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The puppeteer who gave Sesame Street's Elmo his voice allegedly threw a crystal meth sex party for a teenage boy in 2004, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week. Sheldon Stephens, now 24, is the fourth man to sue Kevin Clash, but he was the first one to publicly claim he had a sexual relationship with him as a teen. Stephens' lawsuit is "meritless and barred by the statute of limitations," Clash lawyer Michael Berger told CNN Tuesday. "Mr. Clash continues to deny any wrongdoing, and we intend to defend this case forcefully." (...) "I am a gay man,"...

<p>A fourth accuser is coming forward to claim he engaged in underage sex with former "Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash.</p> <p>On Monday, Florida-based attorney Jeff Herman filed his third lawsuit alleging that Clash, now 52, engaged in sex with minors. Herman also has filed suits on behalf of two of the previous three accusers.</p>

— Columbia University has a “director of the center for gender and sexuality law” by the name of Katherine Franke who is considered an authority on sexual matters by The New York Times. Her position seems to be that recent scandals in the news are not really scandalous, except in terms of being sensationalized and overblown by the media. She told the paper that Kevin Clash and David Petraeus were victims of a “sex panic” when they resigned from their respective positions. The Times story written by Elizabeth Jensen and Brian Stelter is noteworthy for the claim that Clash, the...

"Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash has been hit with another lawsuit over allegations he carried out a sex act on an underage boy, according to the New York Daily News. The man behind the beloved character Elmo became embroiled in a sex scandal earlier this month after he was accused of having relations with a 16-year-old male seven years ago, when Clash was 45. The allegations were subsequently recanted, but a second man, Cecil Singleton, claimed he had a sexual phone chat with the star in 1993 when he was only 15, and he sued Clash for $5 million. The...

Henry Winkler of "Happy Days" fame is considered one of the nicest people in Hollywood. You don't hear any horror stories about his on-set behavior, and he's managed to leave the iconic Fonzie character behind to play supporting roles in projects like "Arrested Development" and "Here Comes the Boom." Winkler's reaction to puppeteer Kevin Clash resigning from "Sesame Street" amid allegations the puppeteer engaged in sexual acts with minors hardly seemed in character. In fact, Winkler's comment is downright ugly. No one is disputing Clash's talents. Just watch last year's documentary "Being Elmo" to marvel at his many gifts. But...

In the south African nation of Namibia, a bizarre muppet-like beast has been shot and killed. Unlike its distant relatives — the abominable snowman, bigfoot, and the chupacabra — this one has been caught on film. Locals in Namibia were escorting a shooting party through the country when they found the body of the strange muppet-like beast, and they picked it up and brought it back to the town with them, according to the Telegraph. Witnesses to the event said that locals saw the creature scavenging for food. One member of the shooting party shot and wounded the beast, and...

A second man has come forward saying he had sex with Kevin Clash, the voice of “Sesame Street” character Elmo, when the accuser was a teenage minor, according to a report. -snip- Cecil Singleton, who is now in his 30s, said he and Clash hooked up on a gay phone sex line in 1993 when he was 15 and the muppeteer was 32, according to a new $5 million lawsuit reported by TMZ. Singleton said Clash “trolled” phone sex lines to meet boys and wooed him with gifts of cash and fancy dinners, the lawsuit said, according to TMZ. Clash...

NEW YORK (AP) — Sesame Workshop says Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from "Sesame Street" in the wake of allegations that he had sex with an under-aged youth. Last week a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy, a charge Clash denied.

The man who accused Elmo’s puppeteer of sexual misconduct reportedly wants to recant his recantation. Sheldon Stephens, 24, last week withdrew sensational claims that, as an underage teen, he had a wild fling with Kevin Clash, the voice behind the beloved Muppet Elmo. Now Stephens is interviewing lawyers in hopes of ripping up the $125,000 deal he reached with Clash, 52, to deny there was any illegal sex, according to TMZ. (snip)

Via Twitchy Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) The man who accused Kevin Clash (Elmo) of underage sexual conduct has RECANTED. His lawyer now says it was "adult consensual relationship." Kevin Clash statement: "I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further." Now: will every media outlet that wrote long stories about Elmo yesterday write equally long stories today?

