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American football legend LAWRENCE TAYLOR will face a new judge when his s ex assault case goes to trial, after the presiding official stepped down for undisclosed reasons.
The retired New York Giants star, 51, was arrested on 6 May (10) at a h otel in Montebello, New York amid allegations he paid a 16-year-old girl $300 (=C2=A3200) for sex.
Last month (Jul10), he entered a not guilty plea to charges of third-de gree rape, patronising a prostitute, sexual abuse and endangering a child ..
But as the case approaches its pre-trial stage on Wednesday (25Aug10), Rockland County Court Judge William Nelson stepped down.
He did not provide a reason for his decision, and will be replaced by S upreme Court Justice William Kelly, according to the Rockland District At torney’s office.
If convicted, Taylor faces up to four years in prison.

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A lavatory from the home of late BEATLES legend JOHN LENNON is to go on s ale at an auction of Fab Four memorabilia later this month (Aug10).
The porcelain toilet bowl was installed at Tittenhurst Park, Lennon’s l uxury mansion in Berkshire, England, where he lived until moving to New Y ork with Yoko Ono in 1971.
The lavatory is expected to fetch $1,500 (=C2=A31,000) when it goes und er the hammer in the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool on Saturday (28Aug10) ..
Other lots in the auction include a mono copy of Lennon and Ono’s Two V irgins album, expected to sell for $3,750 (=C2=A32,500), and a black-and- white photo of Sir Paul McCartney outside his home in Liverpool when he w as aged 21.

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AMY WINEHOUSE is facing the possibility of more heartache - her boyfriend REG TRAVISS has been snapped hand-in-hand with his ex-girlfriend.
The Back to Black hitmaker began dating the filmmaker earlier this year (10) following the breakdown of her rekindled romance with ex-husband Bl ake Fielder-Civil.
Traviss’ ex-girlfriend, burlesque dancer Raven Isis Holt, subsequently spoke out to the U.K. tabloids, alleging the director had finished with h er when his romance with Winehouse was made public.
Rumours of a split between Winehouse and Traviss began swirling earlier this month (Aug10) after they argued angrily during a night out.
Now Traviss has fuelled speculation their romance is over after he was photographed holding Holt’s hand while they partied in London in the earl y hours of Sunday morning (22Aug10).

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SIR PAUL McCARTNEY refuses to drink water while rocking out onstage - bec ause he doesn’t want to look unprofessional.
The 68 year old regularly performs three-hour concerts but insists on n ot guzzling water, admitting his preference harks back to his days in the Beatles.
He tells Britain’s Daily Express, "I don’t know, I just wouldn’t want t o drink water when I’m on. There is water (available) but I think it’s th e tradition that I’m from." But the Brit admits he does take care of his vocal cords backstage befo re his gigs, adding: "I inhale Olbas Oil - put a few drops in hot water a nd inhale the steam or sometimes gargle salt water. I don’t know if it do es anything but the ritual does. It helps me mentally."

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Rockers WEEZER are set to revisit their roots - they’re making plans to p erform their first two albums in their entirety on a retro tour.
The Buddy Holly hitmakers are preparing to release their eighth studio album, Hurley, next month (Sep10) but frontman Rivers Cuomo reveals they’ re making plans for a special nostalgia trek.
The band will spend two-night stints in each city and treat their devot ed following to performances of their 1994 debut Weezer (also known as th e Blue Album) and 1996’s Pinkerton.
And Cuomo is hoping fans will voice their support for the idea.
He tells MTV, "We have this really exciting idea to do a tour where we spend two nights in each city, and the first night, we play the entire Bl ue album, and the second night, we play the entirety of Pinkerton.
"We’re just running it by promoters right now to see if there’s suffici ent interest in the markets to do something like that, and if they’re on board, it’s gonna happen.
"The fan response has been incredible so far for the idea. And, if they want to, they can contact their local promoter and tell them to make it happen."

