THE SHOW: 12/15/2009 - Teen Prostitution / KATE, A-ROD BROKEN UP / IT'S A BOY FOR KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN / Charlie Murphy's Wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, Dies

Local Buzz:
"Nashville-area teen prostitution case grows with 5 adults now charged"

*The criminal case over an alleged teenage prostitution ring in Nashville has grown to include more criminal defendants and more young girls. In all, five people now face criminal charges stemming from a prostitution business allegedly run by Teresa West.
West, 45, and her two adult children were first arrested in August, after federal agents picked up a 16-year-old girl at a Murfreesboro hotel. The girl told investigators that she was still in high school. She said she had been working for West as a prostitute and had been with more than 20 clients during the summer, according to a federal affidavit.
At the time, authorities said they believed more teens could be involved. Since then, the case has grown to include at least four underage girls who allegedly worked as prostitutes over the last five years.
New court documents that paint a picture of how West's alleged business worked implicate two more men — Kenneth L. Dagley and Quinton M. Roath. Both men pleaded not guilty to criminal charges Monday.
Roath, 20, was a friend of Casey West, Teresa West's 20-year-old son. Dagley would help take calls and set up meetings with prostitutes, a federal indictment alleges. Both men are accused of driving prostitutes to dates in exchange for money.
According to the indictment, Dagley and West were married in April 2008. Another woman, Donna Dagley, attended Monday's hearing. She said she and Kenneth Dagley had been married for 15 years.
"I know he supposedly married someone else, which is not legal," Donna Dagley said after the hearing. She said she knew little about the charges against her husband. She would not discuss the case.
Authorities started eying the Wests early this year after an anonymous tipster told police that students from a high school in Robertson County were being hired as prostitutes.

"Country Fans Tour Buses To Raise Money For Children"

*HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - Thousands of country music fans came out to the Hendersonville Super Wal-Mart Monday night to take a peek inside the tour buses of dozens of country artists.
Country artist Gretchen Wilson came to meet and greet her fans, all while raising some much needed money.
The Christmas For Kids benefit will send 400 children on holiday shopping sprees Tuesday night.
"That's what we do here and that's what all this money goes for. To take them shopping, make sure they get all the things they have to have and hopefully a little something else they really want," said Wilson.
There were 80 buses parked at the Wal-Mart. The fans who waited in line to see Bo Bice flew in from all across the country to see him.
Bice knows the people will really help out the cause.
"The fans truly make this. Nashville's a wonderful town. I think that's an example of that from Fan Fair to events like this. It's what it's about, giving back," said Bice.
This event gives fans a chance to see the other side of their favorite country stars. It lets them a peek into their homes away from home.
"It's cool to be able to open it up and show them basically our home, our house on wheels. I spend more time every year on this bus than I do in my house," said Keith Anderson.
Anderson also had a fan that flew in to see him. Wanda Evans made the trip from California to get a hug from the country star.
"Well I'll tell you, if I was younger it would be more than that, but I'm too old. I'm an old lady, [80 years old]," said Evans as she as laughed.
The tour buses at Monday's event will pick up the children for the shoping.
The money raised at the event will be combined with ticket sales from a Charlie Daniel's and Friends concert several weeks ago.
Organizers said more people came out to the Tour Bus Tour this year. They credit the mild weather for the increase. Last year it was sleeting during the event.

