The Daily Roundup for April 4

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BRANDY SERVES TOTAL OVAHNESS AS SHE CHATS WITH YRB MAG!

Brandy chatted with "YRB" Magazine recently to promote her upcoming disc Two-Eleven and reflect on her career in the industry. During the chat, she talked about evolving her "sound", how Whitney Houston inspired her, and what role Frank Ocean plays on the disc. 

 Here are the highlights:

On her new "sound":

“It’s definitely R&B, but it has the crossover appeal. It’s grittier, it’s edgier, it’s just different type of R&B. It’s not your regular smooth, soft with the beat type music,” she describes. “It’s just taking risks and hearing how I sound over different types of music, and I wanted an album that different people can listen to. Not just R&B, but pop and hip-hop. I wanted everyone to have something that they can listen to on this album.”

On "Two-Eleven" representing her birthday and the Whitney Houston passed away:

“Some of the titles I was working with were Rebirth, Reincarnation, Reinvention, Resurrection… I just felt like Two Eleven describes all of that. It’s the day I was born, and each year, I evolve and change with time. It also has a whole new meaning to it because I gained my angel. My icon is my angel now. It’s all tied in there and I just think it best represents who I am and the responsibilities I have moving on.”

See the fab photoshoot here:

On why she worked with Frank Ocean:

“His music speaks volumes, and I was able to experience that before everyone else knew,” she says. “I always knew he was really special and I just wanted to see how we could vibe, what we could come up with together in the studio this time around. He’s just a genius. I think his songs have so much substance and so much depth, and you need that on an album as well.”

Well You Go Girl!

Knicks’ Jeremy Lin Out for Regular Season After Knee Surgery

Jeremy Lin, whose playmaking finesse mesmerized New York Knicks’ fans after he sat on the bench for most of his National Basketball Association career, will miss the rest of the regular season after knee surgery.

Lin, 23, will have arthroscopic surgery to fix a small chronic meniscal tear in his left knee that flared up during the Knicks’ 101-79 victory over the Detroit Pistons on March 24. He will miss about six weeks, the team said.

“It is a big blow,” interim coach Mike Woodson told reporters before their 91-75 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “He was starting to come as a player.”

Lin and the Knicks tried to put off the surgery until the end of season. The injury, diagnosed by an MRI last week, didn’t respond to treatment.

“I can’t really do much, can’t really cut or jump,” Lin said at a news conference. “So it’s pretty clear that I won’t be able to help the team unless I get this fixed right now.”

Lin’s surgery has been scheduled although the date hasn’t been released by the Knicks, team spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said in an e-mail.

Lin, an undrafted player who was cut by his first two NBA teams before signing with New York on Dec. 27, invigorated the Knicks on Feb. 4 when he came off the bench and scored 25 points in the victory over the New Jersey Nets.
Then-coach Mike D’Antoni gave him the nod as the Knicks struggled to overcome the absence of two of the team’s top scorers, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. Lin’s prowess on the court helped save the Knicks’ season with a seven-game winning streak.

Ticket prices to home games at Madison Square Garden tripled as fans got caught up in “Linsanity,” a term coined to encompass the excitement surrounding the first Chinese- or Taiwanese-American to play in the league.

His worn jerseys sold for as much as $42,388 at auction, while his rookie NBA card went for $21,580.

Sports retail outlets couldn’t keep his jerseys on the shelves. Even Madison Square Garden stock rose 16 percent from the day before Lin left the Knicks’ bench to reach a high of $34.33 on March 26.

Record Ratings
The Harvard University graduate spurred record ratings on MSG Corp.’s MSG network. Two weeks after he started for the Knicks, the cable outlet ended a seven-week stalemate with Time Warner Cable Inc. that kept the provider’s 2.8 million New York- area subscribers from seeing the Knicks.

Since Lin’s game Feb. 4, the team has gone 16-10 through the Detroit game on March 24 when his injury put him out of action. The Knicks (27-26) own the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Besides Lin, the Knicks (27-26) are also without forward Amar’e Stoudemire who will miss two to four weeks with a bulging disk in his lower back. Stoudemire is averaging 17.6 points and eight rebounds a game.

Baron Davis will move into Lin’s spot on the active roster. The 33-year-old point guard is recovering from a herniated disk and a strained hamstring.

$105 million is all MINE: McDonald’s worker scoops Mega Millions jackpot… but refuses to share it with her co-workers!