The case of Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash is, as sex scandals sometimes are, poised on the cusp of legally actionable and none of our damn business. (See also Petraeus, David, et al.) Clash, 52, acknowledges having had a relationship with a young man, now 24, while he was over the age of consent. His accuser says it began when he was 16. Clash has taken a leave of absence from Sesame Street while responding to the allegation. If his lover was under the age of consent, that’s a matter for the law. If he was over—whatever you personally think of...

The man who voices the puppet of Elmo on Sesame Street has taken leave amid allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Kevin Clash, 52, has taken a leave of absence from the popular children's show after the programme's lawyers were contacted by a 23-year-old man who claims he had a sexual relationship with the puppeteer seven years ago, when he was aged 16. TMZ, who reported the allegations, said that Mr Clash had admitted he had a relationship with the man, but only after the accuser was an adult and said the accusations were both false...

The man who voices the puppet of Elmo on Sesame Street has taken leave amid allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Kevin Clash, 52, has taken a leave of absence from the popular children's show after the programme's lawyers were contacted by a 23-year-old man who claims he had a sexual relationship with the puppeteer seven years ago, when he was aged 16. TMZ, who reported the allegations, said that Mr Clash had admitted he had a relationship with the man, but only after the accuser was an adult and said the accusations were both false...

The man who voices beloved children’s character “Elmo” took a leave of absence, after he was accused of having an affair with an underaged boy, Sesame Street officials said today. The allegations against Kevin Clash, 52, go back seven years and the puppeteer said he needed a break from work to fight the allegations.

SAN FRANCISCO – O.J. Simpson jokes are apparently now fair game in presidential politics. President Obama invoked the former NFL star acquitted of murder Monday night during a fundraiser here during a riff about Sesame Street characters on the run from Mitt Romney seeking to cut federal funding from public broadcasting. “Elmo has been seen in a white Suburban,” Obama said. “He’s driving for the border.” Simpson, of course, traveled in a white Ford Bronco, not a Chevrolet Suburban, during his infamous 1994 low-speed chase through Los Angeles.

Elmo imposter hassles tourists for money and gets booted from Central Park Zoo Man dressed up as furry Sesame Street Muppet gets taken away on ambulance An Elmo imposter who has hassled tourists for money for years was taken away from Central Park in an ambulance Sunday afternoon after cops got a call about an emotionally disturbed person. “Elmo” began yelling obscenities when security guards booted him from Central Park Zoo for pestering tourists to pay him to pose for pictures. An emotionally disturbed man dressed as Elmo is taken away by ambulance after hassling tourists for money and shouting...

Elmo, Internet Czar & FCC Work to Redistribute Wealth With Free Broadband (VIDEO)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that House Republicans want to strip government funding of PBS because they have a "vendetta against Elmo." Boxer made the comments during a floor speech where she made the case for her bill that would ensure that the president and lawmakers are not paid if a government shutdown occurs. Boxer said that the cost of four hours of the Iraq war would be enough to keep PBS funded — and the popular fire-red children's character on the air. Boxer believes that the GOP has more than just a vendetta against Elmo. She added that...

Yes, these are the Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Elmo, Rosita and cousin Jesse at a joint event at the Pentagon. Sesame Street had a great initiative producing materials in support for the veteran’s families with young children coping with the death of a parent. The creative team addressed the issue tastefully and hopefully the children who need support in very difficult times will feel that people around understand them – even Elmo and his friends do. Let me make it clear: I like...

