Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Champagne taste 7/23/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Newsmakers: Kid Rock fined for brawling at a Waffle House DECATUR, Ga. -- Kid Rock has been sentenced to a year's probation and fined $1,000 for his role in a fight at a suburban Atlanta Waffle House last fall. The DeKalb County solicitor's office said the 37-year-old was also sentenced Monday to six hours of anger management counseling and 80 hours of community service. The entertainer, whose real name is Robert J. Ritchie, pleaded no contest to one count of simple battery. Four counts of battery were dropped. Ritchie's tour bus stopped at the Waffle House about 5 a.m. on Oct. 21 after a performance in downtown Atlanta. An exchange of words with a customer escalated into a fight that spilled from the restaurant into the parking lot. Ritchie and five members of his entourage were arrested. Ritchie's attorney, Darryl Cohen, said Tuesday that Ritchie was "not terribly unhappy" with the outcome, although he believed he was not at fault. Christian Bale's sister, mother allege assault LONDON -- The mother and sister of Christian Bale, whose movie "The Dark Knight" opened Friday, reportedly leveled assault allegations against the star that have yet to become clear. Bale said the allegations were false Tuesday, hours after the Wales-born actor was arrested, questioned by London police and released on bail. The 34-year-old actor spent four hours talking with authorities but was not charged. British media reported that Bale's mother and sister told police he assaulted them at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Sunday night, a day before attending the European premiere of "The Dark Knight." The Sun newspaper said the complaint was filed by sister Sharon Bale and mother Jenny Bale. The reports surfaced just days after "The Dark Knight," which co-stars Heath Ledger as Batman's nemesis the Joker, took a record $158.4 million at the box office in its opening weekend. Ledger, who took the iconic villain to a deeply disturbed and diabolical place, died earlier this year of an accidental drug overdose in New York -- a circumstance that has only added to the movie's brooding mystique. The Sun said police did not question the actor Monday because they did not want to interfere with the premiere of the movie. The next scheduled stops on the film's premiere tour were Madrid, Spain, on July 23 and Tokyo on July 28. Associated Press

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