And Wino is Free...Again

After more than nine hours of questioning at an East London police station yesterday, Amy Winehouse has been released from police custody.

Stop Stalling!

I think it's about time R Kelly has his day in court. Read this crap.

R. Kelly's lawyer has asked for another delay in his ongoing child pornography trial.

Kelly's lawyer, Ed Genson is asking that jury selection, slated to begin May 9th, be delayed because of a recent news report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Sun-Times published a report on Saturday stating that a witness has been added to the witness list who claims to have had a threesome with Kelly, 41, and the allegedly underage girl who appears in the now infamous sex tape.

Kelly's lawyer wants jury selection postponed due to the amount of publicity the article generated over the weekend.

Kelly, whose real name is Robert Kelly, has continued to deny the allegations made against him, claiming he is not the man on the tape.

Judge Vincent Gaughan is expected to rule on the request on Friday.

Source ~ chicago tribune

Philly officers taken off street after videotaped beating

PHILADELPHIA - A police sergeant and five officers were pulled from street duty Wednesday as city officials investigated television footage showing a group of officers kicking and punching three shooting suspects during a traffic stop.

More than a dozen officers were involved, but Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said investigators were having the videotape enhanced to help determine how many of them were actually striking the suspects.

Any information police find will be sent to prosecutors, who will determine whether charges are warranted.

"We certainly are concerned about what we saw on the tape," Ramsey said at a news conference. "The behavior that at least was exhibited on the tape is unacceptable."

Police stopped the suspects' car while investigating a triple shooting Monday night. No weapons were found in the car or on the suspects, Ramsey said, but officers said they had seen them shoot three people on a drug corner moments earlier.

The video, shot by WTXF-TV from a helicopter, showed three police cars stopping a car on the side of a road.

Officers gathered around the vehicle and pulled three men out. About a half-dozen officers held two men on the ground on the driver's side. Both were kicked repeatedly, while one was punched; one also appeared to be struck with a baton.

On the other side of the car, the video showed, more officers kicking a third man who ends up on the ground.

The three suspects — Dwayne Dyches, Brian Hall and Pete Hopkins — were each charged with attempted murder in the shooting, police said.

The beating happened two days after the fatal shooting of a city officer, the third killed on duty in two years.

Ramsey said officers have been on edge since Officer Stephen Liczbinski was killed, but that they still need to maintain a high standard of conduct.

"We do expect them to maintain a level of conduct on the street that is beyond reproach," the commissioner said. "The sergeant should have taken some kind of action to intervene."

Liczbinski was shot with an assault rifle after a robbery Saturday. One suspect was fatally shot by police soon after, another was arrested Sunday and a third was captured late Wednesday.

D. Scott Perrine, an attorney for the three men seen in the video, has said that, as terrible as the officer's death was, it does not excuse what police did to the suspects.

Dyches had a welt on his head the size of a baseball, and one of his legs was seriously injured, Perrine said. He said he didn't know the extent of the other men's injuries.

The mother of one of the suspects said she was outraged.

"I'm horrified to see that our city cops would beat some human being like they did, like a gang-style fight," Leomia Dyches said. She added, "I'd like to see them tried for what they did."

Source ~ PATRICK WALTERS, Associated Press Writer

Sharpton arrested as hundreds protest NYC police shooting (AP)

NEW YORK - Hundreds of demonstrators led by the Rev. Al Sharpton clogged intersections and snarled traffic across the city to protest the acquittal of three officers involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man on his wedding day.

Protesters said Wednesday's "pray-in," which led to the arrest of 216 people, was a preview of potential future demonstrations designed to paralyze the city until federal authorities investigate the shooting.

"We're going to keep coming until we get federal indictments. It's wrong," said Frank Rodriguez, a military veteran who attended one of six rallies across the city.

U.S. attorney spokesman Robert Nardoza said the case was under review, but he declined further comment about a possible federal case.

