Trial set for Lil Wayne on Ariz. drug charges
YUMA, Ariz. (AP) - Rapper Lil Wayne will go on trial next March on felony drug possession and weapons charges he faces in Yuma County, Ariz.
The trial date was set during a court hearing in Yuma on Thursday.
The case against Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, stems from his arrest at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 8 east of Yuma in January 2008. Authorities said they found cocaine, Ecstasy and a handgun on his tour bus.
Lil Wayne has pleaded not guilty. His attorney didn't immediately return a call on Thursday.
Chief criminal Yuma County Attorney Roger Nelson says his office doesn't offer misdemeanor plea deals on such cases and that's probably one of the reasons why the case hasn't been resolved.
Comic Artie Lange pleads guilty to DUI in NJ
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) - Comedian and radio personality Artie Lange has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of a habit-producing drug in a minor traffic accident in New Jersey.
The 41-year-old Lange was charged following the July 10 accident in Toms River, about 40 miles southeast of Trenton. He entered his plea Wednesday in municipal court.
Judge James Ligouri revoked his driving privileges for seven months.
Novelist Leonard to receive PEN USA award
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Novelist Elmore Leonard will receive PEN USA's lifetime achievement award at a December ceremony.
Leonard, 83, has written over 40 westerns, crime novels and mysteries, including "The Bounty Hunters," "Road Dogs" and "Cuba Libre."
Many of his books - notably "Out of Sight," "Get Shorty" and "Be Cool" - have been made into films.
Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Ray Bradbury, Woody Allen, Betty Friedan and Gore Vidal.
PEN USA is a Los Angeles-based professional writers organization.
The group's 19th Annual Literary Awards Festival will be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Dec. 2.
Mitzi Gaynor returns to isle of 'South Pacific'
HONOLULU (AP) - Actress Mitzi Gaynor says filming "South Pacific" on the Hawaiian island of Kauai some 50 years ago "was a hoot."
The 78-year-old was scheduled to return to the island Thursday for the first time since production wrapped on the hit 1958 musical. Gaynor's portrayal as Ensign Nellie Forbush earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for best actress in a musical.
"Fifty years ago, it was Eden. It really was. It was a paradise," Gaynor said of Kauai in a telephone interview from her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. "And the people were so wonderful and so kind to us."
On Saturday, Gaynor is to attend the reopening of the St. Regis Princeville Resort, which is located where the song "Some Enchanted Evening" was performed in the classic musical.
The following day, she will appear at the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club at an event dubbed "An Afternoon with Mitzi Gaynor," where the actress will reflect on her career and the filming of "South Pacific."