People in the news

Charlie Daniels suffers mild stroke

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - Fiddler-guitarist Charlie Daniels said he suffered a mild stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado and has some stiffness and numbness in his left hand and arm.

Daniels, 73, suffered the stroke Friday just outside Durango, about 230 miles southwest of Denver. He was treated at a local hospital then airlifted to a Denver hospital, where he was released on Sunday.

In a posting on his Web site Wednesday, Daniels said he was starting physical therapy. He didn't say whether his playing had been affected but wrote, "I'm doing fine."

Another statement on the Web site says he doesn't plan to cancel any concerts. His next appearance is scheduled for Feb. 27 in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Daniels lives in Mount Juliet, Tenn., but has a home in the Durango area where he takes an extended vacation every year around Christmas, his spokeswoman Paula Szeigis said.

Daniels said tests showed the stroke was caused by a blood clot in his brain.

Judge: Gun evidence in Ja Rule's NYC case

NEW YORK (AP) - Rapper Ja Rule has lost a bid to keep a loaded gun found in his luxury car from being used against him in a New York weapons-possession case.

A judge said "no" Wednesday to the argument by the platinum-selling artist's that the gun was found during an unjustified police stop of his Maybach sports car after a July 2007 concert.

Prosecutors say the stop was warranted because the car had no insurance and a suspended registration.

The judge did throw out another piece of evidence: the rapper's statement to police that he had a bit of marijuana in his pocket. He isn't charged with drug possession.

Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, has pleaded not guilty. The 33-year-old faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

WWE star John Cena talks about latest film

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Wrestling star John Cena said he's enjoying the challenge of acting in his very first dramatic film.

The "WWE Monday Night RAW" star's only two previous movies - 2006's "The Marine" and last year's "12 Rounds" - were action films that involved "blowing things up" and "dodging bullets," Cena said Wednesday.

While in New Orleans for the filming of "Brother's Keeper," a World Wrestling Entertainment movie that also stars Danny Glover, Patricia Clarkson and Devon Graye, Cena called the project "a great change of pace."

"This one is a lot less physically demanding," he said. "I feel like I've been able to get involved in the story, and it's an easy story to embrace. I think everybody will be able to pull something from it."

The plot centers on a socially awkward teenage boy, played by Graye, who tries to reconnect his family after the death of his collegiate wrestling star father by following in his father's footsteps.