TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:
* Carlos Boozer, NBA star, 28
* Jim Brown, member of UB40, 52
* Mike D, member of the Beastie Boys, 44
* Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), member of A Tribe Called Quest, 39
* Sen Dog, member of Cypress Hill, 44
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21st, 2009
* Ken Griffey, Jr., major league baseball player, 40
* Chauncey Hannibal, member of BlackStreet, 41
* Lonnie Jordan, member of War, 61
* Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, NBA Hall Of Famer, 65
* Pretty Lou, member of the Lost Boyz, 38
* Michael Strahan, sportscaster and former New York Giants great, 39
* Antonio Tarver, boxer and actor (Rocky Balboa), 41
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd, 2009
* Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Bassist of Bob Marley & the Wailers, 63
OPRAH WINFREY ANNOUNCING END TO SYNDICATED TALK SHOW
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey will end her top-rated TV talk show at the end of its 25th season, in September 2011. The talk show host will announce her decision publicly during The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcast today (Friday, November 20th).
* The coming announcement was hyped on ABC-TV websites by Harpo Inc.'s president Thursday.
* GossipCop.com also reports that a letter was sent to Winfrey's staff on Thursday (November 19th), informing them "the sun will set" on the highly successful program on September 9, 2011.
* In recent years Winfrey has mulled whether to continue the daily chatfest, and for how long. It's widely assumed Winfrey will expand her involvement in the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), the cable network she launched last year, after concluding her 25th and final season of Oprah.
MARY J. BLIGE, USHER PART OF TNT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher are scheduled to join host George Lopez in TNT's Christmas In Washington, set for Sunday, December 20th at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
* The event will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, December 13th. President Barack Obama and his First Lady, Michelle Obama, are expected to attend along with a number of other notable Washington personalities.
* The event will benefit the National Children's Medical Center.
SIDE NOTES
* Mary J. Blige sings a tune titled "Dreams In Color" that she co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq for the soundtrack to the current film Precious. Her new album, Stronger, is due for release on December 22.
* Usher will release his long-awaited follow-up to his Evolution Of A Man CD next month, when Raymond Vs. Raymond arrives on December 15th.
BLACK EYED PEAS MANAGER ESCAPES PEREZ HILTON ASSAULT CHARGE
The charges against Black Eyed Peas manager Liborio Molina for allegedly assaulting blogger Perez Hilton have been dropped. The Canadian Press Association reports that as part of the agreement that ended the case, Molina issued an apology to Hilton and cannot to contact the blogger except through his lawyer, carry a weapon for 12 months, come within 100 meters of the nightclub where the incident took place, and must donate $500 to Toronto's Red Door Family Shelter.
Hilton alleged that Molina punched him in June after the openly gay celebrity gossip blogger used a homophobic slur against Will.I.Am.
* Molina's lawyer read a statement from his client to Hilton on Wednesday (November 18th), which said, "I apologize for what I did on June 22 of 2009, even though you engaged in highly offensive comments, including a homophobic slur to my clients, I acknowledge that these kinds of issues should not be resolved through a physical response."
* Hilton's attorney responded, "Although accepting the fact that he shouldn't resort to violence, he attempted to say that there was a precipitating cause. A sincere apology is a sincere apology."
* TMZ.com reports that Hilton has also filed a civil suit against Molina seeking more than $25,000 in damages, which is still pending.
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