Ready Or Not: Lauryn Hill is Being Sued
Lauryn Hill and her team hired a trombone player to record some songs and hit the road with her, but then fired him before ever paying him … or so he claims in a lawsuit.
Lauryn, her touring manager and her touring company are being sued by Matthew Hartnett, who says he joined L-Boogie’s team last summer for some live recording sessions. Apparently it went well, he says she offered him a touring gig through the fall.
In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Hartnett claims he billed them an industry standard rate for the sessions, and signed a 10-week tour contract — but never got paid for either. He says he was fired before the tour started.
According to the suit, Hartnett’s entitled to at least half his touring contract … not to mention another $4k or so for his studio cash. All in all he’s suing for $11,521.60 … plus damages.
Article via: http://www.tmz.com/2017/12/21/lauryn-hill-sued-by-fired-trombone-player-tour/
FORMER UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD STUDENT ACCUSED OF HARASSING BLACK ROOMMATE WILL NOT FACE HATE CRIME CHARGES
In a Facebook Live video, Jazzy Rowe alleged that Brianna Brochure had smeared bodily fluid on her belongings and stuck her roommate’s toothbrush ‘‘where the sun doesn’t shine” in addition to spitting in her coconut oil. Rowe, in turn became extremely ill from the disturbing actions.
With the help of the NAACP, the student had brought charges against Brochu as she felt that the girl’s disgusting acts were racially motivated. They protested and requested that the girl be charged with felony hate crime, however, despite all of the evidence against her including a Facebook status in which Brochu admits to the aforementioned acts and referred to Rowe as a “Jamaican Barbie”, she won’t face a hate crime charge at all.
She plead “not guilty” to charges of breach of peace and criminal mischief yesterday and prosecutors decided not to bring any new charges against her.
The president of the NAACP expressed his disappointment with the outcome yesterday. “We are very very disappointed with the prosectors … not pressing this case hard enough,” NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile said. “They are not making this an urgent matter from where we sit.” He added, “We expect [the prosecutors] to fight on behalf of the people of our community. This is a hate crime. Let’s stop playing games. Let’s stop pushing this away.”
On the other hand, Bruchu’s lawyer Tom Stevens commented that he didn’t agree that the incident was racially motivated and chopped it up to the girls just not liking each other. “I think that when it’s all said and done, what you’re going to see is that there was nothing racist that motivated this,” he said. “These were two students who were placed together … who didn’t like each other … and it escalated.”
Prosecutors are still investigating and the case will follow through until January 29th.
Parents Arrested After Trying to Sell Their Sons for Drugs, Cash in Lancaster
The parents of two boys were arrested in Lancaster after trying to sell their children in exchange for money or drugs, authorities said Monday.
The couple, 38-year-old Vincente Calogero and Sarah Nilson, 32, were taken into custody after deputies were called to respond to a report of possible child abuse, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The call came at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, from the 100 block of Avenue J-8, a residential area.
It’s not clear what circumstances led to the call to authorities, but a sheriff’s news release said detectives “would like to commend the residents of Lancaster who intervened in response to the danger the children were in.”
Deputies found Calogero and Nilson “had been attempting to give and/or sell their children in exchange for money or drugs,” the release stated.
Calogero and Nilson were booked into the sheriff’s Lancaster Station on suspicion of felony child endangerment, child neglect, and being under the influence of a controlled substance. They are being held on $100,000 bail.
Their two sons were put into the custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services.
Detectives are seeking witnesses to the alleged child abuse, or anyone who was approached by the suspects “in order to give away their children, and/or sell their children in exchange for drugs or money,” the release stated.
Nilson is described as white, 5 feet tall, 250 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Calogero is described as white, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 175 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Lancaster Station at 661-948-8466 or Detective Gore at 661- 940-3855. Anonymous tips may be made at 800-222-8477.
Chicago Day Care Worker Accused of Using Hot Glue Gun to Burn 5 Toddlers
A Chicago day care worker has been charged after allegedly burning five toddlers with a hot glue gun.
Police arrested 32-year-old Lizandra Cosme at her home in Humboldt Park Sunday afternoon, according to KTLA sister station WGN in Chicago.
She faces five felony counts of aggravated battery to a child after the alleged Dec. 1 incident at Children’s Learning Place, located in the Logan Square area.
Investigators say the children involved, two boys and three girls, are all 2 years old. The extent of any injuries is not yet known.
A second worker faces misdemeanor charges for not stopping the abuse, authorities say.
