Legend, 2 Chainz, MC Lyte honored at Hip-Hop Ball






WASHINGTON (AP) — John Legend believes hip-hop played its part in helping Barack Obama become president, and he’s proud at how the genre has matured over the years.


“I think hip-hop had a role in making sure we elected a black president in America because we made it so that black people were in people’s homes … through our music and through our culture,” the R&B crooner said Sunday night at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball.






“I think it made Barack Obama and more people like him possible, so I’m really thankful for hip-hop and the role it plays in society,” he continued.


Legend was awarded the humanitarian award at Sunday’s event, and it was one of many honors handed out at the Harman Center for Arts.


Hip-hop pioneers MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh were both given lifetime achievement awards. Fresh even hit the stage, beat boxing while comedian-actor-singer Wayne Brady cooed Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” At one point, Brady even busted out his own rhymes.


Rapper Yo Yo earned a roaring cheer when she hit the stage to honor MC Lyte; Lil Mama also paid tribute to the “Ruffneck” rapper.


2 Chainz, who had a breakthrough year with his Grammy-nominated solo debut and multiple rap hits, earned the street soldier award for encouraging young voters as a spokesperson for the Hip-Hop Caucus’ “Respect My Vote!” campaign.


“Doing my thing on the charts is one thing, but to be getting honored on another avenue, it just feels like a blessing,” he said in an interview. “I’m keeping my head leveled and staying humble.”


Actress Rosario Dawson won the vanguard award for her work as chairman of the Voto Latino organization.


“It’s time to step out of the shadows. It’s time to not just be talked about by other people, it’s time to take the leadership ourselves and that first step of leadership is voting,” Dawson said of the importance of the Latino vote.


Rappers Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill also earned honors at the event, attended by a few hundred hip-hop fans, including model Tyson Beckford, former NBA star Dikembe Mutumbo and Victor Cruz of the New York Giants. La La Anthony and Terrence J hosted the ball.


British singer Marsha Ambrosius also delivered a rousing performance, and playful jokes about Obama.


“I got a call from the president and he asked me to perform his favorite song,” she said before singing the R&B jam “Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player).”


Then she sang “Butterflies,” a song she co-wrote for Michael Jackson’s 2001 “Invincible” album.


“This might have been his favorite,” she said.


___


Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin


Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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First lady wears Thom Browne coat and dress


WASHINGTON (AP) — First Lady Michelle Obama is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress.


The fabric for the first lady's Inauguration Day attire was developed based on the style of a man's silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her necklace was designed by Cathy Waterman. She is also wearing J.Crew shoes.


Her daughter Malia is also wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress.


At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the first lady's outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.


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Investigators probe 787 battery maker









U.S. and Japanese aviation safety officials investigating problems with Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner visited the headquarters of the plane's battery maker on Monday, seeking clues into why one of the technologically advanced aircraft made an emergency landing last week.

A spokesman for GS Yuasa Corp, which makes batteries for the 787, said the company was fully cooperating with the investigation, and its engineers were working with the officials from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB) at the company's compound in Kyoto, where it makes airplane batteries.

CAB official Tatsuyuki Shimazu told reporters the investigating team had been briefed by GS Yuasa and had toured the plant, looking at battery design, production and quality. The Japanese investigation at the plant will continue on Tuesday on a more detailed level, including tracking battery batch numbers and production dates, he said.

Authorities around the world last week grounded the new lightweight Dreamliner, and Boeing halted deliveries after a problem with a lithium-ion battery prompted an All Nippon Airways 787 into the emergency landing at Takamatsu airport during a domestic flight. Earlier this month, a similar battery caught fire in a Japan Airlines' 787 parked at Boston Logan International Airport.

EXPANDED PROBE

U.S. safety investigators on Sunday ruled out excess voltage as the cause of the Boston battery fire on Jan. 7, and said they were expanding their probe to look at the battery's charger and the jet's auxiliary power unit. The battery is one part of the 787's complex electrical system, built by French company Thales SA.

