President Barack Obama has signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law on Tuesday after a grueling and long debate between Democrats & Republicans on whether the bill should be passable to revive our crumbling economy.

Before signing the bill, the President quickly reassured Americans of the long road ahead to better economic times and that of course this package would not quickly solve all of our problems.

Today does not mark the end of our economic troubles,” Obama said before signing the bill at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. “But it does mark the beginning of the end – the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs; to provide relief for families worried they won’t be able to pay next month’s bills; and to set our economy on a firmer foundation.

In case some readers aren’t in the loop with what this plan consists of  and would like to read the full outline of the stimulus plan, they can visit U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations and/or the  Library of Congress to read this bill.

With the recovery package signed, Obama is now putting his attention on the housing market. He will travel to Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday to reveal his $50 billion foreclosure prevention program to help homeowners who are struggling to keep their homes.  Phoenix is one of the cities that has been hit the hardest according to foreclosure numbers. There hasn’t been many details given according to this program, however officials are looking to lend a hand to homeowners who are in danger of defaulting on their mortgages and for those who find themselves unable to keep up with the payments.

Arizona native and singer Jordin Sparks, who holds the title of youngest American Idol winner in history, performed the National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) during the opening ceremonies of the 2009 NBA All-Star game, which was held in Phoenix, Arizona this past Sunday. Check her amazing rendition of the popular song above!

Music legend Stevie Wonder will receive a huge honorary award (The Library of Congress Award) next Wednesday, February 25th 2009. President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama will present the award to Wonder.

The White House says the president and first lady will present Wonder a Library of Congress award on Feb. 25. The concert will be broadcast the next day on PBS as part of its “Performance at the White House” series. The award-winning Motown legend performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on the night Obama accepted his party’s nomination. He also sang at a concert during the week of Obama’s inauguration. His song “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” and “Higher Ground” were used as theme songs during Obama’s campaign stops.

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Singer Keri Hilson performed at the Pastry Fashion Concert, hosted by Pastry creators (and sisters) Vanessa and Angela Simmons. This concert/fashion show was to celebrate the debut of Pastry’s handbag and apparel line. Continue reading for more pics!

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Rihanna’s father, Ronald Fenty (a salesman and freelance clothing designer in Barbados), told People.com that is daughter is doing fine back at home and spending time with her girlfriends while she heals.

Ronald Fenty said that when he first heard that his daughter had been attacked by Chris Brown, he didn’t believe it. “I know my daughter,” said Fenty, 55. As for Brown, he said, “You think you know somebody, but you really don’t.” Brown, 19, allegedly attacked Rihanna, 20, in Los Angeles last Sunday. He was arrested and may face charges from the district attorney. Describing Rihanna’s current condition after seeing her on Thursday, Fenty said, “There is some bruising. She will be all right. I think so.”

He adds, “At some point, she will speak out. I hope she will stand up for women all over the world.” Fenty, a salesman and freelance clothing designer, said Rihanna is spending time with girlfriends while she heals. While Fenty said he wouldn’t tell his daughter what to do, he did say, “If it were me, I’d move on.”

The last time Fenty had seen Rihanna and Brown together was in July. “They seemed pretty happy,” he recalls. “I don’t know what went wrong.”

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We wouldn’t go as far as saying that Jay-Z was the man who was single-handedly responsible for Rihanna’s rapid shoot to stardom, but he did play a major role in her career, and has thusfar. When asked for words of support for Rihanna at his Two Kings dinner:

“This is a real situation,” he said in Phoenix at the Sprite Green presents the Third Annual Two Kings dinner with Jay-Z and Lebron James, as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend. “You have to have compassion for others. Just imagine it being your sister or mom and then think about how we should talk about that,” the hip-hop mogul, 39, continued. “I just think we should all support her. She’s going through a tough time. You have to realize she’s a young girl, as well. She’s very young.”

Asked if he’d seen Rihanna, Jay-Z replied, “I don’t want to go into it.”

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Even though a person in Jay-Z’s camp claims he said something to the tune of: “Chris Brown done f****d up now, he better watch his back” this is Jay’s first time actually speaking out in public about the incident.

Check out this hilarious video of your boy Shaquille O’Neal pop-locking and dancing with the JabbaWockeeZ at the 2009 NBA All-Star game. He knows he’s too damn big for all that lol!

As we reported a week ago, female rapper Lil Kim will be one of the contestants on the upcoming season of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” We always have jokes about how bad Kim looks when she’s seen out in the public but here (rehearsing with her partner Derek Hough) she doesn’t look too bad. We still miss the old Kim (google her) though. Props to Crunk & Disorderly for the pics! How long do you guys think Kim will last on the show?

Jay-Z and his Rocawear clothing line hosted the Rocawear Retreat party and concert in Scottsdale, Arizona after Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game nearby in Phoenix. T.I. performed at the concert, rocking threads from his Akoo clothing line, and Beyonce and Young Jeezy chilled VIP style at the party.

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After all of the parties, eventes, dinners, tournaments, etc. comes the real game; when the NBA is divided in half (The West vs. The East) and they go head-to-head to see which region is the best. The 2009 NBA All-Star game ended with The West taking the title as champions, with a final score of 146 to 119. Check out photos of Beyonce, Jay-Z, T.I., Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Chris Tucker and more sitting courtside enjoying the game when you continue reading. We also have photos of John Legend (performing halftime) and Jordin Sparks (performing the National Anthem) down there too.

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