A man accused of stalking Linda Ronstadt for nearly a decade has been ordered by an Arizona judge to stay away from the singer.
Ronstadt has upcoming concerts and fears for her safety because of Bernie Salazar Ortiz's history of stalking her and his mental illness, court documents indicate. Ortiz has schizophrenia, Tucson authorities have said.
Judge John Davis issued a preliminary injunction against Ortiz last week at the request of Ronstadt's attorneys. The injunction says Ortiz cannot appear at any of Ronstadt's concerts, come within 300m of her or contact her in person -- by phone or in writing. He also can't deliver, directly or indirectly, any cards, packages, flowers or other items.
Ortiz pleaded guilty to attempted stalking in May 1998 and received probation, but he was sent to prison for violating the probation.
Ronstadt, a native of Tucson, is known for hit albums such as What's New, Heart Like a Wheel and Simple Dreams.
Osama bin Laden's niece has signed a deal with a TV producer to develop a reality show about her life in New York, according to a media report.
Wafah Dufour Bin Ladin, the daughter of bin Laden's half brother, Yeslam Binladin, has inked a deal with publisher and producer Judith Regan to shop a show to networks that would follow the aspiring singer as she shoots for stardom, the New York Post reported.
``It's the story of Wafah trying to make it as a singer and the many cultures she comes from,'' Regan told the Post.
``Here's the thing: [Wafah] is related to [Osama], but she is not him,'' she said. ``Just because she carries the name doesn't mean she's in any way representative of what he's about.''
Yeslam and Osama are among 54 children of the late Saudi construction magnate Mohammed bin Laden and his 22 wives. Binladin intentionally spells his name differently from his half brother.
Former Creed singer Scott Stapp expressed gratitude that prosecutors didn't charge him with public drunkenness for an incident at Los Angeles International Airport, and he promised to get his life together and start keeping his name out of the tabloids.
Stapp, 32, and his wife, former Miss New York Jaclyn Nesheiwat, were on their way to Hawaii for their honeymoon when he was arrested Feb. 11 for allegedly being drunk in public. The two were married in Miami the day before.
``No charges have been filed by the LA district attorney's office, and for that I am appreciative,'' Stapp said in a statement. ``I have said it before, but we all make mistakes and the day will come soon enough where you no longer read of mine in the tabloids.''
Former teen idol Leif Garrett was ordered to remain in a strict live-in drug rehabilitation program for another month, despite telling a judge he was ``going down the right path'' after spending 42 days there.
The 44-year-old former pop star asked a Superior Court commissioner last week for permission to return to an outpatient treatment program so he could be with his mother, who is suffering from an undisclosed illness.
Garrett agreed to enter the program for violating probation in a cocaine case stemming from a 2004 arrest.
Garrett faces felony heroin possession charges after officers who stopped him Jan. 14 for allegedly trying to ride a Los Angeles subway train without a ticket said they found suspected narcotics. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.
Standing outside the courthouse with his mother and his attorney, Garrett blamed his recent drug arrest on his concerns for his mother's poor health.
Michael Jackson was ordered to shut down his Neverland Valley Ranch last week by California authorities who have fined the pop star US$169,000 for failing to pay his employees or maintain proper insurance. Jackson's sprawling ranch in the central California foothills was closed, at least temporarily, by an agent of the State Labor Commissioner after the office discovered that his worker's compensation policy had lapsed in January.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
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