“Results have shown the battery was abnormal in both the Boston and Takamatsu (incidents). They were the most damaged,” Shigeru Takano, a senior safety official at the CAB, told reporters ahead of the on-site visit to GS Yuasa. “We will look into if the work that took place, from design to manufacturing, was appropriate.”

Shares in GS Yuasa, valued at close to $1.5 billion, rose 1 percent on Monday, having dropped nearly 10 percent since the Boston fire. The benchmark Nikkei fell 1.5 percent.

The company, which employs nearly 12,300 staff, expects revenue of 288 billion yen ($3.2 billion) in the year to end-March - with only around 1 percent of that coming from its aircraft battery business. The company's batteries are used primarily in motorbikes, industrial equipment and power supply devices.

GS Yuasa, in which automaker Toyota Motor Corp has a 2.7 percent stake, reported an operating profit of around $160 million in the year to last March.

MORE FLIGHTS CANCELLED

The grounding of the Dreamliner, an advanced carbon-composite plane with a list price of $207 million, has forced ANA to cancel 151 domestic and 26 international flights scheduled for Jan. 23-28, affecting more than 21,000 passengers, the airline said on Monday.

The cancellations add to the 72 flights scheduled for Jan. 19-22 that ANA called off last week. ANA, which flies the most Dreamliners of any airline, said it will announce on Thursday its plans on flight cancellations for dates from Jan. 29.

ANA said it had not yet decided whether to seek compensation from Boeing for losses as a result of the 787's grounding. “At this point we're concentrating on getting the Dreamliner back in service, rather than considering requesting compensation,” said spokesman Ryosei Nomura.

Rival JAL said it cancelled four flights on its Tokyo-San Diego route for Jan. 27-28, adding to the 8 flights originally scheduled for Jan. 19-25 on the same route it called off last week. It said it had yet to decide changes for flights slated for Jan. 26.

“We've been able to rearrange routes originally scheduled to use the Dreamliner with alternative aircraft,” said JAL spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap, adding there was no talk about compensation at this stage.

Japan is the biggest market to date for the Dreamliner, with JAL and ANA flying 24 of the 50 passenger jets that Boeing has delivered.
 

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Man shot on 22nd floor of downtown hotel

A man was shot in the historic Palmer House Hotel downtown.









A 25-year-old man was shot in the leg early this morning during a party on the 22nd floor of a Loop hotel, police said.


The shooting, one of several overnight shooting incidents across the city that left at least six other people injured, happened about 2:15 a.m. at the Palmer House, 17 East Monroe St., Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said.


The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.





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Police said no suspects were in custody and that the man was not cooperating fully with detectives.


Everyone involved knew each other, according to police.


Hotel staff declined to comment and referred all questions to a company spokesman who was unavailable.


In other overnight shootings:


• A 28-year-old man walking on the street was hit in the hand by a shot fired by a male passenger in a silver, older-model Lexus driven by a female, police said. The incident happened about 4:55 a.m. in the 300 block of East 75th Street in the Park Manor neighborhood on the South Side. The victim, who was transported to St. Bernard in good condition, ran from the scene as the attackers fled.


• A 28-year-old male sustained a gunshot wound to the hand about 4:55 a.m. at 11 E. 75th Street in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side, said News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak. He is in good condition at St. Bernard Hospital.


• A 22-year-old man riding inside a vehicle was shot in the arm about 4:18 a.m. at North Avenue and Kedvale Avenue in the Hermosa neighborhood on the Northwest Side, Kubiak said. He was driven to Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center, where his condition had stabilized.


• A 19-year-old man was shot in the left hand and in the left side of his jaw while exiting a vehicle about 4:15 a.m. in the 3900 block of West 65th Place in the West Lawn neighborhood on the Southwest Side, according to Kubiak. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital and was transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where his condition had stabilized.


• About 10 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in the shin while walking down the sidewalk in the 5500 block of South Shields Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, Alfaro said. He was taken to Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, where his condition was stabilized.