Employees at a McDonald’s in Maryland are outraged at a co-worker who claims she won a $105million Mega Millions jackpot which she is not planning on sharing - despite the fact they had pooled their money for tickets.
Workers at the fast food outlet bought a number of tickets together for the biggest lottery in world history but Mirlande Wilson, 37, claims she separately bought one of the three tickets nationwide that will split a record $656 million payout.

'We had a group plan, but I went and played by myself. [The ‘winning’ ticket] wasn’t on the group plan,' Wilson told The New York Post.

'I was in the group, but this was separate. The winning ticket was a separate ticket,' the single mother of seven said as she and her fiancé left her home.
The Haitian immigrant who has seven children claimed she had hidden the winning ticket and would present it to lottery officials..

But later she started to backtrack saying she wasn't sure whether she had won or not.
'I don’t know if I won. Some of the numbers were familiar. I recognized some of them,' she said. 'I don’t know why' people are saying differently. 'I’m going to go to the lottery office today. I bought some tickets separately.'

With winning tickets also sold in Illinois and Kansas, a single Maryland winner would get an after-tax lump sum of $105 million, or $5.59 million a year for 26 years.
Wilson’s co-workers — who make little more than $7.50 an hour — are furious at her claims she bought the winning ticket with her own money.

'She can’t do this to us!' said Suleiman Osman Husein, a shift manager and one of 15 members in the pool. 'We each paid $5. She took everybody’s money!'
A man identifying himself as the boyfriend of a McDonald’s manager named Layla, who was part of the pool, said Wilson bought tickets for the group at the 7-Eleven in Milford Mill, where the winning ticket was sold.

The group’s tickets — along with a list of those who contributed to the pool — were left in an office safe at the fast food outlet, said the man, who gave only his first name, Allen, as he stood next to Layla. She declined to comment.

Then, late Friday, before the night’s drawing, the owner of the McDonald’s, Birul Desai, gave Wilson $5 to buy more tickets for the pool on her way home from work, and she went back to the 7-Eleven and bought them, Allen said.
Wilson took those tickets home with her, Allen said.
But the mother-of-seven insisted yesterday that the batch with the winning ticket in it was bought separately by her while she was with a friend.
According to the Post, when she found out she had the winning ticket, she called coworkers and told them she - rather than they - had won.

Will lightning strike twice? Selling lottery tickets at the Baltimore store which produced a winner on Friday
'I won! I won!' she told a colleague.

McDonald's worker Davon Wilson said he was there when Wilson called.

'She said, "Turn on the news". She said she had won. I thought it was a joke or something. She doesn’t seem like a person who’d do this,' he said.
Allen told the Post he and Layla then went to Wilson's home to question her about the winning ticket. Though she first refused to come out, they banged on her door for 20 minutes until she finally relented.
'These people are going to kill you. It’s not worth your life!' Allen said he told her.
'All right! All right! I’ll share, but I can’t find the ticket right now,' she said, according to Allen.
A clerk at the 7-Eleven where Wilson bought the tickets said they believed it was a man who had bought the winning ticket and doubted that Wilson's story was actually true after lottery officials reviewed the store’s CCTV footage.
Carole Everett said they had no information about the Maryland winner and whether it was a man or a woman who bought the winning ticket.
She said: 'Right now, everything is just speculation and gossip. Until someone comes through that door and hands over the winning ticket we will not know who the winner is.'

If Wilson won, and if it was with a pooled work ticket, the situation would be very similar to that of New Jersey man Americo Lopes, who was sued by his former colleagues after he claimed he was the sole winner of a $38.5 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot.
The three jackpot-winning tickets were purchased in Red Bud, Illinois, Baltimore County, Maryland, and Kansas, where state lottery officials have said only that the ticket was sold in the northeast part of the state.
In Illinois, the Chicago Tribune said a second jackpot winner, who also has yet to step forward, bought a quick-pick ticket at a gas station and convenience store in Red Bud, a community of about 3,700 in southwestern Illinois. 

There were also some big consolation prizes. Lottery officials said 161 ticket holders won $250,000 each by matching the first five numbers, and 897 people won $10,000 by matching four numbers plus the stand-alone Mega Ball.

The Maryland and Kansas winners are allowed to remain anonymous because of state laws, but in Illinois, the winner has to be publicized. Though lottery officials say they encourage winners to come forward and enjoy their 15 minutes of fame.

