She was also sentenced Monday in Newark to three additional months of home confinement.

The 37-year-old South Orange resident pleaded guilty last year in the case.

During a forceful statement to the judge, Hill explained she had always meant to eventually pay the taxes but was unable to during a period of time when she dropped out of the music business.

Before the sentencing, her attorney had said Hill had paid more than $970,000 to satisfy the state and federal tax liabilities.

Hill had faced a maximum sentence of one year each on three counts. Her attorney had sought probation.

She’s to report to prison July 8. It’s not clear where she’ll serve her sentence.

Lawmakers questioning his recent trip to Cuba with wife Beyoncé, Jay-Z today released Open Letter, a track that takes aim at The Haters

First of all. Got to thank HOT 97 for blessing my morning with this drop..Don’t piss Jay-Z off or you will get roasted.The rapper has recorded a song that appears to take on those who criticized his recent trip to Cuba with wife Beyoncé.

But it’s clear the Jay Z has taken umbrage at all of the attention and controversy surrounding the jaunt to the communist country, which is currently under a U.S. travel embargo. The tune includes the lyrics,

“Obama said, ‘chill you gon’ get me impeached. You don’t need this s**t anyway. Chill with me on the beach.’”

Word is that Jay-Z recorded “Open Letter” Wednesday night after seeing that their visit was the lead story on CNN.com…According to Swizz Beats, he says the beat all started in Jay’s office as a collabo between him and Timbaland. Other collegues heard it, and said it was straight fire. Eventually JAY called them up after hearing it and was like, “Hey man, I got verses ready” with Swizzy reacting back “Oh, so you really serious about this?” Next thing you know, there’s a private recording session with Swizzy, Timbaland, Jay Z, Trey Songz, and other cats in the building. The song was so good that HOT 97 literally played it on repeat for 30 minutes straight like it was N*ggas in Paris at the Jay Z / Kanye concert.

On Cuba:

Politicians never did shit for me/ Except lie to me, distort history/ They wanna give me jail time and a fine– Fine, let me commit a real crime/ Obama said, “Chill, you’re going to get me impeached”/ You don’t need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach

On the Nets:

I woulda moved the Nets to Brooklyn for free/ Except I made millions off you fucking dweebs/ I still own the building, I’m keeping my seats/ You buy that bullshit, you better keep your receipts

“Open Letter” is produced by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. Listen to it below:

Wesley Snipes released from federal prison

The Blade star, who was convicted in 2008 for failing to file tax returns, lost an appeal for a retrial in 2010 and began serving his three-year punishment at the minimum security McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania in December that year.

However, TMZ.com reports he was freed from his jail cell on Tuesday and was transferred to the New York Community Corrections Office, where he met with representatives supervising his home confinement.

He must now remain under house arrest until July 19, when his sentence will officially end.

Snipes, 50, has always maintained his innocence and insists he was duped by tax advisors.

President Obama’s comments about California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris’ good looks continue to generate controversy.

“You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you’d want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake,” said Obama during a California fundraiser on Thursday. “She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country — Kamala Harris is here. (Applause.) It’s true. Come on. (Laughter.) And she is a great friend and has just been a great supporter for many, many years.” The Prez said the Indian-Jamaican-Americanattorney general.(Big ups Sistren!)

On Friday, the president apologized for the remark. “He called her to apologize for the distraction created by his comments,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

The Times’ Robin Abcarian weighed in on the controversy Thursday, saying: “Does merely stating the obvious make the president sexist? More wolfish than sexist, I’d say. And this may be a little problem he needs to work on. … Obama got into some hot water a while back when he addressed a reporter as ‘sweetie.’ That was obnoxious, and demeaning, and Obama rightfully apologized. In 2008, he told Hillary Clinton she was ‘likable enough’ during one of the primary debates, which turned off God knows how many women, who heard the smug judgment of an arrogant upstart.’”

