left Grubbs in which he suggests his wife might suspect he is having an affair.
Jamie Grubbs On The Far Left Says She's Been Sneaking Around With Tiger WoodsRead more…
Nola.com Reports
Six people were arrested by the New Orleans Police Department Monday after allegedly spray-painting graffiti on a building in the French Quarter during an apparent protest over the incarceration of several local rap artists, according to police.
Off-duty police officers saw the suspects spray-painting "Free Lil Wayne" on the side of a building in the 900 block of Conti Street around 9 p.m. and notified the NOPD, according to spokesman Janssen Valencia.
New Orleans born rap star Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter, pleaded guilty in October to attempted weapons possession and expects to receive a one-year jail sentence. He is currently out on bond.
The men also placed a banner across Royal and Canal streets calling on authorities to release Torrence "Lil Boosie" Hatch, a Baton Rouge rapper who pleaded guilty in September to a marijuana possession charge and is currently in prison. The group also placed police barricades and metal garbage cans in the 100 block of Burgundy to halt traffic.
When officers arrived, the suspects fled but were apprehended nearby, Valencia said. The six subjects were charged with disturbing the peace, resisting arrest by flight and criminal damage to property.
Three of the suspects were listed as homeless, two were from Monroe and the third from Pennsylvania.
Videos After The JumpThe Holiday season is upon us, which means spending time with those you love the most, sharing gifts and listening to heart warming songs. On Monday (December 30) Oprah Winfrey hosted a very special Holiday music extravaganza which featured duets from six of the world's biggest music stars who had never performed together before. Alicia Keys with Tim McGraw, Andrea Bocelli with Mary J Blige & Jennifer Hudson with Sugarland.Read more…
London Times Online Reports
A former Miss Argentina has died after undergoing cosmetic surgery to get firmer buttocks.
Solange Magnano, 38, died of pulmonary embolism after undergoing a gluteoplasty in Buenos Aires, a normally routine procedure which involves placing implants in the buttocks to give them a firmer outline.
The mother of eight-year-old twins who won the beauty crown in 1994 died on Sunday after three days in critical condition. Roberto Piazza, a close friend, claimed that the procedure also involved injections and the liquid "went to her lungs and brain."
"This woman who had everything is dead because she wanted to have a slightly firmer behind," said Mr Piazza, a fashion designer.
Gluteoplasty has rocketed in popularity recently as women attempt to replicate the curvy shapes of stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Sandra Bullock. According to a survey by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, J-Lo's rear is rated number one by plastic surgeons’ patients seeking to remake their buttocks.
The organisation said the singer was favoured “by a huge percentage.”
Ms Magnano underwent the procedure at a plastic surgery clinic on Thursday. The following day she was rushed to hospital with an acute respiratory deficiency. Her condition deteriorated until she suffered the embolism and died on Sunday.
"She only underwent the procedure because she thought it was no big deal," said Guillermo Azar, another close friend of Ms Magnano's.
Juan Carlos Seiler, former president of the Buenos Aires Association of plastic surgeons, suggested the doctor who performed the procedure might not have been "a real professional from an approved" cosmetic surgery centre.
There were about 50,000 plastic surgery procedures performed in Argentina in 2008, a 60 per cent increase over 2003, with a growing number of foreigners seeking inexpensive cosmetic enhancements accounting for much of the increase.
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NY Daily News Reports
Get ready for the frump to trump the competition.
Unglamorous singer Susan Boyle stands poised to not only seize the No. 1 slot on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart this week, but to do so with the biggest opening sales of the year.
Though final tallies won't be released until Wednesday, sources say the Cinderella singer's debut, "I Dreamed a Dream," will enjoy sales of between 625,000 and 700,000 albums in its first week.
Those numbers would handily beat the tally of the year's previous opening champ: Emimen, whose most recent CD, "Relapse," sold 609,000 in its first blush back in late May.
Both Billboard and HitsDailyDouble.com predict roughly the same numbers for Boyle, based on early reports from the nation's big-box retailers as well as figures from QVC, which has played a key part in hawking this TV-created star.
A QVC source told The News the network had 83,650 preorders units for "Dream," making it that outlet's top-performing music title in a decade. Amazon doesn't reveal precise numbers, but sources told Billboard that its U.S. pre-orders likewise topped 80,000.