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Scottish singer DARIUS CAMPBELL feared he would end up paralysed like tra gic actor CHRISTOPHER REEVE following a terrifying car crash last month ( Jul10).
The Colourblind hitmaker cracked several vertebrae in his neck in a roa d accident on 19 July (10) while on vacation in Spain.
And now the star, previously known as Darius Danesh, has opened up abou t the ordeal, revealing he nearly lost the use of his limbs like the late Superman star, who became a quadriplegic after a horse-riding accident.
He tells Britain’s Hello! magazine, "(The nurse told me) three millimet res this way, you no walk; three millimetres that way, you’re dead. It wa s like how you’d talk to a baby, but I knew what she was trying to say - I was the luckiest man alive.
"Because of the haze, we didn’t see that there was a diesel spill on th e road. Before we could work out what was going on, it was already too la te. The car careered out (of) control on a bend, and we smashed into a wa ll at 70 miles per hour. My first recollection is my friend, the driver, asking if I was okay. After getting out of the car, I remember a sharp pa in in my neck. The adrenaline carried me for 30 seconds or so, and then I collapsed. I’m so lucky that I’ve got no neurological damage." But the 30 year old refused to undergo surgery against doctors’ advice, fearing an operation would damage his voice: "It could have a major effe ct on my singing voice… I’ve definitely used up one of my nine lives."

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Rocker BONO is making a speedy recovery after undergoing spinal surgery i n May (10) - U2 have announced plans to extend their world tour to Austra lia.
The frontman was left with partial paralysis in his legs after he was d iagnosed with a herniated disc and the group was forced to cancel a strin g of concerts.
Bono returned to the stage in Turin, Italy earlier this month (Aug10) j ust three months after his operation and now he’s keen to tackle more sho ws - the band is taking its 360 Degree Tour Down Under at the end of the year (10).
The Beautiful Day hitmakers have scheduled gigs in Sydney, Brisbane, Me lbourne and Perth in December (10). They will also make a stop in Aucklan d, New Zealand.
U2’s manager Paul McGuinness says in a statement, "U2 has always been a t their best when surrounded by their audience, and this extraordinary pr oduction makes that happen in stadiums.
"It was important to the band that we were able to bring the whole 360 production to Australia and New Zealand so fans could experience the late st of U2’s legendary productions."

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Music mogul SIMON COWELL is at the centre of a "fix" storm after stunning revelations that producers of his hit U.K. TV talent show THE X FACTOR u se Auto-Tune to correct contestants’ vocals.
The seventh series of the singing competition launched in Britain on Sa turday (21Aug10) and attracted record first-night viewing figures of 12.6 million.
But the show has been hit by controversy after dozens of viewers realis ed several hopefuls auditioning for a place in the next stage of the cont est had had their vocals enhanced by computer.
Bosses of the show have now admitted using Auto-Tune to correct off-key singing - but insist it was only applied in the editing suite after the auditions took place, to enhance the sound for TV viewers.
A spokesman for The X Factor says, "The judges make their decisions at the audition stage based on what they hear on the day live in the arena. The footage and sound is then edited and dubbed into a finished programme .." Cowell, who is one of four judges on the show, is planning to launch Th e X Factor in the U.S. next year (11).

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Incarcerated rapper LIL WAYNE has fired off a lawsuit against his former booking agents, accusing them of holding back $375,000 (=C2=A3250,000) in tour profits.
The Lollipop hitmaker and his company Young Money Touring Inc. allege t he owners of Ujaama Talent Agency Inc., Erskine Isaac and David Nelson, o we him money from two of his America’s Most Wanted Music Festivals in 200 9.
The complaint claims Isaac and Nelson "elected to divert to Ujaama’s ow n bank account an amount not less than $375,000, the sum that Isaac and N elson maintain is owed to Ujaama for the tours in question." Lil Wayne has employed the firm’s services since the start of his caree r and participated in four different tours with Ujaama from 2008 to 2010, according to the suit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New Yor k on 16 August (10).
AllHipHop.com reports that the rapper’s lawyer asked the pair for the m oney before filing the suit but they refused to hand it over.
Lil Wayne is currently serving time at New York’s Rikers Island jail on weapons possession charges and is due for release later this year (10).

