Legal news
Mark David Chapman, John Lennon’s Killer, Denied Parole for 12th Time
Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon in 1980, has been denied parole for the 12th time, Rolling Stone reports. Chapman shot Lennon outside the artist’s New York City apartment on December 8th, 1980 and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 20 years to life at New York’s Green Haven Correctional Facility and became eligible for parole in 2000, though he’s been denied at the hearings he’s had every two years since. Chapman’s latest parole hearing took place in August. In a statement, the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said, “Following an interview with the Board of Parole on August 31, 2022, Mr. Chapman was denied release with a hold of 18 months. His next appearance date is scheduled for February 2024.” Advertisem...
Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney Call Off Divorce: Report
Michelle Branch filed for divorce from Patrick Carney earlier this summer, but the two aren’t parting ways just yet. As Page Six reports, the couple recently filed an order of reconciliation. Branch and Carney paused their divorce for six months, during which time they “may participate in counseling services to effectuate reconciliation and/or may resume living together as husband and wife,” court documents state. After six months, the couple will decide whether to reinstitute the divorce proceedings or dismiss them for good. Branch and Carney got married in 2019 after several years of dating and share two children. Before confirming their split in a statement to People, Branch tweeted — and deleted — the revelation that Carney cheated on her. Soon after, news broke that she had been arres...
Judge Says Nevermind That Naked Baby Lawsuit, Nirvana Win Dismissal for “Final” Time
A third “child pornography” lawsuit brought against Nirvana by Spencer Elden, who was photographed naked at four months old for the album cover of 1991’s Nevermind, has been dismissed by a US District Judge in Los Angeles. The ruling will prevent Elden from filing a fourth lawsuit, leading lawyers representing Nirvana to claim that the suit has come to a “final conclusion,” though Elden has suggested he will appeal. Elden had sought damages from surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain, photographer Kirk Weddle, and multiple record labels. As Reuters reports, Judge Fernando Olguin wrote that Elden’s lawsuit was invalid from the beginning because the statute of limitations had expired after ten years, and “plaint...
Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears Accused of Child Sexual Abuse
Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears have been accused of child sexual abuse in a new lawsuit that claims the comedians forced minors to perform sexually suggestive acts for sketch videos. As The Daily Beast reports, a Jane Doe has filed the suit on behalf of herself and her younger brother. In the suit, Jane, now 22, and her brother, now 14, recount their mother making friends with Haddish through mutual comedy circles and Haddish presenting the children with work opportunities. However, the videos the children recorded with the comedians were inappropriate. In the summer of 2013, when Jane was 14, Haddish allegedly enlisted the child to record a commercial that Spears was producing. When she got to the shoot, Haddish and Spears showed her a video of kids eating a sub sandwich in a sugge...
The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz Sues FBI to Turn Over Secret File on the Band
Micky Dolenz, the sole surviving member of The Monkees, is suing the FBI for failing to hand over the entirety of the agency’s file on the band, Rolling Stone reports. The backstory of this case dates all the way back to The Monkees’ 1967 inaugural tour, which an FBI informant attended: “During the concert, subliminal messages were depicted on the screen which, in the opinion of [informant’s name redacted], constituted ‘left wing intervention of a political nature,’” reads a document in the band’s FBI file that was made available to the public a little over a decade ago. “These messages and pictures were flashed of riots, in Berkley, anti-U.S. messages on the war in Vietnam, racial riots in Selma, Alabama, and similar messages which had unfavorable response[s] from the audience.” Dolenz fi...
Michelle Branch’s Domestic Assault Case Dropped
Michelle Branch’s domestic assault case has been dismissed. The singer-songwriter was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault after allegedly slapping her estranged husband, Patrick Carney, on August 11th. The two apparently got into an argument after Branch learned about Carney’s infidelity. Now, the charge against Branch has been dropped “at the request of the state.” Following the arrest, Branch filed for divorce from Carney on August 15th, ending three years of marriage. “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family,” she said in a statement. “The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.” Re...
