Celebrities React to Etta James’ Death

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Etta James touched the world with her powerful voice and timeless music. Many of the artists she inspired took to Twitter to share their sadness and pay respect to the iconic singer, who died of complications from leukemia at the age of 73. From Beyoncé’s touching tribute to JoJo and Jessie J’s endearing words to a grateful Flo Rida’s thank you, the stars praised the late legend. Read their heartfelt messages below.

 Mariah Carey: Rest in peace to one of the world’s most influential singers Etta James, you will be missed.

Christina Aguilera: Etta James was a force to be reckoned with. A true gift to music and a woman of great spirit and courage. Her raw tone and the passion she put forth on a record spoke to me at a very young age and has continued to influence and inspire me throughout my career. She will NEVER be forgotten, her voice will forever live on and she will inspire talent for generations to come.

Keri Hilson: Rest In Peace, Etta James.

Kelly Rowland: CLASSIC. ONE OF A KIND. PURE SOUL. ETTA JAMES! Thank You for gracing us with your incredible talent & presence!

Rihanna: #DearEtta may you rest in peace.

JoJo: Wow wow wow. We lost a legend today. #RIPETTAJAMES … she is one of the reasons I sing today. Major major inspiration. Peace be with you.

will.i.am: Showing respect appreciation and love for all the wonderful music and joy #ettajames brought to the world…#ettajamesforever

Flo Rida: I’m deeply saddened by the passing of the Great Etta James and I will be forever grateful for the gift she Blessed me with.

Lady Gaga: Tonight I will have one whole quart of brandy for Etta.

Justin Bieber: RIP to the great Etta James

Jessie J: Just been told the legend that is Etta James has passed. Thank you for your voice your dedication to us and your gift. Your voice is timeless and will forever live on. I will always look to you for inspiration. R.I.P ❤

Mya: R.I.P. ETTA JAMES

Anthony Hamilton: Etta James helped pioneer the heartbeat of a new generation w/ a musical style that allowed people 2 feel outside the box. She’ll be missed.

Jay Electronica: …got the rap game singing “at last” like #EttaJames.

Rico Love: Rest in peace Etta James….. #TTLO

Nick Cannon: RIP Etta James

Pink: RIP to the late and great Etta James. Your voice and your fight inspired me and many. I love that through recordings, people can live forever.

Diddy: RIP Etta James

Lil’ Kim: #RIPEttaJames

Marsha Ambrosius: R.I.P Etta James

?uestlove: rip tp Etta James. i will hold the torch high for The Roots name in your honor.

Dawn Richard: I sing the songs that people need to hear. Etta James RIP ETTA JAMES…. you will be missed.. your music touched millions…

Azealia Banks: R.I.P Etta James. 😦 ….. I got into LaGuardia singing “At Last”.

Toni Braxton: Rest in peace to the wonderful legend Etta James

Jazmine Sullivan: R.I.P Etta James

Melody Thornton: The music world has lost 1 of the best vocalists ever and at only 73 yrs old. #sadday bless her soul and RIP Etta James

Modern Day Titanic!!!! Ship Aground off Italy; 3 Bodies Found, 69 Missing

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Via Associated Press

Survivors from a luxury cruise ship that ran aground and tipped over, leaving at least three dead and 69 people still unaccounted for, described Saturday a chaotic evacuation, as plates and glasses crashed and they crawled along upended hallways trying to reach safety.

Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water.

The ANSA news agency quoting the prefect’s office in the province of Grosseto as saying that authorities have accounted for 4,165 of the 4,234 people who had boarded the liner.

By morning Saturday, the ship was lying virtually flat off Gigio’s coast, its starboard side submerged in the water and the huge gash showing clearly on its upturned hull.

Passengers described a scene reminiscent of “Titanic”, complaining the crew failed to give instructions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released.

Helicopters plucked to safety some people who were trapped on the ship, some survivors were rescued by boats in the area, and witnesses said some people jumped from the ship into the dark, cold sea. Coast guard rescuers were continuing to search the ship for passengers.

Iraq War Vet Captures LA County Sheriff Deputy Punching Special Needs Woman In The Face (VIDEO)

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Veteran Germaine Reed was on the bus in Los Angeles when he captured some disturbing footage on his cell phone.

Reed, recently home after serving six tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, recorded a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy punching a woman with special needs. After the deputy realized that he was being recorded, he tried to intimidate him in to turning over his cell phone by threatening to search for warrants. Reed, confident in his clean record and knowing that the law officials would try to cover it up, refused to do.