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For over a year, an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has put the spotlight on judges who abuse their position.
It turns out, some of those judges could have been in trouble before -- but the public might never know.
Judicial officials will tell you that they're doing a good job of keeping Tennessee judges on the straight and narrow, but ethics advocates say they're using a double standard.
When they judge the people who elected them, Tennessee judges do it in open court for the whole world to see.
"Judges are folks just like everybody else," said Rutherford County Judge Don Ash, who is the presiding judge for Tennessee's Court of the Judiciary.
But when the judges are judged, it often occurs behind closed doors.
"We follow completely what the legislature told us to do," Ash told NewsChannel 5 chief investigative reporter Phil Williams. "And what the legislation says is (a) the investigative part is done behind closed doors."
The Court of the Judiciary is composed of 16 people -- all but three of them lawyers and judges -- who sit in judgment of the ethical conduct of other judges.
"When you decide between a public reprimand or a private reprimand, you're going down through a checklist provided by the legislature?" Williams asked Ash.
"Absolutely, yes, sir," the judge replied.
Earlier this year, NewsChannel 5's cameras were allowed to watch as the Court dealt with administrative matters.
But when it came time for them to discuss their cases, we were asked to leave.
"I don't think anything is done secretively except that investigative part and I don't think that is secretive," Ash said. "I think that is what the legislature told us to do."
The problem: most cases are resolved during that investigative phase.
In the last five years, the Court's own figures show that it has issued 13 public reprimands or censures against Tennessee judges.
But in 102 other cases, judges got away with warnings, reprimands or censures that were kept completely private.
"I like the private reprimand," Ash said. "I think it zooms people in on an issue that they need to get resolved. And I've seen judges where we've issued private reprimands before, I've seen them change their conduct."
But ethics advocates don't buy the need for secrecy.
"If there are problems with the judiciary, the citizens of Nashville-Davidson County deserve to know about them, all of them, in public," said activist Ben Cunningham.
Last year, an advocacy group known as HALT. gave Tennessee a C-minus on how it disciplines judges. It said, "Tennessee rules allow some dysfunctional judges to be sanctioned with a private admonition, and in these circumstances the public never learns of the judge's history of misconduct."
"I don't know how HALT would know that dysfunctional judges are allowed to continue with just private reprimands," Ash said.
Williams responded, "If matters are being resolved in private, no one really knows."
"That's what the legislature told us to do," Ash continued. "We just didn't come up with this on our own. We're following the legislature mandate to do these private type things."
After our investigation caught General Sessions Judge Gale Robinson working a second job as a funeral director when he was supposed to be on the bench, he received a private reprimand.
Still, Robinson volunteered to release it, saying voters have a right to know.
"My life's an open book," Robinson told Williams at the time. "When I ask the folks to entrust me and elect me, then I deserve to be scrutinized."
Ash said, "That's his choice. But right now we are bound by these rules and I'm going to follow what the legislature told us to do."
Until that law's changed, Ash says people should trust that justice is being done being those closed doors.
In the last year or so, the Court has issued more public reprimands. (Here's a link to the court's website.)
Judge Ash says cases are made public if it becomes clear that a judge has a history of misconduct or if he/she just isn't taking the necessary steps to fix the problems.
If voters want to know about those private reprimands, Ash said they should contact their state lawmakers. They made the law, and they have the power to change it.

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A NewsChannel 5 investigation found shoppers could wind up buying something that's dangerous and has been recalled because of safety concerns.
The law says it's illegal to sell anything that's been recalled. Our Consumer Investigator Jennifer Kraus discovered the items are still being sold.
Earlier this month, millions of Maclaren strollers were recalled after children had finger tips cut off by a hinge on the stroller.
Not long after, people in the Nashville area were selling the same strollers on Craig's list.
Last year, President Bush signed something into law called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. People can not resell anything that has been recalled.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the law is designed to protect consumers from unsafe products.
Also on Craig's list there were other recalled items for sale.
The ad for a DVD player said "it works great." The CPSC said it can overheat and catch on fire.
An ad for a coffee maker said there's "nothing wrong with it." The appliance was recalled after several of them exploded and burned the people using them.
"I don't think the general public keeps up with what the CPSC says," said Suzanne Kay-Pittman with Goodwill of Middle Tennessee. "There are new items listed probably daily."
Kay-Pittman was not surprised by what NewsChannel 5 found for sale on line. She said at Goodwill keeping up with what they can sell and what they can't sell takes a lot of work.
"If it's recalled, I will send it on the belt. We do not send them to the stores at all. It'll go out to the trash," said Shanika Wood with Goodwill of Middle Tennessee.
Everything that's donated to Goodwill is carefully sorted before it's sent to stores. Employees on the sorting lines all have notebooks nearby filled with all of the CPSC's recall notices to refer to.
"As anything comes in from the CPSC, any new recalls, these items go directly into our books, and we notify everyone within the company who would be handling these items," said Kay-Pittman.
Before consumers buy or sell something online, It's a good idea to go to the CPSC's website and find out whether that item has been recalled.
The resale law applies to anyone who sells consumer products, and that includes thrift stores, consignment stores, charities and anyone who holds a yard sale, sells at a flea market or on-line.