Children’s learning place spokeswoman Lissa Druss Christman emailed this statement to WBBM:
“The well being of our students is paramount. Upon learning of the alleged incident, we notified DCFS immediately and terminated two of our employees. We are currently working with investigators.”
via: http://ktla.com/2017/12/18/day-care-worker-accused-of-burning-5-toddlers-with-hot-glue-gun/
Federal appeals judge announces immediate retirement amid probe of sexual misconduct allegations
Alex Kozinski, the powerful judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit who was facing a judicial investigation over allegations that he subjected 15 women to inappropriate sexual behavior, announced Monday that he would retire effective immediately.
In a statement provided by his lawyer, Kozinski apologized, saying that he “had a broad sense of humor and a candid way of speaking to both male and female law clerks alike” and that, “in doing so, I may not have been mindful enough of the special challenges and pressures that women face in the workplace.”
“It grieves me to learn that I caused any of my clerks to feel uncomfortable; this was never my intent,” he said. “For this I sincerely apologize.”
[Alex Kozinski’s full statement announcing his immediate retirement]
Kozinski, 67, said that although family and friends had urged him to stay on, “at least long enough to defend myself,” he “cannot be an effective judge and simultaneously fight this battle. Nor would such a battle be good for my beloved federal judiciary. And so I am making the decision to retire, effective immediately.”
The announcement comes just days after The Washington Post reported that nine more women had accused Kozinski of making sexual comments to them or of other conduct, including four who said he touched them inappropriately. That story followed an earlier report in The Post, which detailed the allegations of six women, including former clerks who said Kozinski showed them porn in his chambers.
After the first report, the chief judge of the 9th Circuit initiated a review of Kozinski’s conduct, and the case was assigned Friday to the 2nd Circuit Judicial Council. It was not immediately clear what would happen to that inquiry or what would happen to the legal matters to which Kozinski is assigned.
“One or more” of Kozinski’s clerks had resigned after the allegations against Kozinski became public, a court official has said.
Kozinski was appointed to the 9th Circuit by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and over time became one of the most well-known federal appeals court judges in the country. He served as chief of the 9th Circuit from 2007 to 2014. He often wrote colorful opinions and, unlike many of his colleagues on the bench, did not shy from media appearances.
During a trademark dispute between the toy company Mattel and the record company that produced the 1997 song “Barbie Girl,” Kozinski famously quipped in a written opinion: “The parties are advised to chill.”
Many of Kozinski’s clerks went on to prestigious clerkships with the Supreme Court, and they are now scattered at premier posts in the legal industry. But some said there was a darker side to working for the judge. He demanded his clerks work into the wee hours of the morning, and three former clerks who talked to The Post said he showed them explicit images, not in the context of any legal case, in his chambers.
Just 10 days ago, The Post reported that six women — all former clerks or more junior staffers known as externs in the 9th Circuit — alleged that Kozinski had subjected them to a range of inappropriate sexual conduct or comments.
Women’s March organizer accused of covering up sex abuse
Controversial Muslim activist and Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour bullied an underling to cover up sex-abuse allegations in her Brooklyn office, a report said.
Asmi Fathelbab told blog The Daily Caller that a man repeatedly rubbed his crotch on her while she worked for the association under Sarsour in 2009.
But when Fathelbab reported the abuse, Sarsour — a self-proclaimed feminist and co-founder of the Women’s March organization — fat-shamed the woman and threatened to blacklist her from political jobs, the woman told the website.
“She oversaw an environment unsafe and abusive to women,” said Fathelbab. “Women who put [Sarsour] on a pedestal for women’s rights and empowerment deserve to know how she really treats us.”
The Daily Caller reportedly spoke on condition of anonymity with another association employee and a political operative that worked alongside the organization, and both corroborated Fathelbab’s account of the abuse and Sarsour’s intimidation.
Fathelbab took a contract gig with the association in 2009 and claims she was repeatedly accosted by a man who lived in the same Bay Ridge building as the group’s office.
“He would pin me against the wall and rub his crotch on me,” she told the Caller.
“It was disgusting… You have no idea what it was like to stand up and feel that behind you.”
But Sarsour called her a “liar” when Fathelbab reported it and told her “something like this didn’t happen to women who looked like me,” Fathelbab charged, clarifying on Twitter that the the rebuff was a dig at her weight.
Read more via: https://nypost.com/2017/12/18/womens-march-organizer-accused-of-covering-up-sex-abuse/
George Zimmerman threatens to feed JAY-Z to alligator over Trayvon Martin documentary
He’s got 99 problems, but a wannabe cop who gets away with shooting an unarmed teenager because of a loophole called the Stand Your Ground law ain’t one.
Controversial gunman George Zimmerman took a verbal shot at JAY-Z over the weekend, threatening to “beat” the rapper and feed him to “an alligator” over the Jiggaman’s role in a Trayvon Martin documentary, according to a report.
