Donna Summer dead at 63: Legendary disco singer succumbs to cancer

THE POP MUSIC WORLD was stunned Thursday by the death of Donna Summer, the original “Disco Queen” who ruled the late 1970s and proved over the next three decades that she and her music were stars, not fads.
She was 63 and died after a secret battle with cancer, her publicist said. She was reportedly diagnosed with lung cancer 10 months ago but had made no public acknowledgment.
“It was a big surprise,”said John (Jellybean) Benitez, the famed deejay, producer and remixer who had worked with Summer and is now executive producer of Sirius XM’s Studio 54 Radio.


“I don’t know anyone who had heard about it. But that was her — she was a very private person.”
“I’m still in shock,” said Joe Causi of WCBS-FM, who will devote his whole show Saturday night to Summer.
“If you were driving around the streets of Brooklyn in the late 1970s and your 8-track wasn’t playing Donna Summer, it was probably broken.”


Summer won five Grammys and is a member of the Dance Music Hall of Fame. She died in Naples, Fla., near where the family owned a condo.
Summer burst onto the pop scene in 1975 with the seductive “Love to Love You Baby,” and followed with a string of hits that included “I Feel Love,” “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” “On the Radio,” “MacArthur Park,” and “Last Dance.”
In 1979, she joined with Barbra Streisand for the power anthem, “No More Tears (Enough is Enough).”
Because her music became instantly popular in dance clubs, she was labeled a disco artist, which she and many fans considered unfairly restrictive.
“This woman was the queen of disco and so much more,” Elton John told E! News. “That she has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace.“

“She was the face of the disco movement,” says Jeff Foxx, afternoon host on WBLS. “But she bridged dance music and R&B. It may have been called disco, but there was some funky stuff going on. And she brought Barbra into the game.”


“You’ll still never find a better song than ‘Last Dance’ to end any concert,” he added.
“The chord progression, her singing — wow.”
Summer’s recording career tailed off in the 1980s, although she continued to perform.
Joel Salkowitz, who programmed the original dance radio station Hot-103, recalled a show at Roseland Ballroom where “she absolutely killed.
They may have put a lot of production behind her music on records, but she could sing.”
“The ‘controversy’ of disco is now ancient, irrelevant history,” said long-time city radio host Famous Amos. “What remains of Donna Summer is the memory of one of America’s, and world’s, greatest recording artists.”

Trayvon Martin’s death was ‘ultimately avoidable’: Florida police report

Anonymous/AP

Trayvon Martin was slain in the town of Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26 in a shooting that has set off a nationwide furor over race and justice.

AP

George Zimmerman, 28, is free on a $150,000 bail. His next court appearance is schedule for Aug. 8.

Trayvon Martin's death was “avoidable.”
That’s the conclusion of a new police report on the unarmed teen’s killing at the hands of George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla.
"The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely, if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party's concern," the document by Sanford, Fla. Police said.
"There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter."
EVIDENCE MIXED FOR SELF-DEFENSE CLAIM: EXPERT
The report was written on March 13, weeks before Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder.
Trayvon, 17, was returning home from a convenience store Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. when Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer started following the teen, telling police dispatchers that he looked suspicious.
Zimmerman, 28, claimed he fired in self-defense after Martin jumped him and has pled not guilty.
Among the slew of new information revealed in the latest document dump:
-Trayvon had THC-the active ingredient in marijuana-- in his system the night he was gunned down.
-A photo of Zimmerman with a bloody nose and a paramedic report saying Zimmerman had a one-inch laceration on his head.
-Trayvon was killed by a single bullet to the chest, fired at intermediate range, within 36 inches, according to the autopsy.
-Travyon had a small abrasion on his left ring finger, which could support Zimmerman's claim that he was punched.
Zimmerman remains free on a $150,000 bond and his next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 8

Michael Caine spends night trapped in darkened dressing room after crew leaves

Where's Batman when you need him?
"The Dark Knight Rises" star Michael Caine found himself trapped in a real-life horror scene when he got stuck in his makeshift dressing room overnight while on location in New Orleans for his latest movie.
The 79-year-old actor had gone to the room, which is in the attic of an old converted theater, without his cell phone for a nap on a break between filming the crime caper thriller "Now You See Me" — and woke up to make the horrible discovery.
"Unfortunately, he was asleep for some time and failed to hear directors calling a wrap," a source on the film told London's Daily Mirror. “Production all assumed he was safely outside in his trailer and therefore locked up for the night.
"His mobile phone was in his trailer and there was no electricity in the attic, meaning he couldn't see a thing. It was pitch black. Michael started shouting for help but no one could hear him."
Caine was found by a carpenter who arrived in the morning.
"Now You See Me," which also stars Morgan Freeman and Woody Harrelson, revolves around a band of illusionists who rob banks.

