May 25 2012 05:39 PM ET

Jenna Jameson arrested for suspected DUI

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Former adult film star Jenna Jameson has been arrested in Southern California for investigation of driving under the influence after she struck a light pole with her vehicle.

Police say Jameson had driven her vehicle into a light pole early Friday in Westminster. She suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment.

A police statement says a field sobriety test was conduct and there were signs of intoxication. Jameson was booked and later cited and released.

A statement issued by her website says Jameson is home and well but has no immediate comment.

Jameson crossed into the mainstream after publishing a popular autobiography in 2004. She has twin sons with mixed martial arts star Tito Ortiz, who two years ago claimed Jameson was addicted to the painkiller Oxycontin.

Read more:
‘American Idol’ alum Brooke White welcomes a baby girl
Keira Knightley engaged
Doc Watson in critical condition after fall

May 25 2012 12:54 PM ET

'American Idol' alum Brooke White welcomes a baby girl

American Idol Season 7 finalist Brooke White, 28, gave birth to a daughter, London, on May 24 in a Los Angeles hospital, her rep confirms. The singer tweeted a picture of her child this morning.

Baby London is the first child for White and husband Dave Ray, who wed in 2004.

In recent months, White has continued to make music with songwriter Jack Matranga in the duo Jack and White, whom we revealed in August 2011. They will release a new EP, Undercover, on May 29.

Brooke has also been blogging about her pregnancy on her blog, Brookie Babble.

May 25 2012 11:21 AM ET

Keira Knightley engaged

The publicist for Pirates of the Caribbean star Keira Knightley says the actress is engaged to be married. Publicist Sara Keene Friday confirmed the engagement. She says she does not have further details about the wedding plans.

The Oscar-nominated 27-year-old actress who first won acclaim for her role in Bend It Like Beckham is to marry musician James Righton. He is a keyboardist with the Klaxons band.

The couple started dating early last year.

May 25 2012 09:07 AM ET

Doc Watson in critical condition after fall

Tags: , , Music

Grammy-winning folk musician Doc Watson is in critical condition Friday at a North Carolina hospital after falling at his home in Deep Gap earlier this week. A spokeswoman at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem says Watson remains in critical condition Friday morning. Watson’s daughter, Nancy, told the Associated Press the 89-year-old Watson fell Monday. She said he did not break any bones.

The blind singer and guitarist, whose legal first name is Arthel, has won several Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award. He also received the National Medal of the Arts. He’s known as a master of the flatpicking style of guitar playing. He also started Merlefest, an annual gathering of musicians in North Wilkesboro named after his son, a musician who died in a tractor accident in 1985.

May 24 2012 09:25 AM ET

Facebook lawsuits add to IPO troubles

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Facebook’s initial public offering is the subject of two congressional inquiries and mounting lawsuits as the social network enters its fifth day of public trading. The shares regained some ground Wednesday, rising $1, or 3.2 percent, to close at $32. They were up another 50 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $32.50 in early premarket trading Thursday. But they are still more than 14 percent below their $38 per share IPO price last week.

The stock’s rocky inaugural trading day last Friday was followed by a two-day decline. The launch was held up by a half-hour delay, caused by glitches on the Nasdaq Stock Market. It was marred further this week as investors began accusing the banks that arranged the IPO of sharing important information about Facebook’s business prospects with some clients and not others.

Several shareholders who bought stock in the IPO have filed lawsuits against Facebook, its executives and Morgan Stanley, the IPO’s lead underwriter. At question is whether analysts at the big underwriter investment banks cut their second-quarter and full-year forecasts for Facebook just before the IPO, and told only a handful of clients about it.

One lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, claims Facebook’s IPO documents contained untrue statements and omitted important facts, such as a “severe reduction in revenue growth” that Facebook was experiencing at the time of the offering. The suit’s three plaintiffs, who bought Facebook stock on its first day of trading May 18, claim they were damaged in the process.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Facebook said the lawsuit is without merit.

Another lawsuit, filed in San Mateo County Superior Court in California, claims Facebook and underwriters misled investors in Facebook’s IPO documents. Both lawsuits seek class action status on behalf of investors who bought Facebook stock and lost money on Friday. “No one gets it perfect, as far as saying what the financial results are,” said Anthony Michael Sabino, professor at St. John’s University’s Peter J. Tobin College of Business. The bottom line, he added, is whether Facebook or the underwriter had material information about Facebook’s finances that was not disclosed publicly. “At this moment, it’s still too early to say,” Sabino said. “We don’t know enough, but this could turn out to be an issue.”