A donut shop worker in California quit his job after winning $228,000 from Friday's draw.
It took Lazaro Ramos less than an hour to hand in his resignation after he discovered he was among 29 Californians to match five of the six winning numbers in Friday's drawing.
He plans to return to his home country Guatemala to open up his own restaurant.
The winning numbers in Friday night's drawing were 02-04-23-38-46, and the Mega Ball 23.

Toni on Wendy!

Toni Braxton and her son Diesel Braxton-Lewis were spotted arriving for an appearance on “The Wendy Williams Show” in New York City on (April 2, 2012).
Fresh off the heels of her most recent video release for “I Heart You” (click here to watch), made an appearance on the show to promote her new single and upcoming album.

Looks like Toni’s sticking with her weave free look for now.

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Meagan Good Is ENGAGED--To 7th Day Adventist Preacher & Producer DeVon Franklin!

Reports confirm gorgeous actress Meagan Good is now a very taken woman. She's been dating DeVon Franklin for several months now. He is a Sony Pictures executive and one of the producers of TD Jakes' 2011 film Jumping The Broom--which Meagan starred in. The two met during filming and have been attached at the hip ever since.

DeVon, who also wrote several books based on his 7th Day Adventist preachings, was spotted out at Meagan's birthday dinner with her family last August, and was also as her date (topmost picture) to the February Think Like A Man Hollywood premiere.

Meagan, who also stars on Showtime's "Californication, is well known to be quite religious in her actual off-screen life. So it looks like cleaning up her image to match that fact may have been jump-started by her man.

On a side note, we just caught the screening of Meagan's upcoming film Think Like A Man. And she's not playing her usual role of a sexed up teen, vixen or video chick. She's (mostly) the good girl this time. Still not excessively original, but we loved it.

Congrats Meagan!

Hilary Duff Shares Debut Shot Of Baby Luca!....Well sort of!

Giving the world a very first glimpse of her little one, Hilary Duff posted a debut pic of Luca Cruz on Monday (April 2).
The 24-year-old new mom took to Twitter to add the shot of her two-week-old son's tiny feet on her Instagram page, with the photo being accompanied with an adorable message reading: "My favorite little feet"

Not wasting any time when it comes to getting back in the swing of everyday life, Hilary was back in workout mode for the first time over the weekend.

Of the Saturday trip to the gym, Miss Duff wrote, "20 minutes on the elliptical seems like an eternity!!! What the hell…"

So OJ Didn't Do It?

A new book written by private investigator William Dear claims OJ Simpson did not kill his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson.

It was his son Jason...

From The Village Voice.
Dear says he knew right away that the victims knew the person who killed them based on where their bodies were discovered outside of Brown's Brentwood home. He says Jason Simpson -- whom he claims has a "Jekyll and Hyde" type personality -- should have been a suspect from the beginning.

"[Jason] had intermittent rage disorder. He was on probation [at the time of the murder] and had recently assaulted his former employer with a knife," Dear says. "But he was never interviewed by police."
Additionally, Dear says, authorities never tested Jason's finger prints or DNA against forensic evidence collected at the crime scene.

When Jason Simpson stopped paying the bill for a storage container he'd been renting, Dear bought it and says he found even more damning evidence against the younger Simpson -- including a hunting knife -- inside. Dear also says he bought the car Jason owned at the time of the murders, but wouldn't reveal to us what -- if anything -- was found inside the vehicle.

Dear's theory is this: the night of the murders, Brown had planned to go the restaurant where Jason worked to celebrate with family and friends after her daughter's dance recital. But Brown never showed. Angry and humiliated, Jason -- again, who Dear claims suffers from a "rage" disorder -- went to her house to confront her.
"I don't think he went there with the intention of killing her," Dear says. "But she probably made a mistake you shouldn't make with people who are off their meds [Dear claims Jason had stopped taking anti-rage medication he was prescribed around the time of the murders]. She may have slapped him -- we spoke with some of her former employees who said [Brown slapping someone] wouldn't be out of the ordinary."

Jason, Dear claims, flew into a violent rage and killed Brown as Goldman was walking up to the house. He then stabbed Goldman, as well.

WOW!

American Idol Contestant Says Diddy was Drunk

American Idol contestant Heejun Han accuses Diddy of being drunk the night he was supposed to mentor him.
Heejun Han has joked his way throughAmerican Idol this season, but following his elimination he had some pretty serious gripes about his guest mentor Diddy, who he says was “kinda drunk” while working with him.

