Donna Summer dead: Her voice soared through disco and beyond

Donna Summer died Thursday after a battle with cancer. The 63-year-old Summer was known for her soaring voice and sensual purrs that made her a queen of disco when the genre was in its heyday in the 1970s. And it was a title she held well beyond those years.

A statement from her family called Summer "a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith." "While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy," according to the statement released by Universal Music, her record label. "Words truly can't express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time.

PHOTOS: Donna Summer | 1948 - 2012 Summer had been living in Englewood, Fla., with her husband, Bruce Sudano.

She was a five-time Grammy winner. Although best remembered for her songs decades ago, Summer continued to tour and record, including a stint last year as a guest judge on the Bravo reality show "Platinum Hit.

Born LaDonna Andrea Gaines in suburban Boston on New Year’s Eve, 1948, Summer was one of seven siblings in a church-attending family who encouraged studies and singing in equal measure.

An early fan of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, Summer sang in a Boston rock band called Crow in the late 1960s, and left home for New York City at age 18 to find work on Broadway, which she did quickly by landing a role in a touring version of the hot Broadway show “Hair.”

She spent the next three years living and touring in Europe. There she met and married the singer Helmut Sommer, whose last name she adapted as her stage name.

While in Europe she also met Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder, whose early dance tracks were making an impact across Europe. Moroder and Summer started working together, resulting in their first hit, the seductive 17-minute-long dance floor epic “Love to Love You Baby.” On it, Summer moans in ecstasy throughout, seeming to climax with the music. A shortened version of it was released by then-hot label Casablanca in 1975, and peaked on the Billboard singles chart at No. 2.

That was the first of a string of songs that not only helped bring disco to the mainstream, but predicted the rise of both techno and house music. Among those were “I Feel Love,” “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money” and “On the Radio.”

But unlike some other stars of disco who faded as the music became less popular, she was able to grow beyond it and later segued to a pop-rock sound. She had one of her biggest hits in the 1980s with "She Works Hard for the Money," which became an anthem for women's rights.

Soon after, Summer became a born-again Christian and faced controversy when she was accused of making anti-gay comments in relation to the AIDS epidemic. Summer denied making the comments but was the target of a boycott.

Still, even as disco went out of fashion she remained a fixture in dance clubs, endlessly sampled and remixed into contemporary dance hits.

Her last album, "Crayons," was released in 2008 and marked her first full studio album in 17 years. She also performed on "American Idol" that year with its top female contestants.

Rock The Bells 2012 Lineup: Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Nas, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

by MTV news

By Felicia Morris

On Tuesday, Guerilla Union hosted a press conference to reveal the 2012 Rock the Bells lineup, and it's a doozy. Headlining acts Missy Elliot, Timbaland and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will perform along with Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi, Nas, J. Cole and Mac Miller.

Lupe Fiasco's name also appears on the festival's flyer, but on Wednesday morning (May 16), the Chi-Town lyricist tweeted that despite what was printed, he would not be in attendance this year. "Not doing Rock The Bellz...thats a typo fam and friends...," he wrote.

For the first time in nine years, Rock the Bells will expand its daylong festival to two days. The first show will take place August 18 at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California. Last year's three-stage setup forced fans to choose between their favorite acts, who would often perform simultaneously. "We had quite a few complaints about Mobb Deep fans having to choose between Mobb Deep and Nas," Guerilla Union boss Chang Weisberg said as an example. "We tried to deliver three stages, but it didn't work out. So the correction? Two stages, two days, one event."

RTB will hit the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on August 25 and 26 and then the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, on September 1 and 2. Coincidentally, the East Coast show falls on the very same weekend as Jay-Z's recently announced Made in America multi-genre music festival in Philadelphia. Hov promises close to 30 eclectic acts in the fields of rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and dance music. The Made in America lineup hasn't been announced yet, but already, the RTB bill is ripe with diverse rap talent. 2 Chainz, Tyga, Kendrick Lamar, Slick Rick, E-40, Too Short and A$AP Rocky will all be in attendance.

