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BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY star FLESH-N-BONE has been fined $250 (=C2=A3165) af ter striking a deal with prosecutors to end an 11-year-old legal case.
The rapper, real name Stanley Howse, faced felony charges over allegati ons he assaulted his mother in 1999. He was said to have struck her on th e side of the head with a gun, leaving her with a large cut.
He was arrested on outstanding warrants in March (10) during a Bone Thu gs-N-Harmony concert in Cleveland, Ohio after cops were tipped off that h e was returning to the city for the first time in years.
On Wednesday (26May10) he entered a plea of guilty to a fourth degree m isdemeanour disorderly conduct charge after Ohio officials agreed to redu ce the original charge of felonious assault with a firearm.
And the star is relieved to finally end the drama, insisting: "In my li fe, I have faced real tough times and I have been blessed in many ways; I am glad to put this behind me to focus on my music and my family. I am g rateful to the family, friends, and fans of our music that have stood by me."

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Former TALKING HEADS star DAVID BYRNE has won the first battle in his fig ht to stop a Florida politician using his hit ROAD TO NOWHERE.
The rocker filed a $1 million (=C2=A3666,600) lawsuit against state Gov ernor Charlie Crist on Monday (24May10), alleging he used the 1985 song w ithout permission in an online ad attacking his one-time opponent Marco R ubio.
The suit is demanding damages for copyright infringement and false endo rsement, and the legal threat has been acknowledged by officials in Crist ’s camp, who have now abandoned the track.
A spokeswoman for Crist tells New York Post gossip column PageSix, "We’ ve stopped using the song and the ad has been taken down. We have no furt her comment." In a post on his website, Byrne writes, "If Crist and his campaign folk s had asked to use the song, I would have said no - even if they had offe red a lot of money, such as I have been offered in the past for ad use (t hough I’ve always turned these offers down)… So, my lawyers and I have filed a lawsuit - and we also hope the Republicans might not engage (agai n) in this kind of illegal behaviour in the future." The case continues.

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Late BOYZONE singer STEPHEN GATELY’s husband is to receive almost $1.5 mi llion (=C2=A31 million) from the star’s estate, according to reports.
The 33 year old was found dead in October (09) at the home he shared wi th partner Andrew Cowles in Majorca, Spain.
Gately did not leave a will, but the details of his wealth have now bee n revealed - the Irish singer had amassed a $4.9 million (=C2=A33.3 milli on) fortune, according to the U.K.’s Probate Registry.
The star owed $3 million (=C2=A32 million) in debts and taxes, leaving just under $2.3 million (=C2=A31.5 million). Cowles will reportedly be ha nded $675,000 (=C2=A3450,000) in cash, as well as half of the rest of Gat ely’s estate - which amounts to $779,865 (=C2=A3519,910).
Cowles, who wed Gately in a civil partnership ceremony in 2006, is repo rtedly planning to hand the $779,865 (=C2=A3519,910) to the singer’s pare nts.
Following Gately’s death, the star’s assets were thought to be worth $1 5 million (=C2=A310 million).

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LIZA MINNELLI stunned MICHAEL JACKSON when she demanded to know why he al lowed her to marry DAVID GEST.
The Cabaret star wed Gest in a lavish ceremony in 2002, but their marri age ended in divorce less than 12 months later amid claims she physically abused the music producer.
Minnelli approached her old pal Jackson, who acted as best man at the c eremony, for answers on why he let her go through with the union - before the pair broke down laughing about the troubled relationship.
She tells U.S. chat show host Joy Behar, "I grabbed him when I saw him after I got out of it (marriage) and said, ‘Why did you let me marry this idiot!’ He said, ‘I thought you liked him. You looked so happy, I don’t know, let me go!’ And I said, ‘Michael, how could you?’ He said, ‘It’s ov er, relax.’ And then we looked at each other and started to laugh. And th en we really started to laugh.
"Some of the things I’ve been through make me laugh so hard." And Minnelli backs up her previous claims her ex-husband was only after her cash - insisting she recently discovered she paid for their wedding.
She adds, "I only (just) found out that I paid for that wedding. I only found that out about five months ago. I just found out, I said to somebo dy, ‘At least it was pretty, it should have been, it cost however much mo ney it cost.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, and you paid for it,’ and I said, ‘Oh ‘… I didn’t know."