Sharpton and relatives of Sean Bell, the groom killed in 2006 in a 50-bullet barrage, planned to meet privately with Gov. David Paterson on Thursday to talk about the case.

The demonstrators on Wednesday prayed, sang and chanted slogans including "no justice, no peace!" as they converged on six locations, including heavily used bridges and tunnels that carry traffic to and from Manhattan.

Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man's fiancee lined up and peacefully put their hands behind their backs as police arrested them on disorderly conduct charges. They were released about four hours later, said Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger.

The protests were carefully orchestrated: Organizers circulated sign-up sheets for those willing to be arrested and issued instructions on how to behave when arrested. They also were advised not to volunteer if they had warrants out for their arrests or other pending legal issues.

After marching to the New Jersey-bound Holland Tunnel behind a "Stop the Brutality" banner, protesters blocked two entrances as some sang the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome." Demonstrators who moved to the sidewalk applauded each time one of their fellow protesters was arrested.

Drivers waited patiently. "I disagree with doing anything illegal, but, hey, this is what makes America great," said Aaron Hanson, a passenger in a car waiting to get into the tunnel. "If this is what people really need to do to make a statement, it's what they should do."

A few miles uptown, some protesters were arrested after blocking traffic into midtown Manhattan on the Queensboro Bridge, while about 200 people rallied near the entrance to the Triborough Bridge in Harlem.

Sharpton, shooting survivors Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, and Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, linked arms as they blocked a street at the Brooklyn Bridge's base.

They were followed by at least 200 demonstrators who kneeled down in prayer in the road and counted from one to 50 in a stark reference to the 50 shots. Some carried signs proclaiming, "We are all Sean Bell."

A heavy police presence initially stood by during the demonstrations, allowing the protesters to march unimpeded to the bridges and tunnels. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had pledged to "make sure that everybody's rights are protected and that the law is obeyed."

The racially polarizing case has raised questions about police use of deadly force in minority communities. Bell was black, as are two of his friends who were wounded in the shooting; the officers were black, Hispanic and white.

The three officers were acquitted of state charges last month. They testified that they feared for their lives after Bell and his friends got into a testy exchange with another patron outside a Queens strip club and appeared to be going to retrieve a gun; Bell's friends testified the detectives fired wildly and without warning at Bell's car. No gun was found with Bell or his friends.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that the department was continuing to examine the possibility of disciplinary action against the detectives.

Source ~ Associated Press writers Bonny Ghosh and Ted Shaffrey contributed to this report

Grand Theft Auto IV Sells Six Million Units in First Week

"Grand Theft Auto 4," the latest version of the hit video game franchise, racked up first-week sales of $500 million, Take-Two Interactive, the game's publisher, said Wednesday. The report exceeded the sales expectations of analysts.

The company is expected to report that it sold 6 million copies of the game, 3.6 million of them on the first day. The sales exceed projections of industry analysts who were estimating that about 5 million consumers would purchase the game in the first two weeks.

The significance of the sales extends beyond buoying Take-Two, a company that has had its share of legal, financial and management struggles in the last few years.

The company is the subject of a $2 billion hostile takeover effort by Electronic Arts, which is offering Take Two shareholders $25.74 a share for control of the company. If Take-Two can exceed expectations on sales of "Grand Theft Auto 4," it may drive up the share price and force Electronic Arts to raise its offer.

"They were better than the published expectations," said Todd Mitchell, an analyst with Kaufman Brothers. "I would say they were marginally better than the whisper number."

But, he added, he did not "think that many people buy the idea that just because you blow the numbers out on GTA, EA is going to come out with a higher bid."

Electronic Arts' takeover bid turned hostile after Take-Two's management said it would not negotiate an acquisition agreement with Electronic Arts - or any suitor - until after the release of "Grand Theft Auto 4." Now that the game is out, Take-Two may well have entered discussions with Electronic Arts and possibly with other suitors who covet the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, but Take-Two has declined to comment on whether such discussions are taking place.