The announcement event wrapped up with performances by DJ Quik and Bone Thugs, who took the stage and rocked a few of their many classics, leaving fans ready for the main course this summer. Fans should checkRockTheBells.net for venue and ticket information.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary, found dead in New York

Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn't release the dead person's name. The family released a statement on Wednesday confirming the death of Mary Richardson Kennedy.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, and wife Mary Richardson Kennedy seen together at a movie premiere in 2009. An attorney on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 said Mary Kennedy has been found dead on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s property in Bedford, N.Y. (Peter Kramer / AP Photo / May 16, 2012)

Associated Press

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her home Wednesday.

Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had represented her in a drunken-driving case, said he didn't know the cause of her death at age 52. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday.

Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn't release the dead person's name.

The former Mary Richardson married Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, in 1994. The couple had four children, the youngest born in July 2001.

Mary Kennedy was an architect and designer and had overseen the renovation of the couple's home into an environmentally advanced showpiece. Her family cited her devotion to her children in remembering her.

"We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her," the family said in a statement issued by Lawrence. "Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation."

Mary Richardson had known the Kennedys for years, through her friendship with Robert Kennedy Jr.'s sister, Kerry Kennedy, whom she met at boarding school. She had been Kerry Kennedy's maid of honor at her wedding in 1990.

She had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in 2010. Kennedy was first arrested on May 15 of that year on a charge of driving while intoxicated after a police officer reported seeing her drive her car over a curb near the family's Bedford home. Her only passenger was a dog, and police said she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Her license was suspended.

At the time of her sentencing, famous family and friends spoke out in support of her.

Her mother-in-law, Ethel Kennedy, wrote in a letter that she "is a caring, nourishing mother who has nursed her four children through lifelong bouts of debilitating allergies," according to an account in Westchester's The Journal News at the time.

She was charged later that year with driving under the influence of drugs, but that charge was dismissed in July 2011 when a judge said the evidence showed she didn't know the medications she had taken would impair her ability to drive.

Family watches 'miraculous survival' of woman fighting flesh-eating bacteria

By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) -- A 24-year-old woman in a hospital bed fighting off flesh-eating bacteria has to be told repeatedly -- each time she wakes up -- what has happened, her parents told CNN on Monday. The medication Aimee Copeland is given leads her to forget each time she falls asleep. "It's scary to her," said her mother, Donna Copeland. She asks where she is and "doesn't understand." Yet Aimee Copeland -- who has lost a leg and part of her abdomen to the virulent bacteria and may lose more, including her fingers -- is keeping her spirits strong, her father said.

Can I get this flesh-eating bacteria?

"We really don't see the suffering side of it. We see the miraculous survival," Andy Copeland said. "I think that's the story that's inspired us, that's the story that's inspired, I think, the nation at this point." On Facebook, he wrote that doctors have used words like "astonishing," "confounding" and "mind-boggling" to describe the young woman's recovery.

The master's student in psychology at the University of West Georgia was out with friends on May 1 near the Little Tallapoosa River, about 50 miles west of Atlanta, when she grabbed onto a homemade zip line. It snapped. The accident left her with a gash in her left calf that took 22 staples to close.

Three days later, when the pain continued, a friend took her to an emergency room, where she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis and flown to Augusta for surgery. She had contracted the flesh-devouring Aeromonas hydrophila. The bacterium is "remarkably common in the water and in the environment," according to Dr. Buddy Creech, an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.

"When it gets into those deeper tissues, it has a remarkable ability to destroy the tissues that surround it in sort of this hunt for nutrition," he said. "When it does that, those tissues die, and you see the inflammation and the swelling and the destruction that can be very difficult to control."

In most cases, people contract the bacteria by swallowing them, resulting in diarrhea. Aimee Copeland's case was much more rare. Her wound became infected, "and the infection (ran) wild," Creech said.

