Lupus forces singer Toni Braxton into LA hospital

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles. The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she's been hospitalized because of "minor health issues" related to Lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. "But no worries!," Braxton wrote to fans. "I will be out any day now." The 45-year-old singer of "Un-break My Heart" revealed two years ago she has Lupus, a potentially deadly autoimmune disease that killed Braxton's uncle. She also suffers from a narrowing of the blood vessels in her heart. Braxton said in a recent "20/20" interview that doctors told her the Lupus diagnosis meant her performing career would likely be diminished and the disease helped push her into a recent bankruptcy.

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Rolling Stones added to Sandy benefit concert

NEW YORK (AP) — The Rolling Stones will join the artists already booked for next week's televised Superstorm Sandy benefit show in New York City, which producers said Friday would be the most widely available live concert ever. The Stones join a trio of 1960s British rock royalty on the bill, including Paul McCartney and the Who. Among the other artists scheduled to appear are Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Eric Clapton, Eddie Vedder, Billy Joel, Roger Waters and Chris Martin. The "12-12-12" concert at Madison Square Garden will be available on television or online to some 2 billion people, said James Dolan, one of the producers. A total of 34 U.S. television networks have agreed to show the concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday. Harvey Weinstein, the movie executive who is producing the show along with Cablevision chief Dolan and John Sykes, head of Clear Channel Communications Inc., said that $30 million has been raised for victims of the storm, which hit the New York City region hard on Oct. 29. The "Concert for New York," a benefit run in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, had raised $19 million by the same point on its way to a total of $65 million. The Robin Hood Foundation will distribute proceeds of the Sandy benefit to storm victims in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The concert is sold out. Producers urged fans who don't already have tickets not to buy them through brokers like StubHub, where people have been trying to sell seats at a price higher than the list prices of $150 to $2,500. Weinstein said there were counterfeit tickets offered for sale. While StubHub has agreed to donate its fee for selling tickets to the Sandy relief efforts, producers say there's no way to recover markups that scalpers receive. They had no estimate of how many of the tickets were bought by people or companies that intended to resell them. "We're not going to make that our focus," Dolan said. The concert lineup is "99 percent" set, Sykes said. McCartney is the closer, followed by a finale involving many artists. It's scheduled to end around midnight, but may go longer. "We're not going to pull the plug," Weinstein said. Many actors and other personalities will introduce segments profiling storm victims, including Sean Combs, Brian Williams, Jon Stewart, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, Chelsea Clinton, Adam Sandler, Seth Meyers and Leonardo DiCaprio. The participating U.S. networks do not include the major broadcast networks. The lineup will include HBO and Showtime, public broadcasting stations in New York and Philadelphia, and a host of smaller cable networks like the Cooking Channel, Military History and VH1 Classic.

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Wagner wins over La Scala's ardent Verdi fans

