THE UNIVERSITY OF DARY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY,AUGUST 23,2006
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
7A
ENTERTAINMENT British band member treated for drug addiction
LONDON — A planned U.S. tour by Keane has been postponed while singer Tom Chaplin is being treated for drug and alcohol addiction, the British band said Tuesday.
In a statement posted on the band's Web site, Chaplin, 27, said he was "having to deal with an increasing problem with drink and drugs, and the time has come to get the professional help I need to sort myself out."
The tour had been due to start in Chicago on Sept. 7.
"I feel desperately disappointed to be letting down our fans, but I want to get myself right now so that I can be back on the road for the rest of the year," Chaplin said.
Keane had already canceled several appearances, citing Chaplin's "exhaustion."
The trio released their melodic debut album, "Hopes and Fears," in 2004. Their second album, "Under the Iron Sea," entered the British album charts at No. 1 when it was released in June.
New song to pay tribute to Oklahoma's past, future
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nice Gill and Jimmy Webb have written a song to celebrate Oklahoma and its people as the state nears its centennial.
Gill wrote the music and Webb wrote the lyrics for "Oklahoma Rising", which is intended to complement the state's official song, "Oklahoma!" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
The song remembers Oklahoma's early days and explores the promise of the 21st century. It also touches on difficult periods, from the Dust Bowl to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
"Oklahoma Rising" will make its debut Sept. 11 at a private event at the Civic Center Music Hall, said Centennial Projects and Events Chairman Lee Allan Smith. The 100th anniversary of the state's admission to the union is Nov. 16, 2007.
Diddy to be daddy again
Sean "Diddy" Combs and longtime girlfriend, model Kim Porter, are "happy to confirm that they are expecting their second child together." Combs' representative, Keesha Johnson, told the
Associated Press on Tuesday.
Combs, 36, and Porter, 35,
have an 8-year-old son, Christian.
Combs has a 12-year-old son,
Justin, from a previous relationship.
The hip-hop mogul's new album, "Press Play," is slated for release in October.
Compiled from wire reports
ENTERTAINMENT Country singer supports ban on horse slaughter
WASHINGTON — Texan Willie Nelson is raising his voice in defense of a symbol of the West -- wild horses.
In a news release issued this
week, Nelson touts a Sept. 5 Washington rally in support of the bill sponsored by Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y.
Country singer Nelson is the latest to join an effort to ban the slaughter of horses in the U.S. for consumption of their meat abroad.The U.S.House is scheduled to vote Sept. 7 on a bill aimed at ending horse slaughter
"If you've ever been around horses a lot, especially wild horses, you know they are part of the American heritage. I don't think it's right that we kill them and eat them," Nelson said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Nelson said he wouldn't be at the rally, but his daughter Amy would, along with other celebrities, including former "10" star Bo Derek and Jennifer Pryor, wife of the late comedian Richard Pryor.
Nelson recorded the songs "On the Road Again" and "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys."
TV star's uncle accused of child sexual assault
GOLDEN, Colo. — Bail has been set at $50,000 for Vincent Margera, uncle of "Viva La Bam" star Bam Margera, on a charge of sexual assault on a child.
Vincent Margera, 50, was arrested Friday in the Denver suburb of Lakewood.
Lakewood city spokeswoman Stacie Oulton has said he is accused of two incidents of sexual assault on a child involving inappropriate touching.
During his court hearing Monday, prosecutors claimed he had "groped" a 14-year-old.
Vincent Margera had come to Colorado to film promotional material for ManiaTV.com and was arrested after a skateboarding event at a mall.
Vincent Margera had not posted ball by mid-afternoon Monday.
The MTV show "Viva La Bam" focuses largely on Bam Margera playing practical jokes on his parents and uncle, whose dialogue is often unintelligible.
Citing new evidence, singer tries to change plea
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Mindy McCready petitioned Tuesday to withdraw her guilty plea in a probation violation case, saying she had uncovered new evidence.
The country singer had pleaded guilty to violating her probation on a drug charge by driving on a suspended license and leaving Tennessee. McCready, 30, was scheduled to find out Tuesday if a judge would send her to jail for violating her probation on a suspended three-year sentence for fraudulently obtaining the prescription painkillers Oxycontin.
But her attorney, Lee Dryer, said the singer's relatives in Florida found a document that showed her license was reinstated the day before she was arrested on the driving charge in May 2005. Dryer said the new evidence was given to him late Monday night.
A Nashville jury acquitted McCready last month of drunken driving but convicted her of driving on a suspended license.
"I said when I was pulled over that my license was not suspended,
and I was correct," McCready said after Tuesday's hearing.
McCready is to be sentenced in September on the driving charge, and Dryer said he will be seeking a new trial after that.
Williamson County Judge Jeff Bivins said he would hold off on a decision in the probation violation case until Nashville courts rule on the matter.
But the judge said McCready's failure to get permission to travel to Florida in 2005 was still at issue. McCready's Florida trip made news because the singer was hospitalized there after a suicide attempt.
McCready, who had a No. 1 hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," has struggled in recent years.
Two days after her DUI arrest, she was injured in a beating by her former boyfriend, William McKnight, who pleaded guilty to domestic assault and was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail.
McCready has since sued McKnight over the beating and given birth to his child.
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