Zimmerman, who gunned down 17-year-old Trayvon in February 2012, said he has a score to settle with the rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, over the way his family was treated by Carter’s camera crew, according to entertainment website Blast.
An unrepentant Zimmerman was whining about a production team that made unannounced visits to the homes of his parents and an uncle in Florida, and he said JAY-Z and executive producer Michael Gesparro indirectly “harassed” his family.
“I know how to handle people who f–k with me,” Zimmerman said Saturday, crassly adding “I have since February 2012.”
Zimmerman says he is holding JAY-Z and Gesparro responsible, and “anyone who f—s with my parents will be fed to an alligator.”
The 34-year-old Zimmerman also complained over money he claims has been paid to his ex-wife for her participation in the documentary. He said producers have refused to pay his parents or family members for their cooperation.
JAY-Z is the man behind a six-part docuseries titled “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story,” based on the book “Suspicion Nation” by attorney Lisa Bloom. The project will chronicle the too-short life of Martin, his fatal shooting by on Feb. 26, 2012, and Zimmerman’s acquittal the following year.
JAY-Z didn’t comment on the threat, but he had plenty of supporters come to his defense, including fellow rap star Snoop Dogg, who fired back on Instagram.
“If one hair on jays hair is touched that’s when the revolution will be televised,” Snoop Dogg wrote. “We one, and to thank the system, let the Bitch ass muthaf–a get away with murder try it again. Trayvon Martin Gone but not forgotten.”
Wisconsin father gets 6 months for beating infant, breaking 20 bones and causing brain bleed
A Wisconsin man convicted of beating his 2-month-old daughter — breaking more than 20 of the infant’s bones and causing bleeding in her brain — has been sentenced to six months behind bars.
The jail term for Richard A. Root, 21, of Oshkosh, was part of seven years of probation for child neglect resulting in great bodily harm, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported.
Winnebago County Circuit Judge Thomas Gritton also ordered Root to avoid alcohol and drugs, keep a steady job or attend school full time, and undergo counseling, the newspaper reported.
Root had pleaded no contest to neglecting the child, Fox 11 reported.
When the crime occurred in March, emergency room staff at Aurora Medical Center found the baby had nine broken ribs and several other serious injuries, the station reported.
A criminal complaint said the baby also had a broken arm and a broken leg, according to Fox 11.
The complaint also said Root shook the baby because she was crying. Root also told police that he knelt on top of one of the baby’s legs while changing her diaper, the station reported.
Root told police he “snapped” because of stress and a lack of sleep, the station reported.
Man admits to beheading wife as kids watched, storing head in freezer
A Texas man was sentenced to 52 years in prison on Friday after he admitted to decapitating his wife in front of her children.
David Dauzat, 24, pleaded guilty to the 2016 death of his wife, Natasha Dauzat, 21, who was found with dozens of stab wounds. Dauzat agreed to the plea deal after Natasha’s family requested it to prevent the children from reliving the horrifying incident if the case went to trial, KWTX reported.
“They didn’t want to put the children through a trial and have them relive those memories,” McLennan County Assistant District Attorney Michael Jarrett said.
Police went to the couple’s mobile home in Bellmead, a town just northwest of Waco, in August 2016 after a concerned relative requested a welfare check. Police officers spoke to David and Natasha Dauzat outside their trailer, who appeared “calm and expressed their curiosity why the police were there.”
But two hours later, the relative called police again, saying he received a call from David Dauzat who told him he “killed his girlfriend,” according to KWTX.
Police found Dauzat with blood on his clothing at the trailer. Dauzat had beheaded his wife while the two children, ages 1 and 2, were in the trailer. He then placed her head in the freezer.
The children were not injured in the incident.
Police said the woman died from “sharp-force injuries, including decapitation.”
Dauzat must serve at least 26 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
via: https://nypost.com/2017/12/17/man-admits-to-beheading-wife-as-kids-watched-storing-head-in-freezer/
Mother accused of leaving 6-year-old child in chair to save her parking spot while she went to the store
A Florida mother was accused of forcing her child to sit in a chair alone and hold her parking spot while she went to the store.
Elda Solis, 48, was arrested and charged with child neglect after police said she used her 6-year-old child to guard a parking spot at the Eastwind Apartments in Marathon.
According to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office press release, Solis left the complex around 10 p.m. on Dec. 7 to go to a nearby Publix.
She placed a chair in the vacant spot and made her young child sit there and wait there until she came back.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said it was alerted about the incident the following day.
When officers questioned Solis about it, she allegedly admitted that it was true.
Police say the child told investigators that it wasn’t the first time she had made them guard the spot while she ran errands.
Solis was booked and later released from jail on Thursday.
via: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mother-accused-child-guard-parking-spot-article-1.3701198