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Archive: June 2011 (71-80 of 88)

Jun 6 2011 02:41 PM ET

Wesley Snipes' latest appeal rejected by the Supreme Court

Categories: Crime

The Supreme Court has elected not to hear an appeal from Wesley Snipes, the Blade star who was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of tax evasion and began a three-year term in a minimum security prison this December. The Associated Press reports that the court refused Monday to hear an appeal from Snipes, who was trying to get his conviction and sentence overturned. At least now the actor will have plenty of time to perfect his foot cycle technique in the prison yard.

Jun 6 2011 02:24 PM ET

Sean Kingston's condition upgraded

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: Health, Music

Sean Kingston is on his way to recovery following a jet ski crash last week in Miami. The singer’s condition was upgraded to “serious” this morning, and he is now breathing on his own and walking, according to a statement from his publicist.

“Sean Kingston continues to be hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami,” a statement from his rep Joseph Carozza said. “His condition has been upgraded to serious. Sean is breathing on his own and walked for the first time this morning. Sean thanks his friends, family and fans for their outpouring of prayers and well wishes.”

The “Beautiful Girls” singer suffered a broken jaw, fractured wrist, and other injuries after his watercraft crashed into a bridge last Sunday. A female passenger also sustained minor injuries.

Jun 6 2011 09:09 AM ET

Paul McDonald and 'Breaking Dawn' actress Nikki Reed engaged

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: Weddings

After just a few months of dating, American Idol season 10 contestant Paul McDonald and Breaking Dawn actress Nikki Reed are engaged, a source tells E! (via People).

The couple met back in March at the Red Riding Hood premiere and confirmed they were dating in April.

Jun 3 2011 05:14 PM ET

Tony Kushner accepts honorary degree after 'anti-Israel' controversy

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Politics, Stage

Playwright Tony Kushner accepted the honorary degree from the City College of New York that had become a point of controversy several weeks ago when a member of the school’s board of trustees accused the Pulitzer-Prize winner of being “anti-Israel.” The board initially voted to deny Kushner the academic honor, but facing widespread criticism, the decision was reversed, opening the door for Kushner to accept the Doctor of Letters today and address the new graduates of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Calling the degree “the most interesting one I had to work hardest to get,” according to the Associated Press, Kushner, who is married to EW columnist Mark Harris, recognized the supporters who rallied against the accusation that he was an anti-Semite. “Behind [this honor] there stands a shining community of people, of spirits of whom I’m proud to be able to call myself kindred,” he said, “who believe in the necessity of honest exchanges of ideas and opinions, who understand that life is a struggle to synthesize, to find a balance between responsibility and freedom, strategy and truth, survival and ethical humanity.”

Jun 3 2011 02:02 PM ET

James Arness, 'Gunsmoke' actor, dies

by Kate Ward

Categories: In Memoriam

Image Credit: Everett Collection

James Arness, the actor who gave life to Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, has passed away. According to the Los Angeles Times, Arness died of natural causes in Brentwood, Calif., at the age of 88.

The actor helped lead the charge when it came to TV Westerns, appearing in Gunsmoke‘s first episode back in 1955. It would hardly be its last — the show became one of the longest-running in television history, only surpassed by The Simpsons. Even after the show’s cancellation in 1975, Arness appeared in five Gunsmoke movies, with Gunsmoke: One Man’s Justice being his last project. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 3 2011 09:42 AM ET

Controversial doctor Jack Kevorkian dies

by Kate Ward

Categories: In Memoriam

Image Credit: Lennox McLendon/AP Images

The Detroit Free Press has reported that controversial doctor Jack Kevorkian passed away Friday at the age of 83. He died following struggles with his heart and kidney.

Kevorkian, who has been nicknamed “Dr. Death,” was an advocate for assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, and even helped over one hundred terminally ill patients in the 1990s end their lives. As one could imagine, this practice wasn’t embraced by all: Kevorkian found himself convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 — and lost his medical license — after a 60 Minutes segment featuring him euthanizing a patient aired on CBS. (Authorities had previously attempted to try him four separate times, but the trials resulted in acquittals and mistrials.)

His story, however, was still of interest ten years later. After Kevorkian was freed in 2007, Al Pacino played the embattled doctor in an HBO movie, You Don’t Know Jack. Pacino also picked up an Emmy win for his work, and thanked the “brilliant and interesting” Kevorkian, who was sitting in the audience.

Jun 3 2011 07:58 AM ET

Pink gives birth to baby girl

by Kate Ward

Categories: Celebrity Babies!

Raise your glasses: Pink is officially a mom. One day after tweeting a mysterious message about starting “something new,” the singer followed up with a tweet Thursday saying she had delivered a baby girl, named Willow Sage Hart. “We are ecstatic to welcome our new beautiful healthy happy baby girl, Willow Sage Hart,” she wrote. “She’s gorgeous, just like her daddy. #beyondblessed”

This is her first child with husband Carey Hart.

Jun 2 2011 05:36 PM ET

Camille Grammer seeking custody of children with Kelsey Grammer

by Adam B. Vary

Categories: Breaking up is hard to do, Lawsuits, Television

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Camille Grammer is filing for primary custody of her two young children with ex-husband Kelsey Grammer, People is reporting. Her action comes a month after Kelsey also filed seeking primary custody; in her filing, Camille, 42, alleged Kelsey, 56, was trying to “create a false impression to the media and to wrongfully disparage [her].”

Jun 2 2011 04:06 PM ET

False alarm: Lindsay Lohan's ankle bracelet set off

by Kate Ward

Categories: Crime, Misc.

Lindsay Lohan’s electric monitoring bracelet set off Monday — but don’t worry about the actress. The alarm went off due to a malfunction, according to her lawyer. Shawn Chapman Holley issued the following statement Thursday: “Lindsay’s electronic monitoring system went off on Monday. When a representative from the monitoring company went to her home, the representative found Lindsay there. The equipment was replaced the following day.”

Lohan is currently serving house arrest for violating her probation after being accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace at a Venice, Calif., jewelry shop. She pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor theft charge last month.

Jun 2 2011 12:03 PM ET

Billy Bob Thornton's daughter found guilty of manslaughter in toddler's death

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Crime

Amanda Brumfield, the 32-year-old daughter of Billy Bob Thornton, was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter in the death of her best friend’s 1-year-old child, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Olivia Madison Garcia died in Oct. 2008 from a skull fracture that Brumfield claimed was a result of an accidental fall from a playpen. In a trial that lasted less than a week, the prosecution convinced a jury that the child’s skull injury was not compatible with Brumfield’s explanation, though the accused was found not guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse. She will be sentenced for manslaughter in July.