• About 9:20 p.m., a 35-year-old man was shot in the leg near the intersection of West 85th Street and South Loomis Boulevard in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, Alfaro said. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in good condition.


No arrests have been made in any of the shootings and police continue to investigate.


chicagobreaking@tribune.com


Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking





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Dotcom says new site legal, no revenge for Megaupload saga


AUCKLAND (Reuters) - Kim Dotcom, founder of outlawed file-sharing website Megaupload, said his new "cyberlocker" was not revenge on U.S. authorities who planned a raid on his home, closed Megaupload and charged him with online piracy for which he faces jail if found guilty.


Dotcom said his new offering, Mega.co.nz, which will launch on Sunday even as he and three colleagues await extradition from New Zealand to the United States, complied with the law and warned that attempts to take it down would be futile.


"This is not some kind of finger to the U.S. government or to Hollywood," Dotcom told Reuters at his sprawling estate in the bucolic hills of Coatesville, just outside Auckland, New Zealand, a country known more for sheep, rugby and the Hobbit than flamboyant tech tycoons.


"Legally, there's just nothing there that could be used to shut us down. This site is just as legitimate and has the right to exist as Dropbox, Boxnet and other competitors," he said, referring to other popular cloud storage services.


His lawyer, Ira Rothken, added that launching the site was compliant with the terms of Dotcom's bail conditions. U.S. prosecutors argue that Dotcom in a statement said he had no intention of starting a new internet business until his extradition was resolved.


CODES AND KEYS


Dotcom said Mega was a different beast to Megaupload, as the new site enables users to control exactly which users can access uploaded files, in contrast to its predecessor, which allowed users to search files, some of which contained copyrighted content allegedly without permission.


A sophisticated encryption system will allow users to encode their files before they upload them on to the site's servers, which Dotcom said were located in New Zealand and overseas.


Each file will then be issued a unique, sophisticated decryption key which only the file holder will control, allowing them to share the file as they choose.


As a result, the site's operators would have no access to the files, which they say would strip them from any possible liability for knowingly enabling users to distribute copyright-infringing content, which Washington says is illegal.


"Even if we wanted to, we can't go into your file and snoop and see what you have in there," the burly Dotcom said.


Dotcom said Mega would comply with orders from copyright holders to remove infringing material, which will afford it the "safe harbor" legal provision, which minimizes liability on the condition that a party acted in good faith to comply.


But some legal experts say it may be difficult to claim the protection if they do not know what users have stored.


The Motion Pictures Association of America said encrypting files alone would not protect Dotcom from liability.


"We'll reserve final judgment until we have a chance to analyze the new project," a spokesman told Reuters. "But given Kim Dotcom's history, count us as skeptical."


The German national, who also goes by Kim Schmitz, expects huge interest in its first month of operation, which would be a far cry from when Megaupload went live in 2005.


"I would be surprised if we had less than one million users," Dotcom said.


A YEAR ON


Mega's launch starts the next chapter of the Dotcom narrative, dotted with previous cyber crime-related arrests and whose twists and turns have been scrutinized by all facets of the entertainment industry, from film studios and record labels to internet service companies and teenage gamers.


The copyright infringement case, billed as the largest to date given that Megaupload in its heyday commanded around four percent of global online traffic, could set a precedent for internet liability laws and depending on its outcome, may force entertainment companies to rethink their distribution methods.


A year on, the extradition hearing has been delayed until August, complicated by illegal arrest warrants and the New Zealand government's admission that it had illegally spied on Dotcom, who has residency status in the country.


Last January, New Zealand's elite special tactics forces landed by helicopter at dawn in the grounds of Dotcom's mansion, worth roughly NZ$30 million ($25.05 million) and featuring a servants' wing, hedge maze and life-size statues of giraffes and a rhinoceros, to arrest him and his colleagues at the request of the FBI.


