'Talks to settle' Jackson case

Lawyer Edgar Pease III said he was "negotiating a resolution" to claims brought by Janet Jackson against Henry Vaccaro, from New Jersey.

Michael Jackson has stopped pursuing his portion of the case, which centres on a warehouse full of memorabilia.

Ms Jackson's spokespeople were not available to comment on the case.

The items include gold-trimmed costumes, financial documents, letters, awards and one of Michael Jackson's first outfits worn with the Jackson 5.

Underwear and other items were seized by authorities in Santa Barbara, California during their unsuccessful prosecution of Mr Jackson on child abuse charges.

Storage facility

Mr Vaccaro says he was awarded the items after years of legal wrangling following a failed business venture which ended in bankruptcy proceedings.

He had taken the items from a storage facility after the Jackson family had allegedly failed to pay a bill for the items.

Michael and Janet Jackson sued, saying some of the items still belonged to them and Mr Vaccaro only had a right to property belonging to their parents and their brothers, Tito and Jermaine.

Mr Pease said virtually all of the memorabilia - except for some of the items seized in the child abuse investigation - had been sold on and Mr Vaccaro no longer has them.

Source

Soul singer Rawls dies of cancer

The performer, best-known for his 1976 hit You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine), died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, his publicist said. During a career lasting more than 50 years, Rawls won three Grammy Awards with his distinctive, velvety voice. He released more than 75 albums, and was also known for his collaborations with Sam Cooke. He leaves his wife Nina and an infant son.

Church choir

Rawls' publicist, Paul Shefrin, said he died with his wife at his bedside. Rawls was admitted to hospital last month, but was still well enough to give an interview to the Arizona Republic newspaper.

"Don't count me out, brother," Rawls said. "There's been many people who have been diagnosed with this kind of thing and they're still jumpin' and pumpin'." Born in Chicago, Rawls grew up performing in a church choir, and was introduced to gospel music by his grandmother. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s to join touring gospel group the Pilgrim Travellers.
After a two-year stint in the army, Rawls rejoined the group where he sang with Sam Cooke.
In 1959 he performed with Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl, and opened for The Beatles in Cincinnati during the 1960s. Rawls was playing R&B clubs in Los Angeles when his four-octave range caught the ear of a Capitol Records producer, who signed him to the label in 1962.

His debut album Stormy Monday was one of 28 he went on to make with the label. In 1966, his song Love Is a Hurtin' Thing topped the charts and earned Rawls his first two Grammy nominations. He won three Grammys during his career and released his most recent album, Seasons 4 U, in 1998. Rawls also appeared in a number of TV series and films, including Leaving Las Vegas and Blues Brothers 2000. Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in May 2005. He leaves four children - Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls Jnr, Kendra Smith and Aiden Rawls. There is some confusion surrounding Rawls' age. His family and publicist say the singer was 72, while other records indicate he was 70.


Source

Hilary Calls Joel 'The Most Respectful Boyfriend I've Ever Had'

Hilary Duff and Joel Madden aren't as unlikely a couple as you may think. At least that's what they're saying in the new issue of Teen People, for which they posed for their first cover together.
"You're automatically prejudging us because Joel has tattoos or I have blond hair," Duff told the magazine. "He has tattoos so he's bad, I smile all the time so I'm perfect."

"[People] think I'm this crazy guy," Madden said. "I went to the ATM and this lady backed away, and Hilary asked me, 'What is it like when someone scoots away because they're scared?' I never notice it, she notices it for me."

So to set the record straight, Madden isn't a bad influence. He hangs out with Duff's mom, even when his girlfriend isn't around. He covers Duff's butt when she bends over if she's wearing low-cut jeans. And he's been drug- and alcohol-free for the past two years. In fact, Duff's usually the one who has to drag Madden off the couch to go out at night. "I'm the most normal, low-key, sit-at-home, watch-TV type," he said. "She's made me more social, 'Come on and hang out with my friends!' It's not me going, 'Come on, Hilary, get on a motorcycle and ride into the sunset to a raging party!' "

"And when we do get in the car, he's always the one who says, 'Put your seatbelt on!' " Duff added.

The couple revealed their long-rumored relationship two months before Duff turned 18 (see "Hilary Duff, Joel Madden Go Public With Lovestyle Of The Rich And Famous"). Since then, they've become more comfortable dealing with public perceptions, especially regarding the fact that Madden started dating Hilary when she was underage and that there's an eight-year difference between the two of them. "I didn't care what the press would say," Madden said. "I cared what my mom would say."

The couple says they have the same maturity level — Duff says Madden sometimes acts like a teenager and Joel says Hilary is wise beyond her years. "We're on the same level, even though he's so much older," Hilary told the magazine.

But they certainly don't have the same level of experience, which is why they're taking it slow. "Joel is the most respectful boyfriend I've ever had," she said. "We had five or six dates before we even kissed."

"This is the slowest relationship, physically, that I've had," Madden said. "It's grown at the right pace, organically and naturally."

They're also in no rush to get engaged or elope. "We think about the future, but not marriage," Madden said. "I just hope we're always happy."

"I don't ever think about being apart from Joel," Duff said. "We just feel so comfortable with each other, and we know we're not going anywhere."

Still, Madden let it slip that if he had a daughter Hil's age, he wouldn't let her date a guy his age. "I wouldn't let it happen," he said.

Source

Bob Geldof to help the Conservatives

Bob Geldof is to help the Conservative Party it has been revealed today (December 28).

The Live8 organiser will join the Tories' policy group on global poverty, though stressed the role is strictly non-partisan.

Defending his decision to link-up with the Tories, Geldof declared: "I don't care who I have to go to to try to make this agenda work."

Announcing the new policy group, the new Conservative leader David Cameron explained that Geldof - once singer of the Boomtown Rats - would help the Tories "go in the direction that he and we both want to go".

He added : "This summer, millions of British people took part in the Make Poverty History campaign. A new generation of concerned citizens want prosperity for themselves and progress for the poor, whether living on the other side of the street or the other side of the world."

The policy group will be chaired by former Conservative cabinet minister Peter Lilley, BBC News reports.

"He (Geldof) has an enormous knowledge and expertise. He's been working on this area for 20 years," said Lilley of his new consultant. "He knows more people, he's got access to more expertise than almost anybody else in the world and that's why I'm thrilled to have him as an advisor to the group".

Source