But others saw little middle ground. Some dismissed it as good-natured. Others said it was out of bounds. “On what planet in his mind did he think that sounded like the right thing to say?” writer Rebecca Traister said on Twitter.

The Times’ Chris Megerian has a useful roundup of viewpoints about Obama’s words. “Some cringed at the remarks, given the historic hurdles women have faced to be recognized for their accomplishments rather than their looks,” Megerian wrote.

TJKS Our Thoughts:
I thought ladies always want to hear you say they’re gorgeous….This is just ridiculous !! Just because he’s POTUS, he can’t say that? Again ‘much ado about nothing’ why is it ‘sexist’ to tell a lady she is nice looking? And since most attorneys general are men and probably not ‘pretty’ the Prez was right on. They are old friends so ‘no big deal’. What has happened to this society when you can not even compliment a pretty lady!
Too bad there are not more compliments and fewer, criticisms, the world would be a happier place.

President Barack Obama has apologized to California Attorney General Kamala Harris

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict said in a historic announcement he no longer had the mental and physical strength to run the Roman Catholic Church and would become the first pontiff in more than 700 years to resign, leaving his inner circle “incredulous”.

Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution but the decision could lead to one of the most uncertain and unstable periods in centuries for a Church besieged by scandal and defections.

The Church has been rocked during Benedict’s nearly eight-year papacy by child sexual abuse crises and Muslim anger after the pope compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier and there was scandal over the leaking of the pope’s private papers by his personal butler.

In the announcement read to cardinals in Latin, the German-born pope, 85, said: “Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St Peter …

“As from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours (2 p.m. ET) the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

The pope, known for his conservative doctrine, did not intend to influence the decision of the cardinals who will enter a secret conclave to elect a successor, Vatican spokesman Father Lombardi Federico said.

Benedict stepped up the Church’s opposition to gay marriage, underscored the Church’s resistance to a female priesthood and to embryonic stem cell research.

A new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics could be elected as soon as Palm Sunday, on March 24 and be ready to take over by Easter a week later, he said.

EX-POPE AND REIGNING POPE

Lombardi said the pope did not fear a possible “schism” but several popes in the past, including Benedict’s predecessor John Paul, refrained from stepping down precisely because of the confusion and division that could be caused by having an “ex-pope” and a reigning pope living at the same time.

This could create a particularly difficult problem if the next pope is a progressive who influences such teachings as the ban on women priests and artificial birth control and its insistence on a celibate priesthood.

“This is disconcerting, he is leaving his flock,” said Alessandra Mussolini, a parliamentarian who is granddaughter of Italy’s wartime dictator.

“The pope is not any man. He is the vicar of Christ. He should stay on to the end, go ahead and bear his cross to the end. This is a huge sign of world destabilization that will weaken the Church.”

The pope’s elder brother Georg Ratzinger, a frail 89-year-old priest who shares the pope’s passion for music, told reporters in the Bavarian town of Regensburg where he once conducted the cathedral choir that he had been “very surprised” to learn of his brother’s resignation.

“He alone can evaluate his physical and emotional strength,” said Ratzinger.

Lombardi said Benedict would first go to the papal summer residence south of Rome and then move into a cloistered convent inside the Vatican walls. It was not clear if Benedict would have a public life.

The last Pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294 after reigning for only five months, his resignation was known as “the great refusal” and was condemned by the poet Dante in the “Divine Comedy”. Gregory XII reluctantly abdicated in 1415 to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy.

NO SPECIFIC ILLNESS, NO DEPRESSION

Lombardi said Benedict’s decision showed “great courage”. He ruled out any specific illness or depression and said the decision was made in the last few months “without outside pressure”.

While the pope had slowed down recently – he started using a cane and a wheeled platform to take him up the long aisle in St Peter’s Square – he had given no hint recently that he was mulling such a dramatic decision.

“I am really surprised,” said Ricardo Rodriguez, a Portuguese tourist in St Peter’s Square. “I hope the next pope can be better than this one doing the best for the world and Catholics,” he said.

