Madonna adoption mess gets messier

By the time Madonna appears on Oprah later this week, she might pull a Tom Cruise. The pop star, set to give talk show host Oprah Winfrey her first TV interview since her decision to adopt David Banda, a 13-month-old Malawian boy, is still dealing with the fallout from the adoption. Over the weekend, Reuters quoted the boy's father Yohane Banda as saying that he never intended to give Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie full custody of his son, simply that the couple would take care of the boy until he is old enough to return home. He said that he was illiterate and that Malawi government officials misled him about the papers he signed.

Today, Penson Kilembe, a senior Malawi government official and director of child welfare in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, denied those claims. "We explained every detail, and Madonna herself explained her intentions in the face of the judge and in Banda's presence," Kilembe told Reuters. "He (Banda) was asked several times in court if he understood what was going on, and he said he did."

The adoption saga has taken an array of twists and turns over the past three weeks, with Madonna, 48, initially denying reports of the adoption, leaving the country without the boy, and eventually having the boy brought to her London home by an assistant.

Foxy Brown warned to attend hearing

Foxy Brown will be arrested and thrown in jail if the 27-year-old rapper misses her sentencing on assault charges, a judge said today. Brown--real name Inga Marchand--failed to show up at hearing today on allegations that she kicked one employee at a beauty salon and smacked a second in the face in 2004 in an argument over payment for a manicure. Brown's lawyer had brokered a plea deal that would have spared her any jail time, but Judge Melissa C. Jackson said today that Brown's absence at the hearing could change things. Her attorney, Frank Rothman, said Brown was recovering at home from a dental procedure.

"I don't take this kindly," Jackson said, according to the Associated Press. "I don't believe she is incapable of being here." Brown pleaded guilty of the charges last month but then sought to withdraw and change the plea to not guilty. Jackson rejected a motion by Brown to withdraw her plea and said the sentencing would be held Tuesday. The judge said that if Brown failed to show up, a plea deal sparing her jail time would be voided and she would be sentenced to a year behind bars. The deal would require Brown to serve three years' probation and take anger-management classes.

Keane frontman speaks about rehab stint

After a stint in rehab that forced his band to cancel its fall US tour, Keane frontman Tom Chaplin said he is "taking life as it comes." Chaplin told BBC6, "When your life becomes unmanageable, that's when you have to do something about it. You walk to the edge of the cliff and look into the abyss and either kind of jump off or turn around. Thankfully it was the latter." Chaplin is now looking forward to getting his life back on track but hasn't given himself any lofty goals. Rather, he said, he is just "taking life as it comes."

In related Keane news, the band said it is releasing its next single, "Nothing in My Way," on USB flash drives through HMV stores. Island Records said the move makes Keane the first band to release a single on a USB flash drive. Bare Naked Ladies started selling whole albums on USB drives last year. Along with the MP3 track, there's also a music video stored on the drive, which has a storage capacity of 512MB.

Doherty's uncle says Moss is pregnant

You can always count on a crazy uncle to spill the beans first. Phil Michels, the uncle of Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty, told the UK's Sunday Mirror that his nephew and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Kate Moss are expecting their first child together. "I have spoken to Pete twice about the baby and he has confirmed that Kate is pregnant," Michels told the paper, saying he'd spoken to Doherty as the couple traveled in Italy. "They are both delighted and Pete sounded really excited. That is why they want to get married. Pete told me they want a baby together to cement their marriage. I am made up for them. I wish them every success. They're so happy. They love each other. I can't wait for the wedding--we are just waiting for the date." Moss and Doherty have one child each from previous relationships.

Tweedy film streams online tonight

Wilco fans are in for an online treat tonight. Frontman Jeff Tweedy's new performance DVD, Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, is being screened online one night before its official release date. Starting at 9 p.m. local time throughout the US, the film will stream at Wilcoworld.net via a QuickTime player. The film, directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, includes performances and conversations from five nights of Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour.

Dolly Parton to tour Europe

Country singer Dolly Parton will kick off her first major European tour since the 1970s in Denmark in March, the organizer of the Danish event said. The 60-year-old country star will start her eight-stop tour in Horsens, 125 miles west of Copenhagen, on March 7, said Horsens Ny Teater, a theater company organizing the Danish concert. Parton will then travel to Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland before ending the tour April 2 in Dublin, Ireland, the company said. Horsens Ny Teater told the Associated Press that it was the first time since the 1970s that Parton had embarked on a major European tour.

K-Fed to appear in movie

Caught on Tape, a new film by former Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz, will feature the debut feature-film appearance of Kevin Federline, aka Mr. Britney Spears. Sticky Fingaz told the UK's Sun that the dancer-turned-rapper, who appeared on an episode of the hit CBS show CSI earlier this month, is "really cool, he's dope." The movie, which also stars Cedric the Entertainer, Vivica A. Fox, and Bokeem Woodbine, is about a boy who secretly videotapes his mother's boyfriend plotting a crime. "Caught on Tape is a hardcore musical, lot of violence, lot of sex, lot of action, lot of drama, lot of sentiment and romance as well," Sticky told the paper." The director also recalled almost being run off the road by paparazzi trying to take pictures of Federline. "I'm like, 'Dude, hey, I'm the talent,'" Sticky said. "He's just married to somebody."