Rock singer pleads no contest to battery

Rock singer pleadsno contest to battery
DAYTON, Nev. -- A day after a misdemeanor battery case against him was dismissed in California, former Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil pleaded no contest to battery on a Moonlite BunnyRanch prostitute.
The 43-year-old singer declined to comment when the judge asked whether he had anything to say.
"We wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible," attorney Scott Freeman said after the brief hearing Thursday in Dayton Justice Court, 12 miles east of Carson City. "Mr. Neil personally appeared out of respect for this court and this county. Now he's moving on."
Prostitute Andrea Terry, who works under the name "TrixXxie Blue," said Neil choked her and threw her against a wall when the two met at the Mound House brothel where Neil stopped July 10, 2003, after a concert in Reno.
BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof said he was sorry to hear that Neil felt pressured to enter a plea.
"It's sad to see Vince do that because in my mind this girl's an opportunist and I know that Vince did nothing wrong," Hof told the Nevada Appeal newspaper. "I assume he did this to avoid having a lengthy trial. I will support him to the end, because I know he didn't do anything wrong."
Judge Bill Rogers suspended a 30-day jail sentence and ordered Neil to complete anger management correspondence courses within 60 days. He was fined $1,000 plus court fees of $132, and returned to his Las Vegas home afterward. A misdemeanor battery case in Beverly Hills, Calif., against Neil was dismissed Wednesday after he completed more than 100 hours of community service, prosecutors said.
Buffett forces eateryto change its name
FREDERICK, Md. -- Paradise isn't lost but the cheeseburgers are gone.
Lawyers for singer Jimmy Buffett gave a tiny roadside grill called Cheeseburgers 'n Paradise a choice: Change the name or face a trademark-violation lawsuit.
Owner Frenis Hoffman renamed the place Beef 'n Buns 'n Paradise this week, at least the second restaurant in two months to change its moniker under pressure from Buffett's lawyers.
"I'm feeling like a guppy in a tankful of sharks," Hoffman told The Frederick News-Post for a story published Thursday.
Lawyers for the famously laid-back singer accused the Hoffmans of using the name to ride the coattails of Buffett's 1978 hit, "Cheeseburger in Paradise," Hoffman said.
"I don't even care for his music," Hoffman said. "I like his lifestyle but not his music."
Buffett's representatives in Los Angeles didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press.
Will 2 annulmentsbring wedded bliss?
AIKEN, S.C. -- James Brown and his wife will likely have a second wedding if she's able to annul her previous marriage, his lawyer said.
Tomi Rae Brown has said she was asked to leave Brown's tour of Australia because of allegations she was still married to Javed Ahmed of Pakistan when she wed the Godfather of Soul.
She says the marriage lasted three days and was "done under the pretense of a man trying to stay in the country." She filed a formal petition for annulment in December and has a hearing later this month.
Brown, 70, filed for an annulment from Tomi Rae, his wife of three years, after he was charged with criminal domestic violence in January. He was arrested at the couple's Beech Island home.
"The hope is once she gets the annulment from Mr. Ahmed finalized, we will be able to do the annulment in Aiken County very swiftly, then it's my impression the parties would be able to enter into a marriage without these entanglements," Jim Huff, Brown's lawyer, said Wednesday.
Notable death
Jack Smith, an Emmy Award-winning correspondent during a 26-year career at ABC News, died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday, his sister said. He was 58. The son of former ABC anchor Howard K. Smith, Jack Smith won two Emmys, a Peabody and numerous other awards during his television career and helped develop ABC News' technology beat and its "Cutting Edge" segment.
Today's Birthdays
Actor Harry Morgan is 89. Actor Max von Sydow is 75. Actor Omar Sharif is 72. Sportscaster John Madden is 68. Sportscaster Don Meredith is 66. Actor Steven Seagal is 53. Singer-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds is 46. Actor-comedian Orlando Jones is 36. Singer Mandy Moore is 20. Actor Haley Joel Osment is 16.