Police arrest 7 suspected kidnappers, recover N1.6m ransom

IKEJA – The Special Anti-Robbery Squad of Lagos State Police Command has arrested a kidnap syndicate whose members confessed to have been responsible for the  recent kidnap of a 27-year-old man in the Iba area of  the state.
Of the N5 million collected as ransom for the release of the man (name withheld) the squad said it recovered N1.6 million.
The suspects, including a female, who was alleged to have masterminded  the kidnap, were arrested in their abodes in Lagos.
During investigation, they reportedly confessed to the crime with one of them disclosing that he used his share of the ransom for his wedding a fortnight ago.
According to sources at SARS, “immediately we got information about the kidnap on April 24, the squad commander, Mr Abba Kyari, swung into action. But, along the line, they released the man after N5 million was paid as ransom.
”The suspects met their waterloo, after one of their  accomplices, a woman, was arrested two weeks after the release of the victim. Her confessional statement led to the apprehension of others, who confessed to the crime. One of them said he got N300,000 as suspect’s share but claimed he spent it on his father’s medical bill, while  another claimed he used his share to process his girlfriend’s travel documents to Europe.

SSS parades 23-yr-old lady, 8 others suspected robbers in Anambra

AWKA—THE State Security Service, SSS, yesterday in Awka, Anambra State, paraded nine persons over alleged robbery in parts of the state.
The suspects included a 23-year-old female, Miss Blessing Orji, who claimed to be an accounting student of Federal Polytechnic, Oko.
Seven of the suspects, including the girl, hail from villages in Awka, while one is from Awba Ofemili in Awka North.
The last person, Jidenuwa, (19) is from Ondo State and most of them were said to belong to  cult groups that had been terrorizing Awka and its environs.
The names of the other suspects were given as Chinedu Bosah (20), Ugochukwu Anekwe (20), Ebuka Nwude (17), Chidiebere Nnatuanya (19), Tochukwu Eze (18), Ndubuisi Okoye (18), Onyeka Ekweozor (20)
The state director of SSS, Mr. Alex Okeiyi, told newsmen that the suspects were apprehended on May 13, 2012, during a search in their hideouts which included a hotel in Awka.
According to Okeiyi, the girl was arrested along with her boy friend in the hotel where they had spent five days and were paying N5,000 per night.
He added that during the raid, 25 handsets, many sim cards, internet modems and laptops, arms and other dangerous weapons were recovered from them.
He further said  preliminary investigation  revealed that the suspects belonged to senior and junior cadres of the dreaded Vikings Confraternity.
Most of the suspects confirmed their involvement in some robbery incidents in Awka and its environs, while two claimed that they only specialized in snatching people’s bags and handsets.

Explosions rock two primary schools in Kano

Multiple explosions Wednesday night, hit two primary schools in Jayin and Hotoro Arewa in Kumbotso and Nasarawa local government areas respectively in Kano municipal.
An eyewitness told Vanguard that the attackers who came on a motorbike ordered watchmen at both schools out of the premises before attacking the schools.
The source further explained that the attack triggered pandemonium and forced night life to a halt as residents scampered to safety.
However, at Jayin primary school, a newly renovated building was damged while no fewer than ten cars parked within the premises of the school were badly damged.
The midweek attack on the two pro-western educational institutions is the first of such attacks in the city since Kano came under attack on January 20, 2012.
Meanwhile, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but authorities said; “investigations have commenced to unravel the perpetrators”.
Confirming the incident in a telephone conversation with Vanguard, JTF spokesman in Kano Lt Iweha Ikediche explained that “some IED’s went off within the premises of two primary schools last night”
Iweha disclosed that “counter terrorism personnels were deployed to the scene for necessary actions.” He however, refused to divulge further details regarding the extent of damages.
Also confirming the incident, the outgoing spokesman of the Kano State police command, ASP Magaji Musa Majia revealed that “few cars parked within the premises of Jayin primary school lost their windscreens.”
He however, assured that the Command will in due course issue a comprehensive details about the incident.