A defiant Shawty Lo tells critics he's a proud, responsible father to his 11 children: During an interview with MTV News, the Atlanta-based rapper said, "I'm taking care of my kids, providing for my family." Of the 10 mothers, he said, he has problems only with one. "She has two kids by me, and she feel like I'm supposed to do more for her kids, and she don't wanna work. She just want me to straight take care of them, but it's all love. I handle it … It's a lot of fathers don't take care of one; I gotta deal with 11."
Evangelical pastor will not give the benediction at Obama's swearing-in ceremony: On Thursday the Rev. Louie Giglio announced that he would not give the benediction after a sermon he gave in the mid-1990s — during which he called for Christians to "firmly respond to the aggressive agenda" of some in the gay community and warned that widespread gay marriage "would run the risk of absolutely undermining the whole order of our society" — came to light, the Washington Post reports.
The outspoken Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) hits the president on diversity at the White House: The longtime congressman on Thursday called it "embarrassing as hell" that President Obama is being criticized for a lack of diversity among his cabinet appointees, Politico reports. After the New York Times ran a photo of Obama meeting in the Oval Office with senior advisers, the vast majority of them white men, the White House responded by releasing its own photo, which showed a much more diverse crowd of Obama's top advisers.
The actor who played doorman Ralph Hart on The Jeffersons has died: Ned Wertimer, 89, who passed away on Jan. 2 after falling in his home, appeared in a variety of classic TV series, including Mork and Mindy, WKRP in Cincinnati and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He was perhaps best known, however, for his role on The Jeffersons.