Pastor Troy hasn’t had a hit record in a while, but the “No Mo Play in GA” rapper recently resurfaced on “Judge Alex” of all places. Troy was on “Judge Alex” being sued by an Augusta, Georgia concert promoter who said the ATL rapper failed to show up at an Augusta club performance. Troy’s manager told Judge Alex that his client has a violent history with Augusta and never would have agreed to the show if he had known the club was so close to Augusta. “People who wanna pop a cap in you aren’t gonna drive 20 minutes?” asked Judge Alex. RELATED: Big Boi Avoids Jail Time In Florida Drug Case Ice-T Escapes Jury Duty In Jersey Eddie Long Accusers Risk Losing Settlement Money By Speaking Out [FULL INTERVIEW]
Following Newt Gingrich’s win in the South Carolina primary, young voters have advice for the president’s bid for re-election. By Uptin Saiidi President Barack Obama Photo: Shahar Azran/WireImage If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that primary voters aren’t yet ready to decide on a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election. Despite Mitt Romney’s considerable lead at the beginning of last week, Newt Gingrich pulled off an upset over the weekend in the South Carolina primary, with Gingrich taking 40 percent of the vote to Romney’s 27 percent. While Republicans wrestle with choosing a nominee as they head into next week’s Florida primary, President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is gaining momentum. On Thursday, in addition to raising $1.6 million for his campaign, Obama captured widespread attention when he busted out his singing chops with Rev. Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a fundraiser event at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. When MTV News spoke to people in Times Square about the president’s musical interlude, the consensus was that his vocals scored a passing grade. “It sounded really good, it’s one of my favorite songs,” Felicia Bullinger, 20, told us. Even an “American Idol” producer weighed in , telling MTV News that the commander in chief could pass an “Idol” audition and make it through to Hollywood Week. Obama’s voice wasn’t the only thing that won people over. His softer side resonated with 18-year-old student Tonya Deodath. “I think he’s always serious so I think it’s kind of good that he’s being a little personal with everybody. It doesn’t hurt to be silly sometimes.” Jamie Dahlquist, 24, agreed. “I think it’s fun to show the real human side of himself. It’s a good way to get the young people on his side.” A human side could ultimately help translate into more votes. “Seeing how it’s time for re-election, if he’s going to get more votes, you have to get personal with the people you’re trying to win over,” Deodath said. With 45 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 eligible to vote in this year’s election, the power of young voters is hard to ignore, especially after the support he received from 2008’s record youth turnout . Of course, gaining popularity will take more than singing at $200-per-ticket fundraisers as voters have mixed reactions to the president’s time in office and weighed in with their advice for his campaign. “He shouldn’t make so many promises because as much as someone wants to change the world, they’re not going to be able to promise everything,” Victoria Lavista, 18, said. “I think he did that last time and there’s a lot of promises he didn’t follow up on.” One issue that seems to top the list of issues for young Americans is student loan debt and jobs. “To President Obama, I speak for students when I say this, help us out, especially parents and [those] students who want to go back to school or who are in school right now,” Deodath said. “It’s kind of hard for students to get a job and nobody’s really doing anything about that. “And if kids are the future, we have to go to school in order to be the future.”
A quick update on the flurry of Sundance deal-making of recent days, with well-received documentaries and less acclaimed but star-driven (read: marketable) narratives sitting pretty with distribution agreements. Will this be, as pundits predicted, a high-volume buying year in Park City? This list will be updated as more films reach distribution deals this week at Sundance, where smaller hits (i.e. Beasts of the Southern Wild ) and high profile pieces (Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer , which screens tonight) have piqued buyer interest. The documentary field is especially strong so far, with Searching for Sugar Man , The Queen of Versailles , Kirby Dick’s The Invisible War , and West of Memphis having already screened to warm responses, while a host of narratives featuring name actors have also shown promise. Searching for Sugar Man (Sony Classics) – The documentary about 1960s musician Rodriguez played well to critics and was snatched up by SPC for a reported six figures . The Queen of Versailles (Magnolia Pictures) – Another well-received doc, Lauren Greenfield’s examination of Florida real estate mogul David Siegel was picked up by Magnolia on Friday. Black Rock (LD Distribution) – Katie Aselton’s thriller about three female friends (Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth) surviving a weekend getaway gone wrong was the first Midnight selection to seal a deal, partnering with newbie venture LD Distribution. The Words (CBS Films) – Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, and Jeremy Irons lead a cast of recognizable stars in this literary drama about a writer (Cooper) who claims credit on someone else’s manuscript and is confronted by its real author, so it’s easy to see why buyers were interested. CBS Films reportedly made the most expensive buy of the fest so far, laying down $2 million for the film. Whether or not that move was smart remains to be seen, as this first review over at The Playlist is less than encouraging. Previously: The five films likeliest to ignite a Sundance 2012 bidding war Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter . Get more of Movieline’s Sundance coverage here .
