HOLLYWOOD - Russell Simmon's wife busted for pot possession
Kimora Lee Simmons, the 29-year-old wife of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, was charged earlier this week with possessing marijuana and avoiding police, CNN.com reports. Simmons, designer of the fashion label Baby Phat, was driving home in Saddle River, New Jersey, Monday when police officers tried to stop her car for minor motor vehicle violations. But Saddle River Police Department's Lt. Robert Breese told CNN Simmons didn't slow down or stop for police, who had their lights and sirens on and used their public announcement system to ask her to pull over. Police arrested Simmons when she eventually stopped outside her home and found a small amount of marijuana in her car. She was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams, eluding police, careless driving, tailgating and driving with a broken brake light before being released. Ironically, Russell Simmons, the founder and co-owner of the Def Jam record label, vigorously campaigned last year to repeal New York State's Rockefeller Drug laws, which requires long prison sentences for people caught possessing or selling small amounts of drugs. There's no telling whether Simmons' arrest will impact Life & Style, the View-style syndicated talk show she is set to co-host with Jules Asner, Cynthia Garrett and Lynne Koplitz. The show is scheduled to air in syndication September 13, 2004 on the Warner Brothers station group.
J.Lo ready to begin next phase of her life
After two failed marriages and highly publicized romances with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez says in In Style magazine's August edition she is entering a new phase of her life. "I feel like this is my phase two, like it's a new beginning," Lopez says. "Like everything I did before really doesn't matter." Lopez, 34, says she may have been a bit careless in the past but is now in a better place because she follows her heart. Although Lopez wouldn't comment on reports she recently married Marc Anthony in a small ceremony at her Beverly Hills, Calif., home, she had no qualms discussing future film projects, adding she'd like to co-star in a film with Anthony based on the life of salsa singer Hector Lavoe.
Fahrenheit 9/11 screened in President Bush's hometown
Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday in a parking lot near President Bush's Texas ranch in Crawford, Texas, to watch Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 on a giant inflatable movie screen. Moore had pledged to come to the screening but abruptly pulled out the same day, telling organizers he wanted his movie, not his differences with the Republican president, to be the evening's subject, the AP reports. But only a handful of moviegoers in attendance were actually from Crawford. "There aren't many people in Crawford. So whenever you have a large crowd, most people will be from someplace else," Crawford police chief Donnie Tidmore told the AP. Many appeared to be foreign exchange students from Belgium.
Michael Moore vows to prevent 2000 election debacle in Fla.
Michael Moore said at a delegation breakfast at the Democratic National Convention in Boston he would make stops throughout Florida in October to focus attention on voting rights issues and try to prevent a repeat of the 2000 election debacle, the AP reports. "I am going to be in Florida and together ... together, we will guarantee to every Floridian that their vote will be counted this year," Moore told a cheering crowd. "I will have my cameras. We will put a huge spotlight on them. They will not get away with it this time." Recounts for the 2000 election in some Florida counties lasted for 36 days until the U.S. Supreme Court halted them. President Bush won a 537-vote victory in the state and enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Moore also promised to donate money to bring "an army of lawyers" who will serve as poll watchers in November.
Cosby defends remarks on blacks
Bill Cosby, who made headlines in May when he accused the black community of squandering opportunities the civil rights movement gave them, is still standing by his remarks. "I'm going to keep on saying what I've been saying," Cosby told the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, a group representing 118 historically black colleges and universities nationwide, on Wednesday. The AP reports Cosby also commented music industry glorifies music that demeans women, praises life in jail and uses profanity, adding that college educators should prepare students to help poor blacks from backgrounds of violence and single-mother households.
Lil' Kim's business manager charged
Lil' Kim's manager has been charged in the ongoing perjury and obstruction of justice case against the rapper, who faces trial for lying about a 2001 shootout outside a Manhattan radio station involving members of her entourage. One man from a rival rap group was injured in the shooting. Hillary Weston, 49, was charged with two obstruction of justice counts for withholding documents from a grand jury investigation of the shooting, Reuters reports. Lil' Kim, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, was first indicted in April and is charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction. The 28-year-old singer had been scheduled to go on trial Nov. 15, but U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch delayed the case until Feb. 28 to give the defense lawyers more time to prepare.
Electra makes appearance in Playboy video game
Carmen Electra and Tom Arnold are among the celebrities making cameos in the new video game Playboy: The Mansion, the AP reports. In the game, players don the pajamas of Playboy impresario Hugh Hefner and are given the task of building the Playboy empire by developing contacts, keeping the bunnies happy, selling magazines and, of course, throwing lavish parties. Other featured celebrities include David Copperfield, Willa Ford, Jose Canseco, Uncle Kracker, Andrew W.K. and Melissa Joan Hart.
Blob director dies
Irvin Shortess "Shorty" Yeaworth Jr., best known for directing the 1958 cult movie The Blob, died in a car accident in Jordan, AP reports. He was 78. Yeaworth was traveling from Aqaba to Amman when his vehicle went off the road near Petra on July 19, his wife Jean Bruce Yeaworth told AP.
Kit Bowen contributed to this report.