If Take-Two and Electronic Arts wind up seeking a deal, there is pressure on Electronic Arts and also on some Take-Two shareholders to get one done quickly.

Electronic Arts has said that it needs to reach a deal in time to subsume Take-Two's assets before the holiday selling season.

Take-Two's management has said that the success of "Grand Theft Auto 4" is awakening shareholders to the long-term value of the company's stock and that if investors can be patient it can command a higher price in the long term.

The first-week sales figure tops the $400 million benchmark set by Microsoft's "Halo 3" in September.

"This game sets a new standard in the industry," the Take-Two chief executive, Ben Feder, said in a statement.

"Grand Theft Auto 4" has been praised by reviewers for its graphics and for play that allows gamers to depart from the story line. The Parents Television Council, an organization devoted to limiting sex, violence and profanity in media, called the game "brutally violent" last month.

In the game, a former soldier, Niko Bellic, is lured to the United States from Eastern Europe by a cousin who brags of great wealth. On arrival, Bellic discovers that his cousin lied and actually is deep in debt to gangsters. He reluctantly takes on assignments from the mob to save his relative.

"Grand Theft Auto 4" has a "mature" rating in the United States from an industry council that says it is appropriate only for players ages 17 and older because of graphic violence and partial nudity.

Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, California, began a $26-a-share tender offer March 13, after Take-Two refused to negotiate in February. The offer expires May 16.

Electronic Arts, which makes the "Madden NHL" football games, dropped the bid to $25.74 after Take-Two investors approved an incentive plan that increased the number of shares it would have to buy.

Source ~ International Herald Tribune

R. Kelly Kiddie Porn Trial Set To Start

(AP) It seemed for a while as if R. Kelly's day in court might never come.

But after six years of repeated delays, jury selection is set to begin Friday in the Grammy-winning R&B singer's trial on child pornography charges, prompted by a videotape allegedly showing Kelly having sex with a girl as young as 13.

Prosecutors, though, will have a unique challenge: The alleged victim, now 23, says it wasn't her. And Kelly's attorneys - including Ed Genson, who often represents the rich and famous - haven't admitted it's Kelly in the video.

"How is there not reasonable doubt when the two people say it's not them?" said Michael Helfand, a Chicago attorney not involved in the case.

But Helfand conceded that it's unclear what supporting evidence the prosecution might present.

The 41-year-old Kelly, whose first name is Robert, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. But Kelly - one of urban music's biggest stars, and a consistent hit maker despite his legal woes - is glad the wait is over, his spokesman said.

"Every waking moment, he's always had this hanging over his head," spokesman Allan Mayer said. "He's confident that when all the evidence comes out he'll be shown not to be guilty of any crime."

The centerpiece of the trial is likely to be the video footage, which Judge Vincent Gaughan ruled may be shown in open court.

Prosecutors claim the videotape was made sometime between Jan. 1, 1998 and Nov. 1 2000, and that the girl was born in September 1984.

Kelly was indicted on pornography charges June 5, 2002, after the tape surfaced and was sold illegally on street corners and the Internet. Chicago police began investigating after receiving the tape from the Chicago Sun-Times, which said it was sent to the paper anonymously.

Police and prosecutors said their investigation, including interviews with about 50 witnesses, determined Kelly and an underage girl were on the tape, and that FBI forensics experts had determined the tape was authentic.

Prosecutors may need more than a videotape to prove their case, said Helfand, the Chicago attorney.

"I'd be beyond surprised if he got convicted based on what's out there," said Helfand.

It is unclear whether prosecutors have asked - or would be allowed - to tell jurors about accusations that Kelly allegedly had sexual relations with other minors, because some of the trial proceedings have been kept secret by the judge. Media outlets, including The Associated Press, have filed a legal challenge seeking to get court records and hearing transcripts unsealed.

Kelly has settled three lawsuits accusing him of having sex with underage girls, filed in 1997, 2001 and 2002. In the third suit, the woman claimed that she began having sex with Kelly when she was 16, and that he forced her to have an abortion.