Boyle's CD, like all others released last week, enjoyed one advantage over most other albums issued in 2009. They jumped the common release date (Tuesday) by one day, instead coming out on a Monday (Nov. 23).
Boyle's juggernaut says a lot about new ways of marketing music in the modern age, according to Billboard's Keith Caulfield. While the star has gotten a bit of conventional radio play - mainly on Adult Contemporary stations which picked up on her version of "Silent Night" - Caulfield credits her main success in the States to YouTube. "She became a star there, and the album cover says ‘as seen on YouTube," he says. "When people went to the store last week, I'm not sure they even needed her Today Show performance or NBC Thanksgiving Night special. They already knew her."
Boyle's success isn't the only news on the charts this week.
Despite - or maybe because of - his antics on the AMAs last week, Adam Lambert's album, "For Your Entertainment," will debut at No. 2, with stronger than expected sales of roughly 225,000 units, according to both Billboard and HitsDailyDouble.com. That's nearly triple the sales of Kris Allen, the guy who beat him for this year's "American Idol" crown. Allen's self-titled debut sold just 80,000 copies in its first seven day sales period, which preceded Lambert's by one week. That's the worst opening sales record ever for an A.I. winner.
Still Caulfield sees a silver lining. "Kris sells a lot of individual tracks, rather than full albums," he explains. "Maybe his fans are younger and only have allowances to buy 3 or 4 tracks. They could buy more later."
Either way, says Caulfield, "When it comes to artists like Adam and Susan Boyle, people want the whole package."
Read more…
Video After The Jump50 Cent recently spoke with Vibe.com about the future plans of his new film company Cheetah Vision Films. The G-Unit General says he will release 3-5 films a year, the 1st being "The Gun" starring Val Kilmer. He also has a mixtape coming up soon which he says will be his last.
Read more…
Cash Money's Birdman and Slim showed niggas how to stunt at the album release party for their newest artist, UK pop sensation Jay Sean. Rihanna showed up looking sexier than ever as did Ice-T's main squeeze Coco. Jay Sean's new album "All Or Nothing" is in stores now.
AllHipHop Reports
Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill will appear on the same stage for separate performances during the Raggamuffin Music Festival, which will take place in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill will be co-headliners of the festival, which takes place at Rotorua International Stadium and also features headliners Shaggy, Julian Marley, Sly & Robbie, Sean Kingston and others.
The pair's performance together comes amidst new reports that Wyclef Jean was hoping for a Fugee’s reunion.
"Some how, The Fugees is the soundtrack to everyone's house,” Wyclef told DJBooth.net. "What I'm hoping is that this group really gets inspired by the new movement that I'm on right now.
“I'm hoping they'll get inspired and be like, 'Yo, let's find Clef and let's get this thing cracking.' And it would be an honor to go in and make it a super album,” Clef said of reuniting with Hill and group member Pras Michele.
The announcement of Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill's involvement in the Raggamuffin Festival is the singer’s first major outing since cancelling a string of high profile dates in June of 2009.
Hill had been scheduled to headline the Stockholm Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Wyclef filled in for Hill on a number of the cancelled dates, which she canceled due to health reasons.
As members of The Fugees, Wyclef, Lauryn Hill and Pras Michele released two albums including 1996’s The Score, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill will perform during the Raggamuffin Music Festival in Rotorua, New Zealand on January 23rd, 2010.
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Video After The JumpThe Dominion Post Reports
A distraught father had to make the hardest decision of his life – choosing to save the life of his drowning wife over his son, who was trapped in a submerged car.Silva Natana Horton, 13, drowned in the Whanganui River on Saturday night after the car in which he was a front-seat passenger went off Somme Pde and cartwheeled down a steep 10-metre bank into the water about 9.45pm.
His mother, Vanessa Horton, who was driving, Silva's best friend, Robert Palmer, 14, and the family dog escaped with minor injuries.
Silva's father, Stacy Horton, arrived from their home in nearby Stewart St less than two minutes after the crash to hear his wife screaming in the darkness and to see Robert and the dog scrambling up the bank.
He clambered down and saw his wife in the water. He tried to dive down to their Mazda MPV stationwagon, which was nose down, more than a metre beneath the surface.
Silva Horton"I tried to get down and get him but I couldn't, it was just too deep. And Vanessa was going under," Mr Horton said.
