Houston charges dropped
A judge has dismissed a marijuana possession charge against singer Whitney Houston, leaving her with a clean record in Hawaii, prosecutors said. District Judge Joseph Florendo Jr. dismissed the petty misdemeanor marijuana possession charge Monday after a substance-abuse assessment was filed on her behalf, said Deputy Prosecutor Melvin Fujino.
Houston's bag was seized at the Keahole-Kona Airport on Jan. 11, 2000. Fujino and Houston's attorneys stipulated in court in November that the bag contained less than half an ounce of marijuana in two plastic baggies and three partially smoked marijuana cigarettes. The 37-year-old singer, who was not arrested, allegedly abandoned the bag and boarded a United Airlines flight for San Francisco with her husband, singer Bobby Brown, before police arrived. Houston is a resident of North Jersey.
Michael Jackson stumbles
Michael Jackson canceled plans to watch his friend Macaulay Culkin on the London stage after the pop legend stumbled on his broken foot. Doctors advised Jackson to rest after he tripped on Thursday at his London hotel following dinner at a fish-and-chips restaurant in the northwestern part of the city. Culkin is starring in the play Madame Melville on London's West End.
Filmmaker at Art Sanctuary
Filmmaker St. Clair Bourne, who has made films on such figures as Gordon Parks, Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes and Amiri Baraka, will be at the Church of the Advocate, 1801 W. Diamond St., today from 7 to 9 p.m. Excerpts from some of his films will be shown in a program by the Art Sanctuary. Admission is $5 for adults; those under 18 will be admitted free. Info: 215-232-4485.
This report includes material from Newsday, the Associated Press and Reuters.
