• Brandy's big comeback is making her emotional. [CL]

• Thieves in Kenya are harassing Barack Obama's poor grandmother. [EUR]

• Laila Ali gave birth to a boy, Curtis Muhammad Conway, on August 26th. [AP]

• Planned Parenthood says what Barack Obama can't (or won't.) [HP]

• Oprah Winfrey gives away more money in one year than most people hope to make in a lifetime. [SP]

Brandy and Monica are both coming out with new music these days, but people are obviously not checking for the one-named singers like they were when they they released "The Boy Is Mine" 10 years ago.

• Ne-yo tries to make himself feel better about a sure-to-be terrible song he made with Lindsay Lohan. [MG]

• Now that Mariah Carey has a new man in her life, maybe she could also get a new stylist and hairdresser? [SR]

• Madonna and David Banda will officially be together forever. [PH]

• If it didn't seem like Usher's TRL rant last night was in defense of himself instead of in defense of his wife, it would be sort of sweet. [NB]

• What does Brandy think of Ray J, I wonder? [C&D]

Last night, the CNN, LA Times, Politico debate was held in the Kodak theater — the same place as the Oscars — and, fittingly, the stars came out to support the candidates. Kerry Washington and Brandy, who are on Team Obama, posed together on the red carpet. Kerry Washington always looks like she's best friends with the everyone she photographs with. Is this just because she's a popular girl or is she the type to just be extra friendly with everyone she comes across? But, ummm, I digress…

Back to the debate. Every political journalist/pundit is touting last night's historic (it's important to always refer to it as historic) debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as a lovefest compared to their vitriolic meeting in Myrtle Beach. The candidates outlined their differences — in health care plans, Iraq, and immigration reform — with civility, saving most of their criticism for the GOP and frequently complimenting each other. This photo and story say it all.

More pics from the debate "red carpet" after the jump.

CONTINUED »

BRANDY'S HAPPY NEW YEAR The LA City Attorney has decided not to file charges against Brandy for the fatal car crash she was involved in a year ago. The statute of limitations expires at the end of the day today, and, according to TMZ, the decision not to file charges comes after a lot of in-fighting in the City Attorney's office. Ray J has officially gone back to being the blackest sheep in the Norwood family.

The statute of limitations is almost up in Brandy's car crash saga, and it's looking less and less likely the LAPD will press any charges as a result of last December's fatal car crash. Police sources say Awatef Aboudihaj, the woman who died in the crash (and whose family members have steadily tried to sue Brandy for everything she has), hit the car in front of her before Brandy car collided with hers and that she had traces of marijuana in her system.

Police have until Friday to decide whether to press charges, but sources say that manslaughter would be difficult-to-impossible to prove in this care. Sounds like Brandy might get a pass for the holidays. [TMZ]

• Have a video camera? Know how to upload video to YouTube? Maybe one day Dr. Pepper will give you a contract, too. [C&D]

• Knowing BET, they'll probably mess this up, too. [EUR]

• If Brandy isn't charged for the fatal car accident she caused last year by December 30th, the first anniversary mark, then she's home free. [TMZ]

• Remember how Kim Kardashian got robbed at the airport? It turns out she was just lying. C'est la vie. [MG]

• I wonder if there really is someone out there who won't vote for Barack Obama because he has big ears. [Time]

• How could you not love Jennifer Hudson after this:

“I have the height of a model, the breasts that people pay for and the lips that everybody wants, so why should I change?” the 26-year-old Oscar-winner asked at the Oct. 30 Avon Foundation Gala in NYC. “I wouldn’t change myself for anything or anybody. That will never happen.”

[OK]

• Of course Al Sharpton is open to a meeting with Dog the Bounty Hunter. [People]

• For all of you Vanessa Simmons fans. [C&D]

• And they wonder why there are no black people in San Francisco. [EaterSF]

• Brandy's trying to make it happen post-scandal. [CL]

Between the PR-disaster that was her almost year-old fatal car accident and her complete embarrassment-to-the family brother, Ray J, Brandy is in desperate need of some good news. Will it come in the form of her new album?

"I've just got to get that album out," the pop star tells PEOPLE. "I have to get it out, if it's the last thing I do."