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RUPERT GRINT is struggling to come to terms with the end of HARRY POTTER, insisting he doesn’t know what to do with his free time now that the fra nchise has wrapped filming.
Grint, who turns 22 on Tuesday (24Aug10), made his name playing Ron Wea sley, the best friend of the boy wizard in the blockbuster movies.
But he admits his life now lacks a steady "routine" since filming on th e final instalment wrapped earlier this year (10) - and he has no idea wh at his next career move will be.
He says, "It’s been quite weird finishing. It’s taking a while to adjus t to it all and it does feel weird because it was such a regular routine in my life. Suddenly not doing it is strange and I don’t know what I’m do ing next.
"It was quite sad because it took a long time to get to know people and then I was saying goodbye. It’s kind of scary (but) I’m keen to carry on acting in various projects."

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Action star JACKIE CHAN is campaigning to bring more martial arts to the Olympics - he wants kung fu to be recognised as an official sport at the Games.
The Karate Kid star began learning kung fu as a young boy and still pra ctices his moves on a daily basis.
The international sports competition currently features Asian combat di sciplines such as taekwondo and judo but Chan is hoping to convince Olymp ics committee bosses to include kung fu, also known as wushu.
He explains, "I love wushu a lot and I would love to see it included in future Olympic Games." But the Hong Kong actor admits that the many different styles of kung f u fighting will make it difficult for him to realise his Olympic dream fo r the sport.
He adds: "This makes it difficult for wushu to make a unified impressio n to international audiences."

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SALMA HAYEK felt intimidated while filming GROWN UPS - because her kings of comedy co-stars ADAM SANDLER, CHRIS ROCK and KEVIN JAMES improvised en tire scenes.
The actress plays Sandler’s wife in the new movie and insists she was b lown away by the ad-libbing skills of her castmates, including funnymen D avid Spade and Rob Schneider.
But she admits it took her some practice before she could make her own contributions on the spot.
She tells British news show GMTV, "The script was very funny but when y ou get all these comedians (and jokes are) what they do for a living, the y can’t help themselves.
"It was a little bit scary at the beginning because it wasn’t like a li ttle bit of improvisation, they would have one joke in the script and the y would do it without cutting like 10, 12 different ways. You didn’t even know when it was your turn to speak! "I felt a little bit of pressure because you think, ‘Am I supposed to b e doing that too?’ So at the beginning it was intimidating but they were so nice that they just made you feel like part of the group. And later we were all improvising and it was really a blast."

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ANGELINA JOLIE is urging officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina to help expe dite the return of thousands of refugees who fled during the country’s ci vil war.
The Hollywood star made a stop in the country’s capital Sarajevo on Sat urday (21Aug10) during her ongoing promotion for new movie Salt and used her visit to speak out on behalf of all refugees internally displaced aft er the 1992-1995 conflict.
A statement from Jolie reads: "I hope that there’ll soon be practical s teps to improve these people’s lives." She praised the Bosnian parliament’s new promise to help the 113,000 re fugees still unable to return to their homes by 2014 but called for incre ased "urgency".
She adds, "The political leaders have shown a spirit of compromise in g etting this far. Now it needs a little more urgency." The Tomb Raider star, who is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Natio ns, also met with the Muslim and Croat representatives of Bosnia’s tripar tite presidency, Haris Silajdzic and Zeljko Komsic, to discuss the matter ..
Jolie is said to be planning to make her directorial debut with a film about the war.

