Tyler Perry has, for the first time, revealed graphic details about the sexual, physical and emotional abuse he says he suffered as a child. Perry recounts in a message posted on his Web site that screening the film "Precious" dislodged "some raw emotions and brought me to some things and places in my life that I needed to deal with but had long forgotten. It brought back memories so strong that I can smell and taste them." Perry is an ...

There's nothing funny about Tyler Perry's latest work: a revealing account of the horrific abuse he suffered as a child. "I always thought I would die before I grew up," the comedian writes in an uncharacteristically somber letter to fans on his Web site. After watching a screening of the lauded movie "Precious," about a 16-year-old girl who is physically and emotionally abused, the New Orleans native, 40, best known for his comic Madea character, reveals a flood of memories ...

Marylisa Miller has spent much of her two decades as an Army wife bracing for the worst. But now the pressure is higher, as both her husband and their 20-year-old son are serving together in Afghanistan. It's rare, but not unheard of: Sgt. 1st Class Martin Miller and his son Pfc. Martin Miller have deployed as part of the same squadron of about 500 soldiers. Their brigade -- based at North Carolina's Fort Bragg -- is among the ...

"The greatest expectations were placed upon Ted Kennedy's shoulders because of who he was," observed President Barack Obama in his eulogy, "but he surpassed them all because of who he became." Thus did a sitting President honor the man who never became one, acknowledging that power is wielded in many ways. It was fitting that, in a church famous for its healing miracles, the funeral service was a celebration of private love, for the scarred and broken ...

He is iconic, there's no doubt. With the elegant suit and tie, the impeccable grooming, the tan (Did I mention the tan), George Hamilton is still a charmer, and he comes across like a born bon vivant. Sure, his acting may have taken a backseat to his bronzed visage years ago, but what did happen to him years ago Well, there's a story there, one now coming to the big screen. Hamilton's formative years are loosely depicted in ...

A Malaysian model, who was set to become the first woman to be caned in the southeast Asian country for drinking beer in public, was inexplicably spared her sentence Monday, her father said. Authorities had picked up Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, from her father's house Monday morning and were taking her to a prison in the eastern state of Pahang when the car turned around and brought her back. "They sent her back to the house. They said the ...

A man who was obsessed with the Columbine High School massacre was found guilty of murder Friday and sentenced to life without parole for gunning down his father before opening fire at a North Carolina high school three years ago. Alvaro Castillo, 21, has been medicated during the trial and showed little reaction as the first verdict was read -- guilty of the first-degree murder of his father. He also was convicted of multiple assault and weapons offenses in ...

The son of a Florida couple known for adopting special-needs children was in his parents' room when they were slain in a home invasion last month, according to documents released by prosecutors. A nurse who works with special-needs children interviewed the boy, who has autism and speech issues, regarding the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The nurse told police that the child said "two bad men" were wearing black masks when they knocked on the door. They woke Byrd ...

Luci Baines Johnson was just 16 years old when she approached her father, President Johnson, with what she considered a reasonable request. "I asked my father if we could have the Beatles come to play at the White House," she recalled. "I was very excited about it." His response A decisive no, "without even any moment of trying to soften the blow," Johnson said in a recent phone interview. The president thought the move would be viewed as self-serving. His ...

Ailing "Great Train Robber" Ronnie Biggs -- one of the most notorious British criminals of recent decades -- was due to be formally released from prison to his death bed Friday after being granted his freedom on compassionate grounds. Biggs, who is gravely ill with severe pneumonia, is already being treated at a hospital in Norwich, eastern England, where he was moved on Tuesday. Three prison staff assigned to Biggs' bedside will be withdrawn Friday following UK Justice Minister Jack ...