Rapper C-Murder back on trial in New Orleans fatal shooting

The rapper sometimes known as C-Murder will be tried a second time on a second-degree murder charge in New Orleans. A Feb. 11 trial date for Corey Miller was set during a telephone conference with prosecutors and defense attorneys, Judge Martha Sassone said in court. Miller, 36, is accused in the shooting death of Steve Thomas, 16, at a nightclub on Jan. 12, 2002. The teen used a fake ID to get into the club. The rapper's 2003 conviction was tossed after Sassone found that prosecutors withheld criminal background information on witnesses from his attorney. The state Supreme Court upheld Sassone's ruling in March 2006, when she set $500,000 bail for Miller and ordered his house arrest. (AP)

The Force may soon be coming to a television near you. George Lucas is planning a live-action television series spinoff of the "Star Wars" film franchise. Lucas told The Los Angeles Times he has just begun work on the series, which will not include the films' major characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. "The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas told the Times. Lucas wouldn't reveal details but joked that the series would be about "the life of robots." Lucas, 63, already has another television series in the works. Lucasfilm Animation has been working for months on the computer-animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." (AP)

Key statements that Lillo Brancato Jr. made to police will not be used against him in his upcoming trial in the fatal shooting of an off-duty police officer. Prosecutors agreed not to introduce the statements because Brancato (inset), known for playing an aspiring mobster in HBO's "The Sopranos," was questioned without his lawyer, said Assistant District Attorney Theresa Gottlieb. The statements were made shortly after the December 2005 shooting of Officer Daniel Enchautegui. Brancato is alleged to have told investigators co-defendant Steven Armento shot the officer, though Brancato urged him not to. (AP)

Damon Wayans, star of ABC's long-running comedy "My Wife & Kids," will reunite with the network for another family sitcom. The untitled project is said to be edgier than "Wife" and will star Wayans as a recent widower who has to take in the 19-year-old stepson he never knew. Like "Wife," it'll be written and executive-produced by Wayans and Don Reo. (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

'I shall seek the office of the president of the United States.' Stephen Colbert, who was probably joking when he said that Tuesday night on his Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report".