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Congratulations to Jimmy Rollins. The Philadelphia Phillies’ shortstop was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. Rollins is the seventh Phillies player to win the title. Last year, his teammate Ryan Howard was awarded the title, making the win a hometown back to back.
 
Wyclef Jean reveals the mystery behind Lauryn Hill’s strange behavior. At one time, Hill was on top of the world winning acclaim and awards all over the world. Then, she snapped. Jean claims it was their affair that drove her over the edge. Jean is married, and he had no intention of leaving his wife for Hill. Jean says Hill started using drugs after they broke up. He says she has lost touch with reality, and there will not be a Fugees’ reunion. Jean says Hill is in desperate need of psychological help. Hill has had a history with married men. Her children’s father, Rohan Marley, also has a wife.
 
Eddie Murphy will never forgive former Spice Girl Mel B, and he has told a court he has no interest in ever meeting his daughter. Murphy will pay the child support, but that’s it. Eddie feels Mel B made a fool of him and deliberately got pregnant. Little Angel Iris was born on his birthday. At first, Eddie denied the child was his, but then the DNA tests came in proving that he is 100 percent the baby daddy. Murphy needs to get over it. He should wear a condom instead of having unprotected sex. Murphy’s ex-wife Nicole is going through her own madness. She is tearing through the money she got from Murphy in their divorce settlement. Between the bad investments and gigolo boyfriends, she is going to be broke.
 
R Kelly has lost the backing of his closest friends and advisors George and Regina Daniels. For years, Regina Daniels served as Kelly’s publicist through the good times and bad times. George Daniels is a major music retailer in the Midwest. The Daniels have issued statements disassociating themselves from Kelly. Word has it Kelly wanted Regina Daniels to lie for him on the witness stand regarding his child pornography case.
 
Shaq and Shaunie: back together again? The popular couple was spotted at a wrestling match with their three kids. They were holding hands and enjoying themselves. Are they getting back together? Well consider this…… it’s cheaper to keep her. Despite the allegations of cheating, stealing and pregnant jumpoffs, the two could find happiness again. Word has it the pregnant jumpoff is no longer pregnant, and she is out of the picture.
 
Chris Rock has some explaining to do. At a recent comedy show in Vegas, he insulted Gayle King and her young date. Everyone knows Gayle is Oprah Winfrey’s best friend, so when Rock started to make fun of King and her date, she couldn’t believe her ears. Rock stated that Oprah was going to break King and her date up, and make him disappear like Stedman (ouch!) Needless to say King did not stick around. She felt he had already crossed the line. When Rock tried to apologize, she gave him the hand.
 
Jamie Foxx has signed a deal with MTV and VH1 for a show featuring men getting social makeovers. The show is called From G’s to Gents.
 
Singer Chaka Khan has a new health beverage. It’s called Purple. It’s an antioxidant that will be sold in health food stores, delis and drug stores. The beverage will be sold nationwide starting next year.
 
Nicole Richie is featured in the new issue of People magazine. People has the exclusive photos of her baby shower which has the theme of The Wizard of Oz.
 
BET’s Celebration of Gospel airs January 27th on BET. Steve Harvey is hosting with special guest stars Patti LaBelle, Kirk Franklin, John Legend, Dr. Bobby Jones and the top five finalists from BET’s Sunday Best.
 
Michael Jackson is back in the United States, and sources say he is staying at his parents’ home in Encino, California. Michael has been traveling with his three kids and a tutor. His confidante, Nanny Grace, is staying in Las Vegas.
 
NBC is getting ready to unveil their new TV show Clash of The Choirs, December 17th -20th. The show will feature celebrity choirmasters Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, Kelly Rowland and Nick Lachey. The celebrities will be gathering singers in their hometowns to compete for the best choir.
 
Tennis Sensation Venus Williams is unveiled her new clothing line. The line called EleVen. It’s the largest fashion collection by a female athlete. The 120 piece line includes track suits, sports bra, denim jackets, jewelry, t-shirts, gym bags, visors, sport socks and sneakers. The affordable sports line will be sold exclusively at Steve and Barry stores nationwide for under $20. Venus’s sister Serena also has a sports line, via Nike.
 
Has Usher changed religions? Word has it he is now a Scientologist along with his wife Tameka. Other noted Scientologist include Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Usher is gearing up for a big 2008. In addition to his first child being born, he is releasing a new album in March.
 
The Beyonce Experience is out on DVD. Beyonce’s 2007 tour was phenomenal, and this DVD features a Destiny’s Child Reunion plus an appearance with B’s main man Jay-Z.
 