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French rocker JOHNNY HALLYDAY fell into a coma at the end of last year (0 9) as a result of his alcohol intake, according to a new report.
The 66 year old is currently taking legal action against his surgeon to determine whether he botched a back operation which left the star in the artificial coma in December (09).
Hallyday left a Los Angeles medical centre following corrective surgery on his back to repair damage allegedly caused by a procedure to correct a herniated disc in Paris in November (09).
Following the operation the singer claimed he "came very close to death ".
An infection specialist and neurosurgeon is now studying Hallyday’s med ical records before making a decision in the case against Stephane Delajo ux, who performed the initial operation.
But documents allegedly leaked from L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center suggest the singer was put into a coma by doctors after drinking "incredi ble" amounts of booze, reports L’Express magazine.
The French publication alleges the procedure was to alleviate the effec ts of alcohol on his system, with the records reportedly detailing "exces sive alcohol consumption".
The infection specialist and neurosurgeon have until 15 July (10) to pr oduce their report into the incident.

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A lawyer representing the estate of MICHAEL JACKSON has condemned the sal e of commemorative belts which have allegedly been produced without the p ermission of the trustees.
The belts, which feature signatures from the late star’s three young ch ildren, have allegedly been sanctioned by the Thriller hitmaker’s parents , Joe and Katherine, and TMZ.com has obtained a photograph which appears to show the pair signing one of the items.
One of the belts has also allegedly been autographed by Jackson’s kids and is to be put under the hammer at an auction for a reported $5,000 (=C2 =A33,333), while 7,000 other unsigned belts are also set for sale online.
But Howard Weitzman, a lawyer representing the late singer’s estate, is adamant the belts have not been authorised and claims trustees oppose th e sale of any merchandise which allegedly features the signature of Jacks on’s children.
He tells TMZ.com, "The Trustees of the Estate of Michael Jackson did no t authorise the making or the sale of the Michael Jackson Tribute Belts. We would never condone the use of Michael’s children’s signatures to prom ote the sale of merchandise."

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Prosecutors in Los Angeles have dropped an assault case against KISS star GENE SIMMONS citing lack of evidence, after a couple alleged the rocker attacked them on a shopping trip last year (10).
Nathan Marlowe and his wife Cynthia Manzo claim Simmons assaulted them and took their video camera after he spotted them filming him at L.A. mal l The Grove in December (09).
The couple subsequently filed for a restraining order against the rocke r, but that request was thrown out by a judge, and they are currently pur suing a civil claim through the courts, suing the bass player for assault , battery and infliction of emotional distress.
It has now been revealed Simmons won’t face criminal charges over the a lleged incident as officials in L.A. have concluded there is not enough e vidence to prosecute, according to TMZ.com.
The civil case continues.

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MINDY MCCREADY’s mum has "absolutely no doubt" the country star tried to take her own life on Tuesday (25May10), alleging the singer has made seve n previous suicide attempts.
The 34 year old, who has a history of alcohol and drug abuse, sparked s peculation of an overdose after her mum Gayle called for emergency servic es to take the star to Cape Coral Hospital in Florida.
The star has played down the overdose reports, but Gayle claims Mindy h as made "seven suicide attempts" before and she’s adamant this was anothe r desperate measure.
She tells UsMagazine.com, "She was sitting up on her computer (when I f ound her), but she was completely talking out of her head…
"The last conversation we had was over a suicide note, but there wasn’t one… Mindy is very, very sick. There’s absolutely no doubt (she tried to kill herself)." The Ten Thousand Angels hitmaker is attempting to ban her mum from spea king to the press - she launched a lawsuit against Gayle to prevent her f rom giving "erroneous information to the media".

