Estimated read time: 10-11 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MORNING PREP - MORNING PREP - MORNING PREP - MORNING PREP
------------------------
! MUSIC !
------------------------
CHRIS BROWN ASSAULT TRIAL TO BEGIN TODAY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Brown's assault trial begins today. And there's more at stake for the singer than whether he punched a man outside a Washington D.C. hotel last fall. A conviction could cost him additional penalties — including jail time — because of his 2009 beating of Rihanna. At the time of his D.C. arrest, Brown was on probation in Los Angeles for that attack on his then-girlfriend. Brown entered anger management in California right after his Washington arrest. But he was kicked out last month for violating rules. He has been jailed since. Brown made a brief court appearance Friday, dressed in a suit and tie. He turned to wave at supporters in the courtroom, including his mom and Bow Wow, the rapper and actor.
Brown's bodyguard has already been tried in the same misdemeanor assault case. The judge will announce her verdict today, before Brown's trial begins.
MILEY CYRUS POSTPONES REST OF U.S. TOUR
NEW YORK (AP) — Miley Cyrus has pulled the plug on the rest of her U.S. tour — for now. A rep says the singer will put the rest of her stateside tour on hold while she recovers from an allergic reaction to antibiotics. Cyrus canceled several tour dates last week because of her illness. She will still start the European leg of her tour next month in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, she will resume her U.S. tour August 1 in Uniondale, New York. After that, there will be seven rescheduled shows and two additional stops to make up for the ones she missed. Tickets for the missed Cyrus shows will be honored on the new dates.
WHITE HOUSE DECLINES COMMENT ON JUSTIN BIEBER DEPORTATION PETITION
WASHINGTON (AP) — If Justin Bieber gets booted from the U.S. for his alleged misdeeds, it won't be because the White House made the move. Nearly 275,000 people signed an Internet petition calling the Canadian-born teen idol reckless and asking President Barack Obama to revoke The Beeb's green card. The number of online petitioners is far more than what's needed to produce an official response through the White House's "We the People" program. But the White House says it won't comment on the issue. There is a provision in the program that lets the White House decline to address certain petitions.
PRINCE REACHES DEAL WITH FORMER LABEL, WARNER BROS.; NOW OWNS RIGHTS TO HIS OLD MUSIC
NEW YORK (AP) — Back in the day when Prince was beefing with Warner Brothers Records, he scrawled the word "slave" on his face — because he didn't own the rights to the music he recorded. He may not write "owner" on his face now, but he does have the rights to that music. Warner says it has reached an agreement with Prince that would see the artist gain rights to albums like "Purple Rain" and "1999." No word on financial terms of the deal. But the partnership will include the release of material Prince recorded for Warner from 1978 to the mid-1990s that didn't make it on previous albums.
ARETHA FRANKLIN CONSIDERS LAWSUIT OVER FAKE NEWS STORY
DETROIT (AP) — Aretha Franklin plans to file a $10 million lawsuit against a satirical news site for creating a fake story about her getting in a fist fight with Patti LaBelle. The News Nerd Web site wrote LaBelle had been arrested for attacking Franklin with "a Mayweather style right and left" during a concert in Atlanta last month. The Detroit News quotes Franklin as saying the story was not portrayed as satire or humor and depicted her in a slanderous way. Franklin released a statement last week saying the event never happened and she and LaBelle "are cool and we always have been." A News Nerd representative could not be reached for comment.
PETER FRAMPTON LUGGAGE THIEF SENTENCED
DENVER (AP) — The man who admitted stealing Peter Frampton's luggage has been given a 60-day suspended jail sentence and two years of probation. The Denver Post reports John Allen Papelbon of Thornton, Colorado, has also been ordered to pay more than $8,800 in restitution. He acknowledged he stole seven pieces of luggage from Denver International Airport in October. Frampton had come to the area to play a concert.
JACK WHITE PRESSES QUICKIE SINGLE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Jack White nearly had a disaster in his attempt to create what he called the "world's fastest-released record." White says during a test run, the record cutting mechanism blew up, so he had to do the record in mono because that was the only other one in town. He says that was even cooler than his original plan. On Saturday, White played his new single, "Lazaretto," and a remake of the Elvis Presley song "Power of My Life" at his Third Man Records label in Nashville. It was rushed across town, pressed on vinyl and sold four hours later. White says he doesn't know if it's actually a world record because he doesn't know if anyone else has tried it.
ADAM LEVINE CREATES KMART CLOTHES
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Adam Levine says he can't read music but he certainly plays it, so there should be no problem with his having no formal training in designing clothes. Levine has launched a line for men and women through Kmart. It's a little tougher designing clothes for women, but he says he just comes up with something he selfishly would like to see a woman wear. His ideal celebrity endorser? Betty White.
___
Sound:
<<CUT *008 (04/21/14)>> 00:11 "leaving the house"
Adam Levine, singer, Maroon 5
Adam Levine says there's a simple reason why he decided to design a clothing line for Kmart.
<<CUT *009 (04/21/14)>> 00:18 "on a lady"
Adam Levine, singer, Maroon 5
Adam Levine says designing clothes for women requires a different mindset. ((note length of cut))
<<CUT *010 (04/21/14)>> 00:18 "I phoned in"
Adam Levine, singer, Maroon 5
Adam Levine says he didn't want to make just another celebrity clothing line. ((note length of cut))
NICK OLIVERI RETURNS TO QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
NEW YORK (AP) — Bygones appear to be bygones with bassist Nick Oliveri and Queens of the Stone Age. Rolling Stone reports Oliveri played with the band for the first time in a decade with a show Wednesday in Portland, Oregon. Oliveri was fired from Queens of the Stone Age in 2004, but the reasons why were never quite clear. Frontman Josh Homme (HOM'-ee) says in spite of their past problems, they've stayed on good terms.
