On tap for the Grammys

On tap for the Grammys
LOS ANGELES -- Green Day, Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw and U2 will perform at the 47th annual Grammy Awards next month. They are the first group of performers to be announced by the Recording Academy. The announcement was made Thursday. Keys is nominated for eight Grammys. Green Day has six nominations, U2 has three and McGraw has two nominations. The Grammys will be presented Feb. 13 at the Staples Center, with Queen Latifah as host. Presenters include Ellen DeGeneres and John Travolta.
Allowance in Jackson case
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The judge in the Michael Jackson case Friday gave prosecutors permission to introduce expert testimony on misperceptions and myths about child molestation during the pop star's trial. Prosecutors said at a hearing that they want an expert to testify about why victims sometimes wait to report molestation, give incomplete accounts, avoid telling close relatives and retain affection for their abusers. Jackson's attorneys argued against allowing such testimony, telling Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville that it could be used to buttress unreliable testimony from the alleged victim and his family. Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. said such testimony should not be allowed if he can prove the boy and his family "aren't victims at all, they're flat-out liars." Jackson, 46, is set to go on trial Jan. 31 on charges of molesting the boy and plying him with alcohol. Mesereau said the family has made inconsistent statements to police, social workers, Jackson and Jackson's employees. He also said the defense would show the family had lied repeatedly.
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The judge in the Michael Jackson case Friday gave prosecutors permission to introduce expert testimony on misperceptions and myths about child molestation during the pop star's trial. Prosecutors said at a hearing that they want an expert to testify about why victims sometimes wait to report molestation, give incomplete accounts, avoid telling close relatives and retain affection for their abusers. Jackson's attorneys argued against allowing such testimony, telling Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville that it could be used to buttress unreliable testimony from the alleged victim and his family. Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. said such testimony should not be allowed if he can prove the boy and his family "aren't victims at all, they're flat-out liars." Jackson, 46, is set to go on trial Jan. 31 on charges of molesting the boy and plying him with alcohol. Mesereau said the family has made inconsistent statements to police, social workers, Jackson and Jackson's employees. He also said the defense would show the family had lied repeatedly.
LOS ANGELES -- Wayne Newton says he won't need a panel of judges to decide the winner of his new talent contest, "The Entertainer," which debuts Sunday on E! Television Network. Newton is the only judge, but the 62-year-old singer promises that he won't be as nasty as, say, Simon Cowell, the tart-tongued judge on Fox's "American Idol." "You can be difficult on them as long as it's not crushing to them, as long as what you're telling them is not mean-spirited," Newton told The Associated Press in a recent interview. The winner of the talent contest will appear in Newton's Las Vegas show.
Burger King and Trump
MIAMI -- Giving product placement a new twist, Burger King got its latest recipe from the mogul wannabes on "The Apprentice." The burger that debuted in 7,800 restaurants nationwide Friday came straight out of Thursday night's episode of Donald Trump's reality TV show. Two teams each had to design a new Burger King product, with help from the chain's head chef. They then had to sell it while running two busy stores in midtown Manhattan during lunchtime. The team with the most sales won. The winning team, Networth, hawked a Western Angus steak burger, loaded with cheese, barbecue sauce, onion rings, lettuce and tomatoes. "It seemed like a perfect fit for us. ... Donald Trump is a bottom-line guy," said Russ Klein, Burger King Corp.'s chief marketing officer. Burger King is to run a 30-second commercial featuring Trump on NBC until the end of this month, Klein said. The burger should be in stores until Feb. 4.
Serb president makesa request of R.E.M.
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- Greeting members of the rock band R.E.M. in his Belgrade office, Serbia's President Boris Tadic said he's a fan and requested that his favorite song, "Orange Crush," be played at their Friday concert. Youthful and soft-spoken, Tadic, 46, is at the helm of a democratic leadership striving to open the troubled Balkan republic to the West after years of ostracism and isolation during the rule of Yugoslavia's ex-President Slobodan Milosevic. Bringing world-famous artists to the country is part of that effort, said Nebojsa Krstic, head of Tadic's press team. Krstic said Tadic has been a fan of R.E.M. since the band's early days in the 1980s. On Thursday, R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe presented Tadic with a copy of the band's new CD and Tadic gave the band a CD of Serbian ethnic music, "Serbia Sounds Global," saying he hoped the exotic sound might inspire new hits. R.E.M.'s sold-out concert was billed as the main rock event in Serbia in 2005.
Today's birthdays
Former Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., is 77. Actress Piper Laurie is 73. Actor Seymour Cassel is 70. Author Joseph Wambaugh is 68. Actor John Hurt is 65. Country singer-musician Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 53. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Mike Bossy is 48. Actress Linda Blair is 46. Actress Diane Lane is 40. Actor-rap DJ Jazzy Jeff is 40. Country singer Regina Nicks (Regina Regina) is 40. Actress Olivia d'Abo is 38. R & amp;B singer Marc Gay (Shai) is 36. Actor Gabriel Macht is 33. Actor Balthazar Getty is 30. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson is 25. Pop singer Willa Ford is 24. R & amp;B singer Kelton Kessee (IMX) is 24. Actress Beverley Mitchell is 24.
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