MILAN (AP) — Richard Wagner won over La Scala's ardent Verdi followers during the gala season premiere on Friday with a production of "Lohengrin" that packed surprises -- including the last-minute arrival of German soprano Annette Dasch in the role of Elsa after two singers fell ill with the flu. Dasch, who has sung the role in the Bayreuth festival since 2010, got a call at her home in Berlin at 6 p.m. Thursday to take the stage for Milan's premiere cultural event the next evening. "It's one of those moments when you think, c'mon, what kind of person am I? Am I courageous? Yes I am! So I will just do it," Dasch said back stage after the show, already changed into jeans and clutching her 10-month old daughter who traveled with her nursing mom and was still wide-eyed after a nearly 5-hour dose of Wagner from backstage. Not an hour early, Dasch was taking curtain calls in a 15-minute long ovation along with Barenboim, tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the role of Lohengrin, Evelyn Herlitzius who portrayed Ortrud and Rene Pape as Heinrich der Vogler. Few singers have faced been called to one of the world's premier stage on such short notice. La Scala was forced to look abroad after not one but two sopranos fell ill. Anja Harteros had to cancel with the flu both the premier and a preview performance for youth earlier in the week, which was performed by Ann Peterson, who herself then fell ill. Dasch arrived in Milan at midnight Thursday. On Friday, she spent time with conductor Barenboim -- he put it at five minutes -- and some two and a half hours with director Claus Guth. Dasch had worked previously with both Barenboim and Guth -- and had even sung Elsa to Kaufmann's Lohengrin in Bayreuth. "I just tried to focus and really listen to what Claus had to say with the concepts. With Barenboim, I know he is literally the best accompanist in the world. ... So I knew I had the support," she said. Both Barenboim and Kaufmann praised Dasch's adaptability and performance. "It was full of surprises even for us. Usually the surprises are for the audience, but this time also for us, for me certainly, another soprano, who fortunately I already knew," Kaufmann said. "I have to say what she did was truly a miracle. To keep calm, she was fantastic." She didn't miss a step -- not even when her 18th Century dress, in keeping with Guth's decision to set the fairytale in the Victorian era -- caught on the stage. She just circled around once until it freed. Barenboim was elated with the evening -- citing the orchestra "capable of playing like hardly anyone in the world," the "stupendous" chorus and "top-notch" singers. He acknowledged that a double illness was not normal even in the dramatic world of opera, but said he knew Dasch could step in having worked with her previously -- though never on Wagner. He said he has seen her voice develop from Mozart when she was young to more mature Wagner roles. "Dasch, according to me, will be a great Wagnerian singer," Barenboim said. The audience was completely won over from the first act, applauding enthusiastically at both breaks and giving no credence to media criticism that La Scala was inaugurating its dual bicentennial celebrations of its own Giuseppe Verdi and German icon Wagner with a Teutonic classic. "Wagner always wins when you play the music well," Barenboim said. Premier Mario Monti, a La Scala regular, took a break from the grueling job of reforming Italy's economy and after Thursday's moves by Silvio Berlusconi's center-right party to pull support from the government. He went back stage to meet the singers during one of the intermissions. With no time to rest on her laurels, Dasch heads back to Berlin early Saturday for an evening performance of Mozart's "La finta giardiniera" (The Gates of Love). "Something completely different," she said.

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Long-sealed Notorious B.I.G. autopsy released

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for the family of Notorious B.I.G. said Friday it's ridiculous that Los Angeles police have not arrested anyone for the rapper's 1997 killing, which has returned to the spotlight after coroner's officials released a long-sealed autopsy report. The report revealed that injuries cause by a single bullet killed the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, during a drive-by shooting in March 1997. Wallace was hit by four bullets after leaving a music industry event, but one that hit his heart, left lung and colon caused his death, the 23-page report states. Perry Sanders Jr. said he was not given any notice that the report would be released, and he criticized police for not closing one of Los Angeles' highest-profile unsolved murders, especially since he had been told that police had identified those responsible. "I've been advised by the homicide detective that was in charge of the investigation and is no longer with the department that the crime has been solved for several years now," Sanders told The Associated Press. "This was confirmed by at least one other person who is currently on the force, and it is ridiculous that an arrest has not been made for a crime that's allegedly been solved for several years." Both Los Angeles police and the FBI investigated Wallace's killing, which came just months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was gunned down in Las Vegas. The FBI looked into whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved in Wallace's shooting. The deaths of Wallace and Shakur have been the subject of rampant speculation about the motives. The one-time friends became rivals and instigators in an East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry during the mid-1990s. A 2011 book by former Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading claimed both murders had been solved, although no arrests have been made and federal prosecutors in 2005 declined to file charges after a lengthy, bi-coastal investigation. Wallace is from the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Police spokesman Richard French declined to comment, saying Wallace's killing remained an open investigation. The coroner's report had been sealed for more than 15 years until police lifted a hold on it last week, Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said. The report details the trajectory of each of the shots that hit the rapper and states there were no signs of alcohol or drugs in his system when he died. Sanders, who dropped a federal civil lawsuit against the city in 2010 in order to give investigators an opportunity to investigate further, said solving the case was more important than any lawsuit. "In no way shape or form is this about civil litigation," he said. "This is about the criminal justice system and it functioning properly." The lawsuit Sanders filed on behalf of Wallace's family and widow Faith Evans ended in a mistrial in 2005 after attorneys discovered the city withheld a trove of LAPD documents. The civil case could be refiled, although that has not yet occurred. In March 2011, the FBI electronically released files on its investigation, which were heavily redacted but shed new light on the efforts that investigators took to try to find those responsible for the rapper's death. Agents conducted surveillance and interviews in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York, the files showed. The FBI referred all questions on the case to Los Angeles police.

