Judge Denies Rapper's Prison Request

Rapper T.I. must report Tuesday to a federal prison at Forrest City, Ark., as previously ordered, a federal judge ruled Friday. T.I., whose real name is Clifford J. Harris Jr., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for a federal weapons charge. He asked a court Thursday to let him remain free while he seeks placement in a minimum-security prison closer to his Atlanta home, but that request was denied the next day by U.S. District Judge Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr. Harris claimed prison officials miscalculated his criminal history in a pre-sentencing report that said he had a "serious history of violence." His lawyer called a 2003 incident a "scuffle" with a mall cop. Lawyer Donald F. Samuel said he would continue to ask the federal Bureau of Prisons to re-classify the music star. The rapper is scheduled to report by noon Tuesday to the Federal Correction Institution at Forrest City, Ark. He was fined $100,000 and sentenced to 366 days for trying to buy machine guns and silencers he said he needed for protection.

(Associated Press)

Student arrested on weapons charges

A southeast Georgia teenager faces charges of bringing weapons to school.

Police say the unidentified 16-year-old brought a loaded gun and a knife to Effingham County High School. They arrested him today and he is being held in the Claxton Youth Detention Center.

Authorities say this is an isolated incident and unrelated to a recent bomb threats at the high school.

Mom of T.I.'s sons wants court-ordered support

The mother of two of T.I.'s children has sued the platinum-selling rapper for child support, saying she is having a hard time supporting the boys and now wants a court-ordered
arrangement for payment.

Lashon Dixon and T.I. have known each other since they were teenagers and dated before he reached megastar status. They have two sons together, ages 7 and 8.

Dixon says T.I. currently gives her about $2,000 a month to care for the boys, but now she wants to schedule a more stable stipend that is commensurate with his success. Both parties appeared in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday.

In March, T.I. is expected to be sentenced to at least a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to federal weapon possession charges.

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(The Associated Press)

Rapper T.I. indicted

Yesterday a federal grand jury in Atlanta indicted rapper T.I. on weapons charges. T.I.’s real name is Clifford Harris. The 27-year-old was arrested Saturday in Atlanta for allegedly possessing unregistered machine guns and silencers. Harris is also accused of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.