Craig Morgan reflects on life post-9/11 (AP)

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Caitlin R. King, Associated Press – Fri Sep 9, 1:02 pm ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The minute country star Craig Morgan returns from entertaining U.S. troops in the Middle East, he wants to go back — not to perform but to serve.

"Once a soldier, always a soldier," Morgan told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Before he launched a successful music career, he spent 10 years active duty in the Army and continued his service for nine years in the Reserves. He was stationed in Panama from 1989-90 and was part of the military operation that removed dictator Manuel Noriega from power.

The terrorist attack on Sept. 11 struck a particular nerve with Morgan. Since 9/11, he has made nine trips overseas to entertain U.S. troops and hosted more than a dozen events at military bases stateside.

"For me as an entertainer now, it's very weird," said Morgan. "I come home after a trip overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan, and every time I come home, my wife says, `Why don't you just go back in and quit your pouting?' because I have such a weird feeling going back as an entertainer, having served for so long. It's just really weird to be on this side of the fence."

At the same time, Morgan is also grateful for his successful music career, because he has been able to support veterans and military families in a way that he could never do as a soldier.

Morgan was one of the first artists to perform in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion. He said they were still sweeping up glass in the Kandahar airport when he arrived.

"9/11 changed my life the way it changed every body's life. We will forever be impacted by this," he said. "I'll no longer be able to stand at a (airport) gate and wait for my family to come in. I have to wait outside the gates. The security that has been put into place now we're going to live with forever, and like everyone else, I will never ever forget the visual of those airplanes hitting those towers, and just the impact that that's had on our society. I only pray that it doesn't happen again."

Morgan was awarded the 2006 USO Merit Award for his support of the military. He is known for hits such as "That's What I Love About Sunday," "Redneck Yacht Club," and "Bonfire."

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Morgan Spurlock investigates: why will.i.am makes music (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Hulu's new foray into original content, Morgan Spurlock's series "A Day in the Life," follows an influential person for 24 hours and boils his or her day down to 22 minutes. So it's not surprising that the latest edition captures will.i.am's reason for being in mere seconds.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman explains why he does what he does -- besides the millions of dollars -- in a backseat interview for the show.

Watch, at the link below, to learn, finally, what force inspired "I Gotta Feeling": http://www.thewrap.com/music/article/bruno-mars-sues-his-publisher-30591

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Piers Morgan to Paul McCartney: we didn't hack you (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Piers Morgan has responded to countless allegations that he knew of, condoned or practiced phone hacking while editor of the Daily Mirror, but Monday night on Conan O'Brien he switched roles and became the accuser.

Morgan accused Heather Mills, the ex-wife of Paul McCartney, of hacking her former husband, the same charge Mills has leveled against Morgan.

"Paul McCartney is apparently now claiming someone hacked his phone," Morgan told O'Brien. "I suspect it was Heather Mills because in the divorce, if you study the divorce papers, Paul McCartney accused Heather then of hacking into his phones and passing information to the papers."

The conversation started when O'Brien asked Morgan about the hacking charges, to which Morgan said: "I kind of thought when Heather Mills poked her head up above the parapet, the whole thing got completely ridiculous."

Morgan then recounted how he introduced Mills and McCartney, eventually costing McCartney $50 million in settlements. Morgan said Mills should thank him, and added if there was anyone he should apologize to, it is Sir Paul.

You can see the clip here: http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/piers-morgan-apologizes-paul-mccartney-conan-29921

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CNN's Piers Morgan denies role in UK hacking scandal (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – CNN talk show host and former News of the World editor Piers Morgan on Tuesday angrily denied claims by a British lawmaker that he had taken part in phone hacking during his years as a journalist in Britain.

Morgan, who hosts the U.S. nightly talk and current affairs show "Piers Morgan Tonight," said he may have been a victim of hacking but that he had never hacked a phone himself.

"That MP (member of parliament) just claimed I boasted in my book of using phone-hacking for a scoop," Morgan said on Twitter during Tuesday's hearing by a British parliamentary panel in London on the scandal engulfing newspapers in Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire.

"Complete nonsense. Just read the book," Morgan tweeted. "I've never hacked a phone, told anyone to hack a phone, or published any stories based on the hacking of a phone."

Morgan, who edited the now-defunct News of The World in 1994-1995, was responding to remarks by British MP Louise Mensch at Tuesday's televised grilling of Rupert and James Murdoch, which was seen around the world.

Mensch stated that Morgan had boasted in his 2005 book "The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade" of having won a scoop for his Daily Mirror tabloid newspaper by using a code to gain entry into another person's cell phone.

Morgan said Mensch had got her facts mixed up.