Elected in 2005 to succeed the enormously popular John Paul, Benedict never appeared to feel comfortable in a job he said he never wanted. He had wanted to retire to his native Germany to pursue his theological writings, something which he will now do from a convent inside the Vatican.

The resignation means that cardinals from around the world will begin arriving in Rome in March and after preliminary meetings, lock themselves in a secret conclave.

There has been growing pressure on the Church for the cardinals to shun European contenders and choose a pope from the developing world in order to better reflect parts of the globe where most Catholics live and where the Church is growing.

“MIND AND BODY”

The pope told the cardinals that in order to govern “…both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

He referred to “today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith”.

Before he was elected pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was known by such critical epithets as “God’s rottweiler” because of his stern stand on theological issues.

After a few months, he showed his mild side but he never drew the kind of adulation that had marked the 27-year papacy of his predecessor John Paul.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the worldwide Anglican communion at odds with the Vatican over women priests, said he had learned of the pope’s decision with a heavy heart but complete understanding.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the pope’s decision must be respected if he feels he is too weak to carry out his duties. British Prime Minister David Cameron said: “He will be missed as a spiritual leader to millions.”

Elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005 when he was 78 – 20 years older than John Paul was when he was elected – Benedict ruled over a slower-paced, more cerebral and less impulsive Vatican.

CHEERS AND SCANDAL

But while conservatives cheered him for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity, his critics accused him of turning back the clock on reforms by nearly half a century and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.

Under the German’s meek demeanor lay a steely intellect ready to dissect theological works for their dogmatic purity and debate fiercely against dissenters.

After appearing uncomfortable in the limelight at the start, he began feeling at home with his new job and showed that he intended to be pope in his way.

Despite great reverence for his charismatic, globe-trotting predecessor — whom he put on the fast track to sainthood and whom he beatified in 2011 — aides said he was determined not to change his quiet manner to imitate John Paul’s style.

A quiet, professorial type who relaxed by playing the piano, he managed to show the world the gentle side of the man who was the Vatican’s chief doctrinal enforcer for nearly a quarter of a century.

The first German pope for some 1,000 years and the second non-Italian in a row, he travelled regularly, making about four foreign trips a year, but never managed to draw the oceanic crowds of his predecessor.

The child abuse scandals hounded most of his papacy. He ordered an official inquiry into abuse in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops.

Scandal from a source much closer to home hit in 2012 when the pontiff’s butler, responsible for dressing him and bringing him meals, was found to be the source of leaked documents alleging corruption in the Vatican’s business dealings, causing an international furor.

Benedict confronted his own country’s past when he visited the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Calling himself “a son of Germany”, he prayed and asked why God was silent when 1.5 million victims, most of them Jews, died there during World War Two.

Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth during World War Two when membership was compulsory. He was never a member of the Nazi party and his family opposed Adolf Hitler’s regime.

Mother French kisses her own SON to pass drugs to him in prison

A mom son drug kiss is sweeping the Internet today, after it was learned that a mother of a jailed inmate passed narcotics to her son by way of kissing him on the mouth.

According to CBS News, police learned that a 30-year-old inmate in Yates County acquired drugs via a kiss from his very own mom. The drugs in question were Oxycodone pills.

It’s not yet known whether the mother and son French kissed, or passed the drugs without any use of a tongue. And frankly, we don’t really want to know, do we?

The mom is now being brought up on charges for the incident. She is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and promoting prison contraband. On Tuesday, she pleaded not guilty.

The actual inmate himself, named William Partridge, is not out of the woods in this odd circumstance, either. Though originally put behind bars for a completely unrelated charge, Partridge is now being charged (just like his dear old mom) with promoting prison contraband.

For more on this bizarre (and pretty disgusting, if we do say so) story, be sure to return to this column for more updates.

Watch Miami-Dade Police Kendall Squad Caught Ignoring Emergency Calls

One officer, Dario Socarras, was filmed drinking coffee for nine minutes while allegedly ignoring emergency dispatch orders on a call for an unconscious 5-month-old baby, Local10 reports.

