Sierra LaMar, a 15-year-old Northern California high school cheerleader who disappeared in March, is believed to have been murdered , and Antolin Garcia-Torres has been arrested in connection with the crime, police say. LaMar, who was last seen on the way to the bus stop, is believed to have been kidnapped by Garcia-Torres, according to authorities who arrested him. “We believe this is the worst kind of crime – a stranger abduction of a young girl,” Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters Tuesday. Deepening the mystery is the fact that the body of Sierra LaMar has not been found and authorities have not said how or when she was killed. Smith says only that police have “strong facts” LaMar was murdered. In any case, Antolin Garcia-Torres, 21, was arrested Monday at a Safeway supermarket in Morgan Hill, Calif., 70 miles southeast of San Francisco. He was booked for investigation of murder and kidnapping based on evidence that included DNA, says Smith, who did not elaborate any further. At the news conference, Sierra’s mother begged Garcia-Torres to “come forward and say where she is, and end this nightmare for us as a family.” Garcia-Torres’ sister says police have arrested the wrong man. “It’s not him,” Lucero Garcia tells the San Jose Mercury News in response to the arrest. “It feels like we’re in a movie right now, an unfair movie.”
She’s got looks, class, brains and Olympic-level talent. Lolo Jones still can’t land a steady boyfriend, however. Jones, whose real first name is Lori, has been looking online, but she admitted on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that she hasn’t had too much luck . The biggest detriment, she says? Her virginity. Lolo Jones Behind the Scenes “It’s something, a gift I want to give my husband,” the 29-year-old hurdler says. “This journey has been hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” “Harder than training for the Olympics. Harder than studying for college has been staying a virgin before marriage. I’ve been tempted.” She says she’s even considered its impact on her sport: “I’ve had guys tell me … ‘Hey, you know, if you have sex, it’ll help you run faster.'” Lolo Jones didn’t buy that suggestions, she says, despite how much she wants that gold medal. She then says, “If you marry me, then yeah.”
When Jersey Shore returns this summer, it’ll be a very different Situation. Now on the road to recovery, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is opening up for the first time about his stint in rehab earlier this year in an interview. He comes clean in the sit-down about the root of his problems . “My addiction was prescription painkillers. At first, I thought it gave me energy, helped me,” he tells MTV. “Being in this business is not easy. I made a mistake by picking a substance over what I previously chose, which is fitness.” Mike adds that he never had a problem with alcohol or cocaine and even says he was barely drunk on the show … a dubious claim, but still. “You can’t get girls if you can’t speak to them,” Situation says. Mike says despite some of their epic fights, the cast has all been supportive: “At the end of the day, all the kids care for each other,” he says. Sitch says he will be back this summer and fist pumping like a fiend at Karma. As for his pregnant co-star, Snooki’s getting her own house . [Photo: WENN.com]
ABC’s new reality singing show puts seasoned superstars onstage with amateur singers. By Christina Garibaldi Kelly Clarkson Photo: MTV News At first glance, “Duets” may just seem like another reality singing competition, but the new ABC show couldn’t be more different. Because this time, the superstars are not behind a judging panel, but onstage with the contestants. The show, which premieres Thursday (May 24), pits pop star Kelly Clarkson , Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles and R&B crooners Robin Thicke and John Legend against one another as they pair up with two amateur singers, whom they found before the show. Each week the stars will battle it out, duet style, in front of a live audience to ultimately win the grand prize for the amateur singer: a recording contract with Hollywood Records. “I basically just found my two people on my own,” Kelly Clarkson told MTV News recently at an event announcing ABC’s fall lineup. “[Robin] found them a completely different way and John found his a completely different way, it’s kind of really random, but it’s cool though.” Going into the competition, Clarkson figured she had a slight advantage given her experience on “American Idol,” which she won during the first season. But as soon as cameras started rolling for “Duets,” she realized she had her work cut out for her. “It’s a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of work,” Clarkson admitted. “I totally thought I had a one-up from ‘Idol’ … It is way harder.” “I’m just going to try and do kind of what I did on ‘Idol’ and hopefully that will help my people,” Clarkson said. “It’s not really as much up to us, the stars on the show, it’s more for the kids that really just need to make sure they are bringing their A-game every week.” Are you excited for “Duets”? Let us know in the comments. Related Artists Kelly Clarkson
