The ex- New York Giants wide receiver has had a troubled post-football life.
Mark Ingram, a former New York Giants wide receiver who starred in the 1991 Super Bowl, will spend the next seven and a half years behind bars for his latest crime spree that includes money laundering and bank fraud. Read more at BET.com/News.  What would make a former super star athlete jump from the limelight to the crimelight?

He’s preparing to defend his Sean Bell acquittal protest

The Rev. Al Sharpton will take his public nuisance and disturbing the peace case to court Oct. 6, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday. Sharpton, who was arrested in early May – along with scores of protestors who froze up major New York City thoroughfares as a statement against the acquittal of three police officers in the shooting death of Sean Bell – had an opportunity recently to admit guilt and avoid a trial and jail time. But the civil rights leader, who heads the Harlem-based National Action Network, wanted a public airing for a case that focuses attention back on what he and others say is the egregiously unfair freeing of the NYPD cops who shot down the 23-year-old Bell outside a Queens nightclub on the eve of his wedding day, Nov. 25, 2006. The officers shot the unarmed groom and his two friends in a haze of 50 bullets. Bell’s friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, survived but were seriously wounded. On Wednesday, Sharpton said there is nothing unlawful about a peaceful protest. “Every time they bring me back, it further exposes the disparity of justice in this city,” he said.

Jordin Sparks is to be praise, and criticized for her stand on abstinence. Jordin Sparks made a bold statement when she stood up at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Monday for the Jonas Brothers’ right to wear promise rings, a symbol of their pledge to abstain from sex until marriage. But she also unwittingly chastised any teenager who happens to be sexually active. How? Vital Signs has the details. 

New York City shows largest decline in infant deaths. New York City has made the biggest improvement of all major cities in lowering its infant death rate, according to new numbers from the city’s Health Department. New York’s infant mortality rate fell again in 2007, reaching the lowest level ever recorded. The 2007 rate – 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, down from 5.9 in 2006 – marked the sharpest one-year decline since 2001, when the city’s rate dropped to 6.1 from 6.7 per 1,000 live births. Of the 128,961 babies born in New York City in 2007, 697 died before reaching a year old, 43 fewer than in 2006. The city’s infant mortality rate remained significantly lower than that of the nation, which was 6.7 deaths per 1,00 live births in 2006, the most recent year on record. The number of local births surged by 3,455 during 2007, and births to Asian women accounted for half of the increase. News reports suggest that many Chinese couples timed their pregnancies to coincide with the Year of the Golden Pig, a particularly auspicious year in the Chinese lunar calendar. Here’s how the numbers break down by ethnic group: The infant mortality rate was 9.8 per 1,000 live births among Blacks, 6.3 among Puerto Ricans, 4.3 among other Hispanics, 3.9 among Whites, and 3.1 among Asian/Pacific Islanders. “We are heading in the right direction, but substantial disparities remain,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, New York City health commissioner. “Infant death rates remain unacceptably high among Blacks and Puerto Ricans and in low-income neighborhoods. We need to expand services for these groups and communities, and we also need to work to reduce inequities that persist in income, education, health care, safe neighborhoods and access to healthy affordable food and regular physical activity.” How did the city improve its numbers? Health officials say the department has been working on many fronts to help women stay as healthy as possible before pregnancy, obtain quality health care during pregnancy, and provide the care and support their babies need to thrive. Its key initiatives include breastfeeding education, safe-sleep education, cribs for families that can’t afford them, and nurse home-visiting during pregnancy and early childhood.

Lil Wayne will return to New York tomorrow. Having missed an earlier court date on a weapons charge, due to a dental issue, Lil Wayne returns to court tomorrow on a continuance. The rapper took a red-eye flight from Hollywood to New York after his Video Music Awards performance and win for Best Hip-Hop Video, in order to appear Monday. Weezy was arrested last summer after cops stopped his tour bus and searched the vehicle, allegedly finding a .40-caliber pistol. He’s charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

Actor is confirmed to play ancient Egyptian ruler.
Will Smith will portray Last Pharaoh. Will Smith is set to take on one of his most challenging roles in the film The Last Pharaoh. After earlier reports surfaced of his interest in the role about the ancient Egyptian ruler Taharqa, Variety.com confirms that Braveheart writer Randall Wallace is taking on the screenplay at Smith’s behest. Taharqa ruled Egypt from 690 B.C. to 664 B.C. and became known for his fierce battles with Assyrian king Esarhaddon.