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Viral rapper PSY apologizes for anti-US protests

South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-U.S. protests several years ago. Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement Friday after reports surfaced that he had participated in concerts protesting the U.S. military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the Iraq war. At a 2004 concert, the "Gangnam Style" rapper performs a song with lyrics about killing "Yankees" who have been torturing Iraqi captives and their families "slowly and painfully." During a 2002 concert, he smashed a model of a U.S. tank on stage. "While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted," he wrote in the statement. "I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words." The 34-year-old rapper says the protests were part of a "deeply emotional" reaction to the war and the death of two Korean school girls, who were killed when a U.S. military vehicle hit them as they walked alongside the road. He noted anti-war sentiment was high around the world at the time. PSY attended college in the U.S. and says he understands the sacrifices U.S. military members have made to protect South Korea and other nations. He has recently performed in front of servicemen and women. "And I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology," he wrote. "While it's important that we express our opinions, I deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do so. In my music, I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I have learned that thru music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology." His participation in the protests was no secret in South Korea, where the U.S. has had a large military presence since the Korean War, but was not generally known in America until recent news reports. PSY did not write "Dear American," a song by the Korean band N.EX.T, but he does perform it. The song exhorts the listener to kill the Yankees who are torturing Iraqi captives, their superiors who ordered the torture and their families. At one point he raps: "Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers/Kill them all slowly and painfully." PSY launched to international acclaim based on the viral nature of his "Gangnam Style" video. It became YouTube's most watched video, making him a millionaire who freely crossed cultural boundaries around the world. Much of that success has happened in the U.S., where the rapper has managed to weave himself into pop culture. He recently appeared on the American Music Awards, dancing alongside MC Hammer in a melding of memorable dance moves that book-end the last two decades. And the Internet is awash with copycat versions of the song. Even former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, the 81-year-old co-chairman of President Barack Obama's deficit commission, got in on the fun, recently using the song in a video to urge young Americans to avoid credit card debt. It remains to be seen how PSY's American fans will react. Obama, the father of two pop music fans, wasn't letting the news change his plans, though. Earlier Friday, the White House confirmed Obama and his family will attend a Dec. 21 charity concert where PSY is among the performers. A spokesman says it's customary for the president to attend the "Christmas in Washington" concert, which will be broadcast on TNT. The White House has no role in choosing performers for the event, which benefits the National Children's Medical Center.

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5 Imigran Asal Rohingya Diamankan di Pelabuhan Bakauheni

Kepolisian Sektor Kawasan Pelabuhan (KSKP) Bakauheni Lampung Selatan mengamankan lima imigran gelap asal Rohingya, Myanmar. Mereka diamankan dalam bus saat hendak masuk ke pelabuhan Bakauheni. Kepala KSK AKP Heru Adrian mengatakan para imigran itu naik bus Medan Jaya bernomor polisi BK 7365 DOM dari Medan dengan tujuan Jakarta pada hari Minggu (2/12). "Mereka ditangkap karena tidak memiliki dokumen yang lengkap," kata Heru saat dihubungi, Senin (3/12/2012). Kelima imigran asal Rohingya tersebut adalah Habizu Rahaman (20), Mohamad Yunus (41), Abdul Haqe (36), Ajimul (24) dan Mohamed Basyir. Menurut Heru, para imigran gelap itu masuk ke Indonesia dari Malaysia melalui pesisir utara Sumatera Utara pada (27/11) lalu. Mereka hendak ke Jakarta menuju kantor perwakilan United Nations High Commisioner feo Reguees (UNHCR). Setelah selesai diperiksa, kelima imigran itu dikirimkan ke People Smugling Polda Lampung untuk didata dan ditempatkan sementara. "Polda sudah memiliki tempat khusus untuk menampung para imigran sebelum dipulangkan kembali ke negara asalnya," kata Heru. Lampung menjadi tempat transit para imigran yang hendak menuju jakarta. Bukan kali ini saja, imigran asal Rohingya tertangkap di Lampung. Sebelumnya ada sekitar 20 imigran Rohingya diamankan di Pelabuhan Bakauheni dan Lampung Tengah.

