Wednesday, December 26, 2007

A Fan's Unlawful Exposure

A judge in the R. Kelly child pornography case has ordered a woman's cellphone destroyed after she admitted using it to take courtroom photos of the R&B star.

Jean Johnson, 49, pleaded guilty Monday to contempt of court for taking four grainy photos of Kelly as she sat across from him last Thursday in Chicago. Judge Vincent Gaughan also sentenced Johnson to five days in jail but released her after giving her credit for having spent the weekend in custody.

Johnson, who described herself as Kelly's "biggest fan," said she didn't know that cameras were barred from the courtroom.

"I feel stupid," Johnson said. "I just got carried away. I'm a big fan of R. Kelly. I wanted it so that every time my phone rang, I could open it up and he'd be right there."

On Friday Gaughan set a May 9 trial date for Kelly on child pornography charges dating to 2002.

Nearly seven years after his father was killed in a bus accident, an Oklahoma jury awarded country music star Toby Keith and his family $2.8 million in damages.

A jury returned the verdict last week against Elias and Pedro Rodriguez, operators of Rodriguez Transportes of Tulsa, and the Republic Western Insurance Co. Greg Dixon, a lawyer who represented Keith's family, presented evidence at trial that a charter bus owned by the Rodriguezes was "in urgent need" of brake repairs before Keith's father, H.K. Covel, was killed in March 2001 on Interstate 35. The Rodriguezes had been notified of the brake problem before Covel's truck crossed the center median and struck the bus, he said.

The plaintiffs -- Covel's wife, Carolyn Covel, daughter Tonni Covel and sons Toby Keith Covel and Tracey Covel-- alleged that H.K. Covel would not have died if the bus had properly working air brakes. They filed suit to clear H.K. Covel's name after learning that another vehicle had bumped his truck, sending him across the median.

From the Old World to the Ancient World: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his girlfriend, model-turned-folk-singer Carla Bruni, arrived holding hands in Luxor, Egypt, yesterday, kicking off a private visit to the Middle East nation.

Surrounded by heavy security at the airport, the couple, wearing sunglasses, headed off in Egyptian presidential security cars to the Old Winter Palace on the east bank of the Nile. They plan to visit three archaeological sites -- the Luxor Temple, the city's museum and the Karnak Temple. French media reported that the pair would travel to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh tomorrow. Sarkozy is scheduled to start an official visit with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday, the French Embassy in Cairo said.

Sarkozy, 52, and Bruni, 39, were first seen as a couple earlier this month at Disneyland Paris, two months after the French president filed for divorce from his wife of 11 years, C¿cilia. Bruni, an Italian-born French citizen and longtime model who made a critically respected debut as a singer in 2003, has dated a number of famous men, including Mick Jagger and Donald Trump.

John Legend traveled home to his high school alma mater in Springfield, Ohio, to headline a holiday benefit concert on Christmas Eve.

Legend, 28, performed before a crowd of 1,200 at North High School. Two high school choirs and a number of R&B, gospel and rock talents joined the Grammy-winning soul crooner.

Proceeds from the show go to a scholarship fund named after Jason Collier, an NBA player and Springfield Central alum who died from a sudden heart rhythm disturbance in 2005. Legend met Collier in high school.

"Springfield has a lot of talent," said Legend. "And the concert is a nice variety that represents the diversity of Springfield."

Legend also performed in the "Home for the Holidays" adoption awareness concert broadcast Friday on CBS.

-- Christian Hettinger, from staff and wire reports