What is known is that, in March, Facebook began meeting with analysts at the underwriting firms. The gatherings are a customary part of the IPO process and are designed to help analysts understand the company’s business so they can make accurate financial projections. On May 9, the third day of Facebook’s pre-IPO roadshow to meet with prospective investors, the company filed an amended IPO document that said its number of mobile users was growing faster than its revenue. According to a person familiar with the matter, Facebook then had another meeting with analysts and told them that based on the new information in the filings, the analysts’ forecasts should be at the low end of the range that the company gave them in April. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not publicly authorized to discuss the matter.

Adding to Wednesday’s events, Facebook was in talks with the New York Stock Exchange to move its stock from the Nasdaq Stock Market after the botched offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The news of the talks was first reported by Reuters.

NYSE spokesman Rich Adamonis said: “There have been no discussions with Facebook regarding switching their listing in light of the events of the last week, nor do we think a discussion along those lines would be appropriate at this time.”

A Nasdaq spokesman declined to comment.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said late Wednesday that his panel wants to learn more about the social network’s initial offering. The committee seeks briefings with Facebook representatives, regulatory agencies and others. After the briefings, Johnson said, he will determine whether a hearing should be held.

Also gathering information about Facebook’s IPO is the House Financial Services Committee. An aide to that panel said its staff is getting briefings. The subject is likely to be raised in hearings by the committee in the coming weeks, even though no hearings are planned specifically on the Facebook IPO, the aide said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the House committee’s planned inquiry hasn’t been publicly announced.

May 23 2012 10:15 PM ET

NY black radio-pioneer Hal Jackson dies

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New York radio pioneer Harold Jackson, the first African-American voice on network radio, has died.

A statement on WBLS radio station’s website said Jackson died Wednesday of an undisclosed illness. He was in his 90s.

Jackson began his career in Washington, D.C., as the first African-American play-by-play sports announcer. He moved to New York in the 1950s where he hosted three different radio shows, broadcasting a mix of jazz and conversation with celebrities.

Jackson later co-founded the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, one of the first broadcasting companies wholly owned by blacks. The company acquired WBLS, which pioneered the urban contemporary format. Jackson continued to host a program each week on WBLS.

In 1995, Jackson became the first black person inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

May 23 2012 08:45 PM ET

$18.5M settlement for 'Transformers 3' injury

 The family of a woman left with brain damage after an accident during the filming of Transformers 3 has reached an $18.5 million settlement with Paramount Pictures.

Gabriela Cedillo was working as an extra in 2010 when she was hit in the head by a piece of flying metal during the filming of a stunt sequence in Hammond, Ind. An investigation found a weld connecting a car to a tow cable failed.

Her attorney says the 26-year-old needs constant care. Part of the settlement will be set aside for monthly payments to ensure Cedillo has care for the rest of her life.

Paramount spokesman Robert Lawson says the studio is pleased the family agreed to “move forward with the settlement.” He calls what happened “a tragic accident.”

May 23 2012 05:36 PM ET

'Risky Business' actress Janet Carroll dead at 71

Janet Carroll — best known as Tom Cruise’s mom in Risky Business — has died, Variety reports. The actress succumbed to an an unidentified illness at the age of 71. Caroll’s other big screen credits include Forces of Nature, and Enough. She also appeared on Melrose Place, Scrubs, Brothers & Sisters, and Law & Order: SVU.

Related:
Inventor of TV remote control dead
Coroner: ‘Swamp People’ star died of natural causes
Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes dead

May 23 2012 03:53 PM ET

'American Idol': Phillip Philips to undergo surgery

Phillip Phillips will return home to Georgia after completing publicity duties following tonight’s season 11 finale of American Idol. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter, who suffers from kidney problems, was advised surgery in March after experiencing severe abdominal pain. E! reports that depending on his recovery, Phillips may miss one or two dates at the start of the American Idol tour this summer.

May 23 2012 03:05 PM ET

Jim Parsons comes out

A new interview with Emmy-winning actor Jim Parsons has officially revealed that he is gay. The New York Times’ profile of the Big Bang Theory star mentions Parsons’ sexuality near the end of the article. The profile also reveals that he has been in a relationship for 10 years. Parsons played a gay activist in Broadway’s revival of The Normal Heart last year; he is scheduled to reprise the role in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming film adaptation of the play. Parsons will star in a Broadway revival of Harvey this summer.

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