Monday, September 20, 2010

Bruno Mars arrested in Las Vegas on cocaine charge (AP)

LAS VEGAS � Rising singer-songwriter Bruno Mars was found with a bag of cocaine in a Las Vegas casino bathroom following a nightclub show over the weekend, police said Monday.

The "Just the Way You Are" crooner was arrested early Sunday after being detained by security at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Mars, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, was found with 2.6 grams of cocaine and booked into county jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, police said. He faces possible felony charges.

An aide to Clark County District Attorney David Roger in Las Vegas said the case was under review and formal charges had not been filed, though Hernandez, 24, was given a court return date of Nov. 18. The office declined further comment.

Hernandez' publicist at Atlantic Records did not immediately return messages seeking comment from The Associated Press. A hotel spokeswoman declined comment. It was not immediately clear whether Hernandez has a lawyer.

An arrest report for Hernandez said a bathroom attendant told police Hernandez was taking a long time in a stall with a bag of a white, powdered substance. The attendant alerted a security guard, who confronted Hernandez as he left the stall. The security guard said he asked Hernandez to hand over any narcotics he had, and Hernandez pulled a bag of cocaine from his left-front jeans pocket.

Hernandez was taken to a holding cell where he was questioned by an arresting officer. When asked what was going on, Hernandez replied: "Can I speak to you honestly, sir?" and said he acted foolishly and had never used drugs before, the arrest report said.

Mars performed a show Saturday night at the Hard Rock's Wasted Space nightclub. The hotel-casino is separate from the restaurant chain with the same name.

"Just the Way You Are" is currently No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He sang the hooks on B.o.B.'s "Nothing on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire," and co-wrote and produced Cee-Lo Green's latest expletive-laden single. Mars' debut album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans," is scheduled for release Oct. 5.



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Arrest warrant issued for Lindsay Lohan (AP)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. � A judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Lindsay Lohan after the actress acknowledged failing a drug test.

The 24-year-old actress could wind up back behind bars if she is found to have violated probation.

Superior Court Judge Elden Fox issued the bench warrant in Beverly Hills, but Lohan will remain free pending a Friday court hearing, according to officials from Los Angeles County Superior Court.

A message left with Lohan's attorney was not immediately returned.

Lohan confirmed on her Twitter page last week that she failed a court-ordered drug and alcohol screening.

Lohan spent two weeks in jail this year after violating probation stemming from convictions involving her 2007 arrests for drug use and driving under the influence. She spent another 23 days undergoing rehabilitation at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Fox had threatened her with 30 days in jail for each probation violation. Fox must now decide whether to send her back to jail or back into treatment.

Lohan posted a series of Twitter messages last Friday acknowledging her drug problem.

"Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test," she tweeted.

She also said, "substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn't go away over night. I am working hard to overcome it."

Lohan often posts updates with the account that's verified by Twitter as belonging to the actress.



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Randy Quaid, wife released after squatter arrests (AP)

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. � Authorities say actor Randy Quaid and his wife have been released on bail after their weekend squatting arrests for moving into a home they reportedly sold years ago in California.

Santa Barbara County sheriff's spokesman Drew Sugars says the Quaids were arrested Saturday after an alarm went off at the Montecito home and the couple was found living in a guest house.

The 59-year-old actor known for roles in "National Lampoon's Vacation" movies and his wife, Evegena, were booked for investigation of felony residential burglary and misdemeanor entering a building without consent.

The Quaids were released on $50,000 bail early Sunday.

The couple's lawyer would not comment.



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Rumsfeld to "pull no punches" in autobiography

NEW YORK | Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:58pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will release an autobiography in January that the publisher promises "pulls no punches" from a man who was one of the most ardent proponents of going to war in Iraq.

The publisher also plans to launch a website with thousands of pages of documents to support Rumsfeld's account. Rumsfeld, 78, has said all profits will go to veterans' charities.

"Like Donald Rumsfeld himself, this memoir pulls no punches," said Adrian Zackheim, president and publisher of the Sentinel imprint of Penguin Group.

The book, titled "Known and Unknown," will span the length of Rumsfeld's life and explore some of the controversies such as the abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq and allegations of human rights violations at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the publisher said.

The title is derived from comments made by Rumsfeld during a February 2002 news conference in which he referred to "known knowns" and "known unknowns." Rumsfeld had been asked by a journalist whether there was any evidence that Iraq had tried to supply terrorists with weapons of mass destruction.

Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials cited the threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as justification for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. No such weapons were found.

Rumsfeld was a leading architect of the Iraq war. He was fired by President George W. Bush as defense secretary in 2006 with U.S. troops bogged down after 3-1/2 years of fighting in Iraq.

(Reporting by Bernd Debusmann Jr.; Editing by Daniel Trotta)



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Jay-Z, Coldplay collaborating on NYE show in Vegas (AP)

LAS VEGAS � Jay-Z and Coldplay plan to share the stage in Las Vegas as New Year's Eve headliners at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino-resort.

Cosmopolitan officials said Monday that the music superstars would also play solo sets with the performances broadcast on the hotel's 65-foot marquee overlooking the Las Vegas Strip.

The Cosmopolitan says the concert is part of a three-day invitation-only celebration roughly two weeks after the resort opens. The $3.9 billion resort owned by Deutsche Bank is scheduled to open Dec. 15.

Cosmopolitan officials say the New Year's Eve weekend will also include a surprise performance on the resort's pool deck, which overlooks Las Vegas Boulevard.



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