See the shocking video below:

Mom Forces Teen Son to Wear Sign of His Crimes In Public

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After Dynesha Lax’s 14-year-old received a slap on the wrist for various crimes, she decided to take the law into her own hands.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana teen was ordered by his mother to stand on a busy street for two hours with the following sign hanging around his neck:

“I lie, I steal, I sell drugs, I don’t follow the law.”

“I decided he broke the law and they only gave him a few hours community service so I decided that we were going to wear a sign that says you looking for attention, we’re going to get you attention,” Lax told KLTV.

The frustrated mother says that her son has committed various felonies and the court system is more concerned with making money off of his crimes that rehabilitating him:

“What else more can I do?” said Lax. “They put him on probation and when they did probation they were quick to talk about the 300 some dollars you have to pay in fees, but nobody’s trying to help me fix my son.”

Shocked drivers called the police who brushed off the incident by saying that Lax was well within her rights to put her son on display:

“I’m hoping that having him out here is going to make it sink in,” said Lax. “It wasn’t for it to be a joke or anything funny. He just had to stand out here two hours and suddenly it blew up. Then again they’ve got their way of parenting and I’ve got mine. My object is to save my son.”

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Beyonce Gives Birth To a Baby Girl

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Via Billboard Music

Beyonce Knowles and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, two of  America’s biggest musical artists, have welcomed their first  child together.

The 30-year-old pop singer gave birth to a baby girl late last night (Jan. 7) in NYC, according to The Houston Chronicle. The baby girl’s     name is Ivy Blue Carter!   E! Online News reports that although “the couple’s reps have not immediately responded to calls seeking     comment,” the proud dad is telling his friends that his and Bey’s baby girl’s name is Blue Ivy Carter.

Rumors that Beyonce and Jay-Z were ready to welcome their first child swarmed the Internet on Wednesday (Dec. 28) after reports ran that a celebrity patient was about to check in at  St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

Music mogul Russell Simmons also confirmed the arrival of the bundle of joy, tweeting “congrats to my good friends Beyonce and Jay-Z.”

A very pregnant Beyoncé had checked into the upper East Side hospital on Friday night under the name “Ingrid Jackson,” a hospital staffer told the Daily News.,

On Saturday night, people were seen bringing bags of takeout and a dozen bottles of red wine onto the heavily guarded hospital wing.

After 11 p.m., even doctors and nurses were barred from entering the fourth floor, prompting one doc to complain that he had patients to see.

In an effort to keep images from leaking to the public, hospital workers placed tape over security cameras and are forcing employees to turn in cell phones when they arrive for their shifts, a source said.

Several security guards were spotted patrolling the perimeter of the hospital Saturday night.

A Lenox Hill staffer confirmed that a patient named Ingrid Jackson was in a “labor room.”

According to  MediaTakeOut, a “celebrity VIP” had  reserved half of the labor and delivery floor at the hospital  on Wednesday. Beyonce’s pal Alicia Keys reportedly gave birth  to her first son, Egypt, at the same hospital last year

Beyonce announced her pregnancy on Aug. 28 on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards, hours before performing her  joyful single, “Love on Top.” The announcement came exactly two months after the release of “4,” Beyonce’s fourth solo album,   which has sold 1.04 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Earlier that month, Jay-Z released “Watch The Throne,” a collaborative album with   Kanye West.
Following the pregnancy announcement, Beyonce released a  series of music videos supporting “4,” including clips for  “Countdown,” “Party” and “Love on Top,” as well as a DVD  showcasing her four performances at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in August. Jay-Z and Beyonce were originally believed     to be expecting their first child in February 2012, but a     behind-the-scenes clip from the “Countdown” video shoot in  September suggests that Beyonce was six months pregnant at the time of filming, and that the couple was expecting a December     arrival.
The best-selling rapper and former Destiny’s Child leader began dating in 2002, and have collaborated on hit singles like  “Crazy in Love,” “’03 Bonnie and Clyde” and “Deja Vu.” The couple married in April 2008.

Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Severely Burned in House Fire

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Via Associated Press

Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson was hospitalized on Friday after being severely burned during an early morning fire at his home in a Pittsburgh suburb.

Authorities say the fire broke out at about 3 a.m. ET in the kitchen of Wilson’s home in Seven Fields, about 30 minutes north of the city. Flames were visible to firefighters when they arrived on the scene, according to Cranberry Township director of public safety Jeffrey Schueler.

