Weekly News 11/28-12/4/05

AP

© Eminem Impersonator Faces Life Sentence
An Eminem impersonator who beat a woman to death and stuffed her body in a suitcase — a scene reminiscent of the rapper's "Stan" video — is facing life in prison. Christopher Duncan, 21, has the same hair color, style and tattoos as the rapper. Duncan pleaded guilty Thursday to killing Jagdip Najran, 26, a law student and aspiring singer. They met at a karaoke bar last year, where Najran was smitten after watching Duncan perform, a prosecutor said. Duncan took Najran back to his apartment and beat her over the head with an iron baseball bat until she fell unconscious, then stuffed her body into a suitcase. Medical experts testified she stayed alive for at least an hour after being struck. Duncan reportedly told police he was high on Ecstasy and LSD at the time. In the video for "Stan," an obsessive fan ties up his girlfriend, throws her in the trunk of his car and drives it over a bridge. Duncan was to be sentenced Monday. A call to Eminem's publicist in Los Angeles was not immediately returned.

© Garner, Affleck Have Baby Girl
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck had a baby girl Thursday. "Mother, father and baby are doing great," their publicists, Ken Sunshine and Nicole King, told The Associated Press.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051202/ap_en_ce/people_affleck_garner

© World Cup Opening Gala Lineup Announced
Peter Gabriel, Jessye Norman and the Black Eyed Peas will perform at the World Cup's opening gala next year. The two-hour show on June 7 at Berlin's Olympiastadion will kick off soccer's monthlong showcase. http://news.yahoo.com/

© Alicia Keys and Bono to Release Song
Alicia Keys and Bono are hoping to save the lives of children through song. The two superstars have collaborated on "Don't Give Up (Africa)," and will donate all proceeds to Keep A Child Alive, which provides medicine to families infected with AIDS and the HIV virus. The song will be available exclusively on iTunes starting Tuesday. The pair first sang the tune at a Nov. 3 fund-raiser in New York City for the charity (Keys performed onstage while Bono crooned via satellite from a remote location). http://news.yahoo.com/

© Hip-Hop Producer, Brother Accused in Court
With rap royalty looking on, a federal prosecutor on Wednesday accused a hip hop record producer and his brother of laundering drug money that was delivered to their midtown Manhattan offices in shopping bags and shoe boxes. Murder Inc. head Irving Lorenzo and his brother Christopher "laundered money for one of the biggest, baddest, most dangerous drug lords in New York City," Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny told a Brooklyn jury during closing arguments at the brothers' racketeering trial. http://news.yahoo.com/

MTV

© It turns out Jay-Z isn't going to share his life story with the world after all. The rapper signed a deal with MTV Books two years ago to publish his autobiography, to be co-written with hip-hop journalist Dream Hampton and called "The Black Book." But once the book was finished, Jay apparently got cold feet and decided not to put it out: MTV Books confirmed that "The Black Book" has been pulled from its release schedule, per a request from Jay, who cited privacy issues.

© Jennifer Lopez is returning to TV — sort of. She's executive producing the new UPN series "South Beach," which tracks the lives of two Brooklyn, New York, teens who relocate to Florida's hotbed of sand, surf and über-beautiful people. The show, which stars Vanessa Williams, debuts with a two-hour series premiere on January 11.

© Lil Wayne will release "Grown Man" as the second single from Tha Carter II, due December 6. "It's self-explanatory," he said. "It's just showing people that I've stepped up." The album includes collaborations with Birdman, Kurupt and Robin Thicke. As for rumors that he was joining Boyz N Da Hood, Wayne said, "It didn't work out, but we still cool."

HUFFINGTON POST

©Major new scientific revelations about global warming, which made headlines across Europe, went all but ignored by the American press this week.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/global-warming-the-press_b_11522.html

LAT

©A boost in sales of digital downloads helps the company narrow its Q4 shortfall to $30 million.
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-warner2dec02,1,5991755.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter

©Sony Music is expected to announce shortly a shakeup at two of its largest labels that will include the departure of the head of its Columbia Records unit. http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-columbia2dec02,1,4733861.storycoll=la-headlines-business-enter

E&P

©Members of Congress are calling for an investigation into allegations that the U.S. has been paying Iraqi papers to run good-news stories.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/

ADAGE

©An a la carte cable network distribution model is closer to becoming a reality, but many cable executives are leery.
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=46962

SF WEEKLY

©The much-loved craigslist.com is taking millions from Bay Area newspapers and causing layoffs that adversely affect coverage. And its founder's well-intentioned support of citizen journalism
has a slim chance of fixing the problem.
http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2005-11-30/news/feature_print.html

WAPO

©The race is on to merge the two most powerful entertainment boxes in the home, televisions and computers. Intel is calling the new technology Viiv. And in case you're wondering, it rhymes with "five".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2005-11-30/news/feature_print.html
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/