Shhhh! Not while he’s trying to sing!
Actor hushes fans at performance. Terrence Howard takes his newfound music career seriously, according to Web reports. The Oscar-nominated actor whose new CD, Shine It Through, was recently released reportedly shushed a couple of fans at his New York performance last week. The star appeared at “The Beat of Chic,” an event for special invited guests at Bloomingdale’s department store, and was reportedly annoyed by the constant chatter of two women in the front row. “Obviously you two are talking about something that’s more important than my music,” Howard is said to have announced. “Why don’t you share it?” After the man who rapped the words “whoop dat trick” in the film Hustle & Flow stuck the mic in their faces, the ladies apparently decided to shut it up. But it’s not only the two front-row spectators who’ve been underwhelmed with Howard’s musical debut: Fan feedback on the CD has been less than favorable.

Patrick Ewing Jr. traded to Knicks

Patrick Ewing Jr., whose famous dad was a star in New York basketball for years, has joined the Knicks squad after a recent trade. The younger Ewing was swapped from the Rockets, in exchange for Frederic Weis. “Coming to the Knicks, and hopefully being able to contribute, means a lot to me,” Ewing Jr. said in a statement. “It has always been my dream to play for this team. My goal is to show the coaches that I can play and do all that I can to help the team win some games.” The elder Ewing, who’s set to join the NBA Hall of Fame next week, wishes his son “a long and productive career” in New York.Browns receiver recovers from bizarre foot injury. Braylon Edwards will start in Cleveland ’s high-profile opener this week versus Dallas after returning to his team’s line-up Monday. Edwards had been sidelined since Aug. 9 when he was gashed in the back of his foot by a teammate’s cleats as they raced after practice, Edwards in his socks. The player hasn’t spoken to media about the circumstances of his injury and won’t be available for questions until Wednesday. He received stitches for the gash and stayed overnight at a hospital after the incident. The banged-up Browns have suffered in the pre-season without their star receiver and quarterback Derek Anderson. “I missed ya’ll, man,” Edwards told teammates Monday.

HIV  increase in New York is three times the national rate. The virus that causes AIDS is spreading in New York City at three times the national rate, according to a study released on Wednesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The study, reports The New York Times, shows that in New York there are 72 new cases of HIV infections for every 100,000 people, compared with 23 per 100,000 nationally. The findings, based on a new formula developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimated that 4,762 New Yorkers contracted HIV in 2006, the most precise estimate the city has ever offered. But city officials stress that because the method of estimating infections was new, it could not be said definitively whether the number of new infections in the city had increased or decreased from previous years. Blacks, and men who have sex with other men, are the groups at greatest risk of contracting HIV, the study found. Blacks made up 46 percent of the newly infected; Hispanics, 32 percent; and Whites, 21 percent. Men accounted for 76 percent of new HIV infections and women for 25 percent. (The figures exceed 100 percent because of rounding.) Sex between men was the main cause in 50 percent of new infections; high-risk heterosexual sex in 22 percent; intravenous drug use in 8 percent; and unknown or uncertain causes in 18 percent. Over all, the study found some interesting differences between national and local rates of new HIV infections. Nearly two-thirds of the city’s new infections occurred in people 30 to 50 years old. Nationally, people under 30 accounted for 41 percent of new infections, compared with 28 percent in New York City. Also, within New York City, Whites were infected at four times the national rate, Hispanics at three times the national rate, and Blacks at almost twice the national rate.  
The number of uninsured Americans drops. The number of Americans without health insurance dropped by more than 1 million people in 2007, the first yearly decline in seven years, U.S. Census Bureau officials announced Tuesday. The drop was driven largely by an increase in the number of children covered by government-funded programs. The overall number of uninsured dropped from 47 million in 2006 to 45.7 million in 2007, David Johnson, chief of the Census Bureau’s Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, said during a morning teleconference. The number of children with health insurance increased to 8.7 million in 2007, up from 8.1 million in 2006. “The number of children covered by government health insurance programs increased to 31 percent from 29.8 percent in 2006,” Johnson said. “This is the main reason for the fall in the uninsured rates in children and for the fall in uninsured rates in the general population,” he said. Among Blacks, the number of uninsured dipped from 20.5 percent in 2006 to 19.5 percent in 2007. The number of people with private health insurance did not change. However, the number of people covered by government health insurance such as Medicaid increased from 80.3 million in 2006 to 83 million in 2007. People getting their health insurance through Medicaid increased from 38.3 million in 2006 to 39.6 million in 2007. Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that seeks to promote a high-performing health care system for all Americans, thinks that the drop in the number of uninsured supports the argument for government-sponsored health insurance programs. “When you look at what’s really going on, the number of uninsured dropped by 1.3 million, and the increase in coverage under Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) went up by 1.3 million,” she said. This shows the importance of government-funded safety nets, she said.