A blog set up by the University of West Georgia psychology department said Aimee Copeland will suffer the loss of her fingers.

"However, physicians have hope of bringing life back to the palms of her hands, which could allow her the muscle control to use helpful prosthetics. They are awaiting a safe time before embarking on surgery for this."

Speaking to CNN on Monday, her father said doctors were assessing "day by day, or even hour by hour."

Copeland has told his daughter that one day, the family will celebrate Aimee Day -- when she will be able to breathe on her own. "We're going to celebrate that day forever for the rest of your life," he told her. "It's the day that my daughter was delivered from this horrible, horrible disease."

If there's anything to be learned, Andy Copeland said, it's not to use homemade zip lines.

Aimee Copeland's parents say that when she wakes up, she expresses concern about finishing her thesis.

In her studies, she has focused on eco-psychology -- the idea that harmonizing with nature can be a powerful tool in ensuring one's psychological health and vitality.

George "Goober" Lindsey of 'Andy Griffith Show' fame dies at age 83

George “Goober” Lindsey, most widely known for playing Goober Pyle on the iconic television series The Andy Griffith Show, died at 12:05 a.m. Sunday in Nashville after an extended hospitalization. He was 83.

As long as his health allowed, he was still making people smile. The Hee Haw star showed up at Ray Stevens’ CD release party Feb. 28 at The Rutledge in Nashville to lend support to his good friend and fellow comedian. Stevens beamed from the stage as he thanked Mr. Lindsey for being there.

“He was in a wheelchair that night and he was really going out of his way to show up for that,” says Stevens, who was friends with Lindsey for 35 years. “That’s the kind of friend he was. He was on his last legs that night.”

Actor Andy Griffith said in a statement that accompanied the family’s Sunday-morning announcement of Mr. Lindsey’s death: “George Lindsey was my friend. I had great respect for his talent and his human spirit. In recent years, we spoke often by telephone. Our last conversation was a few days ago. We would talk about our health, how much we missed our friends who passed before us and usually about something funny. I am happy to say that as we found ourselves in our eighties, we were not afraid to say, ‘I love you.’ That was the last thing George and I had to say to each other. ‘I love you.’ ”

The Nashville resident’s career was much broader than the confines of Mayberry. Mr. Lindsey also appeared in M*A*S*H, Gunsmoke, Herbie the Love Bug and C.H.I.P.S. He was in movies including Take This Job and Shove It and Cannonball Run II, was a judge for the Miss USA pageant for years, and lent his voice to an assortment of animated Disney characters in movies including The Aristocats, The Rescuers and Robin Hood. He recorded a comedy album in 1971 called Goober Sings!, and was a member of the Hee Haw cast for 20 years.

Mr. Lindsey was born in Fairfield, Ala., Dec. 17, 1928, to parents George Ross Lindsey and Alice Smith Lindsey, and grew up in Jasper, Ala. His mother was disabled, and his father struggled to find work. He was the couple’s only child and was primarily raised by his grandparents. He enjoyed spending time at his Aunt Ethel’s gas station, where the mechanics wore felt caps to keep the grease and oil from the cars from dripping in their hair. Their caps inspired the beanie Mr. Lindsey wore as Goober on The Andy Griffith Show.

Bucks trade Bogut to Warriors

The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to trade center Andrew Bogut and forward Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors.

The Bucks will receive guard Monta Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh and center Kwame Brown, the person confirmed to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the deal on its website last night. The trade represents a parting of the ways between the Bucks and Bogut, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft who has struggled with injuries.

Raptors 96, Cavaliers 88: Jerryd Bayless scored 20 points, Andrea Bargnani added 17 and Toronto slowed host Cleveland's playoff push. The Cavs had their winning streak stopped at three. Cleveland blew a chance to move into a virtual tie with the Knicks and Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Antawn Jamison led the Cavs with 20 points. Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 14 and Alonzo Gee 16. Magic 104, Heat 98: Dwight Howard had 24 points and 25 rebounds, Jameer Nelson scored 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Orlando Magic came back to beat host Miami. It was the eighth 20-20 game of the season for Howard, who reportedly has said his mind is made up about leaving Orlando. Dwyane Wade scored 28 points for the Heat.

