Suspicious Fire in 50 Cent's Long Island Home

A fire ripped through a Dix Hills, New York, home owned by rapper 50 Cent early Friday morning (May 30), completely gutting the house and sending six people — among them, the rapper's 10-year-old son, Marquise, and the child's mother, 50's ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins — to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Both were treated and released.

The fire broke out at about 5 a.m., according to fire officials, and it took personnel from five departments to get the conflagration under control. br>
Dix Hills Fire Department Chief Larry Feld told MTV News the blaze was "definitely suspicious." When pressed for details, Feld said, "I would say there is a strong possibility that it is suspicious because of the rapid movement of the fire, the volume of the fire that we had upon arrival, and the intensity. When I arrived — and I got there early — the whole first floor and second floor was engulfed, and the home was totally gutted.

"Let's put it this way," he continued, "this wasn't your ordinary fire." A statement released Friday by 50's rep reads: "Informed this morning while filming a new motion picture on location in Louisiana, [50 Cent] expressed deep concern over this fire at his property. He is extremely thankful that everyone including his son, Marquise, escaped the burning house safely. He is confident that authorities will be conducting a thorough investigation of the incident and is eager to review their findings."

Feld said arson investigators were called out to the scene, and will be looking into what caused the inferno. He said 50 Cent is not a suspect at this time. However, on Friday afternoon, TMZ.com posted a video clip showing Tompkins surrounded by a crush of news cameras and reporters as she lashes out at 50 Cent, describing him as "obsessed" with her and claiming that he'd recently threatened her life.

"If he can't have me, no one can," Tompkins said. "He said that he was going to have someone come kill me, and see what he does. This is what he did." The site also reported that Paul Catsandonis, a lawyer for Tompkins, said Friday that Tompkins heard "someone" come into the house approximately an hour before the fire broke out. Brett Kimmel, an attorney for 50 Cent, said Tompkins' allegations are untrue, and that "any suggestion that [50] had anything whatsoever to do with the fire at his home is outrageous and offensive." Tompkins also claimed the rapper has made no effort to contact his son: "He has made no contact to even see how his son is doing.
source:www.mtv.com"

Pussycat Dolls Prepare For MTV Movie Awards Performance

BURBANK, California — It's a scene that probably wouldn't be out of place up the road at Hef's humble abode, but here in a dance studio in Burbank, it's a decidedly different affair. The Pussycat Dolls — a five-piece now, since the departure of Carmit Bachar back in March — are bumping, grinding and sweating with a shocking level of precision and professionalism. They're putting the finishing touches on their performance for Sunday night's MTV Movie Awards, a shimmying, gyrating showstopper that's designed to both drop jaws and promote "When I Grow Up," the first single from their upcoming new album (due later this year).

And though there is plenty of giggling and a fair amount of horseplay, it's also clear from their drill-team synchronicity and the looks on their faces that the 'Cats clearly mean business. "This is a big deal for us. We just want to kill it. It's all about the Dolls right now, and we're coming strong," said Nicole Scherzinger, the de facto leader of PCD. "We feel really good about this new album, we feel really good as a group, and we feel like this new album is really the next level for us. If you liked the first one, you're going to love this one.".

That's big talk, because lots of people liked their first album, the glossy and flossy PCD, which, based on the success of singles like "Don't Cha" and "Buttons," sold nearly 3 million copies in the U.S. alone and made the Dolls the heirs apparent to the Spice Girls' bedazzled throne. So, clearly, there's a fair amount of pressure on the group this time out, which is why they've turned once again to some old friends for help on album number two. "We're working with some of the same crew on this one. Timbaland is executive-producing, Cee-Lo Green is on it, Polow Da Don, Sean Garrity — they're on it too," Scherzinger said. "There are songs on the album that people wouldn't expect from PCD — some smooth, slow jams, some alternative jams. We're really coming ferocious with the music this time out."
source:www.mtv.com