NEWSMAKERS: Black Keys are latest to leave NE Ohio

NEWSMAKERS

Black Keys are latest to leave NE Ohio

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

It’s been a tough year for Ohio. First The Buckeye State lost LeBron James. Now The Black Keys have headed south, too, leaving Akron for the Music City, where singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney recently bought homes.

The duo considered a short list of finalists before settling on Nashville. “Honestly, if Miami had given Pat and I the amount of money they gave LeBron, we would be living in Miami right now,” Auerbach joked.

Like Akron native James’ eventual decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, where Auerbach and Carney landed was a subject of media scrutiny over the summer with magazine writers and bloggers speculating over the possibilities.

The Black Keys’ arrival gives Nashville quite the rock r sum these days that boosters are cheering over. Nashville hosts Jack White’s Third Man Records. Kings of Leon started its trek to arena-filling stardom here. And the Keys arrive just as the band is reaching a peak in popularity that has them front and center in the music world.

Auerbach and Carney just received six Grammy nominations. Their song “Tighten Up” is No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock chart.

Ex-TV chef sentenced in plot to kill wife

LOS ANGELES

Former “Calorie Commando” TV chef Juan-Carlos Cruz has been sentenced in Los Angeles to nine years in prison on a charge of soliciting two homeless men to murder his wife.

Cruz, who pleaded no contest earlier this year, smiled and winked at wife Jennifer Campbell during Monday’s sentencing appearance. Cruz was arrested in May by Santa Monica police after a homeless man reported he was offered $500 to kill Campbell.

5 celebrities chosen to present at Oscars

LOS ANGELES

Academy Awards winners Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and Marisa Tomei are among stars appearing on the next Oscar show, along with past nominee Oprah Winfrey. Academy overseers announced Monday that all five will serve as presenters on the Feb. 27 telecast. Nominations for the 83rd Oscars are due out Jan. 25.

‘X Factor’ finale rivets Britain, heads to USA

LONDON

The “X Factor” finale has drawn a record audience in Britain as the Simon Cowell-led musical competition prepares for its debut in the United States. Painter and decorator Matt Cardle is the newly crowned X Factor champion and is launching his recording career at age 27 with the release “When We Collide.”

Associated Press