Media mogul Rupert Murdoch takes to Twitter

LONDON (AP) — Rupert Murdoch has begun the new year by setting up in a new field of communications — he's started tweeting.

The media mogul, who is recovering from perhaps his most difficult year in the business, is posting on Twitter under the handle rupertmurdoch, spokeswoman Daisy Dunlop at News International confirmed Monday.

The account was opened over the New Year's holiday, but many doubted its authenticity because Murdoch, 80, has generally tried to stay out of the spotlight as his media empire comes under increased scrutiny because of widespread phone hacking at his U.K. newspapers.

Murdoch faced harsh questioning in Parliament last summer and may face additional questions from the wide-ranging Leveson Inquiry into media practices later this year, but he makes no mention of these troubles in his tweets, which include the News Corp. chief's New Year's resolutions.

"My resolutions, try to maintain humility and always curiosity," he tweets. "And of course diet!"

Murdoch had attracted more than 46,000 followers by Monday morning, just two days after he started tweeting. His wife Wendi Deng has also started tweeting — she's wendi_deng.

She refers to the setbacks of the last year in her tweets: "A lot of bad things happened in 2011 but I hope in 2012 we can put them all behind us and sail on to a bright future for everyone Wxx."

She also gently reminds fellow tweeters to spell her first name with an "i'' at the end, not a "y."

The Murdochs' entry into the world of Twitter was met with some bemusement and some hostility by its denizens.

John Prescott, former U.K. deputy prime minister, came up with one of the wittier responses to Murdoch's unexpected surfacing at the very public, very popular micro-blogging site.

"Welcome to Twitter," he writes to the mogul, whose reporters were skilled at hacking into telephone messaging systems. "I've left you a Happy New Year message on my voicemail!"

Others express fears that the wealthy Murdoch will buy the Twitter site.

Murdoch also deleted a tweet in which he suggested that Britons might have too many public holidays for a country facing tough times.

At times in his tweets Murdoch sounds bored with his New Year's holiday. He complains that there are "too many people" on the island of St. Bart's, an exclusive Caribbean hideaway.

"Back to work tomorrow," he says. "Enough idling!"

Murdoch also tweets that some of his friends are "frightened" by what he might say.

He also praises Mike Bloomberg, the Republican mayor of New York City, and Rick Santorum, a Republican presidential candidate.

Murdoch tweeted his wishes for a happy new year and said it would probably exceed expectations.

"Happy 2012," he says. "May it be better than all experts predict. Has to be! Must must change everything to create jobs for all, especially young."

His Twitter profile is accompanied by a snapshot showing Murdoch grimacing. He is wearing a casual white T-shirt with a light blue sweater.

Murdoch was forced to close the News of the World last year because of widespread phone hacking at the tabloid. The victims included celebrities, sports stars, and a murdered teenager whose voicemails had been hacked.

The scandal has damaged Murdoch's financial holdings and raised doubts about whether his family can retain control of the company, which has substantial interests in newspapers, magazines, movies, television and book publishing.

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Online: http://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch

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Kutcher to play Internet mogul in revamped "Men" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – New "Two and A Half Men" star Ashton Kutcher will play an Internet billionaire with a broken heart when he makes his debut on the hit TV comedy in September, CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler said on Wednesday.

But Tassler declined to confirm or deny reports that the character played by the show's fired star Charlie Sheen would be killed off and given a funeral in the new season premiere.

"I am not going to confirm or deny that...The mystery is part of the marketing. The chatter and the conversation is part of what the fun is going to be," Tassler told television journalists gathered for a bi-annual meeting of critics.

Tassler, speaking publicly for the first time since Sheen's acrimonious departure from the most-watched comedy on U.S. television, depicted the exit of the wayward actor as a way to reinvigorate "Two and A Half Men."

But she acknowledged that it may take time for viewers to embrace the change.

"I don't know necessarily that those (viewership ratings) numbers will be where they once were, but in time I think they will do very well," Tassler said.

And in an apparent dig at Sheen, who was fired after insulting the program's producers and after months of hard partying and trips to rehab, Tassler called Kutcher "an incredible professional."

Asked what CBS, the most-watched TV network in the United States, had learned from the very public dispute with Sheen, Tassler gave a big sigh.

"What we learned is that we have an extraordinary cast, we have extraordinary writers and extraordinary actors and that there is great value in hiring an actor like Ashton Kutcher.

"He is an extraordinary professional, talented, funny gifted actor...and we have an opportunity to create an exciting new character and create a great show."

"Who could have predicted that we would be here six months ago? But the great news is that the show will be as irreverent as it has always been. Our program practices (department) are already on high alert," Tassler said.

Filming of the first episode of the upcoming season is due to take place on Friday. Kutcher's character will be called Walden Schmidt, Tassler said. He will not be related to Sheen's womanizing bachelor character Charlie Harper.

The new season begins on September 19, and the first episode will be broadcast in two parts.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Music mogul honors celebs at charity fundraiser (AP)

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. – Music mogul Russell Simmons and model Kimora Lee Simmons may no longer be married, but the pair came together in the name of charity at a dinner gala.

