Jennifer Lopez's Boyfriend Gets Sentenced in Court Today

  PST by MARC MALKIN AND BAKER MACHADO

Lester Cohen/WireImage

[UpDated WED 6:45am]

Casper Smart's need for speed has finally caught up with him.

On Tuesday at Van Nuys Superior Court in California, the 24-year-old backup dancer pleaded no contest to speeding. He was arrested for drag racing in April 2010.

"His attorney came in and advanced the case this morning," Los Angeles city attorney's office spokesperson Frank Mateljan tells Us Weekly. "[His attorney] entered a no-contest plea and was sentenced to 12 months' summary probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Casper Smart's run-in with the law won't be cutting into his romance time with Jennifer Lopez. PlayiWhile Smart and Lopez were still in Miami, Casper's attorney was able to speed things up earlier today.

J. Lo's dancer beau was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday to face sentencing for charges stemming from drag racing, but...

 

"His attorney came in and advanced the case this morning," L.A. City Attorney's Office spokesperson Frank Mateljan tells E! News. "He entered a no-contest plea and was sentenced to 12 months summary probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine."

Smart was arrested for drag racing in April 2010. He plead no contest to the charge on March 29, 2011. He was ordered to do 10 days of community service by his next court date, which had been for Thursday.

"It's been an Amazing, Positive, & Successful 2011," Smart tweeted on New Year's Eve. "Thank you to everyone who was a part of that and I wish you the best!! 2012 here we come!"

Just don't go too fast, Mr. Smart.

  

Rick Perry Returning to Texas to Reassess and Pray

Perry to reassess his campaign

 

By Ashley Killough

(CNN) -- Following a disappointing projected fifth place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he'll return to Texas on Wednesday to reassess his candidacy.

"With the voters' decision tonight in Iowa, I decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race," he told supporters late Tuesday night at his Iowa headquarters in West Des Moines.

Earlier Tuesday, Perry had vowed to carry on campaigning, if he finished poorly in Iowa, saying that results from the nation's first Republican nominating contest wouldn't be the be-all end-all in the presidential election.

"We have been told to hold until we hear from Austin," said a Perry source in South Carolina, where the candidate was preparing to launch an aggressive statewide bus tour on Wednesday. "It looks like he is not coming this week. He has definitely canceled his plans."

Perry's caucus concession speech Tuesday night had some wondering if this were the beginning of the end for the one-time front-runner. 

Perry on caucus day: 'It's game on'

"With a little prayer and reflection, I'm going to decide the best path forward," Perry said, as his family stood beside him.

CNN political contributor Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, said it may be possible that Perry will bow out of the presidential race altogether.

"That is what will be fascinating if Perry drops out," said Fleischer. "If Perry drops out, if Bachmann drops out, it will be a four-person race."

Perry surged to the top of the GOP presidential pack when he jumped into the race mid-August but quickly saw his numbers fall in the polls after a series of uneven debate performances and gaffes.

"He was on fire for a while," said CNN contributor and Democratic strategist James Carville. "There was nobody who had worse debates than he did. He started as a major candidate. We were ready to be blown away. But I am sorry, he was the worse ever. Rick Perry is the worst presidential candidate in American history."

The biggest gaffe was Perry's infamous "brain freeze" in early November during the Republican presidential debate in Rochester, Michigan.

Perry's one-time promising presidential run turned into a punchline after he struggled to name the third of three federal agencies he would cut if elected president.

"I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone," Perry said. "Commerce, Education, and the -- what's the third one there? Let's see. OK. Commerce, Education, and the ... "

"EPA?" Mitt Romney offered.

"EPA. There you go," Perry said.

When pressed by moderator John Harwood if the Environmental Protection Agency was indeed the third agency he proposed shuttering, Perry admitted that it wasn't. He then attempted again to remember the details from his plan.

"The third agency of government I would -- I would do away with Education, the Commerce, and, let's see. I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops."

Several minutes later, Perry clarified that the agency he was trying to remember was the Department of Energy.

The next day he went on a media blitz trying to laugh away the mistake and later had a self-effacing appearance on David Letterman's "Top Ten List."

Some of Perry's quips were:"You try concentrating with Mitt Romney smiling at you. That is one handsome dude! I had a 5-hour Energy drink six hours before the debate."

But the damage was done.

Also in November, Perry said the voting age in the United States is 21 instead of 18 and that the 2012 presidential election will take place on November 12 instead of November 6.