One-time Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail for his role in the suicide of his former roommate, Tyler Clementi. Ravi was found guilty of invasion of privacy and hate crimes in March. The 20-year-old did not speak at his sentencing this morning. He will begin serving jail time May 31. Ravi cried as his mother spoke in court. “The media was ripping him apart with their misleading facts … He was absolutely devastated and broken into pieces,” Sabitha Ravi pleaded. “I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi,” Judge Glenn Berman told the packed courtroom in announcing his decision. “He had no reason to.” “But, I do believe he acted out of colossal insensitivity.” Dharun Ravi was convicted of bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering arrest and numerous other charges in connection with the case. This all stemmed from his role in using a webcam to observe Clementi’s date with a man in their dorm room in 2010, then Tweeting about it. Ravi (above, left) Tweeted about what he’d witnessed and invited others to watch Clementi (above, right) make out with his male love interest. That man’s name has not been revealed. Prosecutors said Ravi was motivated by a hatred. Ravi consistently has denied hatred of gays . In any case, Tyler Clementi killed himself. He jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010, after leaving a note on Facebook reading, “Jumping off the gw bridge. Sorry.” He was 18. In the days leading up to his sentencing, several prominent gay activists made public pleas for Ravi not to be sent to prison, reports ABC News. But the man captured on the webcam with Tyler Clementi did not agree. His attorney, Richard Pompelio, read his statement in court Monday. It said, “While I bear no anger towards Mr. Ravi, after much thought and many sleepless nights, I must say that Mr. Ravi should serve some type of confinement so that he can reflect on the serious harm he has caused.” “I do not believe that he has taken responsibility for his conduct, and to this day he seems to blame me for the actions he took.” Tyler’s father, Joseph Clementi, also said of Ravi: “He had no call to do what he did. Tyler never did anything to Mr. Ravi to cause him harm.” Ravi’s actions, said Joseph Clementi, were purely as a result of his seeing Tyler “as someone not deserving basic human decency and respect.” “All because my son was different from him [and] because he was gay.” In her own message, Jane Clementi, Tyler’s mom, called Ravi’s actions “mean-spirited, they are evil and, most important, they are against the law.” Before trial, Ravi had rejected a plea deal that would have placed him on probation and required community service – and spared him any time behind bars or the threat of deportation to his native India. He chose instead to face a jury. It’s unclear if he faces immigration issues after his 30-day sentence is complete. What do you think? Does he deserve to spend time in jail?
Desmond Hatchett, a 33-year-old Knoxville, Tenn., resident, appeared in court this week to ask the state for child-support help, Memphis’ WREG TV reported. When you have 30 kids (yep, 3-0, or thirty), those bills do pile up. That total is believed to be the record in Knox county, according to reports and have been born by 11 different women. His youngest are toddlers; his oldest is 14. Desmond Hatchett Seeks Child Support Help Hatchett reportedly asked the court to give him a break on his payments, claiming that he’s struggling to make ends meet with his minimum-wage job. Currently, the state requires him to divide 50 percent of his earnings among the 11 women, and he does, but some receive as little as $1.49 a month. How did Hatchett come to father so many children? He said he didn’t plan on it, but it just happened. Sure. He also revealed one dubious feat: “I had four kids in the same year. Twice,” he told Volunteer TV in 2009, adding that he was “done” having kids (he had only 21 at the time). Hatchett, who may want to consider the cost-benefit analysis of condoms, does not face any legal action because he has broken no laws.
