Fantasia Expected to Deliver Baby Sometime Today, After Going into Labor

Posted on by

Fantasia Barrino and Antwaun Cook baby birth is expected for later today. The American Idol singer entered labor roughly two hours ago, reports claim. Antwaun is still married to his estranged wife, Paula Cook.

Antwaun’s wife Paula Cook claimed Fantasia had an affair with her husband starting in August 2009. “Beginning as early as August, 2009 and continuing up until the date of the parties’ separation, Defendant / Husband engaged in behavior that was inconsistent with his marital status and / or responsibilities to Plaintiff / Wife” Paula Cook claimed in her divorce papers.

In 2009, pictures surfaced online of Antwaun Cook and Barrino dating. But in a Honey Magazine interview at the time, Barrino denied dating Cook at the time. “Yes, [the rumors] were all really cute to me. I guess it was something about a guy from T-Mobile? [Cook was a T-Mobile sales agent in a Charlotte, NC store in November 2009]. Inaccurate. He was hot, but I think I’m looking for my own man. There’s no boo in my life, I’m married to my career.”

Barrino went on to claim she didn’t even know Antwaun. Barrino told Honey that she had never even met Cook before. “Right now I’m not really focused on a boyfriend; we all know what happens when you get them … As a matter of fact, I’ve never even [met him] before. I think I’d want to be with a guy who’s in the same tax bracket as I am … or higher!”

Fantasia would later say that she was open book her fans. “Fantasia has always been an open book. Honesty, self-respect, and personal responsibility are values she wears proudly” said a Barrino representative in 2010.

 

Three FAMU Band Members Arrested For Brutal Hazing of Clarinet Player

Posted on by

Three Florida A&M band members were charged Monday in the beating of a woman during hazing rituals that became so severe that her thigh was broken, police said. The beatings came about three weeks before drum major Robert Champion was killed during a band trip to Orlando. Police say hazing was involved.

Tallahassee police said that on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, band member Bria Shante Hunter was beaten with fists and a metal ruler to initiate her into the “Red Dawg Order” — a band clique for students who come from Georgia.

Hunter told police that days later the pain became so unbearable that she went to the hospital. Besides her broken thigh bone, she had had blood clots in her legs.

Sean Hobson, 23, and Aaron Golson, 19, were charged Monday with hazing and battery, and James Harris, 22, was charged with hazing.

Champion’s death and now the arrests have exposed a hazing tradition that has long haunted the university. Former clarinet player Ivery Luckey was hospitalized after he said he was paddled around 300 times in 1998. Three years later, band member Marcus Parker suffered kidney damage because of a beating with a paddle.

After Champion died, the university indefinitely suspended performances by the famed Marching 100 and school President James Ammons has vowed to break what he calls a “code of silence” on the hazing rituals.

Leon County records show that all three were in jail on Monday night. A university spokeswoman confirmed they were students. Attempts to reach listed numbers for the three were unsuccessful.

Police say that the hazing happened at Harris’ off-campus apartment in Tallahassee and that at one point he stopped Golson and Hobson from hitting Hunter further.

Officers said in the arresting documents that Hunter was targeted by the other members of the “Red Dawg Order” because she tried to get out of going to a group meeting. She was repeatedly punched on the tops of her thighs by Golson and Hobson, according to information the police got from others who witnessed the incident.

Courtesy of NY Daily News

What’s Really Good? Lauretta Cheek Arrested For Giving Stripper Burning Butt Injection

Posted on by

Any women who have thought about or considered the infamous “butt injections” need to really be careful and more concerned about their health than instant gratification, because obviously these people giving the injections these days, 9 out of 10 are illegal and fraudulent.

RALEIGH, N.C. — An exotic dancer looking to enhance her backside is out of work and a North Carolina woman is accused of injecting the dancer with a disfiguring potion.

The Guilford County sheriff’s department said Thursday that 42-year-old Lauretta Cheek of Greensboro was arrested and charged with one count of practicing medicine without a license. Cheek did not have a listed phone and a deputy working on the case did not know if she has an attorney.

Detective Craig Cotten said Cheek was charged after a Charlotte woman complained of burns where she was injected with an unknown liquid or gel.

More NBA DRAMA: After Fans Buzzed Over Chris Paul’s Trade To The Lakers, NBA Commissioner Blocks Trade

Posted on by

NBA fans were a buzz on Thursday (December 8), when news surfaced that the Los Angeles Lakers had agreed to a deal to trade Paul Gasol and Lamar Odom for New Orleans Hornets’ superstar guard Chris Paul.

But, Lakers fans’ dreams were crushed when NBA commissioner David Stern nixed the trade, due to “basketball reasons” — the NBA owns the Hornets… by the way.

The news came within hour of the Hornets striking an agreement, in principle, with the Lakers and Houston Rockets on a three-team trade that would have sent Paul to the Lakers to play alongside Kobe Bryant; Odom would go to New Orleans; and Paul would go to Houston, who were going to send Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and draft picks to the Hornets.

Stern, however, was the kill buzz, when he informed the Hornets that they couldn’t make the trade, stunning team officials who had been working around-the-clock for days in hopes of bringing an end to the Paul saga before the season officially started.

Various reports claimed that angry owners were demanding the trade be vetoed. However, league officials dispute claims by insisting that the decision was Stern’s.

“It’s not true that the owners killed the deal,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “The deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.”