This is the Lund Variable Velocity Weapons System, a combustion-powered rifle that can both kill or stun an enemy. It was developed by the creators of Honey My Baby Pony and Tickle Me Elmo dolls for the Pentagon. No kidding. Lund—a company specialized in creating toys—started to work with the Pentagon under the Small Business Innovation Research funds, following the military's objective to develop a non-lethal weapons arsenal. To achieve its double-function, the LVVWS works at two different speeds. By clicking a switch, the weapon goes from one mode to the other. To make is safer, it also has...

The First Lady will help kick off the 40th year of "Sesame Street" with an appearance on the Nov. 10 season premiere, PBS announced Tuesday. Michelle Obama will bring with her a message touting the importance of planting gardens and healthy eating. She'll teach children how to plant tomato, cucumber and lettuce seeds as part of the show's new two-year science initiative called "My World is Green & Growing." "All these seeds need to grow are sun, soil and water. If you eat these healthy foods, you're going to grow up to be big and strong, like me," Obama tells...

Three agencies are teaming up with Sesame Street to prepare school children for the new threat of the H1N1 virus. The White House announced Tuesday morning that the Homeland Security, Education, and Health and Human Services departments are enlisting the help of Elmo and Gordon from the long-running educational show to teach children how to avoid H1N1, also know as the swine flu. President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with the secretaries of those three agencies and other administration officials later Tuesday afternoon to discuss the threat. Elmo, Gordon, the Sesame Workshop and the federal agencies will try to...

The Obama administration has recruited yet another Sesame Street character to help push a policy initiative, this time new efforts to raise awareness about children's health and safety. In an obvious snub at Miss Piggy, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appeared earlier today with Elmo to launch a new public service announcement designed to encourage families with young children to protect themselves from swine flu. HHS will team up with Sesame Workshop and the Ad Council, which will distribute the PSAs to television stations nationwide. Elmo will appear with Sesame Street character Gordon to instructing children to wash...

If the recession has been as hard on Madison Avenue as on other sectors, a lot of marketing types are probably free to watch daytime TV. And if marketing’s your game, that’s time well-spent. You can surf the kiddy shows and learn from the true masters of your art: environmentalists. Their latest coup? Elmo, the most popular character on PBS’ “Sesame Street,” has gone “green.” Literally. The environmental left has accomplished what marketers dream of: hooking consumers from a young age and creating customers-for-life. What’s more, they’ve done it on the cheap. As CMI has documented, Nickelodeon’s “Big Green Help”...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2009 – Sesame Workshop will air a PBS special April 1 aimed at helping military families cope with changes. Actor/singer Queen Latifah and singer John Mayer will join Elmo to present, “Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change.” The special carries a message for children whose parents suffered a physical or psychological wound in combat. “Rosita’s father is in a wheelchair and [she] talks to Elmo about her feelings,” Barbara Thompson, director of the Defense Department’s Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth, said. “Elmo very graciously says, ‘You need to talk to your dad about that.’”...

For nearly two years, designers at Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price toiled to hide a maze of copper wires and microchips under the plush red fur of the company's newest Elmo toy. The resulting "Elmo Live" is its most advanced ever, able to cross its legs, flap its arms and fluidly mimic the famous television Muppet. All that wizardry, however, comes at a steep price. When Elmo Live arrives in stores on Tuesday, it will cost $60 -- about a third more than last year's model, and above the $50 tag that once was the high-water mark for most toys. Elmo Live...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 26, 2008 – Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the program “Sesame Street,” and the United Service Organizations joined forces to bring “The Sesame Street Experience for Military Families” to 43 installations across the country. Amanda Moran of Military OneSource, helps Kassandra Chavez, 11, and her brother José, 9, put beading kits into a bag Aug. 10, 2008, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The table was one of many with giveaways and information at the “Sesame Street Experience.” U.S. Army photo by Cheryl Harrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The tour travels for...

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2008 – Sunny days will be just around the corner when Elmo and his friends bring “The Sesame Street Experience” to 43 military installations to help children trying to cope with parents’ deployments. Jillian Kules, 13 months, shows Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy the new DVD she got June 26, 2008, at the launch of Sesame Workshop's "The Sesame Street Experience." Both the DVD and the live show were developed with the support of Arsht's office to help young military children cope with parents' deployments. Defense Dept. photo...

