Despite denials by her reps, two sources close to the singer/actress confirmed to Essence magazine that Hudson expecting her first child.The Grammy and Oscar winner is engaged to Harvard law graduate David Otunga, who appeared on the reality show “I Love New York 2,” but so far no date has been set for their nuptials.

The former “American Idol” contestant’s rise to fame was punctuated by tragedy last October when her mother, brother and nephew were murdered in Chicago. Hudson’s estranged brother-in-law William Balfour was later charged with the killings.

Hudson returned to the stage on Feb. 1, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl. A week later, she won her first Grammy Award for best R&B album.

Hudson is on tour through May 8 with Robin Thicke.

News Corp’s recently appointed digital chief, Jonathan Miller, had been considering getting rid of MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe, Peter Kafka reported on Wednesday afternoon on his Media Memo blog, which is part of All Things Digital.News Corp officials have been gauging former Facebook Chief Operating Officer Don Van Natta’s interest in replacing him, Kafka reported.

The Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp’s Miller is considering replacing DeWolfe and the company’s other co-founder, Tom Anderson. Their contracts expire this fall.

The possibility of DeWolfe’s departure was first reported by Michael Arrington on his TechCrunch blog on Tuesday.

DeWolfe did not return an emailed message seeking comment and a MySpace spokeswoman declined to comment. Van Natta did not return a Facebook e-mail message or a telephone call seeking comment. News Corp officials declined to comment.

News Corp has been trying to freshen MySpace — once viewed as evidence of News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch’s willingness to embrace the Internet generation after a life in newspapers — as its revenue growth has slowed and Facebook grows ever more popular.

Facebook is trying to catch up to MySpace in the United States, where it has 54.5 million monthly unique visitors versus 76 million for MySpace, according to figures released by Comscore in March.

Facebook’s growth rate outstripped MySpace at the time. It already has surpassed MySpace in worldwide users.

Earlier this year, MySpace lost three executives including former chief operating officer Amit Kapur after they resigned to begin a startup company.

MySpace also has a $900 million search-advertising deal with Google that expires in June 2010. Several financial analysts have said that there is little chance that Google would continue its relationship with MySpace.

News Corp shares rose 2 cents to close at $7.78 on the Nasdaq stock market.

(Reporting by Robert MacMillan; Editing by Gary Hill)

[[UPDATE]] TOM no longer President, CEO Chris DeWolfe fired

Via TECHCRUNCH

Here’s the email that Jonathan Miller, News Corp.’s CEO Digital Medial, sent to all Fox Interactive employees about the departure of MySpace cofounder and CEO Chris DeWolfe. DeWolfe is gone. Cofounder Tom Anderson will apparently stay on but not as President and will no longer control product.

The press release went out an hour ago, and given that internal emails inevitably leak, there’s little additional information here. But at least Miller is giving DeWolfe as graceful an exit as he can.

To FIM Employees:

I am writing to share the news that MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe will be stepping down from his executive role in the near future. He has agreed to serve as a strategic advisor to the Company and will remain on the board of MySpace China.

In addition, I am currently in discussions with MySpace President Tom Anderson regarding his role within the organization.

I want to take this opportunity to thank them both for their incredible contributions to the Company, and for pioneering one of the greatest social media revolutions of our time. I wish Chris nothing but the best in any new endeavors and, like many in this industry, am eager to witness his next innovations.

I understand the importance of having a dynamic, inspiring and innovative management team, and am dedicated to ensuring that MySpace continues to benefit from the highest levels of passion and enthusiasm.

I also want to thank everyone across FIM for giving me the opportunity to work with all of you. With MySpace, IGN, Photobucket, Fox Audience Network and our Digital Publishing Group, this is an exciting collective of properties and I’m enthusiastic about the opportunities that lie ahead.

I hope to meet and work closely with many of you over the weeks and months to come.

Best regards,
Jonathan Miller

The “Mean Girls” star showed off rail-thin arms and a protruding rib cage as she went shopping with her kid sis Ali in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Lohan later covered up her teeny frame under a baggy shirt while hitting a party that evening.

The 22-year-old’s weight appears to have dipped down to the diminutive figure that shocked fans in 2005. Lohan later admitted to Vanity Fair that her weight had gotten out of control during that time.

“I knew I had a problem and I couldn’t admit it,” the singer-actress told the mag in early 2006. “My arms were disgusting. I had no arms.”

Lohan also said she was “making myself sick” at the time - a claim she later said was “misconstrued.”

Lohan recently told Us Weekly that she feels “so alone” after her early April split from Ronson, her girlfriend of a year.

“I’m a f–king 22-year-old girl who’s in love,” she said. “I’m just really hurt. This whole situation is sick.”