Judge Orders Terrence Howard to Stay 100 Yards Away from His Ex-Wife

Posted on by

Actor Terrence Howard’s saga with his ex-wife Michelle gets stranger by the minute.   After his estranged wife released reports that he has threatened to kill her, a judge has ordered Howard to stay 100 yards away from her.  The Oscar-nominated star of Iron Man and Hustle & Flow is denying his wife’s allegations, stating that she has threatened to destroy his career.

The order by Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon was handed down on Tuesday after Michelle claimed that Howard started beating her right after their marriage in January, 2010.  She filed for divorce a year later, stating that Howard began beating her just seven days after they were married, at one point chipping her tooth.

The restraining order remains in effect until a hearing, set to take place on January 17.

Michelle Howard says that she remains in constant fear of Terrence and that she has health issues resulting from her fear of him.  Howard says that he has never threatened his wife, and that she has threatened that she would release private details if he doesn’t pay her a large sum of money.

“I live in constant fear of Michelle’s endeavors to ruin my reputation; even providing this declaration may well lead to my being subjected to a paparazzi blitz which would not be good for my career,” Howard wrote.

Former Cash Money Rapper BG Pleads Guilty To Gun Charges; Facing 40 Years in Prison

Posted on by

Former Cash Money artist BG pleaded guilty yesterday to gun and witness tampering charges and could face up to 40 years in prison.

During a random traffic stop in November of 2009, three guns owned by BG were found in a stolen car. The weapons discovered were three loaded shotguns with two extended magazine clips.

Along with B.G., 27-year-old Jerod Fedison and 17-year-old Demounde Pollard were also charged in the case. All Hip-Hop reports:

Police claim that BG and Fedison, who are both convicted felons, pressured Pollard into taking the gun charges, due to his clean criminal record.

In May, BG was arrested for his role in persuading Pollard to claim ownership of the guns, hence the witness tampering charge.

Fedison recently pleaded guilty to gun and witness tampering charges and was sentenced to a 20-year term.

Pollard reportedly cooperated with authorities and received an 30 month sentence.

BG — who used to rap alongside Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Birdman and Mannie Fresh as a part of the Cash Money Millionaires back in the from the mid 90′s to the early 2000′s — will be due back in court and sentenced on March 14th.

 

Marion Barry Biopic Starring Eddie Murphy In The Making

Posted on by

After years of talk, the unbelievable-but-true story of Marion Barry may be coming soon to a flat-screen TV near you — starring Eddie Murphy as D.C.’s former mayor-for-life.

According to the Washington Post the still-untitled Barry biopic is in development by HBO Films, with the veteran comic and Oscar nominee attached as the star, Spike Lee as director, John Ridley as writer, and all three as executive producers.

D.C. journalists Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood have been tapped as consultant“Dream City,” their 1994 book about D.C. politics, is among the source material the creators are eyeing — as have Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, the filmmakers behind the 2009 documentary “The Nine Lives of Marion Barry.”

HBO officials would not comment. It’s not the first time the network has considered milking the Barry drama: In 2002,filming was reportedly due to start on a movie starring Jamie Foxx and written by Chris Rock that somehow never happened.

 

HBCUs Stand To Lose More Than $20 million Per Year

Posted on by

When the congressional super committee charged with reducing America’s deficit  failed to reach an agreement on what cuts should be made in 2013, some assumed HBCUs, of which their presidents and supporters warned were being targeted, were off the hook. But an article on The Root says not so fast.

Unless a new deal is struck, Historically Black Colleges and Universities could still lose more than $20 million per year in federal support through across-the-board cuts, or they could lose as much as $85 million per year through the normal appropriations process.

“This needs to go at the top of the ‘Must do — now!’ list of everyone who cares about HBCUs,” Michael Lomax wrote in his editorial, encouraging supporters to make their local congressional leaders accountable to the members of their jurisdiction who care about this issue.

Citing the more than 47,000 college graduates produced by HBCUs each year, the 180,000 jobs HBCUs represent, and their $13 billion dollar impact to the nation’s economy, Lomax says this is not the time for the government to back out on its long-standing support of these institutions, particularly as minorities grow in this country.

NBA Won’t Drug Test For Marijuana In The Offseason

Posted on by

NBA players have agreed to additional drug testing, adding offseason screening for performance-enhancing drugs only.  Union executive director Billy Hunter sent a memo yesterday to players detailing these and other changes of a new labor deal and recommended they ratify the agreement.  Less clear is a provision for human growth hormone testing.

According to the memo, an NBA-NBPA joint committee would study the “possibility of an HGH testing program.” League spokesman Mike Bass, however, insisted both sides agreed to HGH blood testing, subject to the process being validated by a “neutral committee of experts.”  It wasn’t immediately clear who would be on that panel.  No matter what, players will face additional testing if the deal is ratified.  The memo also stated that beginning in the 2012-13 season, players can be tested up to two times during the offseason for steroids and performance-enhancing drugs only. They would not be screened for drugs such as marijuana.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

Whitney Houston Checks Into Rehab for Drugs and Alcohol

Posted on by

Whitney Houston is back in rehab. The Grammy-winning singer has checked into an out-patient program for drug and alcohol treatment, her rep confirms to The Associated Press.

The voluntary measure is part of Houston’s “long-standing” recovery process, says publicist Kristen Foster. She previously visited a rehab facility in 2005 for unspecified reasons.

The big-voiced diva is getting ready to film the sequel to 1995’s blockbuster Waiting to Exhale. While the original cast including Angela Bassett and director Forest Whitaker have signed on to shoot the movie, no word if this recent stint will affect the filming schedule.

Houston is still allowed to go out in public, though she’ll need a monitor at all times, according to TMZ. She recently performed with Prince and Chaka Khan at the former’s show in Los Angeles.