S. Africa investment scam uses Oprah Winfrey’s name

Cape Town, South Africa – Police questioned eight people Friday after discovering an investment scam that used Oprah Winfrey’s name days after she interviewed prospective pupils in South Africa for her new all-girls school.

Some 500 people crowded into a community center in the eastern city of Grahamstown after being told that they had to make a simple payment of $1.40 with the promise of then receiving $168 per month for 10 years. Police said Winfrey knew nothing about it.

Authorities who went to the community center Thursday after hearing locals boast about their pending windfall were shouted at and told to go away, the South African Press Assn. reported Friday.

“This process is believed to have started earlier this week,” Mali Govender told SAPA. “By word of mouth the community were informed of this easy way of making money.”

Police confiscated 160 applications and returned nearly $280, he said.

Scams are a frequent occurrence in South Africa, targeted mainly at the poor and uneducated. The latest one was apparently fueled by publicity surrounding Winfrey’s brief visit to the country to interview prospective pupils for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

At a ceremony Sunday, Winfrey selected all 73 girls aged 11-12 who had shown up for interviews. More children from other parts of South Africa will be chosen later this year.

John Mayer to perform on ‘CSI’ season premiere

New York – John Mayer will promote his new album, “Continuum,” with cameo performances on the season premiere of CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

The Grammy-winning singer will perform his current single, “Waiting on the World to Change,” and “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” in a scene set in a Las Vegas nightclub, the network announced Thursday.

CBS said the two-part season opener will air Sept. 21 and Sept. 28. Danny Bonaduce guest stars as an ex-rocker who is murdered.

Elton John wants to make hip-hop album with Dr. Dre

Los Angeles – Goodbye yellow brick road, hello hip-hop.

Elton John tells Rolling Stone magazine that he wants to record a hip-hop album with Grammy-winning producer Dr. Dre.

“I want to work with Pharrell, Timbaland, Snoop, Kanye, Eminem and just see what happens,” John says in the Sept. 7 issue. “It may be a disaster, it could be fantastic, but you don’t know until you try.”

The 59-year-old says he is a fan of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” and Tupac Shakur’s “California Love.”

“I want to bring my songs and melodies to hip-hop beats,” John said. “I love these beats, but I have no idea how to get them.”

John performed Eminem’s song “Stan” with the rapper during the 2001 Grammy awards.