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British actress KEELEY HAWES was left stunned after discovering a former aide stole thousands of pounds from her bank account.
The Death at a Funeral star lost $10,500 (=C2=A37,000) after an ex-empl oyee siphoned it off to spend in U.K. supermarket chain Tesco.
The funds were taken from one of Hawes’ rarely-used savings accounts - and she admits she might not have realised the money was missing if autho rities hadn’t alerted her to the crime.
She explains, "It was very clever. I was actually quite impressed when it all came out, for managing to spend =C2=A37,000 in Tesco. I mean, how do you do that?"

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A British teen drama which helped launch the careers of NICHOLAS HOULT an d DEV PATEL is set to be transformed for the big screen.
Patel landed his role in Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire after d irector Danny Boyle’s daughter pointed out his performance in Skins, a se ries focusing on the debauched lives of a group of students in Bristol, E ngland.
Hoult went on to land movie roles in A Single Man and Clash of the Tita ns following his stint in the racy drama.
Now Skins bosses are hoping to copy their former employees’ success at the box office with a full-length feature film next year (11).
Producer Steve Christian says, "The biggest critics of Skins are the Sk ins fans so it’s going to be a big challenge. The programme has this incr edible fanbase despite all the characters changing. Skins has grown in po pularity with more than 1.5 million people tuning in to the start of the recent fourth series. Turning TV shows into films doesn’t happen so much these days, probably because there’s not the material out there. But what we don’t want to do is to make a 90 minute episode of Skins. It would be a complete disaster."

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A press office secretary working for entertainment giant Disney has been accused of plotting to divulge the company’s financial information as par t of an alleged insider trading scam.
Bonnie Hoxie, who worked for Disney’s head of corporate communications, and her boyfriend, Yonni Sebbag, were arrested on Wednesday (26May10) af ter officials at America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uncovere d an alleged scheme to sell details of the firm’s first-quarter results t o hedge funds and investment managers.
Hoxie allegedly wrote to 33 companies offering the information, and the recipients of the email brought the case to the attention of the FBI, wh o set up a sting operation with officers posing as interested parties in an attempt to catch the pair.
They have now been charged with conspiracy and wire fraud. (LR/WSJ&NYDN

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OPRAH WINFREY has scrapped her Angel Network charity as she prepares to s tep down as America’s most powerful TV talk show host next year (11).
The media mogul announced last year (09) that she is quitting her hit O prah Winfrey Show in 2011 to set up her own cable network, after 25 years at the top of the U.S. daytime ratings.
And Winfrey has begun to cut ties with the show already - the charitabl e fund which she set up during an episode in 1997 has been closed down.
The Angel Network was founded to help organisations across the world, a nd has donated $80 million (=C2=A353.3 million) in 13 years, including he lping to build 55 schools in 12 countries and helping families in New Orl eans, Louisiana to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Katrina.
A rep for Winfrey says, "We plan to dissolve as a public charity, after final disbursement of funds has been completed.
"Oprah remains deeply committed to philanthropy, and her new cable netw ork - OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network - will continue to highlight charita ble organisations in conjunction with its programing in the years ahead."

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A representative for MEG RYAN has dismissed rumours the actress has embar ked on a romance with newly-single TIM ROBBINS - insisting the stars are just "great friends".
Robbins split from his longterm partner, Susan Sarandon, in 2009 after 23 years together. The actress has since been linked to her ping-pong clu b business partner, Jonathan Bricklin, although she denied they are roman tically involved.
Robbins has now been hit with rumours of a new relationship with Ryan a fter they were seen together in California twice last week (beg17May10), but a representative for the Sleepless in Seattle star is adamant they ar e not a couple.
The rep tells New York Post gossip column PageSix, "Meg and Tim have be en great friends for many years and remain so."