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Metro police said they know the man who was caught on tape committing a violent carjacking. They believe the man is 24-year-old Brandon White.
He's also a suspect in the Nov. 11 murder of Ryan Wright at the intersection of Sleepy Hollow and Rychen Drive.
Last week, police said security cameras caught White on tape, throwing a 54-year-old woman on the ground, nearly running her over, then dragging her a short distance as he sped off.
He's wanted on warrants for the carjacking and the shooting death.
If you know where White is, call CrimeStoppers at 74-CRIME. A tip leading to a conviction could get you a cash reward.

*Authorities say the bomber blew himself up Tuesday in front of the Heetal Hotel in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan district.
Afghan officials say a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul has killed at least eight people and wounded 40 others.
Authorities say the bomber blew himself up Tuesday in front of the Heetal Hotel and the home of a former Afghan vice president in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan district. The blast damaged the fortified hotel and surrounding buildings.
The Heetal Hotel is frequented by foreigners. It is unclear if the bomber was targeting the hotel or the former vice president Ahmad Zia Massoud.
The blast came as lawmakers, government officials, and foreign ambassadors gathered in the city for a conference on fighting endemic corruption within the government.
During a speech at the conference, Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist attack" against humanity and Islam.
Mr. Karzai called for the conference as his first official act after his swearing in last month.

*Tisha Taylor Murphy, the wife of actor/comedian Charlie Murphy — star of "Chappelle's Show" and older brother to Eddie — succumbed to a long battle with cancer, dying Sunday in her sleep at the couple's home in New Jersey.
"Tisha Taylor Murphy, wife of comedian and actor Charlie Murphy, passed away peacefully on Sunday with family at her side after facing the challenges of cancer for the past two years," Murphy's publicist, Lyndsey Jacobs, confirmed to MTV News in a statement. "The Murphy Family appreciates all of the support they have received from friends and fans and requests privacy during this very difficult time."
The Murphys were married in 1997 and have two children together. Charlie Murphy has a third child from a previous relationship.
Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy, 50 years old, was born in Brooklyn and raised by his mother and stepfather after his birth father left the family and was later stabbed to death. After serving in the United States Navy, he began a career as a comedian, often sharing the spotlight with his superstar younger brother whose career took off just as his was beginning. Charlie Murphy made his feature-film debut alongside Eddie in 1989's "Harlem Nights," then went on to appear in "CB4" and "Night at the Museum."

*Has Alex Rodriguez traded Kate Hudson for another girlfriend to be named later?
HollywoodLife.com reports that the couple has broken up after A-Rod was spotted partying with two women at a Miami hotspot and "acting very single," while Kate was in New York promoting her new film. This comes only days after Kate appeared on David Letterman's Late Show and called the Yankee slugger a "nice guy."

*Kourtney Kardashian gave birth to a boy yesterday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Mason Dash Disick is the first child for the 30-year-old reality star and her boyfriend Scott Disick. Little Mason weighed in at seven-pounds, six-ounces, and measured 19-and-a half inches.

"COURTNEY LOVE LOSES GUARDIANSHIP OF DAUGHTER"

*Courtney Love has lost legal guardianship of her daughter Frances Bean Cobain.
Friday a court appointed Wendy O'Connor and Kimberly Dawn Cobain -- mother and sister to Frances's late father Kurt Cobain -- as the 17-year-old's temporary legal guardians. Love's attorney, Keith A. Fink, tells People magazine it has nothing to do with his client falling off the wagon. "Courtney's been clean for years and is perfectly fine. This is simply about Frances preferring to live with her grandmother at this time." A hearing on the matter is set for February 10th.

Black History:

*Singer Rufus Thomas dies~December 15, 2001-R&B singer Rufus Thomas known for songs such as "Do the Funky Chicken" and "Walking the Dog" died. He was 84.

Good News:
"NFL Player Plays Santa for Family"

*Christmas is being made possible for the Aucoin family in Lousiana because of the generosity of NFL player Anthony Hargrove. When Ben Aucoin was asking people in a Walmart parking lot for some spare change, Hargrove handed over three $100 bills.

*Some one needs to tell Shaq that just because you can afford a full-length Louis Vuitton trench coat doesn't mean you should actually get one.