The murder trial of Sopranos actor Lillo
Brancato Jr is scheduled to begin just days after his co-defendant is sentenced.
A Nov. 17 trial date was set Friday for Brancato. He is charged in the December 2005 slaying of off-duty New York City police Officer Daniel Enchautegui.
Co-defendant Steven Armento, who shot the officer, was convicted of first-degree murder on Oct. 30. He faces life in prison without parole at his sentencing on Friday.
Authorities say Enchautegui confronted Armento and Brancato when the two broke into an apartment to steal prescription drugs.
Brancato has said he didn’t know Armento had a gun.
The 32-year-old actor played an aspiring mobster in HBO’s The Sopranos.
Britney and Justin still share one bond: Madonna.
In separate appearances, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake performed Thursday night during Madonna’s show at Dodger Stadium.
The former pop power couple did not take the stage together.
Rumors of the guest appearances swirled Thursday, making it a can’t-miss event for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars: Elizabeth Banks, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Liu were among those in the first few rows.
Madonna took a moment from her turn onstage to lament the passage of a gay-marriage ban in California.
“I am the luckiest girl in the world,’’ Madonna said, “but am sad because African-Americans are equal finally, but gay marriage is not.’’
Faked photographs of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cavorting naked on a sofa with US Senator Hillary Clinton, a giant Styrofoam throne and pins in rubber erasers are vying for Russia’s top modern art award. The display of heavily politicized art by finalists competing for the Kandinsky Prize is considered a knock against Western critics who say freedom of expression has been curtailed by the Kremlin, though Russia’s deputy minister for culture, Pavel Khoroshilov, sits on the prize’s council of trustees.
The BBC broadcast an apology Saturday for lewd phone messages left by two radio presenters on an actor’s voicemail.
The publicly funded broadcaster said it apologized unreservedly for the “grossly offensive and unacceptable’’ prank.
The BBC was forced to defend its editorial standards after comedian Russell Brand and fellow presenter Jonathan Ross left sexually explicit messages on the phone of 78-year old actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter.
The calls were played on Brand’s radio show on Oct. 18. and initially drew few complaints. But media coverage and the posting of the calls on the Internet fueled a furor that saw more than 40,000 people complain. Even Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the prank.
Obamamania met Beatlemania Thursday, as Liverpool hosted an MTV Europe Music Awards show energized by the city’s musical heritage and the US presidential election.
Pink and Kanye West took home prizes — Spears won two — and stars on the stage included Beyonce, Kid Rock and former Beatle Paul McCartney.
But the absent president-elect was given star status, too.
Singer Katy Perry, who hosted the show and also was named best new act, appeared in a dress emblazoned with Obama’s face and quipped that “maybe Europeans will love us again now.’’
Her co-host, 30 Seconds to Mars singer Jared Leto, wore an Obama T-shirt and urged the 10,000-strong crowd at Liverpool’s Echo Arena to yell “Congrats, Barack.’’
Hometown pride was also on display in the Beatles’ birthplace, with McCartney receiving an “ultimate legend’’ award from U2 singer Bono.
Beyonce, The Killers, Pink and Kanye West all performed, West alongside British singer Estelle on their hit American Boy.
It was West’s second onstage appearance at the European awards — but the first time by invitation. The rapper stormed the stage at the 2006 show in Copenhagen after he failed to win the Best Video prize, telling the crowd that “if I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility.’’
The winners of the awards, which are presented in a different European country each year, are selected by fans across the continent. They are broadcast on 21 channels in 40 European countries.
The MTV Europe Music Awards were held on Thursday.
The MTV Europe Music Awards winners:
Album of the Year — Britney Spears
(Blackout)
Headliner — Tokio Hotel
Most Addictive Track — Pink
(So What)
New Act — Katy Perry
Act of 2008 — Britney Spears
Ultimate Urban — Kanye West
Rock Out — 30 Seconds to Mars
Best Act Ever — Rick Astley
Europe’s Favorite Act — Emre Aydin
Video Star — 30 Seconds to Mars
Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 People may call Taipei a “living hell for pedestrians,” but back in the 1960s and 1970s, citizens were even discouraged from crossing major roads on foot. And there weren’t crosswalks or pedestrian signals at busy intersections. A 1978 editorial in the China Times (中國時報) reflected the government’s car-centric attitude: “Pedestrians too often risk their lives to compete with vehicles over road use instead of using an overpass. If they get hit by a car, who can they blame?” Taipei’s car traffic was growing exponentially during the 1960s, and along with it the frequency of accidents. The policy
Hourglass-shaped sex toys casually glide along a conveyor belt through an airy new store in Tokyo, the latest attempt by Japanese manufacturer Tenga to sell adult products without the shame that is often attached. At first glance it’s not even obvious that the sleek, colorful products on display are Japan’s favorite sex toys for men, but the store has drawn a stream of couples and tourists since opening this year. “Its openness surprised me,” said customer Masafumi Kawasaki, 45, “and made me a bit embarrassed that I’d had a ‘naughty’ image” of the company. I might have thought this was some kind
What first caught my eye when I entered the 921 Earthquake Museum was a yellow band running at an angle across the floor toward a pile of exposed soil. This marks the line where, in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 1999, a massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake raised the earth over two meters along one side of the Chelungpu Fault (車籠埔斷層). The museum’s first gallery, named after this fault, takes visitors on a journey along its length, from the spot right in front of them, where the uplift is visible in the exposed soil, all the way to the farthest
The room glows vibrant pink, the floor flooded with hundreds of tiny pink marbles. As I approach the two chairs and a plush baroque sofa of matching fuchsia, what at first appears to be a scene of domestic bliss reveals itself to be anything but as gnarled metal nails and sharp spikes protrude from the cushions. An eerie cutout of a woman recoils into the armrest. This mixed-media installation captures generations of female anguish in Yun Suknam’s native South Korea, reflecting her observations and lived experience of the subjugated and serviceable housewife. The marbles are the mother’s sweat and tears,
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