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Film-maker SPIKE LEE has risked falling foul of U.S. President BARACK OBA MA - he’s blasted the American leader over his handling of the Gulf of Me xico oil spill crisis.
Lee has accused Obama of an error of judgment for "trusting" bosses at fuel giant BP to halt a potential environmental disaster after a rig off the south coast of the U.S. ruptured in April (10).
And he’s slammed government officials for taking seven weeks to invite the families of 11 platform workers killed in the initial explosion to th e White House.
Lee tells GQ magazine, "I don’t know why Obama ever trusted these BP gu ys! They would lie to their mothers. (Former BP president Tony) Hayward d oes not give a s**t. The thing we don’t talk about is that 11 Americans l ost their lives and it took seven weeks to invite their families to the W hite House. I’m not trying to bash my man, but that’s a long time." (ZN/W

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TRANSFORMERS star RACHAEL TAYLOR has applied for a court order against he r boyfriend MATTHEW NEWTON, accusing the troubled actor of "unprovoked vi olent assaults".
Just one day after Newton checked into rehab in Australia for the secon d time this year (10), the actress has taken out an apprehended violence order (AVO) against the star.
She alleges she was the victim of two "gravely serious" attacks at the hands of the Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities actor while they were vacat ioning together in Rome, Italy earlier this month (Aug10). Taylor is beli eved to have sustained injuries to her face and body during a public alte rcation in a hotel foyer in the city.
According to legal documents obtained by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, the AVO alleges the 26 year old fears "for her personal safety, well being an d security following events both in Australia and while on a recent holid ay in Rome, Italy.
"This action follows a series of gravely serious incidents, including a nd not limited to two unprovoked violent assaults, which (she claims) occ urred on the 13th and 14th August, 2010, while Ms Taylor was in Rome." A statement from Taylor reads: "After much consideration and struggle I have made this personal decision to send a clear public message that vio lence, threats, abuse and intimidation are not acceptable and should be d ealt with by the full capacity of the law." Newton was due to begin hosting Australia’s The X Factor but pulled out on Sunday (22Aug10) to focus on his treatment.
He previously checked into a rehab centre in Melbourne in April (10) to seek help for alcohol abuse after he was accused of trashing a hotel roo m in the city where he was staying with Taylor.

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RUPERT GRINT is refusing to follow in the footsteps of his HARRY POTTER c o-star DANIEL RADCLIFFE by stripping off naked onstage.
The actor, who turns 22 on Tuesday (24Aug10), is hoping to progress his acting skills after wrapping up the wizard franchise by appearing in Lon don’s famed West End theatre district.
But Grint admits he could never bare all like Radcliffe did in 2008, wh en he appeared naked in the New York and London productions of Equus.
He tells Britain’s the Daily Telegraph, "I would love to do some theatr e, but I refuse to get my kit (clothes) off. I would do anything before d oing that." (KD/WNBTE/PAW) ————————————————————————-

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Former model-turned-U.S. reality TV queen JANICE DICKINSON has slammed LA DY GAGA for flippant comments the pop star made about drugs in a recent V anity Fair article.
Dickinson was outraged when the Paparazzi star admitted to being an "oc casional" drug user in the September (10) issue of the publication - beca use she fears her nonchalant attitude to narcotics could lead her young f ans to try cocaine and heroin.
Dickinson tells Life & Style magazine, "As a recovering addict who know s how dangerous occasional use is, I can think of no reason for Gaga to r eveal this to her young audience.
"She is a f**king idiot. The way she mentioned cocaine, I think she sho uld really get spanked.
"You can damage and hurt kids. I’m appalled."

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British musician TRICKY narrowly avoided the wrath of security guards at Britain’s V Festival on Sunday night (22Aug10) after he lit up a cigarett e onstage.
The star surprised fans during his set at the Stafford, England event w hen he disappeared offstage for several minutes only to re-emerge among r evellers in the crowd to cheer on his band.
Tricky, real name Adrian Thaws, then lit up a cigarette, causing securi ty guards to rush towards the star and demand he stub out the roll-up or leave the venue.
But officials were unable to force Tricky to stop smoking after fans mo bbed the singer before he ran back onstage to finish the track - and his smoke.

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