Lauryn Hill Must Come Up With Half A Million In Two Weeks To Avoid Jail
Lauryn Hill has had her trials and tribulations, but one of the biggest may be upon her.
Her sentencing on tax evasion charges was supposed to be today, but her fate was suspended. A judged postponed her case for two weeks, apparently to allow her to make the money in back taxes.
Ms. Hill owes the government $504,000 in back unpaid taxes and has paid $50,000 thus far. She faces up to 30 months in prison and has admitted guilt in the case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo seemed annoyed of the effort Hill has mad so far.
“This is not someone who stands before the court penniless,” Arleo said in a report to Yahoo.com. “This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes.”
Her lawyer said that the singer/rapper would be able to pay.
“I fully expect that by May 3 Ms. Hill will be able to pay back all the restitution she has,” Nathan Hochman said.
Hill is now slated for a May 6 day in court.
Barbra Streisand film career honoured by Lincoln Center
US singer Barbra Streisand has been honoured for her film career with the 40th annual Chaplin Award from the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Among those paying tribute to the actress - who turns 71 tomorrow - were former president Bill Clinton, Liza Minnelli and singer Tony Bennett.
She is one of just a few to have won all four major US awards - an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and an honorary Tony.
The event raised $2m (£1.3m) to help the centre promote independent cinema.
Accepting the award, Streisand told the audience: "Ever since I can remember, people have been calling me bossy and opinionated."
She continued: "Maybe that's because I am. Three cheers for bossy women."
Streisand began her film career with 1968's Funny Girl, for which she won an Oscar. Organisers showed clips from the film and her other movies which include The Way We Were, What's Up, Doc? and the Meet the Parents sequel, Meet the Fockers.
'Massive talent'
In a video clip, Robert Redford - her co-star in The Way We Were - joked that he'd been warned she was "a pain," but discovered that was "totally engaging to act with, beautiful, thorough and skilled".
Streisand won a second Oscar in 1997 for Evergreen, the theme song from A Star is Born. She has won four Emmy awards and 10 Grammy awards.
Former US President Bill Clinton said: "Every great person is driven," the former president said. "But if that person has massive talent, big brains and a bigger heart, you want to go along for the ride."
Also appearing onstage were Michael Douglas, Pierce Brosnan, Kris Kristofferson and Meet The Fockers co-stars Blythe Danner and Ben Stiller.
Streisand was serenaded by Bennett, who closed the show with the song, Smile, written by Charlie Chaplin.
The Film Society's Annual Gala began in 1972 and honoured Chaplin - who returned to the US from exile in Switzerland to accept the commendation.
Past winners include French actress Catherine Deneuve, Sidney Poitier, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
The film society was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema and support new filmmakers.
Stingers up 2 in the GTBA over Cool Corners
The GT Stingers beats Cool Corners 72-62 in the GTBA playoffs in Grand Turk this past weekend.
Despite the fire of words on Sports Watch last week, host Donavan Fulford sat with the players from both teams simultaneously as the words flew as to the which team was the better team.
In Game 2 carried on RTC on Tuesday evening, Lavard Missick scored 22 points, 10 rebounds, had 1 steal and 1 assist, while Enrico Smith scored 11points, 6 steals, 1 assist, 2 rebounds and 1 block and closing out the evening for Cool Corners was Williams, who scored 9 points, had 1rebound and a steal to show 62 on the board.
The defending champions GT Stingers big man Elvis Smith scored 24 points, 2 steals, 9 rebounds and 2 assists while the Garland brothers dominated the game with their speed.
Sherad scored 21 buckets, 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists while Torell delivered 16 points, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
The Corners seemed stunned but cool with the loss as they are down 0 to 2 in the best of 7 GTBA playoffs.
There will be no games this weekend but game 3 will be played on May 3rd, 2013.
No Bucks for Milwaukee, while Miami Heats up the court 2-0
For the second straight game, the Miami Heat took a win over the Milwaukee Bucks by double digits, but this victory, a 98-86 trouncing, was a bit different.
Milwaukee actually came into the fourth quarter down by just three points with a ton of momentum after cutting the lead down from eight points. A LeBron James-Chris Andersen spark led to a 12-point run to start the fourth and the demise of the Bucks.