The couple hosted the fundraiser Saturday night to benefit Art for Life, a charity that supports arts programs for inner-city kids.

"We started this together 12 years ago," Lee Simmons said. "I hosted it every year forever and then I had to turn over the duties, and now we are back as a family and we are so excited. It is a great night."

The couple's two daughters attended the event, as well as Lee Simmons' partner, actor Djimon Hounsou, and their son. The Simmonses divorced in 2009.

The evening wasn't just family affair. Singer Mary J Blige, actor Ed Norton and fashion icon Tamara Mellon were honored for their work with the organization.

"It seems like a banner year, and that is really how you measure it," Simmons said of the fundraising efforts, which totaled more than $1 million before the event.

During the gala, Norton took to the microphone to express why he supports the cause.

"When you don't invest in the inventors of tomorrow, the economist of tomorrow, the doctors of tomorrow won't emerge because you haven't taught people to think in their individual creative ways," he said. "Creativity fuels everything that makes America dynamic."

Guests were later entertained by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who performed three songs. They also had the opportunity to bid on a variety of items, including artwork and a chance to meet Justin Timberlake.

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Online:

http://www.rushphilanthropic.org

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Music mogul honors celebs at charity fundraiser (AP)

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. – Music mogul Russell Simmons and model Kimora Lee Simmons may no longer be married, but the pair came together in the name of charity at a dinner gala.

The couple hosted the fundraiser Saturday night to benefit Art for Life, a charity that supports arts programs for inner-city kids.

"We started this together 12 years ago," Lee Simmons said. "I hosted it every year forever and then I had to turn over the duties, and now we are back as a family and we are so excited. It is a great night."

The couple's two daughters attended the event, as well as Lee Simmons' partner, actor Djimon Hounsou, and their son. The Simmonses divorced in 2009.

The evening wasn't just family affair. Singer Mary J Blige, actor Ed Norton and fashion icon Tamara Mellon were honored for their work with the organization.

"It seems like a banner year, and that is really how you measure it," Simmons said of the fundraising efforts, which totaled more than $1 million before the event.

During the gala, Norton took to the microphone to express why he supports the cause.

"When you don't invest in the inventors of tomorrow, the economist of tomorrow, the doctors of tomorrow won't emerge because you haven't taught people to think in their individual creative ways," he said. "Creativity fuels everything that makes America dynamic."

Guests were later entertained by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who performed three songs. They also had the opportunity to bid on a variety of items, including artwork and a chance to meet Justin Timberlake.

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Online:

http://www.rushphilanthropic.org

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Fugitive hip-hop mogul arrested on drug charges (AP)

NEW YORK – A fugitive hip-hop mogul recently linked by a convicted killer to a shooting that wounded Tupac Shakur was arrested Tuesday in a drug case after he was discovered hiding out at a popular Manhattan hotel.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents and deputy U.S. Marshals arrested James Rosemond on charges he ran a lucrative drug-trafficking ring. According to criminal complaint, the ring smuggled large amounts of cocaine into the New York City area and the proceeds back to Los Angeles in road cases normally used by musicians to transport their instruments and other equipment.

Authorities said Rosemond, 46, had been holed up at the W New York in Union Square under a false name. He was ordered held without bail during a brief appearance Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn.

His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said his client had been framed.

The charges are "the result of witnesses who have been bribed and threatened by the government to implicate Jimmy in the crimes charged," he said. "It's been a long time coming, but the government wants a fight so we'll give them one."

The arrest follows accusations reported last week by AllHipHop.com that Rosemond — CEO of New York City-based Czar Entertainment — orchestrated the mid-1990s ambush of Shakur outside a Manhattan recording studio.

The allegations were attributed to Dexter Isaac, who is serving a life sentence in an unrelated murder-for-hire plot. The website said he claimed he was paid $2,500 to rob and shoot the legendary rapper.

The complaint unsealed Tuesday makes no reference to the Shakur shooting, and Rosemond's lawyer has denied he had any involvement.

According to the complaint, a joint DEA-Internal Revenue Service probe of Rosemond relied on several cooperating witnesses. They include a Los Angeles dealer who pleaded guilty to charges he supplied more than 100 kilograms to the ring over a two-year period.

The complaint says agents intercepted a phone call last year during which Rosemond fretted about being watched by law enforcement.

"I can't be online no more," it quotes him as saying. "I don't even have a phone with me. I'm going from phone booth to phone booth."

To avoid detection, Rosemond devised a system that avoided using overnight delivery services, the complaint says.

Members of Rosemond's crew instead stashed cocaine in road cases and sent them to New York music studios, the complaint says. The cases were then shipped back to Los Angeles packed with cash.

Last year, agents seized a road case containing $790,000 "packaged in vacuum-sealed plastic in $100,000 bundles," the complaint says. The seizure prompted Rosemond to switch tactics, stashing drugs in hidden compartments in cars that were transported from coast to coast.

Rosemond is behind such hits as Salt-N-Pepa's "Shoop" and also represents The Game and Sean Kingston, according his company's website.

Shakur survived the 1994 shooting, but was killed two years later in Las Vegas. The slaying remains unsolved.

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Associated Press Writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

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