The new season of American Idol: Season 7 premieres Tuesday January 15th.
 
Singer Angela Winbush is coming to Philly Saturday, December 1st at North By Northwest, 7165 Germantown Avenue. For more info call 215-248-1000.
 
Let’s talk couples….. Singer Marques Houston is engaged to Actress Jennifer Freeman. Freeman is best known for her work on the Damon Wayans’ show My Wife and Kids.
 
Congrats are also in order for Sportscaster Ahmad Rashad. The former husband of Actress Phylicia Rashad has gotten married again. Rashad has struck gold. He recently married Sale Johnson, the ex-wife of Billionaire Woody Johnson.
The 34th Annual Peoples Choice Awards is set to air January 8th. Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington, Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Dwayne “The Rock “Johnson and Chris Tucker are all up for awards.
 
KeKe Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee, Jump In) will be portraying 80’s Rapper Roxanne Shante in the movie The Vapors. The movie will detail the rise of the hip hop Juice Crew, Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie. Actor Clifton Powell is set to portray famed DJ Mr. Magic.
 
This week at the movies, it’s This Christmas with Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Chris Brown, Sharon Leal and Idris Elba.
 
The Color Purple road tour is coming to Philadelphia. The Oprah Winfrey Production will kick off an extended stay beginning June 17th, 2008 at The Academy of Music.
 
The musical Hairspray with John Travolta, Queen Latifah and Zach Efron is out on DVD.
 
“The Boss”-Diana Ross, Director Martin Scorsese, Beach Boy Founder Brian Wilson and Comedian/Actor Steve Martin have been named for The 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. The awards ceremony takes place on December 26th on CBS.
 
WHAT’S THE UNDERGROUND BUZZ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This popular female singer is topping the charts with her latest album, but a lot of her fans are disappointed with her new sexy image. She has been wearing revealing outfits and tons of makeup because record label bosses want her competing with other singers. This female singer can sing, and she is also a talented musician. Her fans feel she doesn’t need to look like a hoochie to prove her worth.
 
This Talk Show Hostess is addicted to her wigs. She refuses to let any man she dates see her without her wig or extensions, and it’s starting to affect her sex life.
 
Upcoming Movies and Events:
 
Perfect Holiday- Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut, Charlie Murphy, Katt Williams, Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard. The movie opens December 4th.
 
The Great Debaters – Starring Denzel Washington (Director), Forest Whitaker and produced by Oprah Winfrey. The movie opens Christmas Day.
 
First Sunday – Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams opens January 11th 2008.
 
The Better Man- Martin Lawrence, Mo’Nique and James Earl Jones opens February 2008.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The rate of cardiovascular ailments such as heart disease and stroke among Americans with diabetes has dropped in recent years, with blacks leading the way in the improvement, health officials said Thursday.

The percentage of diabetics with cardiovascular disease fell from 36.6 percent in 1997 to 32.5 percent in 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

The 11 percent drop was fueled by major strides by blacks.

The rate of black diabetics with cardiovascular disease fell by a quarter during this period, from 36.3 percent in 1997 to 27.1 percent in 2005. Whites saw a much smaller decline during the same period, the CDC said. Blacks still have higher diabetes rates than whites or Hispanics.

A second CDC report showed more diabetics are monitoring their blood sugar levels daily.

While the rates of cardiovascular disease among diabetics have declined, many more people overall were diagnosed with diabetes from 1997 to 2005 — a 43 percent increase, the CDC noted. In 2005, about 5 percent of Americans had diabetes.

Cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death for Americans, particularly among diabetics. Nearly two thirds of deaths among U.S. diabetics are caused by heart disease and stroke, and diabetics have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than other people, the CDC said.

The recent trend, the CDC said, might be due to progress against cardiovascular disease risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking, development of new drugs such as cholesterol-lowering statins, and use of heart disease preventive treatments like daily aspirin therapy.

“It’s certainly encouraging to see this decline. However, it doesn’t mean that we need to stop what we’re doing and say, ‘Job well done,”‘ CDC epidemiologist Nilka Rios Burrows, who led the report, said in a telephone interview.

The findings were based on responses from people who took part in annual government health surveys during this period. Between 3,700 and 6,800 people took part in each of the surveys, and they were asked whether they had been diagnosed with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the CDC said.

In addition to heart disease and stroke, diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations.

Diabetes causes the body to fail to produce or properly use insulin, a hormone necessary to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. Type 2 diabetes, the most frequent form, has become more common in recent decades thanks in part to growing rates of obesity.