The 22-year-old singer was sent homeThursday night, but he took a swipe at his mentor Diddy in an interview following the show.
Han told The Insider that Diddy was “kind of drunk when we were having our mentor session,” and while he praised Stevie Nickshe advised, “You do not wanna be durnk when you’re coming to American Idolsession, OK?”

His rendition of Leon Russell’s A Song for You failed to muster enough votes to save him despite Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez’s enthusiastic reactions to his performance on Wednesday night.

Heejun also said he’s not going to be following the show anymore either, and isn’t going to root for anyfellow contestants.
"I was rooting for Jeremy, Sharon or Erika ... but [that] didn't happen so I'm not gonna root any for now. I'm just gonna watch The Voice."
Things will be getting totally radical next week when the top eight contestants tackle songs from the 80s.

American Idol continues Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox; the show’s eleventh season winner will be named May 23.

Basketball Wives’ Star Accused of Spending $110,000 on Plastic Surgery

“Basketball Wives” star Kenya Bell spent $110,000 on plastic surgery and surgery-related expenses — this according to her estranged husband … who’s now trying to prove she’s completely reckless with her money.
It’s the latest in the couple’s divorce battle — Kenya filed docs complaining her basketball-playing husband Charlie Bell has been shopping at Louis Vuitton in Paris … while she struggles to provide for their children.

Charlie fired back with an explosive response — listing off ALL the ways Kenya has allegedly squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years … and it’s wild.

According to the docs, Kenya spent …

– $82,000 on a Corvette, which she drove for 3 weeks — then resold it for $61,000
– $12,000 on a motorcycle
– $20,000 on criminal attorneys
– $150,000 on “miscellaneous expenses to get even with Mr. Bell”
– $3,000 on her brother’s electric bill
– $9,000 on luggage and shoes
– and $110,000 on plastic surgeries and expenses in L.A. for the plastic surgery trips

Charlie — who currently plays pro ball in Italy — also claims he gave Kenya $200,000 before leaving for Europe … so he wants the court to deny her request for him to set aside a large chunk of his money for support.

A judge has yet to rule.

RECAP: 2012 KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS!

It was a big ORANGE evening for the Smith clan. While Papa Will Smith hosted The Nickeloden Kids' Choice Awards at the Galen Center in L.A., his wife Jada and kids Jaden (in MCM gear) & pink-haired Chanel wearing Willow hit the orange carpet
The first person to get slimmed on the show was.

Fab chick Halle Berry. Why? Because she walked in late and Will suspected of her being the "creepy celebrity voice" stalking him throughout the show. Funny.

Outside on the orange carpet:

In a Catherine Malandrino jumpsuit with a cropped denim jacket, Kimberly McDonald necklaces and open-toe wedges, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted star Jada Pinkett Smith lit up the orange carpet before cheering on her Men In Black 3 star hubby for his big night. She was also there to present an award.

Jada posed it up with her Madagascar co-star Chris Rock, performer Katy Perry & Ludacris and his super cute daughter Karma.

Willow Smith rocked a white eyelet Chanel Spring 2012 dress and cropped leather jacket, Chanel fringed boots and lots of accessories to accompany her new pink hair.

The highlight of night was First Lady Michelle Obama hitting the Nick stage to present The Big Help Award to Taylor Swift. First Daughters Sasha & Malia were there as well.

And yes, the fly FLOTUS even caught a little slime in the audience after Justin Bieber made a surprise appearance to accept the final award of the night (Favorite Male Singer) and set off every slime cannon on the stage.

Got 'em!

Nicki Minaj showed up looking like walking rainbow sherbet. She was there to present an award:

Back outside on the carpet:

Chris Tucker hit the carpet with a few youngins.

And Chairman Nick Cannon was there of course.

Al Roker and wife Deborah and kids arrived and so did drummer Travis Barker with his kids Landon & Alabama.

Hunger Games star Amandla Stenberg hit the carpet looking cute.

Sugar Ray Leonard brought his pretty daughter Camille along.

KeKe Palmer performed outside during the orange carpet show:

And looked fab pulling a switch up and presenting with Zac Efron:

Fun times!

Chris Brown Buys His Girl A New Whip?

Did Breezy recently splurge on his boo with a new 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S?