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Politisi PKS: Irjen Djoko Ditahan, Kasus Simulator SIM Harus Tuntas

Politisi PKS Indra mendukung langkah Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) menahan tersangka dugaan korupsi proyek simulator SIM, Irjen Djoko Susilo. Bagi Indra, penahanan Djoko akan mempermudah penyelesaian perkara simulator SIM. "Menurut saya, langkah KPK menahan Djoko Susilo sudah tepat. Status DS, sejak awal KPK menyidik dugaan korupsi proyek simulator SIM sudah menjadi tersangka. Dengan ditetapkannya DS sebagai tersangka oleh KPK, berarti dapat dipastikan KPK memiliki alat bukti yang kuat dan cukup atas keterlibatan DS," kata Indra, Senin (3/12/2012). Menurutnya, penahanan Djoko merupakan hal biasa yang juga diberlakukan terhadap setiap tersangka yang ditangani KPK. "Jadi tidak aneh apabila DS dengan status sebagai tersangka ditahan KPK," ujarnya. Anggota Komisi III DPR ini yakin keputusan menahan DS telah diperhitungkan penyidik dan pimpinan KPK. Penahanan juga diyakini akan mempermudah proses penyidikan dan pengembangan perkara. "Oleh karena itu, saya juga berharap dengan ditahannya DS, kasus simulator SIM dapat segera diselesaikan setuntas-tuntasnya," tuturnya. Sejak petang kemarin (3/12), Djoko menjadi penghuni di Rutan KPK di Kompleks Pomdam Jaya, Guntur, Jakarta Selatan. Selain Djoko, dua tersangka di KPK lainnya juga ditempatkan di rutan ini. Melalui pengacaranya Juniver Girsang, DS bersikukuh tidak melakukan korupsi sebagaimana sangkaan KPK terhadap dirinya ketika menjabat sebagai Kepala Korps Lalu Lintas (Korlantas) Polri. Untuk membuktikan ada tidaknya penyimpangan dalam proyek simulator SIM, Djoko berharap perkaranya segera disidangkan di pengadilan. "Beliau tetap berharap proses ini segera dilimpahkan supaya ada kepastian hukum," kata Juniver.

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Irjen Djoko Ditahan, Polri: Kami Hormati Proses Hukum di KPK

Mabes Polri tidak mempersoalkan penahanan mantan Kepala Korps Lalu Lintas Polri, Irjen Djoko Susilo. Djoko ditahan di Rutan KPK di Kompleks Pomdam Jaya, Guntur, Jakarta Selatan terkait perkara dugaan korupsi proyek simulator SIM. "Polri adalah aparat yang taat dan patuh hukum. Kita menghormati proses hukum yang dilakukan KPK," kata Kadiv Humas Mabes Polri, Irjen Suhardi Alius dalam pesan singkatnya, Selasa (4/12/2012). Kendati berstatus tahanan, Polri tetap akan memberikan bantuan pendampingan hukum. "Bantuan hukum dan advokasi melalui Divkum Polri dan para penasehat hukum Pak Djoko," ujarnya. Djoko meringkuk dalam sel di Rutan Kompleks Pomdam Jaya, Guntur, Jakarta Selatan sejak Senin (3/12) malam. Selain Djoko, dua tersangka di KPK lainnya juga ditempatkan di rutan ini. Djoko bersikukuh tidak melakukan korupsi sebagaimana sangkaan KPK terhadap dirinya. Karena itu dia berharap perkaranya dapat segera disidangkan di pengadilan. "Beliau tetap berharap proses ini segera dilimpahkan supaya ada kepastian hukum," kata pengacara Djoko, Juniver Girsang. Sementara itu anggota Komisi III DPR dari Fraksi PKS, Indra berharap penahanan Djoko dapat mempermudah proses penyidikan dan pengembangan perkara oleh KPK. "Saya juga berharap dengan ditahannya DS, kasus simulator SIM dapat segera diselesaikan setuntas-tuntasnya," kata Indra.

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Ibunda Din Syamsuddin Meninggal Dunia

Rohana Syamsuddin, ibunda Ketum PP Muhammadiyah Din Syamsuddin meninggal dunia. Jenazah rencananya dimakamkan di Sumbawa Besar. "Informasi yang saya terima pagi ini, Ibunda Pak Din meninggal dunia di RS Harapan Keluarga Mataram," kata Sekretaris PP Muhammadiyah, Abdul Mu'ti saat dihubungi, Selasa (4/12/2012). Namun dia belum mendapat informasi detil mengenai wafatnya Rohana, termasuk proses pemakaman di Sumbawa Besar. "Saya sudah kirim pesan singkat dukacita ke Pak Din," katanya.

