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A Los Angeles judge revoked Lindsay Lohan’s probation on Wednesday after the star was dismissive about her community service at a women’s shelter, and set bail at $100,000.

Judge Stephanie Sautner was angry that Lohan had “blown off” her orders to volunteer at a women’s detention center and got reassigned to a Red Cross program, without court approval.  The hours she served with the program will not count toward her community service assignment.

“Nobody has the power to change my sentence,” Judge Sautner said. “I am revoking her probation.”

The Judge told Lohan her light probation sentence for her previous theft charge was a “gift,” and promptly took back the present back at a progress hearing.

The actress’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, argued that Lohan had complied with other parts of the Judge’s sentence, including psychological counseling and attending a program for shoplifters.  His arguments were to no avail.

Lohan will have a hearing before her sentencing occurs.

Breaking Benjamin have split up due to a breach in contract.

Breaking Benjamin

On June 6, frontman Benjamin Burnley filed documents in Luzerne County Court against band members Aaron Fincke and Mark Klepaski. Burnley states they breached a contract by releasing a remix of the song “Blow Me Away”, which he claims was written by himself with no contribution from Fincke or Klepaski.

Burnley later fired band members via e-mail on May 15.

Court documents declare that Fincke and Klepaski made a deal without Burnley’s consent regarding the track with the band’s label, Hollywood Records. As a result, Burnley is seeking $1.2 million in monetary damages.

Fincke and Klepaski are fighting back. On July 13, the two men filed a complaint stating they “dispute and strictly deny” the allegations made by Burnley in the June filing.

They add how on June 1, 2010, Burnley told them he was disabled and could no longer perform in live concert appearances.

The band, formed in 2001, is a multi-platinum, modern rock band, based out of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The United States Supreme Court ruled 7-2 today that video games are in fact protected by the first amendment, a ruling more than six years in the making and was the first time the court has ruled on the video game industry.

Specifically, the case was the State of California VS The Entertainment Software Association (better known as the ESA or the video game industry) and would make it illegal for anyone to sell a violent video game to anyone under the age of 18.

Justice Scalia, one of the Supreme Court Members who sided with the gaming industry had this to say about the vote; “Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And “the basic principles of freedom of speech . . . do not vary with a new and different communication medium.”

Not everyone is happy about the decision though, Senator Leeland Yee, co-author of the bill says that he’s disappointed in the court’s decision, and that it puts corporate interest above that of our children.

“Unfortunately, the majority of the Supreme Court once again put the interests of corporate America before the interests of our children,” said the law’s author, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco). “As a result of their decision, Wal-Mart and the video game industry will continue to make billions of dollars at the expense of our kids’ mental health and the safety of our community. It is simply wrong that the video game industry can be allowed to put their profit margins over the rights of parents and the well-being of children.”

Blast will be updating this story throughout the day.

SAN DIEGO — The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that illegal immigrants are still eligible to pay in-state tuition for public college.

The court ruled on a suit originally filed in 2005 but a group of students and parents from 19 states outside of California. The plaintiffs claimed that a 2001 state law improperly circumvented a federal law intended to prevent in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

According to the Los Angeles Times, 25,000 illegal aliens get in-state tuition rates.

Monday’s ruling guarantees lower tuition to students who attended high school for at least three years in the state of California. This includes students who live in other states but attended boarding school in California.

The law was carefully drawn to avoid conflict with the federal statute, according to Ethan Schulman, a San Francisco attorney who represented the University of California system.

“We’re really pleased with this judgment,” said Constance Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, which advocated for that outcome. “As we said in our brief, this is really a matter of California law and California decision making. We feel that these young immigrants, who have bright futures, are being treated fairly.”

Nine other states have already adopted similar tuition laws. Similar legislation is pending in 12 additional states, including Massachusetts, according to www.finaid.org.

Objection! Take that! Hold it! Another Ace Attorney game? Why, yes indeed!