Days later, during an interview with Fox News, Perry incorrectly identified the New Hampshire state's early voting contest as "caucuses" instead of a "primary."

Next week, the Republican candidates head to New Hampshire for the nation's first primary on January 10.

With his announcement Tuesday night, it is unclear if Perry will be among them.

CNN's Kevin Liptak and Peter Hamby contributed to this report

Should The President Endorse Gay Marriage?

• By: Zerlina Maxwell 

• 
  

Getty Images

With President Obama's sights set on his re-election, some decisions must be made about how the campaign can re-energize his base.

One segment, the gay community and their allies, has been frustrated with Obama and his "evolving" (at a snail's pace) stance on marriage equality. While the administration made good on its campaign promise on important issues such as the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell," failing to support full marriage rights for gay couples is still a sticking point.

Since the economy is the most important issue of this election cycle, wedge issues such as gay rights may take a backseat to jobs. But the public's view of marriage equality may not actually have the negative impact that the Obama administration fears. Public opinion on the issue is heavily in favor of equal rights for gay citizens and could give Obama the political cover necessary to come out publicly in support of marriage equality.

If President Obama expressed support for marriage equality before the 2012 elections, there would be both benefits and risks. He would surely excite some of his supporters, especially those who feel that he too often shies away from bold stances in favor of measured pragmatism and common ground. On the other hand, some voters who support Obama but still oppose marriage equality may abandon the president over this issue. That leaves the president with two choices: Endorse marriage equality now or wait and play it safe until he is re-elected.

There are recent signs that the administration's position is evolving. Just last month, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan came out in support of marriage equality. In an interview with Metro Weekly, Donovan said that he "absolutely" endorsed same-sex marriage.

Then there was the monumental speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which she stated emphatically that "gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights" -- a line that surely got preapproval from the White House, which knew that such a speech would make headlines worldwide. It seems that President Obama's administration is signaling that his personal evolution just might be complete, but the question is, will he admit it before November?

There is a long-held belief that Obama is a closeted supporter of marriage equality. Legend has it that when running for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he filled out a survey for a local newspaper indicating his support for gay rights and marriage. In the survey, Obama's typed responses said, "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."

But by 1998, Obama had a somewhat different take on the issue. In another questionnaire, he indicated "undecided" in response to a question about whether Illinois should legalize same-sex marriage. A peculiar change in position, but probably a politically calculated one.

By 2008, presidential candidate Obama had come out in support only of civil unions (pdf) and not marriage. Perhaps the environment in 2008 didn't allow Obama to announce his stance publicly, but maybe 2012 will be different. One of the earliest signs that Obama was rethinking the issue came in 2009 when the administration announced that it was no longer defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court, saying that it considered the law unconstitutional.

But one group is certainly a factor in the administration's decision about whether to support marriage equality: socially conservative African Americans. They may not jump for joy if President Obama grants equal marriage rights to gay couples. It is important to note, however, that polling immediately after the administration's shift on DOMA revealed that the decision didn't affect Obama's support from socially conservative blacks.

President Obama likes to quote Martin Luther King's famous observation "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." It appears that perhaps Obama, after a long evolutionary process, is finally ready to bend in the direction of equality and full marriage rights for all people.

Zerlina Maxwell is a political analyst and staff writer for Loop21.com, where she writes about national politics, candidates and specific policy and culture issues. She writes frequently about domestic violence, sexual assault, victim blaming and gender inequality. Follow her on Twitter. 

Dancers Strip For GAY Magazine

BY: MICHAEL MATSON

 

Like unicorns, glitter, and musical theatre, being a backup dancer for Kylie Minogue is one of the gleefully gayest things on the planet. But unicorns may have to work harder to hang onto their sparkly tiaras, ‘cause Ms. Minogue's dancers have upped the gay factor.

Kylie’s hunky bunch recently stripped down to their skivvies for Aussie’s top gay magazine, DNA. And we’ve got pics and a (NSFW) promo clip from the super sexy session to make sure your new year is bright and gay and hot!

Feast your eyes on the boys from Down Under below.

Photos: Fernando Barraza

  Gay.net

No Need to Vote } God Has Revealed to Pat Robertson Who Will Win } Thanks But I’ll take the Elections!

By David Edwards      http://www.rawstory.com

 

 

 

Pat Robertson says God has told him who the next president will be — but it’s a secret.

