Friday, May 12, 2006

Dixie Chicks Recall Death Threat

LePaparazzi News Updates


The Dixie Chicks



NEW YORK -- Natalie Maines says one of the death threats she received after criticizing President Bush three years ago was "definitely scary" because the sender "had a plan."
Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, told a London audience during a March 10, 2003, concert: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." The comment was made as war was looming with Iraq, and Maines later apologized for the phrasing of her remark.

In an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EDT), Maines says one threat she received in the summer of 2003 was different from the others.

"It was definitely scary because it seemed so — it wasn't just somebody wanting to write a hate letter," she says. "It was somebody who obviously thought they had a plan."

Emily Robison, who plays banjo and guitar in the Texas trio, says, "There was one specific death threat on Natalie. (It) had a time, had a place, had a weapon. I mean, everything. ...`You will be shot dead at your show in Dallas.'"

The band flew into Dallas, "went straight from the police cars to the stage and straight from the stage back to the police cars and back to the plane," Maines says. "So, you know, it was all surreal. But at that stage, everything was surreal."

Her London comment angered many country music fans and caused radio stations to pull Dixie Chicks music from their playlists. The Chicks said they received death threats, leading them to install metal detectors at their shows.

Today, the Chicks refuse to apologize to fans who were upset by Maines' comment.
"We don't make decisions based on that," Maines says. "We don't go, `OK, our fans are in the red states, so I'm going to play a red, white and blue guitar and put on my I Love Bush T-shirt.
"We're not like that because we're not politicians. We're musicians."

The band, which also includes fiddle and mandolin player Martie Maguire, echoes that sentiment in the song "Not Ready to Make Nice" on their latest album, "Taking the Long Way," slated for release May 23.

Listen to Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice"

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Vince Muses About Future with Jen


Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn



Playing on the tabloid rumor that Oprah Winfrey was going to throw an $8 million wedding for Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, the comic-actor thanked the talk-show queen on Wednesday for her "very nice gesture" and noted, "I'm expecting a pretty good band for $8 million."

Even though Aniston and Winfrey shot down the report about the expensive wedding last month, Winfrey told Vaughn on her program Wednesday: "One of the things I asked Jennifer is, will $8 million be enough?" "Yeah", said Vaughn, rolling his eyes for comic effect. "Come on." As for living with such rumors since being linked to Aniston, Vaughn shrugged and said: "I just don’t pay much attention to that stuff.

I find it to be really ridiculous." Still, for the record, Vaughn and Aniston do not intend to walk down the aisle soon, he said. But he did say of Aniston, who costars with him in the new romantic comedy The Break Up, "Jennifer's great. She's one of my favorite people."

"She's one of mine, too," interjected Winfrey. "She's just really smart and funny and easy to be with – very considerate," persisted Vaughn. "She's great."

When asked about starting a family Vaughn said he'd like to have children "at some point" – just not quite yet. "I think (having children) takes a lot of focus, takes a lot of attention.

I think it would be nice at some point to have a different priority … I think that time would come. But not any time in the near future for me." And, just in case anyone is wondering: "No, I have not talked about having kids with Jennifer," he said. "First we have to have the $8 million wedding."

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No Baby Blues for Brooke Shields


Brooke Shields and her beautiful girls Rowan 3, and new baby Grier.



Brooke Shields, who suffered from severe postpartum depression after the birth of her first child, was concerned that she’d be in the same state after the arrival of her second daughter – but this time around has been "nothing like the first one," Shields tells PEOPLE.

Since Grier Hammond Henchy's April 18 arrival, the only discomfort Shields has felt is the pain from her C-section incision. Although she was prepared to ask for another prescription of Paxil, the antidepressant that helped her recover with daughter Rowan, now 3, she didn't need it this time. "I was like, 'You know what? I think I'm okay now,'" she said to her doctor, PEOPLE reports in its upcoming issue.

This should come as good news to Tom Cruise, who admonished the actress last year for taking antidepressants. Speaking of Cruise, although Shields and Katie Holmes gave birth on the same day, on the same floor, of the same hospital, at first Shields wasn't even aware that there was another celebrity down the hall.

"Basically, I was being cut in two, so it wasn't the first thing I was going to ask about," says Shields. "I was just glad that everything for me was going well."

One month later, it still is. Shields, 40, and her husband, sitcom writer Chris Henchy, 42, have slipped into a happy routine, quickly adjusting to life with their littlest addition.

"Now it just really feels like a full-on family," says Shields. "I'd be lucky to just have the one, but with two, I realize they'll have each other after we're not here anymore, and to me, that really settles my mind."

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Nick Nolte Facing Trial


Nick Nolte



Nick Nolte is on the hook for a party that went out of control at his house--even though he wasn't home at the time.

Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg denied the actor's motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed against him by a teenage girl's parents who claim their daughter was drugged and date-raped during a party at his Malibu home. The judge set a trial date of June 12.

The lawsuit, filed in November 2004, contends that while the Prince of Tides star was away, his son, Brawley Nolte, held a party. The younger Nolte allegedly helped scheme to give the victim, then 15, GHB (known as the "date-rape drug") and let his pal have sex with her.

Party guest Nicholas Woodring pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of having sex with a minor in March 2004 and was sentenced to six months in prison.