In the second report, the CDC said there have been big increases in daily monitoring of blood glucose levels among U.S. adults with diabetes, from 40.6 percent doing so in 1997 to 63.4 percent in 2006.

Blood glucose is the key sugar made by the body from consumed food. Controlling it is vital for managing diabetes and preventing complications, the CDC said.

A day before he resigned, former New Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan paid a fraction of the $3.7 million discrimination judgment against his office, an attorney said Friday.

Jordan’s office made a $300,000 payment on Monday, said Clement Donelon, an attorney for the plaintiffs, who are workers fired from the district attorney’s office.

The next day, Jordan cited the judgment as part of the reason he was leaving the office.

“It is a first payment. Hopefully not the last,” Donelon said.

Donelon said Monday’s payment doesn’t preclude a possible seizure of the office’s assets to settle the debt, but that Jordan deserves credit for making it.

“To me, it’s recognition of the enforceability of the judgment and an act of responsibility on his part,” he said.

The judgment is owed to 36 workers summarily fired by Jordan after he took office in 2003. Virtually all the workers are white and were replaced by black workers. Jordan, who is black, maintains race played no role in the firings.

Jordan, 55, had faced mounting criticism as high-profile cases fell apart and veteran prosecutors left. Long before the judgment threatened to bankrupt the office, charges were dropped and a backlog of criminal cases moved slowly through the courts.

A woman who worked on “The Price Is Right” for two decades has sued Bob Barker and the game show’s producers, alleging they retaliated against her and forced her to quit after she testified against Barker.

Deborah Curling claimed she was in a “pleasant working environment” for many years screening contestants for the show, but that changed after she testified in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought against Barker by a former production assistant, according to her lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court.

Curling claimed she was demoted to working in an “intolerable” working environment in the back stage, forcing her to leave the show last fall.

Curling, who is black, also claimed a hostile work environment in which black employees and black contestants were discriminated against.

“Barker created an atmosphere of terror on the show, as a result of which any employee who complained about the working environment or contradicted Barker was fired,” the lawsuit said.

Besides Barker, the lawsuit also names production company FreemantleMedia North America and CBS as defendants.

A CBS spokesman declined to comment, and an after-hours call to FreemantleMedia was not immediately returned.

Curling’s lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.

Barker, 83, retired earlier this year after hosting “The Price Is Right” for 35 years.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc has sued an unknown defendant, alleging that the person impersonated one of the brokerage’s managers and sent racially denigrating e-mails to civil rights leader Al Sharpton and several black investment brokers at the firm.

The defendant, who has not been identified but is believed to be based somewhere in the U.S. Midwest, began sending racially charged e-mails in September, according to the complaint filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

“The e-mails sent by defendant contain explicit racial remarks that are meant to be offensive to the African-American employees of Merrill Lynch,” it said.

Sharpton said he and his office had been “inundated” recently with threatening e-mails and phone calls but did not know if that had come from one or multiple sources.

“Hopefully this lawsuit can lead to people feeling that they can’t just go unchecked and operate with bigotry,” said Sharpton.

The e-mails have been made to appear as though they were sent by a Merrill Lynch regional administrative manager and included racial slurs, the company said.

In some instances, the e-mails were made to appear as though they had been signed as being from the manager, and at times they also made specific reference to the Merrill Lynch trade name, according to the complaint.

The e-mails were sent from a Hotmail account, which the defendant allegedly opened in the manager’s name. As a result of the e-mails, the company had “received complaints from some of its African-American employees,” and the bank manager’s name had been tarnished, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit did not say how or whether the unnamed defendant might have been associated with Merrill Lynch. A company spokesman could not immediately comment on the suit.

Merrill has sued for trademark infringement, fraud and defamation and asked the court to stop the dissemination of the e-mails, according to the complaint.

Sharpton said the case was emblematic of an increase in hate crimes nationwide, including in Jena, Louisiana, where three nooses were found hanging from a tree at a high school.

“I don’t know if we can identify this one person, but there has been a huge and disturbing increase in this type of crime,” he said. “They need to be prosecuted as hate crimes.”

In a separate statement, Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster said his company “opposes discrimination in any form and will take swift action when it learns its products or services are being used in an abusive or harmful manner.”

“In taking such action, Microsoft maintains its commitment to protecting the privacy of its customers,” Bowermaster said. (Reporting by Paritosh Bansal and Christine Kearney)

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Scores of callers to black radio stations said they heeded a call to refrain from shopping Friday in a “National Blackout Day” to protest a rise in hate crimes but some African-Americans called the boycott a stunt.

“I won’t be doing any shopping today. Justice has to be done,” said Alan Whitaker, a self-employed Atlanta businessman.