Police armed with semi-automatic weapons found Dotcom cowering alone in a panic room in the attic, while outside, a convoy of police cars and vans pulled up in the driveway. Around 70 officers took part in the raid.


They left with computers, files and some of Dotcom's fleet of Rolls-Royces, Mercedes and a vintage pink Cadillac tricked with personalized license plates screaming "HACKER", "EVIL", and "MAFIA".


"Every time you hear a helicopter, you automatically think, 'Oh, another raid', so it's something that stays with you for a long time," said Dotcom, who says he and his wife still panic when they hear sudden, loud noises in the house.


Dotcom was coy about the details of the launch party as builders put the finishing touches to a festival-sized concert stage in the mansion's grounds, while two helicopters circled overhead.


But if the impromptu, Willy Wonka-styled ice cream social he threw in Auckland earlier in the week is any indication, the party could be a more wholesome affair compared with the well-documented soirees of Dotcom's past, where nightclubs, hot tubs and scantily clad women were a common fixture.


"I had to grow up, you know, I was a big baby," he said. "Big baby with too much money usually leads to baby craziness.


"I am going to be more of a person that wants to help to make things better and help internet innovation to take off without all these restrictions by governments. That is going to be my primary goal if this business is successful."


($1 = NZ$1.2)


(Editing by Daniel Magnowski and Nick Macfie)



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Djokovic survives to advance at Australian Open


MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic got a huge scare from 15th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka before hanging on to win in the 22nd game of the fifth set to advance to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.


The top-seeded Djokovic needed 5 hours, 2 minutes for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 12-10 victory that ended early Monday morning.


Djokovic broke Wawrinka's serve in the final game to clinch the win on his third match point with a cross-court backhand.


Djokovic is the two-time defending champion and has an 18-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. He is trying to become the first man in the Open era to win the tournament three times in a row.


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Dan Lin, Roy Lee Counter Sue Legendary over ‘Godzilla’






LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison have hit back at Legendary Pictures over “Godzilla,” filing a cross complaint Thursday in L.A. Superior Court seeking millions in damages and credit for their contributions to the upcoming movie.


Lin, Lee and Davison allege breach of contract and mistreatment, rehashing the history of how they came to work with Legendary. They began work in 2009 and helped Legendary secure the rights because they were assured they’d be treated well.






“Apparently, Legendary’s idea of treating the producers who brought them ‘Godzilla’ well included concocting a scheme to try to force them off the project, and depriving them of their screen credit and substantial fixed and backend compensation in order to keep more of the money and to aggrandize themselves,” the suit claims.


Legendary preemptively sued the producers last week to kick them off of the movie, anticipating a restraining order that could impede the looming production. Legendary unveiled its plans for the movie at Comic-Con last July, and has slated it for a 2014 release. It would begin production in Spring with Gareth Edward directing.


Legendary alleged that it had entered an agreement in March 2011 that gave the producers $ 25,000 in development money but no right to the intellectual property. In order to receive credit as a producer or backend money from the movie’s profits, their early work would need to be the basis for the movie.


Lin, Lee and Davison say they were responsible for bringing the rights to Legendary and never signed a written agreement because Legendary changed the terms of the deal. However, they say, Legendary had orally agreed to pay $ 1.3 million and three percent of first dollar cross receipts in addition to the development money.


Legendary has since hired a new writer, Frank Darabont, and sought other producers.


The producers are all based at Warner Bros., Legendary’s main partner – Lin at Lin Pictures and Lee and Davison for Vertigo Entertainment. Their suit against Legendary places most of the blame with president and chief creative officer Jon Jashni rather than CEO Thomas Tull.


However, they are still pointed in their claims, explaining that they “seek substantial punitive damages to make an example of Legendary so that it and no other studio will in the future treat their producers in this outrageous manner.”


Legendary had no comment on the suit.


