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Rapper T.I. Misses Hip-Hop Awards, Faces Gun Charges

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2007

Hours before hip-hop music's biggest night, one of the industry's hottest acts was arrested by federal agents for allegedly buying machine guns.

Atlanta rapper T.I., whose given name is Clifford Harris Jr., was in federal custody Saturday night in his hometown. His arrest came at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards show got under way.

Harris was charged with two felonies - possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The arrest was made in the parking lot of a shopping center.

Harris, 27, was accused of trying to buy the guns from a 'cooperating witness' with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The witness had been working as Harris' bodyguard since July, authorities said. He is scheduled to make his initial federal court appearance today in Atlanta.

Affleck Finds Directing Films 'Exhilirating'

Fresh off his directorial debut, Ben Affleck says he's found his calling.

'In the beginning, part of wanting to be a director was just a natural extension of acting,' said Affleck, whose movie 'Gone Baby Gone' opens Friday. 'But now this feels like what I am, or what I want to be, it's so satisfying and exhilarating.'

Affleck co-wrote the script and directed the crime thriller, set and filmed in Boston about the search for an abducted 4-year-old girl.

He told the newspaper he included as many locals as he could in the film, people plucked off the street or discovered in bars, even for speaking roles.

Is Royal Engagement Back On?

Photographs published Sunday of Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton, clad in khaki on a Scottish hunting trip, have rekindled speculation that the pair will soon announce their engagement.

British Sunday newspapers ran pictures showing Middleton, 25, on a stag hunting expedition at the royal family's Balmoral estate alongside William's father, Prince Charles.

The Sunday Telegraph said it was the first time Middleton had been photographed with Charles, 'fueling speculation that she is about to become engaged to Prince William.'

The Sunday Times said the pictures suggested that Middleton's 'induction into the royal family appears to have stepped up a notch.'

Newspapers reported this summer that the pair had rekindled their romance, and last week the couple were photographed by paparazzi as they left a London nightclub.

To Avoid Rut, Kimmel To Fill In For Regis

Jimmy Kimmel is going bicoastal.

The host of ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' will fill in for a vacationing Regis Philbin on 'Live with Regis and Kelly' in New York while still hosting his namesake show from Los Angeles.

During the week of Oct. 22, Kimmel will fly back and forth across the country daily, co-hosting with Kelly Ripa in New York each morning and taping his own show in Los Angeles each night. That's two cross-country flights a day for five days.

Kimmel agreed to the bicoastal gig because 'you can easily get in a rut when you're doing a show every night and this is definitely not rut territory.'

Today's Birthdays

Actress Linda Lavin is 70. Britain's Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, is 48. Chef Emeril Lagasse is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Keyshia Cole is 26.

Source: Cox News Service, The Associated Press

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