In 2003, Kelly was arrested in Florida on child pornography charges after investigators said they found photos of him having sex with a girl. Charges were dropped after a judge ruled detectives illegally seized the photographs from a digital camera in his home.

Documents show Kelly secretly married the singer Aaliyah in 1994, when she was 15. The marriage later was annulled by her parents; Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001.

The trial's six-year gap from indictment to trial is uncommon in child porn cases. But while suspects have a right to demand a swift trial, they're not obligated to ask for one, especially if they calculate that speed isn't in their best interests.

In Kelly's case, more than 30 pretrial motions contributed to delays. At one point, hearings were delayed when Judge Gaughan fell off a ladder at home and suffered multiple fractures. By the time he recovered, Kelly needed emergency surgery for a burst appendix.

Despite his legal troubles, Kelly - who rose from poverty on Chicago's South Side to become a superstar singer, songwriter and producer - still retains a huge following, and his popularity has arguably grown since being charged in 2002. The singer has released more than half a dozen albums, most of them million-sellers. He's also had a multitude of hits and gone on tours. His campy video series "Trapped in the Closet" have a cult following so strong that the Independent Film Channel premiered the latest chapters of the farcical musical, out on DVD, on its web site last year before showing them on the network. Kelly has a new song, "Hair Braider," out now, and is due to release a new album in July.

Although he won a Grammy in 1997 for the gospel-like song "I Believe I Can Fly," his biggest hits are sexually charged songs like "Bump N' Grind," "Ignition" and his current single.

The trial is expected to draw crowds of reporters and fans to the courthouse. But Gaughan is expected to keep a tight rein on the proceedings, from which cameras, cell phones and recorders are banned.

When a fan snapped a picture of Kelly with her cell-phone camera during a pretrial hearing last year, Gaughan sentenced her to five days in jail and ordered her phone destroyed.

"He's not one of those guys who's going to let this trial turn into a circus," said Helfand.

Source ~ The Associated Press

Amy Winehouse Arrested - Again

(AP) Amy Winehouse has been arrested on suspicion of drugs possession, police and her spokesman said Wednesday.

Winehouse's spokesman, Chris Goodman, said the arrest is connected to a video that is alleged to show the troubled singer taking drugs at a party in her home in north London.

Britain's The Sun tabloid in January published still images from a video that it claimed showed Winehouse inhaling fumes from a small pipe. The images were said to have been filmed during a party at her London home.

London's Metropolitan Police said a 24-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of drugs possession. Goodman confirmed his client was in police custody.

"Amy Winehouse voluntarily attended a London police station today by appointment. She was arrested in order to be interviewed and is cooperating fully with inquiries," Goodman said in a statement.

"The interview relates to a video handed to police earlier this year," he said.

Winehouse is famous for her hit "Rehab." She has had a turbulent private life. Last month she was cautioned by police for assault after she slapped a man during a night out. That means no charges were filed, but the incident was placed on her record.

Shortly after The Sun published still photographs of the video, Winehouse entered a London rehabilitation center.

Source ~ The Associated Press

75 students arrested in San Diego State University drug bust

SAN DIEGO - Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.

Two kilograms of cocaine were seized, along with 350 Ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine, illicit prescription drugs, several guns and at least $60,000 in cash, authorities said.

Of the 96 people arrested, 75 were students. Eighteen of the students were arrested Tuesday when nine search warrants were executed at various locations including fraternities, said Jesse Rodriguez, San Diego County assistant district attorney.

The undercover probe, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall, was sparked by the cocaine overdose death of a student in May 2007, authorities said. As the investigation continued, another student, from Mesa College, died Feb. 26 of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house, the DEA said.

Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master's degree in homeland security.

"A sad commentary is that when one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as (to) whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on him becoming a federal law enforcement officer," said Ralph Partridge, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego.

Some defendants were scheduled to appear in state court to face charges Tuesday.