Gary Busey Pulls Pants Down in Public a Day After Being Charged with Multiple Sexual Offenses
Days after being charged with several counts of criminal sexual contact at Monster-Mania Con in New Jersey, Gary Busey was caught pulling his pants down in a public park in California. As Page Six reports, paparazzi caught Busey, 78, sitting on a bench at Point Dume Park in Malibu with his pants around his knees. He then stood up to pull his pants back up, and later smoked a cigar. On August 19th, Busey was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact (4th degree); one count of criminal attempt/criminal sexual contact (4th degree); and one count of harassment (disorderly persons offense) after allegedly groping two people. The Monster-Mania convention took place the weekend before, from August 12th to 14th. Advertisement Related Video Busey, known for such films as The Budd...
Police Believe They Stopped Potential Mass Shooting at Bass Canyon EDM Festival
Police in Grant County, Washington believe they may have stopped a mass shooting Friday night (August 19th) during the Bass Canyon Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre. The county sheriff’s department later identified the suspect as 31-year-old Jonathan R. Moody of Ephrata, a town about 100 miles east of Spokane. Witnesses said they saw Moody inhale an unknown substance or gas from a balloon inside his car before loading two 9mm pistols. With one pistol concealed in the rear of his waistband and the other in an outside-the-waistband holster, Moody then began approaching concertgoers, asking what time the concert ended and where people would be exiting the venue. Venue security detained Moody; he was not trying to enter the festival and wasn’t wearing a wristband. After investigation, p...
Mariah Carey’s “Queen of Christmas” Trademark Attempt Disputed by Other Singers
Mariah Carey is looking to cash in on her holiday music success by trademarking the title “Queen of Christmas,” but singers Darlene Love and Elizabeth Chan — who each have their own valid claim to the crown — are looking to prevent a monopoly on the term. After Carey’s March 2021 trademark claim was recently made public, Chan filed a formal declaration of opposition in court, and Love has hinted at doing the same. Along with “Queen of Christmas,” Carey also filed for exclusive rights to “QOC,” “Princess of Christmas,” and “Christmas Princess.” Back in 2019, her classic song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 25 years after its release. Since then, it has become the first holiday song to reach one billion streams on Spotify. Chan, who exclusively ...
Angelina Jolie Sued FBI to Learn Why Brad Pitt Wasn’t Arrested for Domestic Violence
Angelina Jolie has been revealed as the Jane Doe behind an anonymous Freedom of Information Act lawsuit demanding that the FBI turn over information about why they didn’t arrest Brad Pitt after he allegedly “physically and verbally assaulted” both her and their children while traveling on a private plane “several years ago,” Puck News reports. The FBI investigated the case and declined to press charges. The FOIA request was first noted in a short piece in Politico Playbook this past April. The article reported that Jane Doe had retained an unusually famous and high-priced attorney, and that some of the allegations from the FOIA tracked with statements Jolie had made about her ex-husband Brad Pitt, whom she filed to divorce in 2016. Puck News has now confirmed that Jolie filed the lawsuit, ...
Angelina Jolie Sued FBI to Learn Why Brad Pitt Wasn’t Arrested for Domestic Violence
Angelina Jolie has been revealed as the Jane Doe behind an anonymous Freedom of Information Act lawsuit demanding that the FBI turn over information about why they didn’t arrest Brad Pitt after he allegedly “physically and verbally assaulted” both her and their children while traveling on a private plane “several years ago,” Puck News reports. The FBI investigated the case and declined to press charges. The FOIA request was first noted in a short piece in Politico Playbook this past April. The article reported that Jane Doe had retained an unusually famous and high-priced attorney, and that some of the allegations from the FOIA tracked with statements Jolie had made about her ex-husband Brad Pitt, whom she filed to divorce in 2016. Puck News has now confirmed that Jolie filed the lawsuit, ...
Shooting Shuts Down Pennsylvania Festival Musikfest
A shooting at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Saturday resulted in a chaotic scene that saw several attendees get trampled. As The Morning Call reports, law enforcement, including FBI agents, arrived at the festival at around 11:00 p.m. local time after the shooting caused what witnesses described as a stampede. “I saw a lot of people falling and get stepped on,” one person wrote on Facebook. “I helped a young man who’s hands were bleeding pretty bad and couldn’t catch his breath (he’s ok).” Police described the shooting as an isolated incident, and Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said the festival was shut down as a safety precaution. “Law enforcement is on site and in control of the situation,” Kott said. “There is no known continuing threat to the public.” Advertiseme...