(Pamela Chelin contributed to this report)


Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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More than 140 nations adopt treaty to cut mercury


GENEVA (AP) — A new and legally binding international treaty to reduce harmful emissions of mercury was adopted Saturday by more than 140 nations, capping four years of difficult negotiations but stopping short of some of the tougher measures that proponents had envisioned.


The new accord aims to cut mercury pollution from mining, utility plants and a host of products and industrial processes, by setting enforceable limits and encouraging shifts to alternatives in which mercury is not used, released or emitted.


Mercury, known to be a poison for centuries, is natural element that cannot be created or destroyed. It is released into the air, water and land from small-scale artisanal gold mining, coal-powered plants, and from discarded electronic or consumer products such as electrical switches, thermostats and dental amalgam fillings. Mercury compound goes into batteries, paints and skin-lightening creams.


Because it concentrates and accumulates in fish and goes up the food chain, mercury poses the greatest risk of nerve damage to pregnant women, women of child-bearing age and young children. The World Health Organization has said there are no safe limits for the consumption of mercury and its compounds, which can also cause brain and kidney damage, memory loss and language impairment.


A decade ago, Switzerland and Norway began pushing for an international treaty to limit mercury emissions, a process that culminated in the adoption of an accord Saturday after an all-night session that capped a weeklong conference in Geneva and previous such sessions over the past four years.


"It will help us to protect human health and the environment all over the world," Swiss environment ambassador Franz Perrez told a news conference.


But the treaty only requires that nations with artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations, one of the biggest sources of mercury releases, draw up national plans within three years of the treaty entering force to reduce and — if possible — eliminate the use of mercury in such operations. Governments also approved exceptions for some uses such as large measuring devices for which there are no mercury-free alternatives; vaccines where mercury is used as a preservative; and products used in religious or traditional activities.


Switzerland, Norway and Japan each contributed $1 million to get the treaty started, but U.N. officials say tens of millions more will be needed each year to help developing countries comply. The money would be distributed through the Global Environment Facility, an international funding mechanism.


The U.N. Environment Program said the treaty will be signed later this year in the southern Japanese city of Minamata, for which it is to be named. After that, 50 nations must ratify it before it comes into force, which officials predicted would happen in three to four years.


So-called Minimata disease, a severe neurological disorder caused by mercury poisoning, was discovered in the late 1950s because of methylmercury escaping from the city's industrial wastewater. The illness, which sickened people who ate contaminated fish, killed hundreds and left many more badly crippled. Some 12,000 people have demanded compensation from Japan's government.


"To agree on global targets is not easy to do," Achim Steiner, the executive director of the U.N. Environment Program, told reporters. "There was no delegation here that wished to leave Geneva without drafting a treaty."


Over the past 100 years, mercury found in the top 100 meters (yards) of the world's oceans has doubled, and concentrations in waters deeper than that have gone up by 25 percent, the U.N. environment agency says, while rivers and lakes contain an estimated 260 metric tons of mercury that was previously held in soils.


The treaty was originally blocked by powers such as the United States, but President Barack Obama's reversal of the U.S. position in early 2009 helped propel momentum for its adoption. China and India also played key roles in ensuring its passage; Asia accounts for just under half of all global releases of mercury.


"We have closed a chapter on a journey that has taken four years of often intense, but ultimately successful, negotiations and opened a new chapter toward a sustainable future," said Fernando Lugris, the Uruguayan diplomat who chaired the negotiations.


Some supporters of a new mercury treaty said they were not satisfied with the agreement.


Joe DiGangi, a science adviser with advocacy group IPEN, said that while the treaty is "a first step," it is not tough enough to achieve its aim of reducing overall emissions. For example, he said, there is no requirement that each country create a national plan for how it will reduce mercury emissions.


His group and some of the residents of Minamata have opposed naming the treaty for their city because they feel it does not do enough to fix the problem.


"This treaty should be called the 'Mercury Convention,' not the 'Minamata Convention," said Takeshi Yasuma, a Japanese activist. "Water pollution resulting in contaminated sediment and fish caused the Minamata tragedy, but the treaty contains no obligations to reduce mercury releases to water and no obligations to clean up contaminated sites."


