Pop star gets probation for flight fracas

Howie Day blames incident on sleeping pills and booze

Pop star Howie Day, accused of behaving badly on a flight to Boston last year, was sentenced Wednesday to a year’s probation and ordered to continue alcohol counseling. As part of his plea agreement, the 25-year-old singer must write letters of apology to the crew and passengers who were on the American Airline flight. Day was charged just days before Christmas with interfering with a flight crew after he was allegedly belligerent to the flight crew, attempted to smoke in the bathroom, and kicked the back of other passengers’ seats. He was also accused of having a loud argument with a fellow passenger that flight attendants feared was going to become physical. In court, Day explained that he was still mourning the suicide of his younger brother when he mixed sleeping pills and alcohol on the flight between Dallas and Boston. The charge against Day, who received critical acclaim for his 2003 album Stop All the World Now, will be dismissed if he meets the conditions of his probation. In March 2004, Day was arrested in Madison, Wisconsin for allegedly locking a woman in the bathroom of his tour bus when she refused his sexual advances and for breaking the cell phone of another woman who tried to call police. At the time, Day was touring in support of Canadian band Barenaked Ladies.

Satellite radio companies in the US should compensate the music industry for downloads, US senators have said. New devices allow satellite listeners to save songs on their radio receivers without paying to download them. If passed, legislation would require broadcasters to pay market prices for the performance of digital music. "The lines between a listening service and a distribution service have been blurred," said Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic senator for California. Ms. Feinstein is part of the cross-party group of lawmakers behind the proposed Perform Act - the Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2006 - which aims to put satellite radio on the same footing as official download internet services. MP3 digital music players produced by the XM satellite radio station, which broadcasts across the US, enable users to bookmark songs they hear on the radio for future purchase online.  "When I see a device that permits customers to identify the specific tracks they want from a satellite broadcast, record them and library them for future use, I call that device an iPod," said Edgar Bronfman, Warner Music Group chairman and CEO, in testimony endorsing the legislation. In their own testimony, XM executives said that the devices in question are merely a hi-tech way to record its radio programs. XM chairman Gary Parsons said the bill would lead to "a new tax being imposed on our subscribers". Another satellite station, Sirius, has already made deals with the major record companies that compensate them for downloads on its S-50 receiver.

Oops, she did it again. Fading pop star Britney Spears is pregnant for the second time, according to sources. She will reportedly deliver a sibling for seven-month-old Sean Preston in late September or early October, which means her children's birthdays will be almost exactly one year apart. It will be the fourth child for Spears’ husband Kevin Federline, who has two children from a previous relationship. Sources claim Spears got pregnant less than four months after delivering Sean Preston by cesarean section.  Next week's issue of US Weekly reports that Spears told her family the good news over the Easter weekend. The couple made headlines last month when Sean Preston was treated for a skull fracture, prompting police and child welfare investigators to pay a visit to the Spears-Federline home. The toddler reportedly fell from a high chair, and no charges were filed against his parents. Spears, 24, was investigated a few months earlier when she was photographed driving with her son on her lap instead of securing him in a baby seat. Spears said she was trying to escape the paparazzi. Federline, 27, is a former dancer who is currently pursuing a music career. Continues on page 7