Dwyane Wade ended up being key in two different runs, scoring eight points in the third quarter and then a few more to extend the run in the fourth, but LeBron's stat line makes him impossible to ignore. He put up 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Milwaukee came out in this one looking to show its aggression early on, and it did just that, taking the lead early in the first quarter and not giving it up until there was but a minute left in the first.
Most surprising, it wasn't Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings getting to the bucket or hitting jumpers. It was Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute doing everything to find the bottom for the Bucks.
In fact, Ellis and Jennings missed every shot they took in the first half, shockingly opting to set up their teammates and move the ball around the perimeter.
The only problem was that the team on the other side of the ball had LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Oh, and Mario Chalmers. You can't forget about 'Rio.
Miami consistently turned the ball over in the first, but ended up putting up enough points to come into the second quarter with a two-point lead.
The story continued in the second. The Heat did enough to stay ahead, while the Bucks did everything in their power to take the lead, just unable to climb over the wall that the advantage created.
Liverpool striker accepts FA bite charge
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has accepted a charge of violent conduct from the Football Association for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and the case will be heard on Wednesday.
However, the Uruguay international does not think he should be banned for longer than three games.
The incident happened during Sunday's 2-2 draw between the sides.
The FA said the match officials had not seen it during the game at Anfield and it had been "retrospectively reviewed".
A statement read: "Suarez has denied the FA's claim that the standard punishment of three matches is clearly insufficient for this offence.
"The incident was not seen by the match officials and has therefore been retrospectively reviewed. An independent regulatory commission will hear the case tomorrow, Wednesday 24 April."
The three-man commission will meet via videolink to study written submissions from the FA and Suarez.
Following the incident the 26-year-old apologised for biting the Chelsea defender and spoke to Ivanovic personally to say sorry.
Liverpool have fined Suarez but insist he still has a future with the Premier League club.
It is not the first time Suarez has been charged with such an offence. He was banned for seven games when he was at Ajax after biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal's shoulder during a match in November 2010.
During his time at Liverpool, he was also given an eight-match ban and £40,000 fine by the FA for racially abusing Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra in December 2011.
Boston Celtics is no match for the New York Knicks
As was the case with the fourth quarter in Game 1, the New York Knicks dominated the third quarter of Game 2. They once again shut down the Boston Celtics in the second half on their way to a 87-71 win.
A 21-4 run to open the third completely hobbled the Celtics, who once again held a lead at halftime. The final margin in the third frame was 32-11 in favor of the Knicks, granting them a five-point lead entering the final quarter.
Games 1 and 2 were prime examples of the Celtics missing Rajon Rondo on the floor. In Saturday's loss, the Celtics were unable to take care of the ball without a real point guard on the roster.
On Tuesday night, the Celtics didn't turn the ball over in excess, but they were unable to come up with quality offensive possessions at the level of the Knicks. When New York's shots are falling, particularly from three-point land, Boston will have difficulties keeping up.
The Knicks wound up just 7-of-19 from beyond the arc tonight, but held the Celtics to 37.1 percent shooting overall.
Rondo provided them an advantage in that he could handle the ball and get any teammate a shot they were comfortable with on virtually every possession. Now they are left creating mostly for themselves or trying to force too much in transition.
New York's defense in the second half was the story of the game, holding the Celtics to just 23 points after the main intermission. Boston didn't register a field goal in the final 9:15 and scored just two points in the final eight minutes.
Source-ESPN
Gayle smashes fastest century in history
West Indies opener Chris Gayle has set a new record for the fastest century in the history of professional cricket, playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League (IPL) today Tuesday.
Gayle smashed an astonishing ton off just 30 balls, battering the Pune Warriors bowling attack in an innings that included seven dot balls, four singles, eight fours and 11 sixes at the Chinna-swamy Stadium, Bangalore.
His ruthless attack on the Pune bowling was in a category, completely different from what has been a hit-and-miss IPL in 2013, with low scores, except for an 85 off 50 balls and a 92 off 58 balls.
The 31 year old Gayle, got to his century with a free-hit from medium-pacer Ashok Dinda which went crashing into the roof of the M. Chinna-swamy stadium.
Gayle, who now has a staggering 11 centuries in T20 cricket, said it was just one of those days, he went berserk and it just paid off.