Philadelphia band gets an assist from Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams on standout new album, in Bigger Than the Sound. By James Montgomery mewithoutYou’s Ten Stories cover art Photo: Pine Street In September 2009, Hayley Williams gave me a tour of her home in Franklin, Tennessee. It wasn’t the usual kind of rock-star pad, for about a million reasons (there were a lot of “I Love Lucy” Barbie dolls), most notably what was playing on her Michael Jackson turntable at the time: a copy of mewithoutYou’s It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright. I only mention it now for a couple of reasons: One, it led to the first — and, to this day, only — conversation I’ve ever had with someone about mewithoutYou (they aren’t exactly what you’d call a “unifying” band), and two, because as luck would have it, they have a new album out Tuesday (May 15), Ten Stories, which features Williams on a pair of tracks and is probably the best thing they’ve ever done. Or at least the most recent. That’s the thing about mewithoutYou, who, in case you aren’t aware (and you probably aren’t), hail from Philadelphia, have been making albums for a decade now (in between losing members to grad school/ their frontman threatening to quit and donate all his possessions to the poor ) and have fashioned a sort of anti-career out of coming dangerously close to success, only to veer away at the last possible second (usually into an embankment or something): They are not exactly an easy band to like. Or pin down. Wait, that didn’t come out right. What I meant to say is that they are a challenging band to like. And an impossible one to pin down. Which is, I suppose, why I only know two people who are actually fans. Their first two albums, 2002’s [A→B] Life and ’04’s Catch for Us the Foxes, were careening, crashing exercises in sheer volume (I think the kids called it “post-hardcore”), the latter of which featured the sorta-single “January 1979,” brought them a fair amount of mainstream attention and was, according to me at least, one of the best rock records of the past decade . They started wandering off the leaden path with ’06’s Brother, Sister and then fully embraced lead singer Aaron Weiss’ spiritual voyages (and Sufi mysticisms) on It’s All Crazy, ditching the wattage in favor of hushed tones and a genuine grace. Of course, they also thoroughly confused what remained of their core fanbase in the process, but that was almost beside the point. Because with Ten Stories (which, in true mwY fashion, features 11 tracks), they’ve made it clear that they’re never going to be the same roaring act they were in the early aughts. Instead, they seem to have stumbled into a kind of beatific balance: Sure, they still call songs stuff like “Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume” and “Grist for the Malady Mill,” and, yes, on occasion Weiss still sings/shouts/spouts like a freegan preacherman, but there is a honed focus to the album, a willful maturity and a confidence that only comes when bands realize they can pack as much of a punch with instrumentation as opposed to sheer volume. Part of this was probably inevitable, of course, but it bears mention that Ten Stories draws thematic inspiration from a book Weiss read about a circus-train crash in Montana (hey, why not?) and as such earns the distinction of not only being their most cohesive record, but the first where they don’t seem all that concerned with converting the masses (sample quote from Weiss, circa the Brother, Sister album: “I want to tell people God is love. That’s my eternal, unchanging reality”). Instead, this time out, they just seem content. And that’s exactly where they should be. From the pastoral guitar work of “Cardiff Giant” and the plaintive drift of “Aubergine” to the woozy dramatics of “Bear’s Vision of St. Agnes” and blooming surge of album closer “All Circles,” Ten Stories is very much an album born out of quiet confidence, of willful resignation. Sure, Weiss is still on his lifelong spiritual quest — on “East Enders Wives,” he keens, “I’m still counting on you like an invisible rosary” — but he’s mellowed significantly as the decade has worn on, perhaps finally finding some semblance of inner peace. They even manage to weave Williams into the mix with startling restraint (she is unquestionably the biggest name they’ve ever collaborated with, unless you could Sunny Day Real Estate’s Jeremy Enigk): Her voice is less of a main attraction as it is an additional instrument, another part of the sonic flourish. It’s a truly great album — the kind only a group like mewithoutYou could make, and only at this point in their career (or whatever you want to call it). Call it maturity, if you want to, I prefer to think of it as artistic growth: an accomplished, beautiful record from an equally accomplished (if not severely overlooked) band. But who knows, with Ten Stories, that last bit might change. Hey, Hayley Williams is on it. What do you think of mewithoutYou’s latest music? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos Bigger Than The Sound: Stories Behind The Bands Related Artists Mewithoutyou
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Have Dinner in London With Jay-Z, Rita Ora, Rob Kardashian Of course they were all photographed “semi-separately,” but Kim Kardashian and Kanye West hit up Zuma restaurant for dinner in London where Jay-Z , Rita Ora, and Rob Kardashian happen to be as well. Kim is kickin it with Yeezy and Jay for their European tour, so expect to see more pics of them “elsewhere in the world.” Peep more pics on the flippy.