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Lalaikan Tugas, Bupati Garut Harus Diberi Sanksi Tegas

Skandal nikah siri kilat Bupati Garut Aceng Fikri ikut menuai komentar dari GKR Hemas. Selaku Ketua Forum Perempuan untuk Indonesia, GKR Hemas mendorong adanya sanksi tegas bagi Aceng yang dinilai lalai melakukan tugasnya. "Menuntut Menteri Dalam Negeri memberikan sanksi tegas pada Bupati Garut Aceng HM Fikri karena telah lalai melakukan tanggungjawabnya sebagai pejabat publik dalam menjaga etika bermasyarakat," ujar Ketua Forum Perempuan untuk Indonesia, GKR Hemas, dalam rilis yang diterima detikcom, Selasa (4/12/2012). GKR Hemas menyatakan, seorang pejabat publik sudah seharusnya menjadi teladan bagi masyarakat. Namun, yang dilakukan oleh Aceng sebagai seorang pejabat daerah justru sebaliknya. "Alih-alih menampilkan kemampuannya memimpin, malah menimbulkan keresahan dan ketidakpercayaan masyarakat atas pernikahannya dengan Fany Octora yang berlangsung singkat melalui tata cara pemutusan hubungan yang tidak etis," tuturnya. GKR juga menilai, berbagai pernyataan Aceng yang dilontarkan melalui media massa, telah merendahkan harkat dan martabat perempuan. Hal ini, menurutnya, bertentangan dengan upaya negara untuk menghilangkan diskriminasi perempuan seperti tertuang dalam UU Nomor 7 Tahun 1984. "Pernyataan tersebut tidak pantas keluar dari seorang Kepala Daerah yang menjunjung tinggi aturan negara," tegas dia. Oleh karena itu, Aceng diminta untuk meminta maaf secara langsung kepada korban, Fany dan keluarganya. Selain itu, Forum Perempuan untuk Indonesia juga mendesak Polda Jawa Barat untuk mengusut tuntas indikasi pelanggaran hukum dalam bentuk perdagangan manusia dalam kasus ini. Kemudian juga, Pemerintah Daerah Jawa Barat diharapkan segera melakukan pendampingan pada korban Fany dan keluarganya yang mengalami trauma. Sebelumnya Aceng sempat menyampaikan bahwa dia menceraikan Fany karena kecewa. Dia merasa dibohongi soal keperawanan Fanny dan juga penyakit fisik yang diderita Fany. Aceng tak bermaksud melecehkan Fanny dengan menceraikan melalui SMS.

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Fahd A Rafiq Hadapi Vonis Perkara Suap DPID

Majelis hakim Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi akan menjatuhkan hukuman bagi Fahd El Fouz atau lebih dikenal Fahd A Rafiq. Fahd sebelumnya dituntut 3,5 tahun penjara atas perkara suap kepada Wa Ode Nurhayati terkait pembahasan alokasi dana penyesuaian infrastruktur daerah (DPID). Sidang vonis yang dipimpin hakim ketua Suhartoyo dijadwalkan digelar Selasa (4/12/2012), pukul 13.00 WIB di Pengadilan Tipikor, Jalan HR Rasuna Said, Jakarta Selatan. Pengacara Fahd, Rudi Alfonso berharap hakim menjatuhkan hukuman ringan bagi kliennya. "Kami sudah sampaikan nota pembelaan dan selama persidangan klien kami sangat koperatif dan mengakui kesalahannya," kata Rudi. Penuntut umum KPK menuntut Fahd dengan hukuman 3,5 tahun penjara. Fahd dianggap melanggar Pasal 5 Ayat 1 huruf a UU Tipikor Jo pasal 55 ayat 1 ke-1 KUHP subsider pasal 13 UU Tipikor Jo pasal 55 ayat 1 ke-1 KUHP. Fahd didakwa menyuap anggota Banggar DPR Wa Ode sebesar Rp 5,5 miliar. Suap ini untuk pengurusan alokasi anggaran DPID tahun 2010 di 3 kabupaten yakni Aceh Besar, Pidie Jaya dan Bener Meriah di Nangroe Aceh Darussalam. Dalam dakwaan disebutkan Fahd menemui Haris Andi Surahman untuk membicarakan anggaran DPID yang tengah dibahas Banggar. Haris kemudian menghubungi Wa Ode untuk mempermulus keinginan Fahd tersebut. Dalam perkara ini, Wa Ode divonis 6 tahun penjara dan denda Rp 500 juta.

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