The West Indian’s 30-ball ton, erases the previous 34-ball T20 record, set by Australia’s Andrew Symonds.
The record in 50-over cricket is Shahid Afridi's 37-ball ton for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 1996 while the Test record belongs to Gayle's fellow West Indian Sir Viv Richards, who flayed England for a 56-ball 100 in Antigua in 1986.
The Jamaican batsman finished with a world record score of 175 not out, which included 13 fours and 17 sixes from 66 balls.
RCB finished on 263 for five from 20 overs to break Sri Lanka's record of 260-6 against Kenya in the 2007 World Twenty20.
Pune Warriors, who chose to field, were chasing 264 for victory.
Canada train 'al-Qaeda plot' suspects challenge case
Two suspects in an alleged al-Qaeda-backed plot to derail a Canadian passenger train have challenged the case against them.
In a Montreal court, Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, said the case against him was based only on "appearances".
A lawyer for Raed Jaser, 35, said he would "defend himself vigorously", outside his hearing in Toronto.
Officials said the alleged plot had support from al-Qaeda in Iran, although there was no sign of state sponsorship.
Canadian authorities said the two suspects were arrested in Montreal and Toronto on Monday.
Mr Jaser is understood to be a United Arab Emirates national of Palestinian origin, though his lawyer points out he is a permanent Canadian resident who has lived there 20 years.
Mr Esseghaier is thought to be of Tunisian origin.
The charges against the pair include conspiring to interfere with transport facilities on behalf of a terrorist organisation and conspiring to commit murder.
Neither suspect entered a plea in Tuesday's hearings.
French parliament approves new Same-sex marriage law
France has become the 14th country to approve a law allowing gay marriage.
The bill, which also legalises adoption by same-sex couples, was passed by 321 votes to 225 in the French parliament.
The decision follows a divisive public debate with some of the biggest protests seen in France in recent years.
Hundreds of opponents of the measure rallied outside the National Assembly building in central Paris as the result was announced.
The leader of the most high-profile group opposing same-sex marriage vowed to continue the fight.
Frigide Barjot, a comedian who uses her stage name, told her supporters: "We are going to show them that this is not over. I solemnly ask the president to hold a referendum on the subject."
Inside the National Assembly chamber, two opponents tried to unfurl a banner before being ejected.
Thousands of police armed with water cannon were deployed near parliament to deal with any repeat of the violence seen on the fringes of previous demonstrations.
Although rallies opposing the change have been overwhelmingly peaceful, there have been some clashes, blamed on far-right elements.
Opinion polls suggest a small majority of French people favour gay marriage, but surveys indicate fewer support adoption by same-sex couples.
Socialist President Francois Hollande made the law his flagship social reform.
He is expected to add his signature to the bill once it has cleared any challenge in the constitutional council.
FBI faces Tamerlan Tsarnaev questions in Boston Marathon bombing
US security officials are to face questions in Congress over whether they mishandled information about Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
They will brief the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed hearing, after some US lawmakers accused the FBI of failing to act on Russian concerns.
Tsarnaev was questioned in 2011 amid claims he had adopted radical Islam.
He was killed in a manhunt after the attack but his wounded brother Dzhokhar has been charged over the bombings.
The Beth Israel Deaconess hospital in Massachusetts said at noon on Tuesday that the surviving brother's condition had improved from "serious" to "fair", according to the US Attorney's Office in Boston.
Federal prosecutors have charged him with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death. He could be sentenced to death if convicted on either count.
Anonymous officials have told US media that 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said he and his brother had planned the attack themselves without help from foreign militants.
The officials say his written answers from his hospital bed to investigators' questions lead them to believe that the pair were motivated by jihadist ideology and that they devised the bombings using the internet.
However, the sources also said the interviews were preliminary and they must verify the defendant's responses.
Lawyers for Katherine Russell, the widow of 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, said that their client was doing everything she could to assist authorities.
She is "trying to come to terms with these events", her lawyers said in a statement on Tuesday, without saying whether she had been questioned by investigators.
"The report of involvement by her husband and brother-in-law came as an absolute shock to them all."
Both Tsarnaev brothers had origins in the troubled, predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya in southern Russia. They had been living in the US for about a decade at the time of the attack.