Friends Say Mary Kennedy Driven To Drugs/Suicide By Philandering Husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Kennedy “curse” strikes again, but in this case we’re inclined to think the curse has more to do with the Kennedy men’s cheating ways . Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s estranged wife, Mary, who battled her husband’s rumored philandering by turning to alcohol and prescription drugs, hanged herself in a barn on their Westchester estate yesterday, sources told The Post. The 52-year-old mother of four — the latest victim of a family dynasty cursed with tragedies — may have taken her own life because she was haunted by her broken marriage, her friends lamented. “She was deeply troubled, abusing alcohol and prescription meds,” a close family friend said. “She had cause. She was used up and tossed away by Bobby. That was awful.” Bedford police responded at 1:36 p.m. to a report of a “possible unattended death” — meaning there were no witnesses — at the estate. After authorities arrived, they cut her down and tried to revive her. She was found by a housekeeper, ABC News reported. Mary was found “inside an out-building on that property,” police said in a statement. She left behind a note, and none of her children were home at the time, sources said. The Kennedy family dealt stoically with the latest in the long line of shocking deaths. “We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her,” the family said in a statement. “Our heart goes out to her children, who she loved without reservation. We have no further comment at this time.” A grim-faced RFK Jr. showed up at the house at around 8 p.m. The third of 11 children of former US Sen., Attorney General and presidential candidate Robert Francis Kennedy, he married Mary Richardson in 1994, one month after his first marriage ended following 12 years. The ceremony took place aboard a research vessel on the Hudson River, a fitting spot for the couple, who were environmental advocates. A family friend said Mary had known the Kennedy clan long before she married Bobby, and had been a close pal of his sister — also named Mary, but known as Kerry — since they were 15-year-olds. “She had grown up with the Kennedy family, having been Kerry’s best friend since they were teenagers,” the friend said. The marriage broke down amid reports of her addiction and rumors of his involvement with other women. “She knew Bobby her whole life, and now he rejected her. Tragic,” the family friend said. Kennedy, 58, filed for divorce on May 12, 2010, two days after Mary called police to complain about her husband — but she appeared “visibly intoxicated” when officers arrived, according to police reports. As of yesterday, the divorce was not finalized, TMZ.com reported. But Kennedy has since been dating actress Cheryl Hines, sources said. A day after the divorce filing, Bedford police were again called to the home because of a report of a “domestic incident” in which Mary was reportedly drunk. Two days later, she was charged with driving under the influence when she was caught speeding down the Taconic State Parkway. Her license was suspended. Ethel Kennedy, her mother-in-law, sent a handwritten letter, seeking leniency and calling Mary a “kind, loving and generous person.” Cops confirmed then that they had been called to the estate several times in the previous years. Mary’s close friend pointed to the strain of her 18-year marriage. “She was lovely. She always looked out for you,” she said, but added, “She did not have it easy, being Bobby’s wife. “I remember being seated at a dinner next to Bobby around 10 years ago that she was also at — it was the first time I had met either of them — and he put his hand on my thigh under the table. We hadn’t even spoken but to say hello. He is such a dog that way.” The friend, who requested anonymity, alluded to the problems of other women who have married into the fabled clan: “Like all Kennedy wives, she was expected to tow the line. Stay quiet, take care of the kids, tolerate the affairs and look happy. She took solace in yoga and meditation.” Still, the philandering took “a terrible toll,” the source said, adding, “He got all the glory, and she got no acknowledgment for what she did: holding it all together at home.” Kennedy rarely spoke about his private life, but opened up to Oprah Winfrey in a 2007 interview. “Pretty soon after my dad died” — referring to his father’s assassination in 1968 — “I started taking drugs,” he said. After overcoming his addiction he became an environmental advocate. Mary, who had worked as an architect before her marriage, took up the same environmental causes and tried to turn the Bedford estate into a showcase, according to her friend. “She was a gentle soul. She was very proud of how she had turned their family home into the truly greenest/eco-friendly home ever,” she said. The friend said Mary took over caring for the two children from her husband’s first marriage — and then raised four of her own. “Like so many parents of Kennedy kids, she was dealing with a wild bunch,” she said. “The kids were always getting into scrapes, and Mary was forever rescuing them.” It sounds like this woman had an incredibly hard life. 18 years of marriage to someone who doesn’t treat you right can’t be easy and it sounds like she had her hands full with the kids. R.I.P. Mary Source
After Monday left Katherine Jenkins in a world of hurt – physically and mentally – many assumed this Dancing With the Stars results show would be her last. Not the case! She needed both a doctor’s attention and Mark Ballas’ reassurances following her misstep and injury, but Jenkins survived despite her last-place finish. That sounds worse than it was – the judges barely criticized her, and her last-place score was just three points out of the lead – but it was still a surprise. “It’s something I’ll just power through,” the Welsh opera singer said of her back injury. “And actually, jumping up and down now I think I hit it again.” “I was so excited I just forgot about it.” Those celebration injuries can be rough. Who will join her to vie for the title? And which frontrunner was sent home with a disappointing fourth-place finish? Find out after the jump … Joining Jenkins in the finals will be William Levy, whose sexy looks and smooth moves have him winning votes in his sleep, along with NFL star Donald Driver. That means Maria Menounos, despite a first-place score of 59 (!) and despite three-time winner Derek Hough as a partner, will be watching from the sidelines. “I learned so many things,” the Extra host said afterward, exiting with the class you’d expect. “I learned how strong I was. I learned to persevere.” “It’s been an amazing season,” Derek added. “And I’ve loved, loved dancing with this woman… She’s not just a champion of dancing, but a champion of life.” But it’s Donald, William and Katherine who will be free-styling for the Mirror Ball next week! Did Maria deserve to go? And who do you think will win it all? Vote in our dueling Dancing With the Stars surveys below: Did Maria deserve to go? Who will win?