In the book, he wrote that he suspected he was a victim of phone hacking. "I wrote in my book that someone warned me phones could be hacked, so I changed my pin number."

Morgan, who said little during the first two weeks of the phone hacking scandal in Britain, said on his show on Monday that he did not believe that any story published in either the News of The World or The Daily Mirror under his editorship was obtained by unlawful means.

He also defended Rupert Murdoch, saying that he found it "impossible, personally knowing the man, to believe that he would have known about law-breaking on his newspapers, let alone would he condone it."

Morgan, 46, also worked on Murdoch's daily newspaper The Sun between 1989-94 before moving to The News of the World and then The Daily Mirror in London from 1995-2004.

He took over veteran Larry King's slot on CNN in January 2011 and is also a judge on the TV show "America's Got Talent".

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant. Editing by Peter Bohan)

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Piers Morgan seeks apology over phone hacking claim (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Former British tabloid editor Piers Morgan has demanded an apology from a lawmaker who made claims about him admitting to phone hacking, at the London hearing which quizzed Rupert Murdoch.

In an angry on-air exchange, Morgan, who is now a celebrity interviewer for US television news network CNN, challenged Member of Parliament Louise Mensch to repeat her claim that he had "boasted" of phone hacking in a book about his tabloid editor days.

She declined to do so, saying she had been covered by parliamentary privilege -- which protects her from legal action for anything said inside parliament -- a protection which does not apply if she repeats the words elsewhere.

In the committee hearing which grilled Murdoch and his son James over the phone hacking scandal rocking the tycoon's media empire, Mensch said Morgan had boasted about using a phone hacking "little trick" to win a scoop of the year award.

"That is a former editor of the Daily Mirror being very open about his personal use of phone hacking," she said in the hearing.

But Morgan, a former editor of the Mirror and of Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World, said he had never claimed to have used phone hacking himself in his 2005 book "The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade."

"I'm amused by her cowardice in refusing to repeat that allegation now that shes not in parliament covered by privilege," Morgan said in the on-air exchange with Mensch, who was in London.

"She came out with an absolute blatant lie during those proceedings. At no stage in my book or indeed outside of my book have I ever boasted of using phone hacking for any stories."

And he added: "For the record, in my time at the Mirror and the News of the World I have never hacked a phone, told anybody to hack a phone or published any story based on the hacking of a phone."

In an increasingly tetchy exchange, during which Mensch said Morgan was a rich man and accused him of threatening her, the former newspaperman added: "I think you should apologize for being a liar."

He repeatedly bashed her for invoking parliamentary privilege and said Mensch should "show some balls" and repeat her claims outside the hearing.

Asking her to produce evidence to back her claim, he said: "If there is no evidence for that, are you going to publicly apologize to me, and to CNN right now for such an outrageous lie?"

"I feel no need whatsoever to apologize," said the lawmaker.

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Tracy Morgan apologizes for anti-gay jokes (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comedian and "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan on Friday apologized for making a series of anti-gay remarks, including a reported joke that he would stab his own son to death if he spoke in a "gay voice".

Morgan's apology followed criticism of his stand-up act in Nashville last week, in which he was also quoted as having taken gays to task for "whining about something as insignificant as bullying."

"I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville," Morgan said in a statement.

"I'm not a hateful person and don't condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context," he added.

Morgan's remarks at the June 3 Nashville performance were reported by the gay campaign group Truth Wins Out, and other members of the audience.

Morgan, 42, who has three children, also claimed that being gay is a choice and something that kids learn from the media, according to the reports.

"Jokes that make light of violence directed at gay and lesbian youth aren't only offensive, they put our kids in harm's way," said Jarrett Barrios, president of the gay and lesbian campaign group GLAAD.

"Tracy Morgan must not only apologize, but assure us that this won't happen again and send a clear message to Americans that anti-gay violence is no joke," Barrios said on Friday.

Nashville's Ryman Auditorium issued a statement on Thursday saying that it "regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance."

"The Ryman does not control the content presented by people appearing on its stage, nor does it endorse any of the views of, or statements made by, such persons," the statement added.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

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Piers Morgan makes Eva Longoria cry

Piers Morgan has gone and done it again: reduced another of his celebrity guests to tears on American TV show Piers Morgan Tonight. And this time it was pretty Eva Longoria.

Eva got a bit emo as she talked to Piers last night about her divorce from basketball husband Tony Parker, and said that playing the whole thing out in the public eye was humiliating but added that she wished him all the best in life.

She said that it was a heartbreaking time and that trying to rediscover who she was afterwards was one of the hardest things she’s ever been faced with.

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