Ludacris, Kanye West face suit over song

Ludacris, Kanye Westface suit over song
NEW YORK -- With some jurors nodding their heads to the beat, lawyers sparred over whether rappers Ludacris and Kanye West stole the essence of another song to create the 2003 hit "Stand Up."
The jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan listened to the song and "Straight Like That" by a group called I.O.F. from East Orange, N.J. Two of the 10 jurors nodded their heads to the beat of Ludacris' song but were still during the little-known track.
Attorney Mel Sachs said he will prove Ludacris heard the song before he made his breakthrough hit, even though "Straight Like That" never made it beyond some air time on college radio after it was released in September 2001.
At issue are the words like that, repeated more than 80 times in each song, though one song precedes the phrase with straight while the other precedes it with just, Sachs said.
Both are expected to testify, but West wasn't in the courtroom Tuesday, and Ludacris declined to comment.
The trial, expected to last a week, will determine liability. If liability is found, a second phase will assess damages.
Elton John wins damagesfrom London newspaper
LONDON -- Elton John accepted $188,000 in libel damages from a newspaper Wednesday over allegations that he had asked guests not to approach him at a charity ball.
Associated Newspapers Ltd., which publishes The Daily Mail, paid the damages, according to John's attorney, Hanna Basha. The Sunday Times, which reprinted the Mail article, agreed on a confidential settlement earlier this year, Basha said.
The allegations surrounded John's behavior at his annual Tie and Tiara charity ball.
The Mail claimed in its June 24 article that the 59-year-old pop star had issued a "bizarre" edict for guests not to approach him.
Munch painting stolenfrom manor in Sweden
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Swedish police tightened border checks Wednesday after a valuable artwork by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch was stolen from a manor in southern Sweden, police said.
Thieves broke into the summer home of a Norwegian ship owner near Horby, 360 miles south of Stockholm, late Tuesday and stole the painting worth an estimated $138,000, police spokesman Per Jansson said.
"The thieves just broke open one of the doors, removed the painting and left," he said.
Jansson said he did not know the name of the painting. Police stepped up border checks and launched an investigation, he said.
Works by the Norwegian painter, who died in 1944, are a popular target for thieves.
A version of his most famous painting, "The Scream," as well as "Madonna," were snatched by masked gunmen from the Munch Museum in Oslo in August 2004. Three Norwegian men were convicted of the theft, but despite an international police hunt the paintings have not been recovered.
Today's birthdays
Former White House news secretary Ron Nessen is 72. Country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall is 70. Actor Sir Ian McKellen is 67. Actress Dixie Carter is 67. Country singer Jessi Colter is 63. Actress-singer Leslie Uggams is 63. Movie director and Muppeteer Frank Oz is 62. Actress Karen Valentine is 59. Rock singer Klaus Meine (The Scorpions) is 58. Actress Connie Sellecca is 51. Rock singer-musician Paul Weller is 48. Actor-comedian Mike Myers is 43. Actress Anne Heche is 37. Rapper Daz Dillinger is 33. Actress Molly Sims is 33. Singer Lauryn Hill is 31. Actress-singer Lauren Frost is 21.