"I made a call to pull my wife to safety. I looked back and I could see the tail-lights but it was too far and I couldn't get him.
"I just had to accept the fact that he had gone.
"Instead of going down and risking my life as well as my wife and son's, I chose to take V back and sat on the shore praying. It was all I could do."
When emergency services arrived minutes later, police also dived in, with two firefighters using breathing apparatus – a full face-mask with oxygen tank backpacks normally used in smoke-filled buildings – to try to reach Silva.
Wanganui senior station officer Gary Wilson said the water was dark and murky and the firefighters struggled to reach the car.
"We tried everything but to no avail. It was a longshot but it was worth the risk to try and save him."
Mr Horton said the family had been at home when a group of kids was heard wrecking their letterbox.
The group ran off and his wife, Silva and Robert quickly followed them in the car.
As Mrs Horton slowly pulled over to talk to the group by the riverbank, the car "kept going" on the grass.
"I do know my son was unconscious when he drowned [after hitting his head on the dash]. It's just a freak accident. We can't blame anyone.
"I've forgiven the kids who were wrecking our letterbox," Mr Horton said.
"My wife is emotionally distraught and drained, like I am."
Divers recovered Silva's body early yesterday. His funeral will be held in Taihape.
Mr Horton said Silva was an outgoing boy, who liked to spin a yarn, and was a budding moto-cross rider who won his age grade competition in Wanganui this year.
Read more…
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on November 30, 2009 at 10:00am
Video After The Jump
KTLA Reports
NEW YORK -- Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for her U.S. Open tirade and could be suspended from that tournament if she has another "major offense" at any Grand Slam in the next two years.
Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock's ruling was released Monday, and he said Williams faces a "probationary period" at tennis' four major championships in 2010 and 2011. If she has another "major offense" at a Grand Slam tournament in that time, the fine would increase to $175,000 and she would be barred from the following U.S. Open.
"But if she does not have another offense in the next two years, the suspension is lifted," Babcock said in a telephone interview from London.
He said Williams is handing over $82,500 right now, already nearly double the previous highest fine for a Grand Slam offense - about $48,000 Jeff Tarango was docked in the 1990s.
Williams lashed out at a lineswoman after a foot-fault call at the end of her semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open in September.
Williams earned $350,000 by reaching the semifinals, part of her more than $6.5 million in prize money in 2009, a single-season record for women's tennis. Her career prize money tops $28 million.
The American is an 11-time Grand Slam singles champion and ended the 2009 season at No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
Williams' profanity-laced, finger-pointing outburst drew a $10,000 fine from the U.S. Tennis Association in September - the maximum onsite penalty a tennis player can face. But because it happened at a Grand Slam tournament, Babcock was charged with investigating whether further punishment was merited.
He concluded that Williams violated the "major offense" rule for "aggravated behavior." The Grand Slam committee - with one representative from each of the sport's four major championships - approved his decision Saturday.
Babcock said Williams has been informed of the ruling. She has been in Barbados for an exhibition tournament, and her agent did not immediately reply to a request for comment Monday.
The USTA said it would comment later Monday.
Babcock said a "major offense" under Grand Slam rules is "any conduct that is determined to be the 'major offense' of 'aggravated behavior' or 'conduct detrimental to the game."' There is no specific definition of what sort of actions constitute a "major offense."
He said the highest possible fine that Williams could face - $175,000, if she violates her Grand Slam probation - was chosen because it is the difference in winnings between reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals at the U.S. Open. The $10,000 Williams already was docked by the USTA will be counted toward that total; that's why she is paying half of $165,000 now.
During the Sept. 12 match at Flushing Meadows, the foot fault - a call rarely, if ever, made at that stage of such a significant match - resulted in a double-fault for Williams, moving Clijsters one point from victory.
Williams paused, retrieved a ball to serve again and then stopped. She stepped toward the official, screaming, cursing and shaking the ball at her. Williams was penalized a point for that display; because it happened to come on match point, it ended the semifinal with Clijsters ahead 6-4, 7-5.
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HipHopWired Reports
As Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson lets the gas tank leak and adds fuel to the fire with Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z, the rapper also has to fight his own battles as his issues with Rick Ross and Triple Cs are far from being a memory.
Recently Rick Ross spoke on the sales of 50 Cent's latest offering, Before I Self Destruct, which sold close to 160,000 copies in its first week. Hailed by man to be disappointing numbers for an artist with such a caliber as 50, Ross proclaimed that he was able to bury the G-Unit general.