This past weekend, Karrueche instagramed a pic of herself sitting on top of a new 175k+ whip with the caption, ‘Me & My New B-tch’. It looks as though Chris might have dropped racks on racks on racks on his girl right before the release of his new album ‘Fortune’ (such an appropriate title), which drops next month.

Meanwhile, if you’ve fed into the speculation that there is some weird Breezy, Rihanna, Karrueche love triangle that’s been going on, then you probably were in tune to some eyebrow raising subtweets from 

Rihanna and Chris over the weekend:

Chris Brown tweeted

Eventually people grow up and get wiser to the bullsh-t!

And some of Rihanna’s tweets included:

N-ggaz talkin real wreckless #stuntmen

If u don’t want me, someone else will… if I’m not good enough!

Cry me a river….I already cried

I’m makin’ u wait….I need to know if ya worthy

He’s been actin’ uuup….but he won’t be the only one

Between tweeting new whips and ‘Cry Me A River’ tweets, these three definitely know how to put on a show.

Drake Talks About many Things!

Drake is an interesting and very honest 25 year old.
Earlier this week, before performing in front of 18,000 fans at his sold out show in London’s O2 Arena, Drake gave a pretty candid interview about his critics, his persona, rumored drug-use and his new house. In the interview, he described the negative things that critics have to say as ‘Character Building’ and he revealed how he felt about the Vibe Magazine incident that allegedly painted him as a ‘diva’. He also reveals that the $9 million dollar mansion he recently bought in Hollywood Hills was his screensaver for years (The Secret) and he was finally able to purchase it after the success of his rap career.

Check the excepts

On why he doesn’t do many interviews:
I’m actually a very honest person, and sometimes I end up like, ‘Man, I said too much.’ It’s hard for me not to tell the truth when you ask me. I’d rather tell you how I really feel. You do get certain publications in the States where, if things don’t go according to plan they flip the story and it becomes very negative.

On his recent ordeal with Vibe:
I didn’t like the way I was treated. They ran this story about how I’m the most bitter guy, and my life is in turmoil. And I’m, like, a very happy 25-year-old kid living an amazing life. They tried to put a damper on my character, I guess because I didn’t play according to their rules.

On if his emotionally open persona is an act or a gimmick:
“I don’t really have a gimmick or a ‘thing’. I’m one of the few artists who gets to be himself every day. It doesn’t take me six hours to get ready, and I don’t have to wake up in the morning and remember to act like this or talk like that. I just have to be me. And people really like that.”

On purchasing his new Hollywood mansion:
“It does often blow my mind how much I’ve attained.” He recalls how, not long ago, he had an image of an LA mansion as his computer’s homepage. It was way out of reach even for a rising actor. “It was priced beyond my comprehension,” he says, then pauses to savor the feeling. “Five weeks ago I bought that house.”

On negative comments from his critics:
“I can’t lie to you. I read what they have to say and it’s … character-building. There have been times when a negative comment about me would be the be all and end all, and I’d wonder, Why do you hate me so much? Why would you tell me that you want to kill my mom or see me dead? It’s scary for me to say this on record, but artists are only human, and we seek validation like everyone else. You just have to come to the conclusion that it’s OK, there are going to be people who like you and people who don’t. Luckily there are millions of people who love me and a few who don’t. No one ever says anything to me in person. I mean, I’ve had it happen to me before but it’s just silly, like, ‘Oh Drake, you’re a pussy!’ and then they drive off really fast. But I get it, man. It’s being young. It’s funny. If I wasn’t in this position, would I do dumb shit? Maybe.”

On people hating on his showing of emotions:
“There are people who really hate me and everything I stand for, like, ‘He’s so soft’. But I’m not soft. I’m just not one of those people who’s closed off emotionally. I went through too much with my father and my mother, watching her go through her shit and be hurt … I’ve seen too many people cry. Plus, I’ve had too many girls to ever feel uncomfortable about the man that I am.”

On his rumored drug use:
“Have I sipped codeine before? Yeah, of course. Have I smoked weed? Yes. Do I drink wine? Yes. But do I do it excessively? No. I’m not a reckless guy. I do it all within moderation. I’m not into drugs.” He realizes what he has just said, and bursts out laughing, as do his crew. “I mean any outside the ones I just mentioned. Nah, that’s not me. I care too much about what I have. I’m not going to throw it away for that.”

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES

“THE RINGER”

One ring to rule them all…

BE WELL ALL!!!

EFREM