The 50-year-old Wilson, in his fifth season with the Steelers, was taken to a hospital before being airlifted to UPMC Mercy Hospital for treatment. His condition was not immediately available. The cause of the fire has not been determined and remains under investigation.

Wilson will not travel with the team on Sunday when the Steelers face Denver in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Offensive assistant Harold Goodwin worked with the running backs during Friday’s practice.

“We know that he has the best medical care in the country treating him,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement posted on the team’s website. “The entire organization is praying for Kirby to have a full recovery and we will be by his side through this difficult time.”

UPMC Mercy has the area’s only comprehensive burn center. It’s the same hospital where quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was treated following a motorcycle crash in 2006.

Wilson, who is from Los Angeles, played running back and wide receiver at Illinois before playing briefly in the Canadian Football League. He served as running backs coach in New England, Washington, Arizona and Tampa Bay before joining the Steelers when Mike Tomlin took over as coach in 2007.

Popular with the players because of his high-energy approach, Wilson guided running backRashard Mendenhall to consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and spent this week helping third-year back Isaac Redman get ready for his first playoff start after Mendenhall was lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.

“He’s really taken me from a practice-squad running back to a running back that’s capable of playing in this league,” Redman said of Wilson. “He had a lot to do with my development, being able to recognize defenses and being able to be just a complete professional in how I go about my life every day.”

The players were alerted to Wilson’s condition during a team meeting Friday, and his players realized something was amiss when Wilson — a notoriously early riser — was not at the facility looking at film.

Veteran wide receiver Hines Ward said he doesn’t believe Wilson’s condition will be a distraction.

Redman, who made the practice squad as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Bowie State in 2009 before being elevated to the 53-man roster last season, hopes to pay tribute to the coach who turned him into a professional.

“We’re going to fight and we have a little more incentive to go out and get this win, to get the win for him,” Redman said.

Missing Boy’s Mother Told Cops She Had No Children

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The mother of a one-year old boy who’s been missing in South Carolina told police that she had no kids when she was first questioned.

The mother, 22-year old Zinah Jennings, was questioned by police about the boy’s disappearance.  At first, Jennings said she had no kids, then she said that her son was in Atlanta.  After that, she took the police to an apartment complex where she says she dropped the boy off, but had no idea of the number of the apartment where she dropped off her child.

The woman’s mother says she hasn’t seen the baby since Thanksgiving.  The mom is being charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.   Dogs are being used to search the woman’s home.

Report: CPS Fraud, Employee Misconduct Includes $1.13 Million in Improper Benefits

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Via Chicago Tribune

In the year leading up to the overhaul of Chicago Public Schools leadership, the school district was beset by troubling instances of fraud and employee misconduct, including $1.13 million in improper benefits paid to retired teachers, systemic abuse of the federal free lunch program at a West Side high school, and a scheme by a central office employee to use school funds to buy items he later exchanged for cash.

Those are among more than two dozen cases detailed in the annual CPS inspector general’s report released to the public Wednesday.

At a time of transition for CPS — operating under an interim chief executive, with a school board on its way out as a new mayor was on his way in – the report suggests a lack of institutional authority and control.

In some cases, employees took advantage of lax oversight in the free lunch program to enroll their children despite earning six-figure salaries. In other cases, employees were circumventing the district’s computer system to access pornographic material online or visiting dating sites, the report found.

Man Shoots Prostitute On Christmas Eve After Discovering ‘She’ was a HE

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A man confessed to police he murdered a prostitute in a rage after finding out she was really a man.

Kenyan L. Jones, 26, from Kansas City, faces charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Darnell D. Pearson, 31.

He told police he picked up the prostitute on Christmas Eve and paid to have sexual relations with her, believing she was a woman.

Several hours later Jones became aware the prostitute was actually a man, he left him to get a handgun before finding Mr Pearson in a different area of town and ‘popped him’.

Police said they found the 31-year-old’s body just before midnight after an eye witness called 911 and told dispatchers he saw a man in a hoodie running from the scene.

The Big Payback: FEMA Wants Katrina Money Back

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The Associated Press reports that FEMA is seeking to recover more than $385 million that it claims was erroneously paid to victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The debts average approximately $4,622 per recipient — slightly less than 5 percent of the $8 billion that FEMA distributed after the devastating storms. Congressional testimony reveals that some of the errors, ranging from clerical errors to failing to interview applicants, are due  to the incompetence of FEMA employees.

Even though Congress approved legislation that allows FEMA to waive many of the debts— and President Barack Obama signed the measure into law last Friday—the agency is still determined to seek payback.