A food allergy action plan helps protect children.  Parents, teachers and school staff need to take measures to ensure the safety of the more than 2.2 million American students with food allergies, says the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. “Open and frequent communication between parents and school staff is a key ingredient to keeping food-allergic students out of harm,” Dr. Michael Pistiner, a member of the Academy’s  Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee, said in an academy news release. “It takes a partnership to establish effective avoidance strategies and emergency plans.” The academy’s sample action plan and checklist of safety tips:  Inform the school cafeteria, teachers and other staff of what foods your child must avoid. Pack bag lunches. Your child should avoid classroom snacks and refrain from sharing food with friends. When there’s a classroom party, provide your child with safe snacks he or she can eat during the party. And push for “no-eating” policies on buses and in other settings where there’s no supervision of children. “Parents should be aware of expiration dates and keep in contact with their allergist to insure that all medication, especially self-injectable epinephrine, is replaced prior to expiration,” adds Pistiner, whose own nut-allergic son enters kindergarten this fall. Visit the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology for more on food allergies and their management.

Rapper remains in Florida custody

DMX has been denied bond and the ability to return to his home in Arizona, angering a judge with his reported profanity. The rapper, who’s been held in Miami-Dade County on a bench warrant arrest since Aug. 12, hoped to get bond Tuesday. But Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Schwartz upheld X’s no-bond status, citing the fact that the rapper faces drug charges in Florida. X appeared via video monitor before reportedly stating under his breath “I ain’t going back to no f***ing jail” as he heard the judge’s decision. Schwartz told DMX that he heard the obscenity, as the rapper walked away from a podium. The judge warned a lawyer representing the 37-year-old performer and film star. He’s expected to remain in custody until October. 

Brother of R&B singer explains fainting spell

The man who is shown in Web footage singing dutifully as his brother lay passed out on an Australia concert stage says neither member of the R&B duo was under the influence. K-Ci and JoJo, who recently performed without their Jodeci band mates, are shown crooning live when JoJo walks toward the back of the stage and abruptly crumbles to the floor, loudly dropping his microphone. A stagehand walks out and picks up the mic, ignoring JoJo on the floor as audience members express shock. K-Ci has taken to the airwaves to explain that JoJo suffered an epileptic seizure, and that rumors about the duo’s drug addiction are false. Footage shows JoJo regaining consciousness on his own after about a minute, eventually getting to his feet and waving to the crowd before he’s helped off the stage. K-Ci says JoJo is feeling much better.

“Run’s House” stars write about parental success. Take Back Your Family, a book written by Rev. Run, formerly of rap group Run-DMC, and his wife Justine Simmons is a hit. The self-help guide has reached No. 15 on the New York Times best-selling hard-cover advice list. The book features principles applied within the family whose lives are shown weekly on MTV’s hit reality show “Run’s House.” Take Back Your Family is the first book jointly written by Rev. Run and his wife.

He was delivered prematurely after his mother was pinned under a bus

A 3-pound infant who was delivered a month early after his mother was pinned under a bus that was struck by a drunk-driving senior nearly two weeks ago has died. Read more about the baby’s struggle at BET.com/News.

Runner is first Kenyan to win Olympics event. An African distance runner has made history for both his nation and the world. Samuel Wanjiru set an Olympics marathon record Sunday with a time of two hours, six minutes and 32 seconds. He also won the first gold medal of any Kenyan to compete in the Games. “In Kenya, we have many medals, but I’m glad I have this one,” says Wanjiru, 21. Kenyans have won silver medals in the men’s marathon twice, most recently in 2000.

NFL’s Osi Umenyiora to undergo surgery. A New York Giants defensive end won’t play in an NFL game before 2009 after injuring his left knee this past weekend. Osi Umenyiora was hurt in the second quarter of a pre-season game against the Jets. An MRI found a tear in Umenyiora’s lateral meniscus. The two-time Pro Bowler will undergo surgery tomorrow. “It was obviously the news that I did not want to hear,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin says. “But after listening to the explanation and (the doctor’s) thoughts on it, I am convinced that this is the right procedure and the right way to go.” Umenyiora’s loss, involving a four-month recovery, is compounded by the recent retirement of star defender Michael Strahan.

.Music entrepreneur hasn’t paid mortgage since January

Donald Trump recently bailed TV legend Ed McMahon out of home foreclosure, so maybe he can help Damon Dash, too. The co-founder of Roc-a-Fella Records hasn’t made a payment on his $78,504.20-per-month mortgage since January, according to The New York Post. Dash and his wife, Rachel Roy, are in jeopardy of losing their New York residence after taking out a $7.3 million loan on two Tribeca properties. The former hip-hop heavyweight reportedly owed $2 million in back taxes last year and has been fighting back debtors, despite an estimated $50 million net worth.