Never willing to let any punch slip through, Jackson revealed news through an interview with DJ Whoo Kid about how Ross tried to take a play from his book when he contacted Tia and tried to find a means to get at 50's baby's mother.
“They actually, indirectly, tried to contact my son's mom. They would have only shown up somewhere for me to have them shot at that point.”
The rapper continued to flex his muscle by stating that the rap game doesn't take away from his past and the fact that he could quickly slip back into the mentality that raised him when he was without a deal and did not have the fame and fortune that he rests on now.
“Then we gonna stop rappin and start doing the sh*t. If they think that ain't real, then they should try it. That's just that. I tell them, constantly, don't expect me not to go where I come from. That's gonna be nice and comfy for me so you gonna have to figure out how to adjust your sh*t. My car is already bulletproof. Everything is already in order for that.”
He also added that with all of the heat coming his way, he finds it interesting how everyone is fully aware of where he rests his head at, but nobody bothers to come knock at the door and come in.
“While we getting ready to go through those circumstances, and I don't live in Connecticut, that's just the house, and that one got motion sensors and cameras all kind of sh*t, so go ahead. Why everybody got my address and ain't nobody stopping by? Get busy then. I done said everything that I can think of.”
Referring to himself as a Hip Hop president, Jackson stated that there are consequences for all actions and that every shot fired will be fired back.
“I'm like Obama. The president gotta kiss hands and shake babies. You can kill the president. It's hard to get away with it. So I use my resources. I ain't even worried about it, it's too late for that.”
As the page turns, the story only gets better between 50 Cent and all of his enemies in the rap world. Hopefully things can remain on wax and the chapters will only be told through a story and not spill out onto the streets.
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AllHipHop Reports
Rapper Jay-Z is among the top name artist who will perform during next years Isle of Wight Festival in June of 2010.
Jay-Z joins an eclectic group of artist that will perform at the festival, including Blondie, The Strokes, Pink, Blondie, Orbital and Squeeze.
Over 55,000 people are expected to attend the concert, which takes place from June 11th to June 13th. Jay Z will headline the event on Friday, June 11th.
"Ever since I heard the first Strokes album, I've wanted them for the Isle of Wight. Jay-Z and Pink are two of the best live acts I have ever seen and the Blondie hits speak for themselves. I can't wait," Isle of With festival promoter John Giddings said.
Notable acts that have performed at the Isle of Wight Festival throughout the years include The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, The Police, Coldplay and others.
Tickets for the Isle of Wight Festival go on sale this Friday (December 4), the same date that Jay-Z turns 40 years old.Read more…
Video After The Jump
What in the hell is going on? All of a sudden recording artists can't seem to stay on their feet during live performances. Both Jennifer Lopez and Adam Lambert took tumbles at the American Music Awards. Not to be outdone, Lady Gaga slips and falls during a concert in Montreal. She wasn't hurt though, and got up to finish the song.
Read more…
Audio After The JumpSixShot.com Reports
Jay-Z will not be letting the shots directed at him by Beanie Sigel and 50 Cent slide.
Beanie Sigel revealed in a recent radio interview that Jay-Z plans to return shots at him and 50 Cent on a remix of 'Empire State Of Mind'.
Beans also claims that Hova has tapped Nas to appear on the record.
"They say [Jay-Z] got a record supposed to come out, a remix to the New York shit, and he popping shots at me. He popping shots at 50 but he put Nas on the record hoping that a nigga will respond to it and come at Nas," Sigel said. "Nas gonna come right back, he ain't gonna hold no punches. He should come right back. I'm not worried about Nas, I did that already in defense of [Jay-Z]."
The feud between Sigel and Jay-Z began earlier this month when the Philly rapper took shots at his former boss on the song "What You Talking About (Average Cat)" .
Since releasing the diss track, Sigel has appeared on various radio stations questioning Jay-Z's loyalty and his treatment of Rocafella artists. He also revealed that Jay-Z refused to terminate his contract with Rocafella to sign with G-Unit when he was going through financial issues.
50 Cent became involved in the feud by verifiying that he wanted to sign Beanie Sigel and took shots at Jay-Z on a track with Sigel titled "I Go Off".
Beanie Sigel Launchpad InterviewRead more…
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