Entertainment News Roundup: Tik Tok signs music distribution deal; French theme park sparks outcry by skirting COVID and more

Two charged with 2002 New York murder 'in cold blood' of rapper Jam Master Jay Rapper Jam Master Jay, one of the founder members of the Run-DMC, was murdered in 2002 "in cold blood" as part of a dispute over a drugs deal, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

TikTok signs music distribution deal with UnitedMasters

TikTok is partnering with U.S. music distribution company UnitedMasters, a deal that will allow creators on the Chinese video sharing app to directly distribute their music to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The move comes days after President Donald Trump ordered TikTok's parent ByteDance to divest the U.S. operations of the video app within 90 days, ramping up pressure on the Chinese company over concerns about the safety of the personal data it handles.

French theme park sparks outcry by skirting COVID-19 crowd limits

A French theme park has caused an outcry by staging a show attended by 9,000 people, skirting a legal limit on gatherings of over 5,000 imposed to help curb the spread of coronavirus. Puy du Fou, which organizes re-enactments of French historical events, was permitted to fill 9,000 of its 13,000 seats on Saturday by arranging its open-air stands into three separate blocks divided by Plexiglas screens.

Two charged with 2002 New York murder 'in cold blood' of rapper Jam Master Jay

Rapper Jam Master Jay, one of the founder members of the Run-DMC, was murdered in 2002 "in cold blood" as part of a dispute over a drugs deal, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday. They announced that two men had been charged with his murder, bringing to a close the attempt to solve one of the biggest unsolved killings in the world of rap.

Lights, camera, not much action: Hollywood slow to restart in a pandemic

As home-bound audiences eagerly await new programming during the coronavirus pandemic, Hollywood has been slow to get cameras rolling again, even with quarantined sets and innovations such as love scenes using mannequins. Only a fraction of movie and TV productions have resumed filming in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States, where coronavirus cases are rising. Actors and crew members are unsure when projects might resume, and some expect they will not return to work until 2021.

Independent counsel faults Chicago prosecutor's dismissal of Jussie Smollett case

A court-appointed independent counsel on Monday found Chicago prosecutors abused their discretion and may have violated legal ethics by dropping charges that former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett falsely reported he was attacked. The allegations are the latest twist in a dizzying swirl of claims and counter-claims in the case that began in January 2019 when Smollett, who is black and openly gay, told police he was accosted on a darkened street in a hate crime by two masked strangers.