Massachusetts

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Heather Mills soon will be back in front of the cameras. The former Mrs. Paul McCartney, who recently wrapped up a very public divorce from the ex-Beatle, is among the celebrity judges just announced for the upcoming Miss USA Pageant.

Other judges for the April 11 competition include actor/comedian Rob Schneider, actor/musician Joey Fatone, actress Kristian Alfonso, Olympic-champion swimmer Amanda Beard, actress Kelly Carlson and San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman.

Donny and Marie Osmond will host the telecast of the 57th annual pageant, aired live from Las Vegas on NBC.

Contestants from 50 states and the District of Columbia will be judged in the swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories.

(© 2008 The Associated Press.

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NEW YORK (CBS News) ― The success of the band R.E.M. has been a “man on the moon” kinda thing - stratospherically surreal. After all, this was the college band that spearheaded the indie rock movement of the ’80s. Then lead singer Michael Stipe and company evolved into the supergroup that’s sold more than 50 million records.

R.E.M. will release its 14th studio album this week, their music showing a renewed urgency and velocity. An answer, perhaps, to critics who suggested the band was showing signs of old age.

CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason told Stipe about a British magazine article that recently described him as the grand old man of college rock and asked him if he felt like a “grand old man.”

“No,” he said laughing. (Read the full post about ‘R.E.M. Returns With 14th Studio Album’…)

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) ― A Bahamas jury ruled Monday that Anna Nicole Smith’s son died from an accidental drug overdose, just like his mother.

The seven-member jury, which deliberated for less than two hours, recommended no criminal charges in the September 2006 death of 20-year-old Daniel Smith.

The son of the former Playboy playmate died after coming to the Bahamas to meet his new baby sister on Sept. 10, 2006. His mother died early the next year in Florida from an accidental drug overdose at age 39.

Police had said there was no evidence of homicide, and autopsies found that Daniel died from a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants. (Read the full post about ‘Jury: Anna Nicole’s Son Died Of Drug Overdose’…)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Movie-goers laid their money down on “21,” a gambling romp that was the weekend’s box-office high roller with a $23.7 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess as math geniuses who make a killing at Vegas’ blackjack tables, Sony’s “21″ bumped off “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”, which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends.

“Horton Hears a Who,” distributed by 20th Century Fox, slipped to second place with $17.4 million, raising its total to $117.3 million. It is the first movie this year to pass the $100 million mark.

Despite solid holdover crowds for “Horton,” overall business continued to dip. (Read the full post about ‘‘21′ Rakes In $23M Box-Office Jackpot’…)

MILFORD, Mich. (AP) ― Tone Loc plans to play shows at two bars in the Detroit area that were swindled by a man posing as the rapper’s manager.

Tone Loc will play April 11 at the Red Dog Saloon in Milford and April 12 at Bumpers in Westland, The Detroit Free Press reports.

Red Dog owner Patty McMillan gave about $400 last summer to a man posing as Tone Loc’s manager who promised his client would perform at her bar. Authorities say the man also scammed Bumpers out of $1,000.

The scam artist hasn’t been caught.

The newspaper said McMillan and Judy Johnson of Bumpers contacted Tone Loc’s real manager, Bobby Bessone in Nashville, Tenn., who said the rapper offered to play the shows for his regular fee. (Read the full post about ‘Rapper Tone Loc To Play Gigs Booked By Con Artist’…)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) ― A sex offender released from prison less than a month ago will face charges in the death of a 62-year-old woman abducted while having coffee at her friend’s New Britain home, prosecutors said Monday.

MaryEllen Welsh’s body was found in a wooded area of Bristol, about 10 miles from the home. She had apparently been shot, New Britain police said.

She was visiting 65-year-old Carol Larese between 9 and 10 a.m. Sunday when someone broke into the house, Sgt. Darren Pearson said.

Larese was shot and badly wounded but is expected to recover.

Teresa Diters, who lives across the street, said Larese knocked on her door and asked her to call 911. (Read the full post about ‘Missing Woman’s Body Found After CT Home Invasion’…)

DOVER, N.H. (WBZ) ― A former New Hampshire congressional candidate has been sentenced to 20 days in jail and a year of home confinement for faking his disappearance after a car crash to boost his campaign.

Gary Dodds of Rye also was ordered to repay the state and various law enforcement agencies the $20,500 they spent looking for him when he crashed in Dover two years ago.

Dodds was found guilty last month of falsifying evidence, conduct after an accident and causing false public alarm for allegedly faking a car accident and then disappearing for more than a day in April 2006.

Prosecutors said Dodds, 43, staged the car crash to draw attention to his campaign. (Read the full post about ‘Former Candidate Sentenced For Fake Crash’…)

BOSTON (AP) ― The number of homeowners facing foreclosure in Massachusetts continues to rise, with owners of multi-family homes especially vulnerable.
 
The Warren Group, a Boston-based publisher of real estate data, said Monday that foreclosure petitions totaled more than 2,200 statewide in February. That’s up 27 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Foreclosure petitions are a first step that often leads to owners losing their homes.

Foreclosure deeds, in which the owner loses the home, more than doubled to 860 in February.

A disproportionate number of February foreclosure petitions involved two- and three-family homes. (Read the full post about ‘Foreclosures Hit Multi-Family Homes Hard’…)

LYNN, Mass. (WBZ) ― An 11-year-old boy from Lynn is in intensive care and his family claims he is a victim of bullying.

Alyssa Cormier told WBZ that her son, Mathew Mumbauer, is paralyzed and on a ventilator at Massachusetts General Hospital, suffering from pneumonia.

Cormier claims the incident happened March 11 at the Brickett Elementary School, where Mumbauer is a student.

Cormier told WBZ her son was pushed down a flight of stairs by a boy who had been bullying him. She said her son complained of pain later in the day and had to be carried out by the school nurse.

Two days later Mumbauer was experiencing paralysis, according to his family. (Read the full post about ‘Family Claims Bully Put Lynn Boy In Hospital’…)

RANDOLPH, Mass. (WBZ) ― A drive-by shooter in Randolph targeted an apartment with a child and two people inside early Monday morning.

The shots fired from a moving car struck a couple of windows in the apartment on West Street, near routes 139 and 24, just before 4 a.m.

No one was hurt.

Police say it was not a random attack and the people inside may have been targeted.
 
There have been no arrests.

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(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

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