The newest addition to Capcom’s courtroom drama adventure series, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, gives gamers more of the same intriguing mysteries and logic solving gameplay. Made for the Nintendo DS, the game features Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth this time around, famous for being the unrelenting rival of the original Ace, Phoenix Wright. Unlike its predecessors, Ace Attorney features some new elements that spice up the series nicely, but the linear gameplay that fans are used to remains generally the same. You’ll miss Phoenix and the short-lived Apollo Justice at first, but Miles Edgeworth quickly gains your heart as you lead him through one strange case after another.

The main thing fans will notice in this game is the glaring absence of the courtroom. In its place, players explore crime scenes and use Miles Edgeworth’s logic ability to discover the truth. It’s actually just what the game title claims; an investigation-type game. There are many familiar faces that fans will recognize, and some really great new strange people to press in interrogations. Also, in addition to the amusing character motifs that are an Ace Attorney series staple, Capcom also uses 2D sprites that the player can mover during investigating crime scenes, which is actually a very nice addition. Gamers get to control Edgeworth through five different cases, each with a different crime with an intertwining common denominator that ties them together at the end.

Each episode works the same way; introduction, investigate, interrogate, repeat, solve. During the course of the episode, Edgeworth must make logic connections, present evidence to support his claims, and press and question witnesses and suspects. Some players may find the logic a little holey, and it most certainly is a trial-and-error process. Edgeworth is penalized for each wrong decision he presents, represented by a logic meter at the top of the screen. If the bar drains to empty, Edgeworth gets thrown off the case and the game is over. Often, much like the other games in the series, there are multiple pieces of information or evidence that would make sense to present, so the game gets frustrating at times as Edgeworth is continuously made a fool of as you choose the wrong thing. There are certainly times where the player will know right off the bat what to present and the logic is obvious, but sometimes the choice won’t even make sense until after you present it and the characters explain why it’s correct.

After playing through four other Ace Attorney games, unfortunately for Miles, this one seems a bit stale. Although the added elements certainly are fun at first, for the most part, the game is pretty much the same as the others. Quirky characters and interesting cases are still present, and the writing truly saves the game and makes you want to continue playing. However, the frustrating trial-and-error process might turn some people off, especially those who are new to the series. Naturally, we wouldn’t ask for it to be easy; discovery and figuring things out is what the game is all about, of course! But the fact remains that there are definitely some far-fetched conclusions that will throw even the most experienced Ace Attorney into a fit of rage as they continuously connect things incorrectly.

Blast factor: Capcom preserves the things that make the series great, and at least attempts to bring new life with the investigation aspects and logic meter. Needless to say, the things that make the original Ace Attorney frustrating are glaringly present in their latest offering as well. This is not to say that you won’t have a great time holding y and screaming "Objection!" as loud as you can into your DS in a crowd of people, but that players should be prepared to get a little flustered. Ace Attorney is a wonderful series, with a different style than any other games I’ve played. Give it a chance, and I’m sure most will not be disappointed.

A clerk at the Chelsea District Court was busted by the FBI this morning and charged with having sex with an accused prostitute in a courtroom in exchange for promising to help fix a charge against her, the Boston Globe reported.

James “Jim” Burke, 41, of Chelsea, was released on $10,000 bond and will be back in court March 26 for a hearing.

“It’s a perversion of the legal system and a gross abuse of power,” Assistant US Attorney Brian T. Kelly, head of the US attorney’s public corruption unit, told Globe reporter Shelley Murphy.

According to the charges, the accused prostitute was in court in December trying to get her prostitution charges dismissed when she saw Burke and told her lawyer that Burke approached her when she was in court in similar charges in 2005. She said she gave Burke oral sex in the courtroom in exchange for his help getting the case thrown out.

She, and her lawyer, went to the FBI.

The U.S. Department of Justice released the following:

Three leading electronics manufacturers “" LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. “"have agreed to plead guilty and pay a total of $585 million in criminal fines for their roles in conspiracies to fix prices in the sale of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, the Department of Justice announced. Of the $585 million in fines, LG will pay $400 million, the second highest criminal fine ever imposed by the Department’s Antitrust Division.