Rockets 104, Thunder 103: Courtney Lee and rookie Chandler Parsons each scored 21 points, Patrick Patterson blocked Serge Ibaka's point-blank putback attempt in the final 2 seconds, and visiting Houston charged back from an 11-point deficit in the final 3 minutes. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 28 points. Lakers 116, Grizzlies 111: Andrew Bynum had 37 points and 16 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 22 of his 34 points after halftime and visiting Los Angeles beat Memphis in double overtime. -- AP

BYU completes comeback, knocks off Iona

Published March 14, 2012Sports Network Dayton, OH – Perhaps March's new moniker should be meltdown. Noah Hartsock's three-pointer from the right wing capped a furious rally from a 25-point deficit, and BYU held on to stun Iona, 78-72, and claim the argest comeback in NCAA

Kentucky rallied from a 16-point deficit to shock Mississippi Valley State in Tuesday's First Four opener, but BYU did one better, fighting back to earn the right to face Marquette in a second-round game in the West region. Hartsock scored 23 points, Brandon Davies posted 18 points and 15 rebounds and Damarcus Harrison added 12 points for the Cougars (26-8), who held a 43-36 edge on the glass.

Scott Machado scored 15 points with 10 assists, Jermel Jenkins recorded 13 points and Mike Glover posted 12 points and nine rebounds for Iona (25-8), which scored 55 points in the first 16 minutes and 17 points in the final 19 minutes.

Hartsock's wide-open trey from the right wing gave BYU its first lead of the game at 71-70. The trey came after Glover missed an open layup 30 ticks earlier.

Davies made two free throws for a 73-70 lead then Brock Zylstra iced the stunning comeback with a transition three-point play, giving the Cougars a six-point lead with 23 seconds to go. They held on for the improbable victory. With it pouring threes and fastbreak points in Dayton, Iona scored 55 points in the game's first 16 minutes. Then a drought hit, and the Gaels managed just seven points in the next 16 minutes.

Iona drained five of its first seven triples, overwhelming BYU with its speed on both ends of the floor. Sean Armand's jumper gave the Gaels a 20-10 edge just over five minutes in and two more transition buckets by Glover and Armand made the score 24-10. Lamont Jones' jumper capped off 15 successive points for an 18-point margin not even eight minutes in.

Jones made just two more shots on the night, finishing 3-of-15 for six points to go along with seven rebounds. The shooting show continued as Ra'Shad James' three-point play gave the Gaels their biggest lead at 49-24 with just over six minutes on the clock. That was the high point for the Gaels, as BYU started to chip into the deficit before halftime. The Cougars trimmed the margin by 10 and went to the locker room in a 55-40 hole. Iona built the margin back up to 18 at 60-42 on Machado's three-point play, but it closed to seven in the blink of an eye as Davies' jumper and Brock Zylstra's trey brought the Cougars within 62-55 with just over 12 minutes to play. Three straight buckets just over a minute later cut the margin to one, 62-61, and capped 17 straight points in a wave of momentum. That onslaught set up the dramatic finish.

Game Notes Iona shot 69 percent in the first half, but made only 20 percent of its shots in the second half...The Gaels made 1-of-15 three-pointers in the second half...BYU made 48.4 percent of its shots. Harrison, who came into the game averaging just three points per game, gave the Cougars a big boost...BYU committed 20 turnovers, while Iona coughed up 18...The game featured just one lead change...Iona had 17 assists and three turnovers with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half, but committed 15 turnovers to just two assists the rest of the featured just one lead change...Iona had 17 assists and three turnovers with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half, but committed 15 turnovers to just two assists the rest of the way