Search Results for: Thursday

Los Angeles – California’s attorney general has urged the judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case to reject a bid by the pop star to remove the Santa Barbara County prosecutor’s office from the case. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer called the request “baseless” and said it was premised on “conjecture and unfounded speculation.” Jackson’s lawyers allege that District Attorney Tom Sneddon is “blinded by his zeal to convict Michael Jackson,” creating a conflict of interest that would prevent Jackson from receiving a fair trial. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to child molestation, conspiracy and administering an intoxicating agent,… Read more »

Since his retirement, Jay-Z says he’s been courted by several labels. But not only to rap: They want to give the Jiggaman an executive position, and one such position could be the president of Def Jam Records. For the last few weeks, rumors have been running rampant that Jay will soon take the job, which is second in command to Def Jam CEO LA Reid. Some say the deal will be finalized in less than a week. Jay does acknowledge that he’s been getting offers, but says he hasn’t accepted anything yet. “It’s just talks in the air right now,”… Read more »

John Mellencamp hasn’t appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards since the mid-1980s, but the singer says the right cause will bring him to Sunday’s live telecast in Miami. “I’m going to talk about freedom of speech and protest songs,” the Bloomington musician said Thursday. “And then I’m introducing Outkast.” Mellencamp will join younger stars such as Usher, Jessica Simpson and Dave Chappelle on the program, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on the cable network. An MTV spokesman wouldn’t reveal what song Outkast plans to perform. The hip-hop duo, nominated for five awards, has recorded songs titled… Read more »

Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc. are not legally responsible for the swapping of copyright content through their file-sharing software, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday in a blow to movie studios and record labels. Among other things, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the suppliers of the free peer-to-peer software, unlike Napster, were not liable for copyright infringement because they don’t have central servers where computer users can access copyrighted material. “In the context of this case, the software design is of great import,” Judge Sidney R. Thomas wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel, which… Read more »

After you’ve disrobed Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl, and presumably disrobed Cameron Diaz someplace, can you really go back to being just one of the boys? For Justin Timberlake, the answer is no, per a report in the new People magazine. Timberlake “doesn’t want any part” of a planned ‘N Sync reunion, a source says in People. “Justin said he’s not in the mood and doesn’t think it will work,” the spy tells the magazine. ‘N Sync, with the Backstreet Boys, the leading boy band of the teen-pop explosion of the late 1990s/early 2000s, has been on hiatus since… Read more »

Last winter, Vans Warped tour founder Kevin Lyman attended the Consumer Electronics Show to learn more about setting up backstage wireless Internet connections. The connections he made, however, were of a different type. Technology companies, eager to tap into the Warped tour’s young, tech-savvy fan base, have jumped on board as tour partners or sponsors. The 10th annual roadshow kicked off June 25 in Houston with a lineup including such bands as Bad Religion, Good Charlotte, NOFX, Thursday, New Found Glory, Simple Plan, The Vandals and Taking Back Sunday. The tour’s extensive sponsor list includes Memorex, Samsung, Cingular Wireless, Apple… Read more »

Arthur Kane, original bass guitarist for the 1970s-era punk rock group New York Dolls, has died of complications related to leukemia. He was 55. Kane died Tuesday after being admitted to a Los Angeles hospital and diagnosed with leukemia, said band manager Darren Hill. “He didn’t even know,” Hill said Thursday. “It wasn’t until he went into the hospital that afternoon that they diagnosed that.” The New York native had been suffering from severe flu-like symptoms for several days, forcing him to back out of a July 11 reunion show in Manchester, England, Hill said. In a statement on behalf… Read more »

The judge in Courtney Love’s drug possession case set a July 23 hearing date Thursday on prosecutors’ request to have her bail set at $40,000. Prosecutors asked for the bail after Love failed to appear in downtown Los Angeles last Friday for arraignment in another case in which she is accused of hitting a woman with a bottle. Love’s attorney, Michael Rosenstein, said outside court Thursday that Love, 40, remains hospitalized in New York City. “She will 100 percent be back voluntarily before the jurisdiction to face any and all charges against her,” he said. “She’ll be back as soon… Read more »

The age limit for “American Idol” contenders has been raised, but not by much. Two years has been added to the maximum age for the talent competition, which had been 26, Fox TV said Thursday. The minimum is 16. Prompting the change: The fact that so many impressive people older than previously allowed had to be turned away, said Fox programming chief Gail Berman. “I’m sure there are people who are tremendously talented above that but we’re talking about people who hope to have pop careers afterward,” Berman told the Television Critics Association. Auditions for the fourth season begin Aug.… Read more »

After being hospitalized in New York on Friday, Courtney Love was released Monday night, only to be transferred to another facility. A diagnosis of her ailment has yet to be disclosed, and a warrant remains outstanding for her arrest. On Friday, police were called to Love’s apartment in SoHo after receiving complaints that she was throwing bottles from her window. A police officer at the scene told reporters that the singer had told him she had an abortion the previous day (Love herself had told reporters at her last New York court date that she was pregnant). Later that same… Read more »