A clear victory could all but secure the nomination for Romney, but a close call or loss would be detrimental, experts say. By Gil Kaufman Mitt Romney Photo: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images No Republican has ever won his party’s presidential nomination without notching a win in South Carolina. That’s just one reason former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is hoping that when the dust clears Saturday night (January 21), he will be celebrating his second primary win in a row and, in theory, the key to his party’s nomination. South Carolina was expected to present Romney with his biggest challenge to date, due to its heavy Evangelical population. The man vying to be the Republican Party’s first Mormon presidential nominee was up by anywhere from 11 to 15 points in polls taken in the week before Saturday’s vote, with some predicting he’d get more than 40 percent of the vote. By Friday morning, however, a number of polls had him in either a dead heat with or trailing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Both men were well ahead of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Congressman Ron Paul. In addition to his eroding poll numbers, Romney suffered a series of unfortunate events Thursday when a further analysis of the vote in Iowa revealed that Santorum had actually won the too-close-to-call Iowa caucus by 34 votes, erasing Romney’s razor-thin eight-vote win and his bragging rights for going 2-and-0. A short time later, Texas Governor Rick Perry abruptly dropped out of the race , throwing his support behind Gingrich. “If [Romney] wins South Carolina, it depends by how much. If he wins by 15, I would say, yes, he’s [the presumptive nominee]; if it’s in the close single digits, he’s not running at a pace to get the majority of the delegates,” said Columbia University professor of political science Robert Y. Shapiro, an expert in voting and political behavior. “All Gingrich has to do is stay in and if can run close enough and continue to raise money he could keep running.” Romney, who still has his solid New Hampshire win in pocket, has been taking heavy fire from Gingrich over the past few weeks. The former congressman has taken Romney to task for what he has deemed his opponent’s “vulture capitalist” ways while running the investment firm Bain Capital, where Romney oversaw the shuttering of a number of businesses, resulting in numerous layoffs. Romney has hit back at Gingrich for what he labeled an attack on “free enterprise,” accusing him of sounding like a Democrat in his criticisms. Larry Parnell, an associate professor and program director of the graduate school of political management at George Washington University, said the net effect of a potential Romney win and a possible shift in Perry voters to Gingrich could turn what he described as a “circular firing squad” of GOP nominees into a duel between the two men. “If [Romney] wins South Carolina, he will still have to deal with Gingrich, and it could slow him down,” said Parnell, a former press aide for the presidential campaign of Democrat Jimmy Carter. In terms of appearances, Parnell said even with a win in South Carolina, Romney is not likely to declare himself the presumptive candidate, because it could draw even more fire from his remaining opponents. “It’s in his best interest to keep conducting himself the way he has,” he said. “To say that now he’s ready to take on President Obama is just waving a red flag in front of Gingrich.” As long as he continues on the slow-and-steady path of wins, Parnell said, Romney should be able to weather the storms and likely come out on top. After the now-narrow loss in Iowa and a more convincing win in independent-leaning New Hampshire, observers have been looking to the solidly red state of South Carolina as the first test of whether Romney can convince traditional Evangelical voters that he is the right choice for the party. Parnell said that given South Carolina’s record in picking the eventual establishment candidate, any deviation from that norm (i.e., a too-close-to-call Gingrich finish or win) could cause some serious problems for Romney. A win, however, would prove Romney is a viable national candidate and ease the pressure on him to win over the party’s still-reluctant-to-commit base. Over the past week, Gingrich urged Santorum and Perry to drop out of the race so conservative voters can rally behind just one “anti-Romney” candidate, arguing that he is the only remaining candidate who knows how to build a national campaign. Even as his poll numbers jumped, though, Gingrich faced another obstacle Thursday when his second ex-wife appeared in an ABC News interview in which she claimed the former speaker had urged her to have an “open” marriage so he could continue an affair with his then-mistress, now-wife Callista. Both men agreed a solid Romney win in South Carolina could all but ensure his eventual path to the nomination, though a close Gingrich finish could propel the ex-congressman to Florida’s primary January 31. Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary races and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.