The protest was called by Warren Ballentine, whose talk show, “The People’s Attorney,” is broadcast on radio stations across the country.

Citing a rise in reports of nooses being hung in parts of the country to intimidate blacks, Ballentine told listeners, “Until we have federal legislation … regarding these hate crimes, as African-Americans we need to band together to show our economic power by refusing to spend any money (Friday) from fast-food restaurants to gas.”

Nooses are a symbol of lynching, one means of enforcing a brutal system of racial segregation that prevailed in the U.S. South for decades until the 1960s.

The boycott, news of which spread through black radio stations and the Internet, was intended to build on the momentum within the black community by the recent “Jena 6″ rally that drew tens of thousands of people protesting what they called injustice against six black teenagers charged in a high school fight.

It was difficult to gauge how many people joined the boycott. Officials for major retailers did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Blacks constitute about 13 percent of the U.S. population of 300 million people and Ballentine said their spending power amounted to about $2 billion a day.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a commentator and author of books about black America, dismissed the boycott.

“These things never work. It takes logistics, time and organization and you have to have a clearly defined goal. It is too vague, too amorphous … and how would you measure its effects?” Hutchinson said.

Proclaiming New York “a city of tolerance,” the City Council speaker declared a day against hate to counter a spate of bias crimes, including the discoveries of a swastika and a noose on the doors of two university professors.

“We’re here as religious leaders, as community leaders, as government leaders to send a message: that we will not tolerate hate of any kind in our city,” the speaker, Christine Quinn, said at a news conference Thursday.

Joined by New York’s borough presidents, City Council members and civic leaders, she announced that Nov. 29 will be the city’s “Day Out Against Hate.”

The day is to begin with an interfaith prayer breakfast and feature encounters between Holocaust survivors and teenagers and discussions involving senior citizen centers, schools and youth programs.

Some activities will include the Columbia University campus, where a Jewish professor discovered a swastika painted on her office door on Wednesday. Last month, a black professor at Columbia’s graduate school of education found a noose on her office door.

Several other nooses have recently popped up around the city, racist graffiti has been found in two public high schools, and synagogues and homes have been defaced with swastikas. A black high school principal in Brooklyn received a letter that read, “White Power Forever,” and a noose was discovered outside a post office near ground zero.

A Jewish professor found a swastika on her office door at Columbia University on Wednesday, the latest symbol of bias and hatred found at the school in recent weeks, police said.

Elizabeth Midlarsky discovered the swastika painted on her door at Teachers College, a graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia. Madonna Constantine found a noose on her office door at the college on Oct. 9. Both are professors of psychology and education.

The New York Police Department’s hate crime unit is investigating both incidents. No arrests have been made, police said.

School leaders said they felt the college was being targeted because of its “deep, multicultural work.”

“We are committed to maintaining that tradition by operating as an open, tolerant community,” Teachers College President Susan Fuhrman and Provost Tom James said in a statement. “We will not be intimidated by these incidents.”

Teachers College, founded in 1887, describes itself as the nation’s oldest and largest graduate school of education.

Midlarsky’s research focuses in part on altruism, and she has studied heroic rescues during the Holocaust. Her profile on the Teachers College Web site says she is working on a project on school violence.

Midlarsky did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The discovery of the noose roiled the Ivy League campus, and students, faculty and administrators had denounced the incident targeting Constantine, who has written extensively about race.

A few days later, a caricature of a yarmulke-wearing man and a swastika were found on a university bathroom stall door. Police at the time said there was no reason to believe the two incidents were linked.

Police have said they believe one or more copycats could be responsible.

Nooses, racially charged symbols of lynchings in the Old South, have appeared in a number of recent incidents around the country.

Three white students hung nooses from a large oak tree outside a high school last year in Jena, La., fueling racial tensions. More recently, nooses have been found at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and the Hempstead Police Department’s locker room on New York’s Long Island.

A Jamaican judge released Grammy winning musician Beenie Man on $21,100 bail Monday after he appeared in court on tax evasion charges.

Jamaican authorities say the singer and rapper, whose real name is Anthony Moses Davis, owes about $661,000 in overdue taxes in his Caribbean homeland. He is due back in court Dec. 3.

The 34-year-old Kingston native broke onto the U.S. charts in 1998 with the hit single “Who Am I” and accompanying album “Many Moods of Moses.”

In 2001, he won a Grammy for his album “Art and Life.”

Recently, Beenie Man has come under pressure from gay rights groups in Britain and the U.S. who say some songs have anti-gay lyrics.