Shots fired! Tyrese appears to have fired shots at the likes of Usher at the 2012 BET Awards over his new sound of R&B music. Usher gave a performance of his smash hit single ‘Climax’ at the awards last night. However, one person who appears to not have been impressed with Usher’s dance music sound is Tyrese, who claims he is bringing back real R&B with his super group consisting of Tank and Ginuwine. He then tweeted: “R&B just got a face lift. We’re going to remind y’all why you fell in love with R&B music. TGT is coming soon.” Are you feeling Usher’s new sound? Can TGT really bring back the essence of R&B? Twitter
US Racial Gap In Life Expectancy At All Time Low This is a good look: The gap in life expectancy between blacks and whites in the United States, long attributed to socioeconomic disparities and a range of other factors, continued its historical decline between 2003 and 2008 and is now the smallest ever, Canadian researchers say in a new report. The study, which drew on data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other sources and was published in the June 6 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found an increase in life expectancy for both men and women, black and white. The researchers from McGill University in Montreal noted a convergence in the rate of deaths from HIV and heart disease as contributing to the narrowing of the life expectancy gap. However the biggest factor in the narrowing of the gap, the researchers said, was an increase in the number of deaths among whites attributed to prescription drug abuse. “It is mostly a good news story, since life expectancy has increased for both groups,” says Sam Harper, an epidemiologist at McGill and lead author for the study. However, the findings that point to prescription drug abuse are “a potential cause for concern.” The study found that the gap in life expectancy between black and white women of non-Hispanic origin closed to 3.7 years in 2008, down from 4.6 years in 2003. For men, the gap has closed to 5.4 years, down from 6.5 years. Life expectancy at birth for white men now stands at 76.2 years, up from 75.3 years, compared with 70.8 years for black men, up from 68.8 years. For white women, life expectancy rose from 80.3 to 81.2 years, and for black women from 75.7 to 77.5 years. The researchers looked at data compiled by the CDC and others and found that differences in the rates of heart disease, diabetes, homicide, HIV, and infant mortality remained the main reasons for the racial gap. Among men, heart disease and homicide were the two primary contributors; for women, the two contributors were heart disease and diabetes. But the narrowing recorded over the five-year span of data points to shifts in “unintentional injury” rates, as well as HIV and heart disease, the study’s authors conclude. Most notably, within the category of unintentional injury, fatal poisonings were the leading increase among whites – by 58 percent for men and 74 percent for women between ages 20 and 54. Dr. Harper said 80 to 90 percent of the unintentional poisoning deaths appear to be drug-related, and a big proportion of that due to opiates and abuse of prescription drugs such as oxycodone – a fact that mirrors growing public awareness of the problem of prescription drug abuse. The authors pointed out that in earlier studies that looked at the period between 1993 and 2003, the life expectancy gap between blacks and whites had narrowed by nearly two years for men and one year for women. Source
RihRih is mourning the loss of her grandmother Clara Dolly Brathwaite , who passed away last night after battling cancer. The Bajan banger took to Twitter to announce the sad news and has posted several recent touching photos of herself, including a visit she made to the hospital to see her sick granny just two weeks ago. As well as pictures of herself with her grandmother when she was a child. The devastating news is said to have left RihRih in pieces and could be the reason for her recent shambolic performance the night before at the Peace & Love Festival in Sweden. Revellers at the event were left fuming by her performance where the singer was 45 minutes late, lip-synced and appeared to be intoxicated during her set. Rest in Peace Clara ‘Dolly’ Braithwaite! Give the girl a break! RihRih just lost her beloved granny but clearly still wanted to put on a show for her fans. Do you think the rebel star needs to properly mourn the loss of her grandmother and take a break form the stage? Check out more photos of Rihanna and her Grandma Dolly next…
