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NEW YORK - James Watson, famous for DNA research but widely condemned for recent comments about intelligence levels among blacks, retired Thursday from his post at a prestigious research institution.
Watson, 79, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York announced his departure a week after the lab suspended him. He was chancellor of the institution, and his retirement took effect immediately.
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She's not a very good singer. Check it out though.
Vanessa Williams was at the kickoff of HomeAgain's "Bring Pets Home" campaign in NYC. Pics below.
Beyonce at a ceremony in Ethiopia.
Lily Allen and her brother, Alfie, at the BFI Film Festival in London.
Don't know who they are but this pic cracks me up.
Mya does some shopping in Athens, Greece.
It's Britney, bitch...the girl is a star.
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First, former NSyncer JC Chasez decided to part ways with Jive Records, and now, EW has learned, Kelis has been dropped from the label that's home to Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and R. Kelly. The R&B singer's 2003 album, Tasty, yielded the massive hit "Milkshake," and was certified gold, but Kelis' most recent effort, 2006's Kelis Was Here, had less success in the U.S.—despite plenty of guest spots, including a collaboration with her husband, Nas. Kelis was originally signed to Pharrell Williams's Star Tracks, which had a distribution deal in place with Virgin, which was later moved to Arista and, through the SonyBMG merger, she ended up with Jive. "It was a case of being in the ever-shrinking world of the record industry and finding herself on a label she wasn't signed to and without a champion," says Kelis' manager, Jeff Rabhan. "She's a different kind of artist — very image and style-driven. It's either something you get or you don't."
Kelis has been working on an indie dance record with Cee-Lo. A full-on pop effort with Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams) will be shopped around soon. "We're not opposed to another major label deal, but it would have to be non-traditional," adds Rabhan. Kelis is also in talks to host a Project Runway-like show on VH1 and is auditioning for numerous TV and film roles.
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Busta Rhymes, Cedric The Entertainer, MC Lyte, David Banner, Toccara, Lynn Whitfield, and Kel Mitchell, among many others, were in attendance at the BET Film Festival. Pics below.
Mel B & Stephen Belafonte do the same.
Bono and Alicia Keys hanging out backstage at the Black Ball Concert.
A federal judge released rapper T.I. on $3 million bail Friday, but he must remain under house arrest until his trial on weapons charges.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman ordered the rapper be monitored 24 hours a day by a private monitoring service that T.I. must pay for.
T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, must stay in his home except for medical appointments and court appearances. He also may not own any guns and cannot have contact with any witnesses or informants in the case.
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A woman is suing hip-hop impresario Jay-Z and his swank 40/40 Club, alleging she was fired because her preggy condition didn't suit the club's "sexy" and "unattached" image for the staff. But a source tells TMZ that the real reason Folake Ogundiran isn't working at 40/40 anymore is pretty simple -- she just stopped showing up!
In the suit, obtained by TMZ and filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Folake, who worked as a sales associate for 40/40, claims that when she told her bosses she was pregnant, a female supervisor snapped that she couldn't run a business "like this," and told her not to show up the next day. When Folake tried to report for work two days later, she says she was "barred from entering the workplace" and denied unemployment benefits.
Folake suggests that she got the 86 because her "gestational status" would be "inconsistent' with the image 40/40 wanted its sales people to exude, namely, "young, fashionable, unattached, and 'sexy," as the suit reads. She's suing for discrimination, and seeking unspecified damages. A source tells TMZ that Ogundiran did in fact stop showing up for work, and despite the club's efforts, she never returned.
40/40 rep Ron Berkowitz tells TMZ the suit is without merit and that "like many other lawsuits" brought against Jay-Z, "will likely be dismissed."
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Xzibit, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Terrell Owens, Timbaland, Ron Artest and Barry Bonds were among guests at Gavin Maloof's housewarming party in Vegas. Pics below.
I'm almost choking on my food right now...this shit is HILARIOUS. Check it out.
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Alicia Keys, Bono, Iman, Diddy, Jay-Z, L.A. Reid, Gayle King, and Petra Nemcova were all at the 4th Annual Black Ball Conert in NYC. Pics below.