His supervisor, Sgt. Jennifer Gonzalez, was sitting at the cafe with Socarras ..and was also recorded shopping while on duty at stores like Target and Lowes, brushing off work to rendezvous with her boyfriend, and visiting her parents in Cutler Ridge when she should have been on the job, according to CBS.

Socarras was also filmed twice kissing and spending time with a girlfriend in the parking lot of the Dadeland mall, allegedly while ignoring calls for armed robbery and burglary…..forcing officers from other units to respond from greater distances.

The squad was surveilled by Internal Affairs investigators, who used video cameras and GPS vehicle trackers to document what members were doing while they should have been responding to calls.

“We’re talking about falsification of records, we’re talking about stealing time that doesn’t belong to you, because they are supposed to be available for service or duty and they’re not,” said former Miami Police Chief Ken Harms.

Altogether, five officers and Sgt. Gonzalez were allegedly caught ignoring dispatch calls, according to media reports. NBC6 confirms Socarras, Gonzalez, and Officer Jose Huerta have been fired, according to MDPD internal affairs documents, and others have been disciplined.

Penelope Soto Jailed Over F-Bomb in Court

The longer Penelope Soto was in court, the more trouble she got into.

Soto, 18, faced Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat in a Miami courtroom Monday after being arrested and charged with drug possession. She was arrested Sunday after crashing her bike, and when police arrived she admitted to officials that she was high on Xanax and had more in her purse, according to ABC News affiliate WPLG.

Video of her courtroom appearance shows Soto laughing at times while facing the judge. When asked about the value of any property owned, Soto replied her jewelry was “worth a lot of money…like Rick Ross.”

Rodriguez-Chomat was not amused and asked Soto to be serious, saying, “We are not in a club.” He set Soto’s bail at $5,000. But when dismissed, Soto replied with an “adios” that prompted the judge to call her back and double her bail to $10,000.

Soto’s response was a gasp. “Are you serious,” she demanded.

“I am serious. Adios,” the judge shot back.

As the unsmiling Soto walked away she muttered “F*** you” and made a crude gesture involving her middle finger.

The judge called her back again and demanded to know if he had heard her correctly. When said he had indeed heard her correctly, Rodriguez-Chomat sentenced her to 30 days in jail for criminal contempt.

Note: #REALTALK Ever since the Law took Spanking away from the Parents and Paddling away from the Schools, everything has gone down hill and this is what you get. And it will only get worse.

Soto is currently being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

PART II

Penelope Soto Jailed Over F-Bomb in Court DAY2

2/6/2013
Penelope Soto Judge Returns to Court Today

‘Dafne,’ 9-Year-Old Girl, Gives Birth To Baby Girl In Mexico

A 9-year-old girl in Mexico has reportedly given birth.

The girl, identified as “Dafne” by The Telegraph, reportedly delivered a 5.7 pound baby by cesarean section on Jan. 27 in Zoquipan Hospital in Jalisco, an area in western Mexico.

At the time of pregnancy, she was eight years old and apparently the father is a 17-year-old who has not been located, according to a report from ABC on Feb. 6.

Prosecutors have began searching for the father of the child that was born to the 9-year-old and authorities say this bizarre pregnancy may be a case of rape or child sexual abuse.

“Due to her young age and to the fact that her body was not ready to give birth,” says Dr. Enrique Rabago, director of Zoquipan Hospital“the medical team decided a C-Section was the best option” for both mother and child.”

The baby was born healthy and both the 9-year-old mother and daughter were discharged, but the hospital said it will be closely monitoring the baby’s development due to the young age of her mother.

The new mother is one of 11 children, according to ABC, and her parents were unable to watch her while they worked. Corona added that authorities are “still open to the possibility of rape or child sex abuse.”

There have been only a handful of recent reported births among children this young, including a 10-year-old Colombian girl who gave birth last year, and a 9-year-old Chinese girl who gave birth to a healthy baby boy in 2010.