As journalists charge Gov. Rick Perry and the federal government with restricting access to the areas damaged the most by Hurricane Ike, reports have come in that Galveston might not be ready for habitation for months and shelters in Houston are having trouble feeding everyone in a timely fashion (one shelter fielded 10,000 requests for food and water just yesterday). But as hectic and tragic as things are in the Texas Coast, there is a severe humanitarian crisis in Haiti and Cuba, both of which Ike tore through before it made it's way to the U.S. Over the weekend, Matt Damon and Wyclef Jean lent their money and time in Haiti, where 500 people have died. They hope to raise $100 million dollars. “I wish there was a word in the dictionary,” Jean told the New York Times. “No human should be living like this.”

NO REJECTING AND DENOUNCING FOR WYCLEF In addition to guest appearances by Paul Simon and Norah Jones, Wyclef Jean's new album features some violin-playing from Louis Farrakhan. There goes Wyclef's chance of ever becoming president.

BLESS THE CHILD Details concerning where or when are fuzzy, but rumor has it Lauryn Hill has given birth to her 5th child — a baby girl — recently. Hill was briefly in the news last year after she launched her much-anticipated tour, during which she was accused of looking strangely and acting erratically. With Wyclef telling anyone who will listen that the woman is bipolar, I'm starting to think that she might be the lower-profile, earthier, black version of Britney Spears. And that's unfortunate.

Knowing what I know, I might be hesitant to enter into a contract with Michael Jackson that requires him to pay me money. But that's just me. Wyclef's more trusting.

After being asked if he was jealous of Akon and Will.I.Am, who have recently recorded with Michael Jackson, ‘Clef revealed his thoughts to Kim Halling of The Voice TV.

"I was in the studio with Mike. Michael owes me money. Mike holla at me. You know the money that you owe me. You know what it is," Wyclef said into the camera.

Wyclef might not have read the news for the past couple of years. He should consider cutting his losses.

Just a few days after Marion Jones' six-month prison sentence for steroid use and fraud, a drug scandal playing out in Albany, N.Y. The district attorney there is on a mission to arrest doctors and pharmacists suspected of distributing steroids. The DA accuses a whole roster of celebrities, including Mary J. Blige, of getting performance-enhancing drugs from the targeted doctors. Interestingly, they're all black. Blige was the first to deny involvement. From the NY Daily News:

"Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids," the singer's spokeswoman Karynne Tencer told the Daily News.

The R&B singer leads a roster of entertainers named in a probe by Albany County District Attorney David Soares, the Times Union reported.

Rappers 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean and actor Tyler Perry also allegedly ordered steroids or human growth hormone from doctors and pharmacists targeted in Soares' investigation, according to the paper.

Authorities have uncovered no evidence the celebrities violated any drug laws.

I don't know about Mary, Wyclef, or Tyler Perry, but the fact that Timbaland and 50 Cent's names have come up in a steroid probe is no surprise.

Tyra Banks has a nice look of calmness and serenity about her when barely legal male pop stars aren't whipping her up into a hormonal frenzy, doesn't she? Ever the do-gooder, Tyra Banks attended last night's gala in honor of CNN's "real heroes," ordinary people — read: not Angelina Jolie or Bill Clinton — who do extraordinary things to help others. Read about them and see more pics from the event after the jump.

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Wyclef can't stop talking about crazy Lauryn Hill is. He recently went on the radio to explain things we already knew — that they were once in a relationship and that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was largely about him — and things we might not know, that it's likely bipolar disorder that causes her bizarre behavior. Whatever, the point is that Wyclef can't stop talking about how crazy Lauryn Hill is! This is either because he feels he doesn't have much else to offer in an interview or because interviewers sort of only care about what he has to say about Lauryn Hill. Either way, it's pretty depressing. [EUR]

Why did I choose Kelly Rowland as the lead photograph for this post about the MTV Europe Movie Awards in Munich last night? Because everyone, even young ladies who will go down in history for playing second fiddle to a bigger, more talented star, deserve their time in the spotlight. More pics after the jump.

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T.I. might have disappointed thousands of young, impressionable fans when he was napped over a week ago illegally purchasing machine guns, but there's at least one person whose feelings about him remain as strong as ever. That person is Wyclef Jean. Here are his words.

"We definitely clicked in the studio," Wyclef said. "I vouch for the kid in the sense that I think he was one of the smartest rising stars in not [just] the music industry, but the world. I watched him on 'Hip-Hop vs. America,' and I saw the way he was talking just like Malcolm X. The conversation started getting deeper and deeper. And I think he has influence. When he speaks, it moves a whole generation."

T.I. really reminds you of the venerable Malcolm X, Wycelf? More like Detroit Red.

[MTV]

Al Sharpton had a birthday party in NYC last night, and an odd assortment — Wendy Williams, former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, and Wyclef — came out in support. But here's the thing: Al Sharpton is only 53 years old! Meaning he's just three years older than Russell Simmons! Meaning that while Jesse Jackson stood on the balcony when Martin Luther King, Jr., got shot, Al Sharpton was in the 9th grade!

Why does he look old enough to be my grandfather? The stress being loved by a few and reviled by many?