Today’s charges were filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The companies have agreed to cooperate with the Department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.

Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. In 2006, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was approximately $70 billion. Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracies are some of the largest computer, television and cellular telephone manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and Motorola.

“Today’s charges and criminal fines emphasize the commitment of the Department of Justice to crack down on international cartels,” said Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey.

LG Display Co. Ltd, a South Korean corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, LG Display America Inc., a California company (LG), agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy from September 2001 to June 2006 to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide. During the conspiracy, LG Display Co. Ltd. was known as LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. (a joint venture between LG Electronics and Philips Electronics) and LG Display America Inc. was known as LG.Philips LCD America Inc.

Sharp Corp., a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, has agreed to pay a $120 million fine for its participation in separate conspiracies to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell Inc. from April 2001 to December 2006 for use in computer monitors and laptops; to Motorola Inc. from fall 2005 to the middle of 2006 for use in Razr mobile phones; and to Apple Computer Inc. from September 2005 to December 2006 for use in iPod portable music players.

Chunghwa, a Taiwanese TFT-LCD panel manufacturer, has agreed to pay a $65 million fine for its participation with LG and other unnamed co-conspirators in a conspiracy from September 2001 to December 2006 to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide.

“These price-fixing conspiracies affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day,” said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division. “These convictions, and the significant fines they carry, should send a clear message that the Antitrust Division will vigorously investigate and prosecute illegal cartels, regardless of where they are located.”

LG, Sharp and Chunghwa are each charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act. Each violation carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

LG Display Co. Ltd., based in Seoul, South Korea, reported $15.3 billion in revenue for 2007.

Sharp, based in Osaka, Japan, reported $34.2 billion in revenues for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, including $6.8 billion in revenue from LCD sales.

Chunghwa, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China, reported $4.8 billion in revenue for 2007.

These pleas are the result of a joint investigation by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco. The plea agreements are subject to court approval.

Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the TFT-LCD industry is urged to call the San Francisco Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 415-436-6660.

Capcom announced recently that the highly anticipated next chapter in their courtroom drama series: Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice, will hit stores a week early.

The game will come out February 12 instead of February 19.

It is the first game in the series coming out exclusively for the Nintendo DS, and Capcom says a free flash demo will be online later this month, with a free DS WIFI demo coming soon also.

This new chapter to the Ace Attorney series will drop players into the shoes of Apollo Justice, where they’ll make use of his uncanny ability to uncover witnesses’ lies by studying their body language. But as talented as our hero is, he wouldn’t get far without the support of his assistant Trucy, a mysterious female magician. Apollo also receives invaluable advice from Kristoph Gavin, his ultra-cool mentor whose perfect logic and natural instincts have won him numerous cases and the respect of his colleagues.

Game features:

• All-new courtroom adventure from the creators of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
• 1st fully new title to be developed specifically for the Nintendo DS.
• Classic Ace Attorney gameplay with new modes that let you survey crime scenes, interview witnesses and gather evidence before defending your client in court!
• Microphone can be used to yell "Objection!" and "Hold it!" as you cross examine witnesses
• All new “Crime Recreation Mode” that allows players to reveal hidden clues by re-creating the scene of the crime
• Two distinct gameplay segments:
  • Investigation phase — survey crime scenes, interview witnesses and gather evidence that will be used in court
  • Court phase — present findings from the investigation to support your case, listen to testimonies and examine witnesses
• Diverse cast of characters:
  • Aollo Justice: the new defense attorney who leads the series.
  • Klavier Gavin: in addition to being a top prosecutor, Klavier is also the lead singer in a highly successful rock band who brings his star qualities into the courtroom.
  • Kristoph Gavin: the coolest character on the judicial circuit, and Apollo’s mentor. His cool headed thinking means he always provides his clients with the best defense.
  • Trucy : The mysterious magician Trucy started working with Apollo after a chance encounter.