"I think it was an excellent decision today by Judge Rosenberg," the plaintiffs' attorney, Philip Dunn, told reporters. "I think it's extremely important because it exposes a real danger to the Malibu Colony that went on."

In his request to dismiss the suit, Nick Nolte said he was only named because of his "high profile," "star power" and "deep pockets."

The girl's family is alleging that Nolte was responsible for creating an environment that fostered drug use and other unsavory activities. His home had "a long history of furnishing drugs and/or alcohol to minors," the suit states.

There's no ruling yet on whether Nolte contributed to the delinquency of minors, but the 65-year-old actor seems to be doing his best to tidy up after spending the last few years dealing with a variety of legal messes.

In January, Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira ruled that Nolte had successfully completed the terms of the three years probation he was handed after pleading no contest to a DUI that resulted in a mug shot seen round the world and a one-way ticket to counseling. A second charge of being under the influence of GHB while driving was dropped, per the plea agreement.

The onetime Sexiest Man Alive completed a 90-day stint in rehab and moved on to lend his voice to DreamWorks' upcoming Over the Hedge, appear in Neverwas with Jessica Lange and Aaron Eckhart, star the Sundance coming-of-age drama Off the Black and play a sage named Socrates in Peaceful Warrior.

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Leif Garrett Back in Jail


Entertainer Leif Garrett appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for a hearing Jan. 20, 2006. Garrett was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years' probation after opting out of a drug treatment program. The 44-year-old former teen idol was given credit Thursday, May 11, 2006, for the jail time he had already served since being taken into custody March 30 after a Superior Court commissioner determined he failed several drug tests while staying in a live-in drug diversion program.



He may have said he doesn't look good in orange, but Leif Garrett is going to have to get used to the color. Again.

The 44-year-old singer-actor was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail and three years' probation stemming from two separate drug-related cases against him.

In March 2005 Garrett pleaded guilty to attempted cocaine possession and received probation. When he was arrested in January for having heroin on him he was ordered into a residential drug treatment facility, where he seemed to be making headway.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Melissa Widdifield gave Garrett another 30 days of in-house rehab when he appeared before her Mar. 9 before he could test his mettle as an outpatient. However, after failing a random drug test while living at the Pasadena facility, the "I Was Made for Dancing" singer was given 45 days in the pokey, beginning Mar. 30.

His current sentence is in exchange for his January bust and the '05 cocaine charge, according to Garrett's attorney, Andrew Flier.

Garrett, perhaps in another attempt at showing he's serious about rehabbing this time around, waived credit for time already spent in jail.

I'd be surprised if he's not out within three days," Flier told reporters outside the courthouse. "He feels that he's going to show everyone that he's drug-free.

Based on the past, people are hesitant, so we'll see what happens...I just think the system is trying to help Mr. Garrett and we all are, but, at the same time, I think they're being a little tough on him.

"Unfortunately, they were being so restrictive on him that he said he's had enough and he'll be able to prove himself, and I don't have a problem with that."

Widdifield told Garrett Thursday that she was "disappointed" with his decision to opt out of another six months at a live-in treatment clinic, but she wished him good luck.

"I don't look good in orange, I don't look good in a beard," Garrett said in March after his successful Mar. 9 progress hearing. He told reporters that he finally felt like he was "going down the right path."

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Hilton Causes Stir at Video Game Expo


Actress Paris Hilton greets a fan as she signs an autograph Thursday, May 11, 2006, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Hilton was onhand to introduce her mobile phones game.



Paris Hilton unveiled her new video game on Thursday, but inexplicably called it by the wrong name as she greeted throngs of fans and photographers.

Wearing a green minidress and red platform pumps, Hilton made a brief appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo to promote "Paris Hilton's Jewel Jam."

"Sorry I'm late," the heiress said. "I'm really excited to have my new video game, 'Diamondquest.' Thank you all for coming, and you can download the game," she said.

After Hilton arrived, men in business suits jockeyed for space with reporters and computer geeks as she sat at a table posing for photographers while signing autographs.

Her game, which can be played on a cell phone, will be available this summer. Video game maker Gameloft will produce a series of video games with Hilton.

The expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center showcases the latest innovations in the video game industry.

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Detroit Club Where Rapper Killed to Close


DETROIT - The nightclub where the rapper Proof, a confidante of Eminem, died in a shootout that also left another man dead will close for a year under a deal with authorities.

The CCC nightclub also must pay fines totaling $600 for illegally operating after hours, the Wayne County prosecutor's office announced Thursday.

Proof, 32, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, died April 11 after being shot in a fight that occurred 2 1/2 hours after the club's legal closing time.

Proof was a member of the rap group D12 and was the best man at Eminem's January wedding.
Army veteran Keith Bender, 35, also was shot and died a week later.

Police say Proof shot Bender before Bender's cousin, Mario Etheridge, shot Proof. Etheridge is charged with carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm in a building.

Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy sued the club's owners in Wayne County Circuit Court. She released a statement Thursday saying the settlement had been reached and that it included the club's closing and the fine.

Worthy said state law for a nuisance violation permits only a one-year closing.
"We got everything we could under the law, and we got it very quickly," she told the Detroit Free Press. "We have learned from the untimely death of Keith Bender and Deshaun Holton that these clubs are not only dangerous to the patrons, but present serious quality-of-life issues for the law-abiding citizens that live near them."

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