X17 News

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Jay-Z's New York club 40/40 could be held financially and legally responsible for cheating their employees out of overtime, forcing them to work for tips only and making them pick up the tab for "walkout" customers.

Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska said current and past servers, bartenders and others who have worked at the venue could be eligible for a settlement from a suit certified as class action yesterday.

Preska added the workers' lawyers have made a "minimal" showing that the 40/40 owners have violated federal wage and labor laws.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Jay-Z was honored with a Global Leadership Award at the United Nations Association of the USA’s 2008 Global Leadership Awards gala at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York on Wednesday.
The hip-hop mogul received the award for his visionary leadership of “Water for Life” and his partnership with the United Nations.
"Water for Life" is program championed by Jay-Z that works to bring clean water to drought ridden parts of the world.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Jay-Z and Beyonce have been named the top-earning couple in entertainment, raking in an estimated $122 million combined between June of 2008 and June of 2009.

And it was Beyonce who out-earned her hubby by more than double, bringing home $87 million to his $35 million.

The duo, who not only churn out hits on the Billboard charts, earn major bucks through deals with American Express, Budweiser, and, of course, their own fashion, alcohol and nightclub endeavors.

A distant second on the annual Forbes list was quite a surprise: Harrison Ford and his girlfriend Calista Flockhart brought in $69 million ($65 of that coming from his Indiana Jones payday), while Brangelina broke the top three with $55 million, thanks to their busy year.

Will & Jada Pinkett Smith and David & Victoria Beckham round out the top five.

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MANHATTAN, New York (X17online) - Jay-Z has filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit in connection with his NY nightclub 40/40 Club. The suit is against Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz, who last year opened up his own club in the Dominican Republic called Forty Forty.

The rapper is suing for "trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and false design of sponsorship."

Ortiz opened up the nightclub with his sister, Albania Ortiz. In the suit, the two are also accused of "cybersquatting" while running the website www.fortyforty.net.

In the court papers, there are also pictures of Ortiz attending an All-Star Game party at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in NY back in 2008. That is where the ballplayer reportedly got the idea to create his own version of the club.

MANHATTAN, New York (X17online) - Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is teaming up with the New York Yankees to design clothes to be sold exclusively at Yankee Stadium.

The T-shirts, sweat shirts and baseball hats will feature both Yankees and Jay-Z logos. The items were said to have been created to "commemorate the first official concerts at the new Yankee Stadium on September 13 and 14," a concert that Jay-Z will co-headline with Eminem. The performances will be part of their Home and Home Tour.

As for the new merchandise, it will be on sale beginning next week, August 30 ... and will continue to be sold until September 14th.

NEW YORK, New York (x17online) - The Oprah Winfrey Network announced three new original reality series set to join the regular schedule for the channel, premiering January 1 at noon.

The three new reality shows include The Judds, which follows Wynonna and Naomi as they prepare for their first tour together in 10 years. Queer Eye For The Straight guy's Carson Kressley will star in Carson-Nation which follows Kressley's travel to small towns where he plans to transform lives, and Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals, a family drama which deals with the estranged father and daughter actors looking to reclaim their relationship after spending more than 25 years apart.

OWN will also become the exclusive home of the Best of Dr. Phil, which will feature the first off-broadcast exhibition of the popular daily syndicated talk show Dr. Phil, hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw.

CEO Christina Norman announced OWN will include "original series and specials, all focused on entertaining, informing and inspiring people to live their best lives. During our launch weekend, the audience will see a little of everything OWN has to offer."

As for the networks mission, Norman adds:

"Oprah as they’ve never seen her in Season 25: Oprah Behind The Scenes, expert advice from Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and Suze Orman to get their year started right on Ask Oprah’s All-Stars, and sneak peeks at the kinds of shows we believe really fulfill our mission to be entertaining and inspiring."

Jay Z and Diane Sawyer will be the featured stars in the premiere weekend's editions of Oprah Presents Master Class.