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A representative for KIRSTEN DUNST has spoken out after a lawyer for the man accused of stealing her purse alleged there were drugs in the actress ‘ hotel room - branding the comments "false and clearly a desperate ploy" ..
James Jimenez stood trial last year (09) after he allegedly stole a des igner bag from Dunst’s suite at the SoHo Grand Hotel in New York in 2007.
Jimenez was convicted on a misdemeanour count of criminal trespass in O ctober (09), but members of the jury failed to reach a verdict on charges of felony burglary.
A retrial is now underway, and during a hearing at Manhattan Supreme Co urt on Wednesday (26May10), a lawyer representing the 35-year-old suspect claimed Jimenez gained access to the suite because he accompanied Jarrod Beinerman, who was allegedly invited to Dunst’s hotel room.
Defence lawyer Robert Parker told the court, "There were drugs in the r oom. Beinerman is a major New York drug dealer. (Jimenez) obviously had p ermission to be there. (Beinerman was) selling drugs to someone on the pe nthouse floor. How did those guys get up to the penthouse floor? It’s a v ery, very secure floor." Prosecutors objected to the allegation and the lawyer was banned from r evealing any more information about Beinerman’s criminal background unles s he is called to testify. He is currently serving a four-year prison sen tence for burglary.
A rep for Dunst has also spoken out about the allegation, insisting it’ s completely untrue. Her spokesman Stephen Huvane tells the New York Dail y News, "That is completely false and clearly a desperate ploy by the att orney." The Spider-Man star, who testified at the original trial last year (09) , is expected to take the stand again next week (beg31May10). (LR/NYDN/ZN

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Rocker OZZY OSBOURNE had a little fun at fans’ expense earlier this week (beg24May10) when his waxwork at Madame Tussauds in New York came alive.
The real Ozzy replaced his seated wax replica at the museum and terrifi ed fans as they sat to pose next to him.
Even his manager/wife Sharon got in on the act, sitting down and leanin g against her husband.
Osbourne admits there was a real reason behind the prank: "The title of my new album is Scream and we wanted to get footage of people screaming in front of me."

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British singer LEONA LEWIS has spent thousands of dollars on ethical clot hing, which she will wear during her first solo tour when it kicks off la ter this week (beg24May10).
The Bleeding Love hitmaker, who is an animal rights activist, has spent $262,500 (=C2=A3175,000) of her own money commissioning her stage outfit s by designer Antonio Berardi - who has previously dressed Kylie Minogue and Madonna.
All of the items she will wear throughout the 16-date trek will meet sp ecific animal welfare standards, reports Britain’s The Sun.
A source tells the publication, "Leona has been very forceful with Anto nio. She has insisted the outfits are as ethically sound as they can poss ibly be. She’s paid for all the clothes out of her own pocket, so she has been quite hands-on in terms of design." Lewis starts her shows in Sheffield, England on Friday (28May10).
She says, "I’m going to give everything every night. I have put so much love and care into making this over the last six months. I’m going to pu t on an incredible show".

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Former OASIS star NOEL GALLAGHER has often been left stunned by pal RUSSE LL BRAND’s ability to woo women, revealing the funnyman can seduce a girl during a trip to the toilet.
The rocker admits he has often been out partying with Brand and watched in amazement as his confident friend courted a woman, scored her phone n umber and then took her home with him.
Gallagher tells Rolling Stone magazine, "It’s quite unbelievable. We’ll be sitting in a restaurant, a girl will walk past, and he’ll kind of say , ‘I’m just going to go to the toilet and see that girl.’ "And then he’ll come back and say, ‘Right, I just got that girl’s numbe r, and I’m going to f**k her later.’ And he will.
"You’re like, ‘Wait a minute, how do you do that?’" Brand’s womanising ways are over now, however - the Brit is engaged to wed singer Katy Perry.

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Veteran singer SIR CLIFF RICHARD will perform a series of concerts later this year (10) to mark his 70th birthday.
The British crooner will turn 70 on 14 October (10) and has already rev ealed plans to release a new album of jazz and swing tracks, as well as h is own brand of sparkling wine, to celebrate the milestone.
Now Richard has announced he will perform a string of gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall, starting on 11 October (10), for six nights.
But the star has given himself one day off during the run of shows - on his actual birthday.

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