They out here arresting folks over Twilight DVD’s now? A mother was arrested in front of her young children and spent the night in jail – all for not returning a Twilight book and DVD. Lori Teel was arrested and handcuffed at her Portales, New Mexico home in front of her five small children on June 12. She had borrowed $36 worth of library materials not returned since 2010. Police had arrived at Mrs Teel’s home after receiving a call that her husband, Jimmy Teel, had assaulted someone, according to the Albuquerque Journal. It was while they were at the couple’s house that Portales police realized there was a warrant out for Mrs Teel’s arrest for the missing young adult fiction and movie. Her attorney, Eric Dixon, says arrest warrants were mailed last year to an address at which Mrs Teel hadn’t lived since childhood. However, the mother of five was arrested all the same in front of her children, aged one through ten, and spent the night in the Roosevelt County Detention Centre. She said: ‘My kids are still very emotional. They had to stay with a complete stranger.’ She was released the next day on a $610 bond. The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD and Stephanie Meyer’s novel Twilight both had a due date of October 5, 2010, but Mrs Teel said she couldn’t remember checking them out. However, library records show that both items were checked out in her name. A judge had placed a warrant for her arrest after she failed to show up in court, but records show that the court summons were sent to her childhood address. Now the mother is suing the city, according to UPI. Mr Dixon wrote in the tort claim: ‘Ms Teel and her small children have been traumatized, humiliated, embarrassed, subject to ridicule, and otherwise suffered pain and suffering and other damages as a result of this wrongful arrest.’ The Albuquerque Journal reported that charges against Mrs Teel were dropped earlier this week. We’re glad the charges were dropped because that’s utter ridiculousness, but it’s still horrible she had to spend a night in jail AND spend $610 in bail for some items that weren’t even worth $40!!! Source
Scarlett Johansson Hacker Ordered To Pay Actress $66k For Photo Leak A celebrity serial stalker hacker who hacked into the computers of 50 celebs has had his day in court. A man who hacked the email accounts of celebrities should pay movie star Scarlett Johansson $66,179.46 in compensation, federal prosecutors said. The hacker also should serve 71 months in prison and pay a total of $150,000 in compensation to all his victims, prosecutors said in court papers filed this week. Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Fla., who pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to nine counts of computer hacking, for two years hacked almost daily into email accounts of 50 people in the entertainment industry. Prosecutors want Chaney to compensate some of his victims. In addition to Johansson, they are asking a judge to order him to pay $7,500 to Aguilera; $76,767.35 to Olstead, an actress best known for the TV show “The Secret Life of American Teenager,” and $10,374.59 to Aftra Health Fund. Beware potential hackers, the price of perversion is a high one. Source Images via Wenn
R. Kelly is suffering from a mysterious “health emergency” , that has caused the singer to cancel an event in New York this evening. Via TMZ reports : We spoke with Kelly’s rep … who tells us the singer has officially postponed tonight’s R. Kelly Book Launch event in NYC “due to a health emergency that has sidelined Mr. Kelly in Chicago.” The rep adds, “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.” Kelly’s people tell us … “Initial indications are that he is suffering from complications from surgery he had last year to treat an abscess on his vocal cords.” Besides the book launch party … Kelly has also had to bail on the “Jimmy Fallon Show” and canceled an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show. Kelly’s people note, “It is unclear how long Kelly may be sidelined.” Get well Kellz!
