Culkin hearing delayed while attorneys seek plea bargain

Oklahoma City — A court hearing for former child star Macaulay Culkin on his drug possession case has been delayed until April so lawyers can work on a plea bargain, court officials said.

Culkin had been scheduled to appear Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court, but the hearing was moved to April 6.

Culkin, best known for his role in the “Home Alone” movies, was arrested Sept. 17 during a traffic stop on Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City.

Police said officers found about 17 grams of marijuana and 16 milligrams of Xanax, a prescription drug used to treat depression and panic disorders. Culkin, 24, wasn’t driving the vehicle.

Oklahoma County prosecutors charged Culkin with misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and possession of the Xanax. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in October.

Culkin was freed on $4,000 bail shortly after his arrest.

Dave Matthews Band divvies up $1 million from concert

San Francisco — The $1 million that the Dave Matthews Band raised during a charity concert at Golden Gate Park will go toward a summer camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, a new playground at a San Francisco public housing project and the city’s programs for the homeless.

The Sept. 12 concert was free, but the 60,000 fans who jammed the park were encouraged to make voluntary donations. Concession sales and VIP tickets provided more of the money that was distributed this week by the Charlottesville, Va.-based band.

Some $250,000 will be used to replace the run-down playground at the Sunnydale housing project, while $500,000 has been earmarked for homeless programs, Mayor Gavin Newsom said.

The Taylor Family Foundation’s camp for ill children received the balance.

Keys leads MTV concert to aid tsunami relief

Bangkok, Thailand — R&B star Alicia Keys led an array of singers and other international celebrities who entertained an enthusiastic audience of thousands to raise money for tsunami relief work.

The MTV Asia Aid event Thursday night in Bangkok brought together Western musicians and actors from India’s Bollywood film industry to aid relief efforts in countries devastated by the Dec. 26 disaster.

Thailand’s own sultry pop singer Tata Young was an early performer on a bill that included India’s Asha Bhosle, Good Charlotte from the United States and Taiwan’s Jay Chou.

Sting, 50 Cent and Robbie Williams voiced their support in taped messages. The crowd also saw a tape of Ricky Martin touring the devastated areas of southern Thailand last week.

Jennifer Lopez gave a performance on video, as did Irish pop star Ronan Keating, which showed him singing and playing guitar last week on Thailand’s tsunami-hit Phuket island, accompanied by Thai children.

Chester Bennington of rap-rock band Linkin Park, who just returned from visiting Phuket, was among the presenters.

MTV Asia Aid will be available free to broadcasters globally to raise money for UNICEF, the primary recipient of the funds, and local charities. Organizers hope to reach an audience of more than 1 billion people.

Aiken lends vocal support to hometown development

Raleigh, N.C. — Singer Clay Aiken is helping to reinvigorate his hometown’s downtown.

A new eight-minute promotional video, proclaiming “Downtown Raleigh Open for Business,” includes a brief appearance from Aiken, an “American Idol” runner-up.

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance, a booster organization, started distributing 200 copies of the video Monday to real estate brokers and others with their sights on downtown.

Viewers can see interviews with Harvey Schmitt, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce; Mayor Charles Meeker; and Orage Quarles III, president and publisher of The News & Observer of Raleigh.

Then Aiken appears and says: “I’ve traveled all over the country and seen lots of downtown areas, but one of the reasons that I really love coming back to my hometown of Raleigh is to see all the exciting changes that are happening in downtown, right here in Raleigh.”

In TV interview, Jackson says celebrity makes him a target

Santa Maria, Calif. — Michael Jackson said in a television interview scheduled to air Saturday that many of the news reports about him were “fiction” and that his celebrity made him a target.

Jackson was barred by a gag order from talking about the molestation charges he faces. But he said in a wide-ranging interview with the Fox News Channel’s “At Large w/ Geraldo Rivera” program that he thought the truth about him ultimately would come out.

“The bigger the star, the bigger the target. I’m not trying to say I’m the super-duper star, I’m not saying that,” Jackson said in the interview, which was taped two weeks ago. “I’m saying the fact that people come at celebrities, we’re targets. But truth always prevails. I believe in that.”

A transcript of the interview was released Thursday by Fox.

The interview was Jackson’s first since he was indicted by a grand jury in April on charges of molesting a boy and plying him with alcohol. Jackson’s lawyers and prosecutors are scheduled to begin questioning potential jurors in the trial Monday.

Jackson also said in the interview that he designed his Neverland estate, where prosecutors say the molestation occurred, as a place where he could enjoy the childhood activities he missed while he was a child star.

Birthdays

Singer David Garza is 34. Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks is 92. Comedian David Brenner is 60. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 57. Country singer Clint Black is 43. Singer Natalie Imbruglia is 30.