Brandy's album, which does not currently have a title, would be her fifth studio album, and the first since 2004's critically well-received Afrodisiac.

"I've been gone for a long time," says the 28-year-old R&B singer-actress, who spoke to PEOPLE at the recent Christian Audigier fashion show at L.A. Fashion Week. "I really want to give the fans something that they deserve to have. So, I'm working really hard on this. I really want to make it the best work I've done so far."

It probably needs to be the best work she's done so far, if she really wants a comeback. Or she could just make a sex tape — that seems to work nicely at getting one's name out there.

[People]

John Singleton pulled a Brandy last Thursday night, if pulling a Brandy means accidentally killing someone with your car. The director wasn't speeding nor under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the accident — making any in-poor-taste Fast and the Furious jokes impossible — which occurred when a 57-year-old woman suddenly stepped in front of Singleton's Lexus SUV. It was ruled by police as an unfortunate accident, but we'll see what the judge says when the inevitable wrongful death suits come rolling in.

[TMZ]

• Thandie Newton, who is still pretty damn thin, says that she has battled with bulimia in the past. [People]

• Why it sounds more realistic for many black Atlanta residents to think that Michael Vick is being targeted for his race than his alleged crimes. [ESPN]

• Madonna might have some problems with the Malawi government and her toddler son, David. [MG]

• After last week's media frenzy, I don't want to hear from Usher. I don't want to see Usher. And I definitely don't want to smell Usher. [C&D]

• Brandy may or may not be prosecuted for the fatal car crash she was involved in last year. [Bossip]

There are so many things wrong with this picture, not the least of which is that Brandy is stuck being third wheel to her porn star-wannabe brother and his older, plastic-surgeried, ex-con lover. How much does Brandy's life suck right now?

Maybe she's smiling through it all because she is supposedly back with her ex-fiance, New York Knick Quentin Richardson. His camp says no, but for Miss Norwood's sake, I hope it's really a yes.

[BF, EUR]

I think it's really rude to fire a woman for calling two black employees "jungle bunnies" when swears she didn't know it was offensive. [RR]

Brandy's E! True Hollywood Story premieres tomorrow at 6pm. It will probably be pretty boring until the last 10 minutes. [CL]

To make matters less interesting, Brandy and Tyrese are not getting married. Did anyone ever believe they were? [C&D]

Now that I know Morgan Freeman is playing Nelson Mandela in a new movie, I can't picture another American actor playing the role. Although Angelina Jolie would probably audition. [Variety]

Diddy's lashing out over false media reports that he dropped Cassie from Bad Boy. With a voice like that, he could never let her go! [SP]

Dear Brandy,
There have been a few minor missteps in our past, like when you pretended to be married to the father of your baby for the purposes of an MTV reality show and to protect your reputation, but other than that I feel like your life has been pretty uneventful, in terms of bad press. For a child star, that's all we can really ask for, isn't it? I mean, compared to your wannabe porn star brother, you are a saint. Look at what a lifetime in the spotlight has done to Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. You have avoided crotch-flashes and rehab thus far, and for that I commend you. Unfortunately, you have been unable to avoid a fatal car crash, which may or may not be your fault.

CONTINUED »

Tired of being sued for her involvement in a fatal car accident last year, Brandy filed a court document to say she denies every wrongful death accusation leveled against her. This hasn't stopped yet another shameful opportunist/victim from trying to get more money out of the singer, who surely does not have anywhere near the amount of cash her opponents think is owed to them.

Three wrongful death suits have been filed, one by Aboudihaj's parents, one representing the deceased's two children, and, earlier this month, one by Aboudihaj's husband, Maroune Hdidou, for the loss of "support, maintenance, solace, moral support, companionship and comfort" that his "faithful and dutiful" spouse provided him.

"This answering defendant specifically denies each and every allegation in the complaint and further denies that plaintiffs have been damaged in any sum or sums whatsoever," read court papers obtained by E! Online.

In the filing, Brandy asserts her Fifth Amendment privilege to not incriminate herself and requests a jury trial.

Notorious stage mom Sonja Norwood has got to be looking at Brandy's situation, not to mention her amateur porn star son's, and thinking that maybe the spotlight isn't the greatest place to thrust your kids at such a young age.

[E!]