Some may call it responding to safety concerns, others will say it was the icing on the cake for an embarrassing 33-point loss. Either way, the decision of University of North Carolina Head Basketball Coach Roy Williams to pull his bench players off the court with time still left on the clock during an upset loss to Florida State was unprecedented. FSU Coach Leonard Hamilton had suggested that Williams… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Blaze Discovery Date : 14/01/2012 23:32 Number of articles : 2
The lineup is ‘completely insane,’ Avicii tells MTV News of March festival in Miami. By Akshay Bhansali Afrojack Photo: Getty Images In December, Ultra Music Festival — Miami Music Week’s annual mega-conclave, attended by more than 150,000 fans last year — announced another staggering lineup for 2012. On Friday, March 23, downtown Miami, Florida’s Bayfront Park will host Ti
In one of its first official actions of the 2012, the Florida Senate passed through a bill that would award Eric Brody–who was permanently injured in 1998 by a speeding Broward County Sheriff’s deputy–$10.75 million. The claims bill, which passed… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Naked Politics Discovery Date : 10/01/2012 17:47 Number of articles : 2
‘People our age should be looking at the opportunity these candidates are presenting to them,’ young campaign volunteer tells MTV News. By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Rick Santorum Photo: Justin Sullivan/ Getty Images MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Rick Santorum almost pulled off a Hail Mary win at the Iowa caucus last week. But it will take a Tim Tebow-like feat of daring to do the same at the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday (January 10) in a state where independent voters rule and even dedicated Republicans don’t always fall in step with the party line. That fact was on display last week when the former Pennsylvania senator was heckled at a forum with college students over his stance against gay marriage, which is legal in New Hampshire. Asked if she thought it hurt him, “I do,” said Michelle Gearrity, a Quinnipiac University student who has been in the state for the past week working as a volunteer on the Santorum campaign along with her friend Jordanne Anderson. “I think the youth are stuck right now on a lot of social issues, but for me personally I think everyone has to look at the big issue now, which is the economy, jobs. Everyone’s affected: your neighbors, your brothers, your parents, your grandparents. We’re college students. I’m graduating in a year, it’s in the back of my mind constantly.” Anderson, 19, and Gearrity — who were both at the college convention in Concord, New Hampshire, where Santorum was booed — said they believe the candidate has the best economic plan to bring the country out of the recession and they are focused on that, not the divisive social issues that typically pop up in general elections. Standing outside Jillian’s Billiards Club in downtown Manchester on Monday night as Santorum spoke to his constituents inside, Gearrity said that to woo voters her age, he needs to look them in the eye and explain how his Made in America plan to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. could help them apply their technical skills as they graduate college. “We need to step back and bring back jobs to America that we’re sending ashore,” she said. “People our age should be looking at the opportunity these candidates are presenting to them.” With Santorum idling in third place in most polls leading up to Tuesday’s vote, Anderson said the pair have not been working on getting out the vote so much as making calls to rally the candidate’s faithful. “We actually are having a real lot of positive feedback, [but] we are noticing it’s not as much youth, which we’d like to push more on the youth,” she said in a nod to the fact that Santorum has had a hard time so far breaking through to the 45 million voters age 18-29. “It seems that Ron Paul has really sucked in that campaign this year. We have had a lot of youth interest, so we’re trying to push it more.” MTV’s Power of 12 has been talking to young voters in New Hampshire this week, and they’ve confirmed that Paul has continued to speak to that group with his message of smaller government and less regulation. But if Santorum is to have any chance of another surprisingly strong showing before he moves onto more-welcoming territory in upcoming Southern primaries in South Carolina and Florida, high school senior Amanda Biundo said he’ll need to figure out a way to break through to people her age. “If you look at Iowa, every single vote counts,” she said of the inaugural contest where Santorum lost to Mitt Romney by just eight votes. “You just have to let them know that their vote counts and this is a chance for them to show that they do have an importance and that their opinion does matter to this country.” MTV is on the scene in New Hampshire! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses, and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season. Related Videos New Hampshire Primary Sparks Youth Conversation
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson may be pleading the indie case and fighting the unfortunate cultural fight to shore up interest in his cancer drama All Things Fall Apart , and the film’s marketing may have improved since its LOLtastic first teaser last year. But in the end, as the latest trailer will attest, the film still looks about as appealing as a ham-and-chemo sandwich — with extra ham, natch. I know what you’re thinking: ” Needs more ‘Yellow Ledbetter,’ ” amirite ? Don’t answer that. [Yahoo! via THR ]
Oscar nominated director David O. Russell ( The Fighter ) has had his share of controversial moments in the public eye, but this takes the cake, and then some: According to a police report filed with the Broward County Police Department in Florida, Russell inappropriately groped his 19-year-old adoptive pre-op transgender niece while they were working out last week. Hit the jump for details if you dare, because this reaches a level of bizarre that can be a wee bit difficult to wrap your head around. An investigation is underway into the bizarre family incident, which Russell insists was innocent and consensual. But he’s at least admitted that the incident did happen. And the event seems to have gone down as follows, as TMZ reports, while Russell and his niece were doing abdominal exercises: The niece — who does NOT have a blood relation to Russell — told cops they began to talk about her breasts … and how certain hormones she’s taking have made them larger. According to the report, the niece claims Russell then “put his hands under [her] top and felt both breasts.” Cops say the woman said she felt “uncomfortable” … but admitted she “did not ask him to stop at any time.” Investigators later contacted Russell … and according to the report, the director confirmed he DID touch his niece’s breasts … but only after she gave him permission. Cops say Russell explained that during the conversation about her chest, the niece informed him that one of her breasts was bigger than the other. The official report says … Russell told cops his niece then “allowed [him] to feel both of [her] breasts.” So… yeah. According to Russell’s rep, “”David O. Russell emphatically denies any wrongdoing and has cooperated fully with the authorities.” We’ll have to wait and see how this one shakes out. In the least, it makes yelling at Lily Tomlin look like a totally normal tea party. And despite headlines like ” David O. Russell Fingered in Quasi-Incestuous, Transsexual Groping Claim ,” it’s not quite as incestuous as the setup of Russell’s feature debut Spanking the Monkey , so there’s that. Developing… [ TMZ , The Wrap ]