Treaty proponents called it a good first step, however, and Steiner said the document would evolve over time and hopefully become a stronger instrument.


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Will.i.am, Legend take part in young voters event


WASHINGTON (AP) — Will.i.am says though he's an active supporter of President Barack Obama, don't expect the Black Eyed Peas leader to become a politician.


"Nope. I like it from this angle," he said in an interview Saturday night.


Will.i.am attended an event for OurTime.org, a non-profit organization that encourages young people to vote. Several hundred people packed the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, where John Legend, Common and T-Pain performed.


The event was just one of will.i.am's inaugural appearances: He's attending the Candle Light Inaugural Ball and Green Inaugural Ball on Sunday and will be a guest at Obama's public swearing in ceremony Monday and at the Inaugural Ball later that day.


He said it "feels good" to lend his hand to the Obama campaign and that he wants to see young voters do more.


"This is important for the youth to realize how powerful they are and to stay active and stay informed, and go out when it's time to vote. And not just for a presidential candidate, but for local government, too," he said.


Common kicked off the live performances with songs like "The People" and "Testify." He even danced and kissed a fan onstage — and on the lips — while Beyonce's "Party" blasted in the background.


"Just be whoever you are no matter what they say," Common said to the crowd.


The rapper also hit the stage with John Legend, who played piano as Common performed "The Light." Legend slowed the night's upbeat mood, crooning on songs like "Green Light," ''Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" and "Ordinary People."


Newly crowned Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan, actress Sophie Bush and Arianna Huffington also attended.


Rapper-singer T-Pain closed the night, performing hits like "Bartender" ''5 o'clock," ''Good Life" and "Blame It."


___


Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin


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Problem Solver: Motorists get tickets while feeding meter








As is often the case in life, timing is everything.


For Anthony Latronica, it was also expensive.


On Nov. 3, the West Town resident parked his car on North Avenue near Wells Street and walked to the nearest parking meter to pay.






His wife put her credit card into the pay box but could not get the device to work.


According to phone records, she called Chicago Parking Meters LLC at 7:47 p.m. but had trouble getting through. She hung up and called again at 7:48 p.m., and a representative walked her through the procedure. Phone records show the call lasted three minutes.


The parking receipt printed out at 7:51 p.m., and Latronica went to put it on his dashboard. But in the rough-and-tumble world of Chicago parking, minutes can make a big difference.


In fact, Latronica was too late.


By the time he walked the half-block to his car, Latronica had already been ticketed for an expired meter, the citation time stamped at 7:49 p.m. — two minutes after his wife called Chicago Parking Meters to complain about the pay box.


Stunned, Latronica grabbed the ticket and tracked down the ticker writer.


"He told me that he did see us standing at the meter and he would cancel the ticket," Latronica said.


That didn't happen. Several weeks later, Latronica received a citation in the mail, telling him he could either contest the ticket or pay $60.


Latronica chose to contest.


He sent in an explanation of what happened, a copy of his credit card statement and a copy of the meter receipt.


In early January, he received the ruling: guilty.


Upset, Latronica called the Department of Administrative Hearings and asked how, given his circumstances, the ticket could be upheld? After all, he was in the process of getting a parking receipt when he received the ticket. It wasn't as if he could get the meter receipt before he parked the car.


He was told that since the receipt printed two minutes after the ticket was issued, he could have run back and paid for parking after receiving the citation.


Unable to make any headway with the city, Latronica emailed What's Your Problem?


He said what irked him the most was the fact that he did nothing wrong and still got dinged. To appeal the administrative law officer's ruling would cost more money, he said.


"It is probably not worth the time, money and effort to bring a suit, but it really bothers me that this can be happening every day across the city and citizens are just denied when they contest it," Latronica said.


In fact, his experience is not an isolated incident. The same week that Latronica emailed about his situation, another reader, Holly Mair, wrote in describing a similar experience.






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