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By United Press International
Justin Bieber performs in concert on his Believe tour at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on January 26, 2013. UPI/Michael Bush
Justin Bieber performs in concert on his Believe tour at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on January 26, 2013. UPI/Michael Bush | License Photo

The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...

JUSTIN BIEBER: Audiotape of phone calls made from a New Mexico prison that pertain to a plot to abduct and kill pop singer Justin Bieber were released, police said.

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Police said Dana Martin, an inmate in a prison near Las Cruces who is incarcerated for the murder and rape of a 15-year-old girl, devised the murder plot, KOAT-TV in Albuquerque reported Tuesday. It wasn't reported why Martin wanted the 18-year-old Canadian singer dead.

Martin told a former inmate friend, Mark Staake and Staake's nephew, Tanner Ruane, to carry it out the crime, the TV station reported.

"He's going use one of the things you gave him, and then he's going to take care of it. We went and bought the hedge clippers. You're going to give me 5 large [$5,000] for each one I get."

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Ruane said in a taped conversation with Martin.

Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility officials said "take care of it" means to murder, and the reference to the hedge clippers meant the men planned to use them to castrate Bieber and his bodyguard in New York City.

Martin also allegedly told the other two to suffocate Bieber and his guard with a paisley scarf -- apparently a signature move of Martin's.

"Tie it really tight, and that cuts off all the oxygen, and then tie it in the back again, really tight. That seals the deal," Martin said.

Staake and Ruane were arrested by border patrol agents after they apparently became lost and went into Canada.

The alleged conspirators face multiple charges.


LOU MYERS: West Virginia-born actor Lou Myers, who played Mr. Gaines on U.S. sitcom "A Different World," died in Charleston Tuesday at the age of 67.

Myers appeared in 1998's "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and 2001's "The Wedding Planner" and was an accomplished piano player.

Myers worked to improve the image of his home state, the Charleston Gazette said. He graduated from West Virginia State University and returned to the university in 2010 to give the Black History Month convocation.

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He got his first acting break as an understudy in "The First Breeze of Summer" on Broadway and appeared on TV shows "ER," "NYPD Blue" and "JAG."

He won an NAACP Image Award for his performance as the Stool Pigeon in August Wilson's "King Hedley II."

Myers was counted among 50 "Outstanding Creative Artists" from the State of West Virginia by the Appalachian Education Initiative in 2005.


JANE LYNCH: "Glee" star Jane Lynch is to make her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in the musical "Annie," producers said.

The Emmy Award-winning actress, whose voice can now be heard in the animated alien film "Escape from Planet Earth," will replace actress Katie Finneran in the role of Miss Hannigan in "Annie," starting May 16.

Finneran is leaving the show to begin work on a new NBC sitcom starring Michael J. Fox.

Lynch's 8-week run in "Annie" will wrap July 14.

"Some may say I know a thing or two about playing intimidating authority figures," Lynch said in a statement Wednesday, referring to the tough-as-nails cheerleading coach she plays on "Glee."

"So I am excited and honored to be making my Broadway debut with the wonderful 'Annie' company at the Palace Theatre and joining the pantheon of women who have taken on the great and irresistible role of wicked Miss Hannigan."

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"I am forever indebted to the creative team and producers of 'Annie'. They made a dream come true for me by giving me the chance to play Miss Hannigan on Broadway. And now they have been unbelievably generous in recognizing what a unique opportunity this television series is for my family and me," Finneran said. "I am so grateful to them for making it possible for me to begin filming the series this summer and I can't wait to come back and see the goddess Jane Lynch bring down the house at the Palace."


SCARLETT JOHANSSON: Scarlett Johansson's publicist says the U.S. actress is not engaged to Romain Dauriac, the French journalist she has been dating.

People.com said wedding-bell buzz began after the "Hitchcock" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" star was seen wearing a pear-shaped diamond ring in New York Monday.

"Scarlett is absolutely not engaged," her publicist told People.com Wednesday.

Johansson was married to actor Ryan Reynolds for two years before they divorced in 2010.

Reynolds has since married actress Blake Lively.

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