The televangelist revealed on Tuesday that he had spent the nearly a week in prayer, asking God to “show me something.”

“I think He showed me the next president, but I’m not supposed to talk about that,” Robertson explained. “So I’ll leave you in the dark — probably just as well — I think I’ll know who it will be.”

God, who obviously isn’t a Democratic voter, told Robertson that President Barack Obama had “a radical view of the future of this country.” 


“Your president holds a radical view of the direction of your country which is at odds with the majority, expect chaos and paralysis,” God reportedly said.

“The future of the world is at stake because if America falls, there’s no longer a strong champion of freedom and a champion of the oppressed of the world. There must be an urgent call to prayer. The Lord said, a time of maximum stress and peril, greater than at any time since the CBN ministry began. This country will begin disintegrating.”

Robertson recalled that since his CBN ministry began in 1960, there had been several wars and a presidential assassination.

“He is saying you will have worse stress than before. So I’m saying, ‘God, let me give you some suggestions and you tell me if any of them is right, pick one,’” Robertson explained. “I said, ‘Is it an EMP blast? No that isn’t it. Is it a cosmic or solar or radiation blast? No. Is it Mayan galaxy alignment? No. Is it Iranian or North Korean nuclear threat? No. Is it an earthquake or a volcano? No. Is it a massive power failure? No.’”

“What is it? It’s an economic collapse,” the conservative leader finally disclosed. “And God said, ‘This is not my judgment, they are bringing it upon themselves.’”

 Watch this video from CBN’s The 700 Club, broadcast Jan. 3, 2011.

Aretha Franklin's Fiancé Willie Wilkerson

 BY RENNIE DYBALL
People.com

Willie Wilkerson and Aretha Franklin in 2010

Shahar Azran/WireImage

  

When PEOPLE interviewed and photographed Aretha Franklin in her hometown of Detroit last spring, she had a ever-present, handsome and gregarious fellow at her side: William "Willie" Wilkerson. 

And since the Grammy-winning singers' newest album was titled A Woman Falling Out of Love, it begged a key question. 

"Is there currently a man in your life?" this reporter asked the Queen of Soul (while internally panicking about the protocol for addressing royalty about her love life). 

"There, um …" Franklin began, smiling. "Well, I won't speak about that at this time," she said, with just the slightest blush. 

On Monday, the Queen of Soul said she and longtime love Wilkerson areengaged and considering a June or July wedding in Miami. 

 He and Franklin Go Way Back

The singer regularly refers to Wilkerson as her "forever friend," and for good reason. The pair were featured on the cover of Jet magazine in 1987 after dating for a few years. The cover language read: "Aretha Franklin Finds Happiness With New Love In Her Life," alongside a photo of the couple embracing. According to the Daily Telegraph, Franklin first met the former firefighter while signing autographs in Detroit. Wilkerson asked the singer to sign the cast on his leg and a friendship developed from there. 

Wilkerson and Franklin at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1999

Ron Galella / WireImage

 They're Compatible

In their 1987 Jet cover story, Franklin and Wilkerson open up about their relationship. Franklin described the couple (she an Aries, he a Capricorn) as, "a fiery match ... we're very compatible." The singer would not say if their relationship was heading to marriage. But she did quip, "We're locking horns, baby!" Added Wilkerson with a kiss on Franklin's cheek: "She's a very warm, very loving woman." 

  Third Time's a Charm?

The legendary singer has been down the aisle twice before. Franklin was married to Ted White for eight years and then to actor Glynn Turman (The Wire) for six years. But she didn't give up on the idea of finding the One. ''I love marriage," Franklin has said. ''I love the institution." 

  He Gets Show Biz

A fellow Detroit native and well-known businessman in the area, Wilkerson understands two distinct sides to Franklin."I'm glad that he could make the distinction between the lady and the artist," Franklin told Jet. "Because a lot of men can't." Wilkerson even made a small foray into the music biz himself, appearing in Franklin's music video for "Jimmy Lee." 

  They Seem Like Good Pals

What better foundation on which to build a marriage? "Will and I are very close," she told a 2007 issue of Jet. The couple have been photographed everywhere from red carpet events to basketball games. "We stayed close and he escorts me on occasion and we're just cool. We're real cool." 

Wilkerson and Franklin posing with Knicks players at a basketball game in N.Y.C.

Wenzelberg / Splash News Online