It’s about to be a girl fight! Let’s get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuumble! The infamous bottle bash between Breezy and “Champagne Papi” Drizzy that led to several people leaving NYC club W.i.P injured has allegedly earned them an offer from Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman. They behaved like children in their nightclub brawl in New York, and now they are being offered the chance to fight like real men. Celebrity Boxing Founder’s Damon Feldman has offered Drake and Chris Brown $1 Million dollars each to step into the ring with 24 oz Boxing gloves and Headgear to settle their grudge. “We have promoted 55 Celebrity Fights and this would be the most interesting of all ,” says Feldman. The match, if the pair accept, is set for Saturday August 25 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And here is the zinger: A portion of the proceeds that should lure these two stars into the ring beside their grudge, is that the battle will also help out a charity for abused women. Feldman says that he has left voice mails for both stars reps and waiting for them to return his call. SMH!! Nobody wants to see two punks playing patty cake with each other. But Breezy may get some props if he’s down since the charity is for battered women and we all know… Well nevermind. Maybe they should just donate all of the proceeds to Tony Parker and his unfortunate eye. Would you pay to see Chris and Drizzy in the ring together? Who would you place all your bets on to win the fight? Source
GTFOHWTBS!!! We knew Aubrey O’Day was a dog lover but this is just ridiculous! Via TMZ : Aubrey O’Day is a certified headcase … so says one of her doctors, who issued the reality star an official medical document which allows her to bring her dogs on to an airplane. A rep for Virgin America airlines tells TMZ … the “Celebrity Apprentice” star was cleared to bring her 2 pets into the 1st class section of a flight this week … because they are registered as “Emotional Support Animals.” So how does one get emotional support animal clearance? Ya gotta have a doctor write a letter … stating you have mental issues. According to the Virgin America website, the airline requires the passenger to produce a letter from a licensed mental health professional which substantiates the guest’s disability-related need for the animal to accompany them in the aircraft cabin. V.A. claims the letter must state that the passenger “has a mental health-related disability” … and that having the animal accompany the passenger is necessary for his or her mental health. The nature of O’Day’s mental health issue is unclear. We called the starlet for comment. O’Day tweeted pics of the dogs enjoying themselves on the flight to San Francisco … and the V.A. rep tells us she was “incredibly sweet and polite” … and nothing short of a “great guest.” Check out lots of Aubrey’s flight related tweets and photos below.
What in the entire f***?!??! Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are being sued by the wackjob who holds the Guinness book of world records as the most litigious man in the world. Jonathan Lee Riches filed the lawsuit in Northern District of West Virginia on June 21 citing that he stumbled upon a secret Al-Qaeda terrorist meeting where he saw Kim, Kanye, Kris Jenner, Bruce Jenner, Khloe and Kourtney. Riches has stated that he discovered all of the defendants at an Al-Qaeda secret training camp in West Virginia on June 17 where they were allegedly pleading their allegiance to the organization, burning the U.S. flag and stomping on pictures of President Barack Obama. Now we don’t buy all that but the lawsuit is definitely legit. We were able to get the actual copy of the suit itself. The suit gets into details which includes Kanye West selling Air Yeezy 2′s to fund Al-Qaeda. Check out the official copies of the lawsuit below. This has to be the ultimate troll! While Kanye might like to dress up like a Jihadi couture ninja in his videos and Kim may hold weapons of mass destruction in her pants, we heavily doubt these two have teamed up with Al-Qaeda. However, we have a feeling they are still planning total world domination. Source
She like that young meat A high school cheerleading coach pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged sexual encounter with an Indiana high school basketball player. Megan Crafton, 22, a part-time assistant cheerleading coach in Shelbyville, allegedly admitted to police that she performed “ mouth hugs ” on the 17-year-old boy in her car in a supermarket parking lot in January. But her lawyer claimed after her court appearance Thursday that Crafton didn’t break the law, WISH reported. She’s charged with child seduction, a felony, but in Indiana the age of consent is 16. Authorities counter that they went after her because she works for Shelbyville HIgh School and it’s illegal for adults to have sex with anyone younger than 18 that they supervise or oversee. Crafton’s lawyer asserted that the law doesn’t apply in this case, because as a part-time member of the cheerleading staff, Crafton doesn’t have authority over the teenaged boy. Shelbyville High School officials tipped off police about rumors circulating in the halls that Crafton was involved with a student, Fox News said. Police questioned Crafton about the hanky-panky in February, but only charged her this month. She turned herself in on June 15. The charges carry a potential jail term of three years. Her trial is scheduled for September 24. The victim suffered further harm the following day when his arm was injured from receiving too many high fives. Source