INSPIRATION FOR BOB DYLAN'S "HURRICANE" DIES
TORONTO (AP) — The man who inspired the Bob Dylan song "Hurricane" has died. Boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter died yesterday of prostate cancer in Toronto. He was 76. Carter, who was black, spent 19 years in prison for the murders of three white people at a tavern in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1966. The alleged racial motivations of his trial generated enough controversy that he was given a second trial and briefly freed, only to go back to prison for nine more years. Dylan read Carter's autobiography and met with him in prison. The song peaked at number 33 in 1976. Denzel Washington starred as Carter in the 1999 movie "Hurricane."
___
Sound:
<<CUT *014 (04/21/14)>> 00:38 "''
Martin Di Caro, AP correspondent
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the boxer whose wrongful murder conviction became an international symbol of racial injustice, is dead. AP correspondent Martin Di Caro reports.
<<CUT *015 (04/21/14)>> 00:13 "listen to him"
Archive audio of Denzel Washington, actor
In a 2000 interview, Denzel Washington said the movie "The Hurricane" was a perfect way to tell Rubin Carter's story.
<<CUT *016 (04/21/14)>> 00:13 "a guilty man"
Archive audio of Denzel Washington, actor
In a 2000 interview, Denzel Washington said he spoke with several prison guards still working at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey who were there when Hurricane Carter was serving time.
<<CUT *017 (04/21/14)>> 00:07 "be in prison"
Archive audio of Denzel Washington, actor
In a 2000 interview, Denzel Washington said Rubin Carter never thought he was guilty of the crimes that got him in prison.
<<CUT *018 (04/21/14)>> 00:28 "''
Excerpt of Bob Dylan
Excerpt of Bob Dylan singing "Hurricane," a 1975 song released to publicize Rubin Carter's plight.
KELLIE PICKLER, MICHELLE OBAMA GUEST-STAR ON "NASHVILLE"
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kellie Pickler's guest appearance on the ABC show "Nashville" will likely be upstaged by another guest star: first lady Michelle Obama. They both will play themselves on the May 7 episode.
SHAKIRA, BLAKE SHELTON, ADAM LEVINE PERFORM ON "THE VOICE"
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shakira will perform her new single on tomorrow's results show on "The Voice." She will sing "Empire." Blake Shelton and Adam Levine each will perform with their teams as well.
ANITA BAKER COUNTERSUES OVER HOME IMPROVEMENT DISPUTE
DETROIT (AP) — Anita Baker is seeking payback in a dispute over a home improvement project. Recently, the lawyers for the company that worked on Baker's house got a judge to issue an arrest warrant for the singer — one that was later lifted. Now Baker is countersuing, saying the company tried to put her in what her lawyers call "as embarrassing a light as possible." The company sued Baker in 2011 saying the singer owes $15,000 for work done on her home near Detroit. Baker's lawyer has said the Grammy Award winning singer didn't know she had been sued.
PAUL STANLEY WRITES BOOK
NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Stanley is advising fans that his new book "isn't a Kiss book" — but one about the man who became the frontman for the group. Stanley's book "Face The Music: A Life Exposed" speaks of his struggle to overcome a congenital deformity that left him deaf in one ear. He says that made it hard for him to communicate or do well in school. Stanley says he wrote about his struggles to show people it's possible to overcome adversity — but that it takes time. He says one thing that helped turn his life around was seeing a performance of "The Phantom of the Opera." He says the story of a person with a disfigurement trying to reach out to a woman was something he could relate to, only Stanley says he "wasn't living in a dungeon under an opera house."
ASHANTI ON CHILLING
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Ashanti wants to chill — she prefers to do it in a place that's warm. She says she likes sun drenched spots to unwind because she's "an island girl at heart." Ashanti says her favorite things to do include being "on a beach or on a jet ski or jumping off a yacht somewhere." What are some of her favorite warm-weather places? She says she likes Turks and Caicos, Monte Carlo and Costa Rica — so she wouldn't mind going back to one of those sunny areas to "chill."
___
Sound:
<<CUT *011 (04/21/14)>> 00:09 "a yacht somewhere (laughs)"
Ashanti
Ashanti says she likes a little water-bound adventure when on vacation.
<<CUT *012 (04/21/14)>> 00:07 "girl at heart"
Ashanti
Ashanti says give her the warm sunshine anytime on vacation and she's happy.
<<CUT *013 (04/21/14)>> 00:10 "one of those"
Ashanti
Ashanti says there are a few places she'd choose among for her ideal vacation.
COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER KEVIN SHARP DIES
FAIR OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Sharp has died. The country music singer had a series of hits during a career that started in the late 1990s. He was 43 and died from complications from past stomach surgeries and digestive issues. Sharp was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer when he was a high school senior. The Make-A-Wish Foundation made it possible for Sharp to meet music producer David Foster, who helped him jump-start his music career. Perhaps his biggest hit was "Nobody Knows," a single from his 1996 debut album.
___
Sound:
<<CUT *019 (04/21/14)>> 00:08 "things go wrong"
Kevin Sharp
In a 2005 interview, Kevin Sharp said dealing with cancer made him a stronger person.
<<CUT *020 (04/21/14)>> 00:56 "''
Sound of Kevin Sharp
Sound of Kevin Sharp singing "Nobody Knows."
by Margie Szaroleta and Oscar Wells Gabriel II
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
