Buzz Briefs: Martha Reeves, Uma Thurman

Some Of Motown Star's Stolen Recording Equipment Believed Found

Operators of a Detroit pawn shop believe they have some of the music and recording equipment reported stolen by city councilwoman and former Motown star Martha Reeves.

An employee of the shop tells the Detroit Free Press Thursday that microphones and other electronic equipment with Reeves' name on it had been sold to Al's Jewelry and Loan.

She says the seller's driver's license information and thumbprint also have been turned over to investigators.

Reeves had said earlier this week that about $100,000 worth of equipment she has collected was stolen over the weekend from a home she owns. She had originally estimated the value of the equipment at about $1 million.

Reeves tells The Detroit News that she hopes to send her brother to the shop to identify the equipment.

Uma Thurman: From Stalker Trial To Lancome Lawsuit

2Lancome, the French cosmetics giant, wants a court to tell "Kill Bill" actress Uma Thurman that the company did not violate its contract with her and she is not entitled to the $1 million she has demanded.

The company, suing as Lancome Parfuns et Beaute & Cie., filed papers in Manhattan's state Supreme Court saying Thurman has threatened a lawsuit claiming the beauty products titan improperly used her name and picture in advertising.

Lancome's court papers say the "Pulp Fiction" star is complaining her name and face were used on Canadian billboards and Asian Web sites after her contract to help market the company's products had expired.

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Photos: Celebrity Circuit

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Lancome's court papers, filed Wednesday, say the contract frees the company of responsibility if third parties use her name and face after the contract lapses.

Lancome's lawyer, Peter D. Raymond, said Thursday that his client "can't control everybody out in the world."

Thurman's lawyer, Bertram Fields, said he was surprised by Lancome's lawsuit.

"I thought we were negotiating in good faith," Fields said. "I guess the French decided to strike a pre-emptive blow."

"I'm delighted that the case will go before a jury," Fields continued. "They got an enormous benefit throughout the world after the contract was over, and $1 million doesn't begin to do it."

As for Raymond's claim that a few Internet sites in Asia that advertised Lancome products continued to carry Thurman's photo, Fields complained that "Lancome's own Web site carried her likeness."

Other celebrities who have endorsed products for Lancome or its celebrities include model Carol Alt, actresses Isabella Rossellini, Juliette Binoche, Mena Suvari and Drew Barrymore.

Ne-Yo Honors Single Moms & Raises Awareness Of Foster Care System

3When he was younger, Ne-Yo watched from afar as his friends hugged their fathers - and he wondered where his dad might be.

"A lot of aggravation was inside me," the 28-year-old singer-songwriter told The Associated Press. "Dad stuck around for a minute and decided it wasn't for him. But I credit my mom for being so positive, putting the pin in my hand.

"It's single women like her who don't get enough recognition."

Now Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer C. Smith, is honoring moms like his own.

On Sunday, he'll host a brunch for 50 single and foster mothers from the metro Atlanta area to raise awareness of the need for reform of the foster care system in the United States.

"They need something special," he said. "So with the success I've been given, through the blessings I have, how could I not use it for good? This is a way to help people who deserve it - for both the mothers and children."

He will perform, and licensed child care workers are expected to provide activities for children between the ages of 1 and 10 in rooms separate from the event.

"My efforts are minor for what should be done," he told The Associated Press. "We're in a day and age where people care about themselves and no one else. That's the outlook a lot of people have. But it is everybody's responsibility to make sure that our future, which is these kids, are brought up the right way."

When Ne-Yo told his mother about the event, she broke into tears.

"I got a little emotional because trying to help children is a passion of mine," said Loraine Smith, 45. She helped maintain a household that included Ne-Yo, his grandmother, sister and five aunts while on welfare for a short stint.

"This is the best thing so far he has done to give back to the community," she said.

Ne-Yo won a Grammy for best contemporary R&B album for "Because of You."

"CSI" Star Gary Dourdan Charged With Drug Possession

4"CSI" co-star Gary Dourdan has been charged with felony possession of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy stemming from his arrest last month, prosecutors said.

The 41-year-old actor was arrested after police found him asleep in his car in Palm Springs on April 28. He was allegedly parked on the wrong side of the street with the car's interior light on.

Prosecutors said Dourdan is scheduled to appear in court in Indio, about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, on May 28. The criminal complaint was dated Tuesday.

A call to Dourdan's attorneys was not immediately returned early Thursday.

Dourdan has played crime scene investigator Warrick Brown on CBS' "CSI" since 2000. Several celebrities were in Palm Springs for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in nearby Indio.

Heath Ledger Portrait Wins Australian Art Award

5A portrait of Hollywood star Heath Ledger painted weeks before his death has won an Australian art award.

The painting features a bare-chested Ledger staring from the canvas as two images of the actor whisper into his ears.

On Thursday, it was awarded a secondary prize by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in its annual national portrait competition. Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton won first prize with her self-portrait.

"Heath" by Vincent Fantauzzo was the popular choice among the 32,000 who saw the exhibition.

Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in New York in January. He was 28.