(Tuesday, 23 June 2009) Chris Brown gets probation in a plea deal over assaulting Rihanna; longtime entertainment icon Ed McMahon passes away; Detroit's auto quality is up in a notable survey. What do you think of Brown's sentence? Tell us on today's KISS News Now!
A surprise in a Los Angeles courtroom: after trying and failing to get his preliminary hearing delayed, Chris Brown pleads guilty to one felony count of assaulting Rihanna, sparing the pop princess from testifying against her one-time boyfriend about all the graphic details of her beating in February. Brown entered the plea before the preliminary hearing was scheduled to start, as Rihanna was on standby to testify. He will be formally sentenced August 5, but his plea deal calls for five years' supervised probation, 180 days community service--and the judge specified it must involve real labor, like cleaning graffiti and roadside trash--as well as a stay-away order.
Rihanna's lawyer, Donald Etra, says she did not ask for the restraining order, but she's fine with it. After Brown left the courtroom, the 21-year-old singer came in and judge let her know the stay-away order applies to her too: They must stay 50 yards apart unless they're invited to the same industry event, and then it's 10 yards. Brown will likely be able to do all six months of his community service in his home state of Virginia, but he must report to Los Angeles for status updates every three months.
"This is a kid who's never been in trouble before," said Mark Geragos, Brown's lawyer, after the hearing. "He embraces this as a chance to get the message out that domestic violence will not be tolerated. He wants to get his life back on track."
Ed McMahon has died at the age of 86. The 30-year sidekick of Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show, and host of Star Search, passed away early today at UCLA Medical Center hospital after a long fight with cancer and a recent bout with pneumonia. He said in a '98 interview how he wanted to be remembered: as a good broadcaster, and a great Marine.
New violence overnight near Georgia Tech: another student is robbed at gunpoint--the second such incident in two days--and this time, the crook got away with just a pack of cigarettes after demanding that the grad student give him everything he had. "The victim was walking on Luckie Street when he was approached by a black male in his early 20s with dread locks, a white t-shirt, blue jeans and white shoes," says Atlanta police spokesman Eric Schwartz. A neighbor at the Centennial Place apartments noticed what was happening and screamed, running the robber away.
Strippers at the Cheetah challenge an Atlanta ordinance banning anyone under 21 from dancing at a club where liquor is served. The City argues the intent is to keep 18-year-olds from drinking, but State Supreme Court justices, who will be deciding the case, asked why the girls were more likely to drink at a strip club than if they were waiting tables at a restaurant that served drinks.
Call it Jon minus Kate plus 8. Reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin, parents of twins and sextuplets, file divorce papers and Jon's moving out after weeks of talk about their troubled marriage. The couple say the TLC show will continue.
Will it be Janet minus Jermaine? AccessAtlanta is quoting a National Enquirer report saying the megastar Janet Jackson and megaproducer Jermaine Dupri are splitting up. Supposedly they've been battling recently "over his management of her career," including poor ticket sales on her last tour and a 2008 "Discipline" album that sold something over 440,000 copies. Here's a video clip of the two of them JD put up last year on YouTube, backstage on Janet's tour rehearsal. Be warned--the language in here is definitely R-Rated and NSFW (Not Safe For Work)!:
A Chattahoochee Tech instructor is murdered outside his townhome in Smyrna. Joseph Gunn, 54, was shot to death when he tried to stop two men from breaking into his pickup Sunday.
They're investigating the worst subway crash in the 33-year history of DC's Metrorail system. At least seven people were killed and scores of others injured when one train plowed into the back of another which was stopped on the tracks; now they're trying to figure out why. The mayor says the train was hit with enough speed that it was compressed to a fourth of its size. An automated computer system is supposed to keep the trains apart.
President Barack Obama holds his first Rose Garden news conference today, and much is on the agenda: Iran's disputed elections, health care reform and energy legislation.
The proposed MARTA fare hike is now a reality. Changes coming this October 1 include raising one-way fares a quarter, to $2.00; increasing parking rates by one dollar; and tweaking some bus routes with fewer riders. They'll continue to operate rails until 1:00 a.m.
South Carolina's governor has skipped town. Governor Sanford hasn't talked to his family in days, even missing Father's Day with them. A spokesman says he's out hiking and "clearing his head;" for months this past legislative session, he fought a losing battle against taking federal stimulus money.
An Indiana woman in the process of divorcing gets stabbed to death by her estranged husband, who's now on the run. 38-year-old Angela Warnock had just gotten a two-year extension of the restraining order against him; Joseph Warnock broke into her house and stabbed her in her sleep while their two daughters--eight and 12--hid in a closet. When he left, one girl called 911 and told them, "Daddy stabbed Mommy."
American automakers built better cars than ever this past year. While the top two in the latest J. D. Power survey of auto quality are still imports--Lexus and Porsche--Detroit shows up at number three, with GM's Cadillac. That's up from #25 just a couple of years ago. Ford Motor Co., the only one of the Detroit Three that has managed to stay out of bankruptcy, improved in the survey with three of its four brands: Ford, Mercury and Volvo. But the Lincoln's score fell, and only Ford and Mercury performed above the industry average. For GM, only two brands performed above average: Cadillac and Chevrolet. The four brands it is purging in bankruptcy--Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn--were its worst-rated.
The KISS 104.1 weather forecast: mostly sunny, and a humid high near 92 with only an isolated chance of afternoon showers; lows Tuesday night, 68-72. Wednesday and Thursday, mostly sunny to partly sunny, with highs around 93.
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