Killers ask judge to toss ex-manager's lawsuit

Killers ask judge to tossex-manager's lawsuit
LAS VEGAS -- The Killers and their lawyer-manager have asked a federal judge to throw out a $16 million breach-of-contract lawsuit from the band's former manager.
In documents filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, members of the rock band and their manager, lawyer Robert Reynolds, accused former manager Braden Merrick of Los Angeles of incompetence and dishonesty.
Merrick's lawsuit, filed Feb. 21, alleges that he was fired in May, after the Las Vegas-based band became successful. The two sides had been negotiating a settlement.
In a separate action filed Friday, the band asked the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to void any agreements between The Killers and Merrick.
A spokeswoman at the agency's San Francisco headquarters said Monday she wasn't immediately aware of the band's petition and didn't know when a hearing would be scheduled.
Merrick's lawyer, Howard King of Los Angeles, said the band's contract with Merrick, which was to have run through 2007, was in Nevada.
The Killers, formed in 2002, signed with Island Def Jam records and had a hit with their first release, "Hot Fuss." They recently began recording a second album.
Rapper Master P pleadsno contest, gets probation
LOS ANGELES -- In a deal with prosecutors, rapper Master P pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor gun charge and was placed on probation for three years.
The 38-year-old "Dancing with the Stars" contestant, whose real name is Percy Miller, was arrested last year with his brother, Vyshonn Miller, 30, after they were pulled over by University of California, Los Angeles, police.
Officers found a revolver under the driver's seat of the car, which was driven by the younger Miller, and a semiautomatic handgun on the passenger's seat where Master P was sitting. Each was charged with a felony and faced up to three years in prison.
Under the plea deal, the charge against the rapper was reduced to a misdemeanor -- carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm.
He also was fined $700 and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service. He was given credit for time served after his arrest, for a one-day jail sentence, Deputy District Attorney Hamid Towfigh said.
His brother, a rapper who uses the stage name Silkk The Shocker, pleaded no contest to a felony for carrying an unregistered gun and was given an identical sentence and fine.
Manilow goes for commute
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Barry Manilow soars high above the traffic five days a week on his commute to the Las Vegas Hilton.
From his home in Palm Springs, the 59-year-old singer travels by jet to Sin City.
"There's just no quiet in Vegas," Manilow told the Los Angeles Times for a recent story.
But he embraces the five-shows-a-week gig, where his loyal fans -- "Fanilows" -- make up the bulk of his nightly audience.
He's also flying high on the success of his latest album, "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," which debuted at No. 1 on U.S. pop charts.
Notable death
Peter Tomarken, who was known as host of the hit 1980s game show "Press Your Luck," in which contestants often shouted the slogan "big bucks, no whammies!" died Monday in a plane crash. He was 63.
Tomarken and his wife, Kathleen Abigail Tomarken, 41, were killed when their small plane crashed in Santa Monica Bay shortly after takeoff on a charity flight, authorities said.
Today's birthdays
Country singer Carl Smith is 79. Former astronaut Alan L. Bean is 74. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 73. Jazz musician Cecil Taylor is 73. Actor Judd Hirsch is 71. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 66. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 65. Rock singer-musician Sly Stone is 63. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 59. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 51. Actress Park Overall is 49. Movie director Renny Harlin is 47. Model Fabio is 45. Singer Sananda Maitreya (formerly Terence Trent D'Arby) is 44. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 43. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 38. Actress Kim Raver is 37. Rock musician Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) is 34. Actress Eva Longoria is 31. Rapper-musician will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) is 31. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park) is 29. Rapper Young Buck is 25. Actor Sean Biggerstaff is 23. Actress Caitlin Wachs is 17.