But her love life isn’t the only thing that isn’t going well for the starlet. Lohan’s upcoming comedy “Labor Pains” is headed to TV - then DVD - and the actress recently complained to E! News that “sicko fans” are keeping her from getting work.

The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic crime fighters. Project, targeted for release in 2011, would mark the fifth bigscreen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter.News coincides with the Turtles’ 25th anniversary celebration, which kicks off Thursday in New York as the first “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film unspools at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Legendary Pictures former chief marketing officer Scott Mednick is producing the new pic alongside Galen Walker, who produced the 2007 computer-animated “TMNT” pic, the most recent installment in the franchise. Peter Laird, Gary Richardson, Frederick Fierst, Eric Crown and Napoleon Smith III are exec producing the film, which is based on the characters created by Laird and Kevin Eastman.

The characters first appeared in a May 1984 comicbook before spawning a lucrative line of toys, cartoons and three films released in the early 1990s. In 2003, the Turtles were reintroduced to a new generation via a TV series, the “TMNT” film and a revamped merchandising program.

The latest project is being financed by Lightbox Prods.

“The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for,” said Mednick, whose exec producing credits include the upcoming “Where the Wild Things Are.” Laird, who bought out Eastman’s share of the property several years ago, said the film will remain true to the spirit of the original comicbooks. He added that the pic may employ face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive.

Today’s 25th anniversary “Shell-ebration” will also include lighting the Empire State Building in “turtle green.”
-Variety

The Morrisville, Pennsylvania born rapper received news today (April 22) that the album’s lead single, “I Love College” has officially been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The single, released on January 13 in the U.S., is Roth’s tribute to the same college experiences that allowed him to connect with his fans via social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook before becoming a bonafide internet sensation.

A video clip soon followed, featuring appearances by The Cool Kids and DJ/Producer Don Cannon.

Roth’s manager, Scooter Braun, attributes the song’s success to the fans.

“I think it’s a testament to the power of the fans,” Braun told AllHipHop.com. “And it’s also a testament to the fact that people are getting their music from these blogs. And they’re getting introduced to artists.”

Asher Roth fans made their voices heard resoundingly on the Monday (April 20) when Asleep in the Bread Aisle officially hit stores, one day before this weeks other album releases.

According to Braun, the album has completely shocked retailers, who have already doubled their forecasts for what they thought he would sell.

Several fans and bloggers reported being unable to purchase the album on Monday, as retailers around the country sold out of the record by mid-afternoon.

The album also debuted at #1 on iTunes, where it was ranked among albums released on April 14 and earlier, that included the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack.

“I hope that the majors see this and realize that they have to give the music back to the fans and start asking the fans what they want to hear, instead of just trusting research of radio and that stuff. Go to where these kids are and ask them what they want,” Braun stated.

The news comes on the heels of web reports of an altercation Tuesday night (April 21) that left Asher Roth unable to perform as expected in New York City, a rumor the rapper says was grossly exaggerated.

“I wasn’t even really involved,” the rapper told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “I was watching Chester French side stage, and this kid just came up and threw ice at one of my buddies. He slapped me real gently and ran. A friend of mine went after him and the kid got thrown out.”

The rapper added that text messages found in the assailant’s discarded phone, indicated that he might have attended the show with intentions “on creating a scene.”

“I feel bad for the kid and the fact that he thought this was the way to make news,” Asher commented. “But I’m just frustrated that people would put on for that. Please, let’s not continue to make this a big deal.”

Brief interruption aside, the sold out performance, which took place at the Blender Theater at Gramercy, took place without a hitch, with fans joined by industry tastemakers and high powered execs like Sylvia Rhone, Executive Vice President of Universal Records.

Asher was joined onstage by alt rockers, and recent Diddy-collaborators, Chester French and Beanie Siegel, who both make appearances on the album as well.

Asher will be performing a private concert tonight in Philadelphia for winners of an on-air concert run by local radio station Wired 96.5.

According to local TV station WAFB, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sheriff officers arrested Lil Boosie on Wednesday (April 22) and charged him with 2nd degree battery.
Police say an unidentified man was assaulted during the April 12 confrontation, after Lil Boosie, born Torrance Hatch, accused him of stealing a necklace.

The man was treated for the non-life threatening injuries he sustained. Police say the man may have been struck with a vase during the brawl.

This is Lil Boosie’s second encounter with police in the past six months.

In October of 2008, the 25-year-old was arrested when East Baton Rouge police arrested him for marijuana possession and possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.

Lil Boosie and his partner Webbie are also the subjects of several multi-million dollar lawsuits, which allege the entertainers took tens of thousands of dollars for performances, but never showed up.