During the probe investigators discovered that in some fraternities most members were aware of "organized drug dealing occurring from the fraternity houses by its members," the DEA said in a news release.

"Undercover agents purchased cocaine from fraternity members and confirmed that a hierarchy existed for the purpose of selling drugs for money," the DEA said.

The district attorney's office said search warrants were served in San Diego and suburban La Mesa, including the Theta Chi fraternity house and several apartments.

A member of Theta Chi sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" stating that he and his "associates" would be unable to sell cocaine while they were in Las Vegas over one weekend, according to the DEA. The text promoted a cocaine "sale" and listed the reduced prices.

Theta Chi's San Diego chapter declined to comment.

"We're talking to our advisers," said John Phillips, a past president of the chapter.

Dale Taylor, the fraternity's national executive director, said he was "obviously shocked and saddened" by the allegations.

Theta Chi has prohibited the San Diego chapter from group activities like parties or sports and will investigate additional disciplinary measures, up to expulsion of members or the entire chapter.

Theta Chi, based in Indianapolis, has 131 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161,000 initiates. It was founded in 1856.

The San Diego chapter was founded 61 years ago and has 65 members.

"They were on the upswing," Taylor said. "They had improved their recruitment. They were trying to raise money for a new house."

University police and federal drug agents worked together in the investigation, making more than 130 undercover drug buys at locations including fraternity houses, student parking areas and dormitories, authorities said.

Shawn Collinsworth, executive director of the national office of Phi Kappa Psi, said he was told by two of the SDSU fraternity chapter's leaders that four of its members were arrested. He said the fraternity is cooperating with the investigation.

"It isn't behavior becoming of Phi Kappa Psi," Collinsworth said.

San Diego State is one of the largest schools in California's state university system with about 34,000 students. The campus has an active network of fraternities and sororities.

___

Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

"Police: Kindergartner Brings Drugs To School"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Metro police said a 6-year-old brought drugs to school Monday.

Police found seven grams of marijuana and two grams of rock and powder cocaine in the child's pockets.

The student at Tom Joy Elementary School went to the teacher to show her what he found at home.

The teacher immediately took the student to the principal's office.

The child is developmentally challenged. There are nine students in his classroom. Police said no other students came into contact with the drugs. It didn't appear that the drugs were disturbed. The school was placed on lockdown until dismissal Monday afternoon.

"We believe that she didn't know that the school was aware that he had the drugs on him," said Sgt. Anna-Maria Williams. "So she was trying to get to the school to get them off of him."

The child's 27-year-old mother, Arthia Burrows received drug and child endangerment charges Monday. Police also are searching for her brother, who is wanted for arrest. He hasn't been charged yet.

Police said the curious 6-year-old gave them all the information they needed to take down a known drug house in East Nashville.

He told police he had his mother's "smokes."

"Our crime suppression unit had gotten a drug complaint on them, that this was place where people could go to buy marijuana and other drugs," Williams said. "So our crime suppression unit had been working on it, but hadn't had enough information to get inside. So, we got lucky as far as being able to get them at the same time to take the drugs off the child."

Police said Burrows does not have a criminal record.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services removed five children from the home. Even though Metro Schools has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drugs, the child will not be expelled because he was not aware he was bringing drugs to school.

Watching a Friends Dog

OK, a couple I know asked if I would watch their dog for them while they go on their honeymoon. I said OK because I have the same type of dog and I figured they could play all day. They leave for their honeymoon Friday, January 4 and come back January 12. Well, they dropped the dog last night, and since the owners had left the dog has managed to, piss on the couch, piss on the fridge and table, bark all night, and get a neighbor to complain. So all of this happened the first night; now they haven't left for their honeymoon yet, so I’m wondering, am I an asshole if I call them and tell them they need to find a different place for the dog to stay? I’ll drive it to wherever it needs to go so they don't have to be inconvenienced. I just don't want the dog to wreck all my stuff I have worked so hard to get. But my question is, is that a dick thing to do?