OWN has also launched Your OWN Channel, an online destination designed for viewers where they can upload questions for Dr. Phil, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz for the four-part primetime special Ask Oprah’s All-Stars, scheduled to premiere Sunday, January 2 from 8-10pm.

NEW YORK, New York (X17online) - Jay-Z and Beyoncé have raised $1 million for charity.

On behalf of his Shawn Carter Foundation, Jay-Z hosted a carnival-themed fundraiser at Pier 54 in New York to raise money toward sending underprivileged youth to college.

Celebrity guests like Alex Rodriguez enjoyed carnival games and food from high-end eateries Spotted Pig and Momofuku Milk Bar.

NEW YORK, New York (X17online) - Billionaire entrepeneur Ron Burkle means business with Jay-Z.

Burkle, best known for his investments in supermarket chains, is reportedly looking to collaborate with Jay-Z in a number of business ventures, including the launch of international music festivals.

“I can’t deny we’re looking into that type of business. It isn’t necessarily producing [festivals] but you’re close. We’re making an investment that hasn’t really closed yet. He hasn’t talked to Jay about it. He’s just friends with these guys,” Burkle’s rep told Page Six.

The entrepreneur recently hosted an after-party for Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne show in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Jay-Z is the target of various Egyptian songwriters who claim the rapper exploited their original hook in his chart-topping hit, "Big Pimpin'."

The tune "Khosara, Khosara" was originally written for the 1960 Egyptian film Fata Ahlami, but Jay-Z believed he had a valid agreement with the song's composer Baligh Hamdy to legally use the material.

Although previous accusers have been unsuccessful, Hamdy's nephew Osama Ahmed Fahmy might go to trial with the Brooklyn-born lyricist to win a percentage of the recent revenue from his concerts.

The Egyptians who claimed ownership of the tune were appalled at the manner in which Jay-Z remade the hit, and since Egyptian copyright law leans heavily on the concept known as "moral rights", they are given the ability to control the fate of the work.

For his part, Jay-Z argued that Fahmy was aware of "Big Pimpin'" since 2000, so the statute of limitations had run its course. Despite this claim, California judge Christina Snyder has ruled it a valid case.

"This case may be more akin to the infringing use of copyrighted songs as a part of a larger musical revue, an infringing use of a painting in a textbook, and one infringing poem contained in a poetry anthology, than the infringing use of copyrighted text or images to promote season tickets for the symphony, or the sale of a car - but that is up to a jury to decide," the judge said.

A trial date has yet to be set.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Kanye West and Jay-Z have settled a federal lawsuit over the sampling of a song on their joint album, Watch The Throne.

Blues and soul musician Syl Johnson sued the rappers, along with their record labels UMG and Def Jam, for illegally sampling his song "Different Strokes" on their track "The Joy" without his permission or proper credit.

Johnson's allegation was made last October, and by December the rap superstars spoke out in their defense and maintained they had not violated any copyright laws. They also called into question whether Johnson's original track was protected under the federal law, which didn't take effect until 1972.

This isn't the first time Johnson has sued for alleged copyright infringement. He made similar claims against rap group Cypress Hill, asking for $28 million in damages, but the suit was thrown out because the music sampled was pre-1972 and therefore not protected.

Legal papers were filed last week in Illinois for the Jay-Z/Kanye suit, and the case was dismissed due to a settlement between the parties.

The details of the settlement are private and remain unknown.

LOS ANGELES, California (x17online) - President Barack Obama already received one star supporter in Will Smith for his stance on gay marriage, but another A-list celebrity is hopping aboard the bandwagon.

During an interview with CNN on Monday, Jay-Z spoke on how he felt about the controversial topic.

"I've always thought it as something that was still, um, holding the country back," the hip-hop star said. "What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That's their business. [It] is no different than discriminating against blacks. It's discrimination plain and simple."

Jay-Z joins a host of other celebrities who have voiced their support for the president, including Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and Ellen DeGeneres.

"Whether it costs him votes or not…It's not about votes," he said. "It's about people. So whether it costs him votes or not, I think it's the right thing for him to do as a human being."