Toy Threatens To Kill Fla. Boy After Battery Change, Say Parents Mom: Toy Now Says 'Kill James'   POSTED: 12:07 pm EST February 22, 2008 UPDATED: 1:22 pm EST February 22, 2008  LITHIA, Fla. -- A child's Sesame Street Elmo doll programmed to learn phrases from owners' computers started making "kill James" death threats to its 2-year-old owner after its batteries were changed, according to the boy's parents.  Melissa Bowman of Lithia said she replaced the batteries on the Elmo Knows Your Name doll for her son James. Soon after, the toy began to say, "Kill James," Bowman said....

A Lithia family says a cuddly, programmable Elmo doll revealed its dark side yesterday after fresh batteries were installed. Instead of singing songs or reciting the favorite color of its 2-year-old owner, James Bowman, the doll started making death threats, the family says. With a squeeze of its fuzzy belly, the Sesame Street character now says, in a sing-song voice, "Kill James." "It's not something that really you would think would ever come out of a toy," said Melissa Bowman, James' mother. "But once I heard, I was just kind of distraught." The Elmo Knows Your Name doll, which connects...

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 – Sesame Street’s Elmo and his friends at Sesame Workshop are helping military children deal with a parent’s deployment through a new project called “Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment." Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy, center, tells a crowd gathered at the National Press Club in Washington about the positive impact the Sesame Workshop's "Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment" and the associated tool kit has had on military families. Joanna Lopez, left, and her three children are featured on a DVD included...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2006 -- Elmo and the characters of Sesame Street are going to give Americans a chance to see what military families go through when their loved ones deploy to war zones. Sesame Street will air “When Parents Are Deployed” on most Public Broadcasting System stations Dec. 27. Armed Forces Network stations will air the special in January. “The special focuses on giving people an understanding of the sacrifices servicemembers’ families make in a deployment,” said Barbara Goodno, a senior program analyst with the Pentagon’s Office of Family Policy. Elmo, the fuzzy red puppet who is perpetually...

Click here for a video demo of what apparently is going to be this Christmas's big toy: (Warning: Excessive Cuteness Ahead) TMX Elmo

Lacrosse players' defense: Documents being withheld   By William F. West : The Herald-Sunbwest@heraldsun.comSep 1, 2006 : 11:20 pm ET DURHAM -- Attorneys for the three Duke lacrosse players charged with assaulting an exotic dancer claim District Attorney Mike Nifong and police still haven't provided several vital documents in the case, as required by law. As a result, the defense lawyers have filed papers in Superior Court calling for Nifong to produce those documents. The request to Judge Osmond Smith comes after Durham County's chief prosecutor told Smith and defense lawyers at a recent meeting that a toxicology report...

The Durham cab driver who has surfaced as an alibi witness in the Duke lacrosse rape case today was found not guilty of a 3-year-old shoplifting charge. Moezeldin Elmostafa is expected to provide an alibi for Reade Seligmann, one of three Duke lacrosse players indicted in the rape case, because he gave Seligmann a ride after the party that led to the rape allegations. After authorities learned of Elmostafa's potential role in the rape case, they found an unserved warrant naming him in a 2003 shoplifting case at a Hecht’s department store at Northgate Mall in Durham. A security officer...

WASHINGTON -- You know the deal: Your kid asks a question on a touchy subject. You squirm and dodge the issue. With a little help from Elmo, Sesame Street is urging parents to level with their little ones _ especially those in military families trying to deal with Mom or Dad's lengthy deployment overseas. "Our goal is to really get military families with young children ... to talk about the different stages of deployment with their children, not only talk about it but prepare them for it," said Jeanette Betancourt, vice president of content design at Sesame Workshop, which produces...

A mother in Dallas is one of several parents complaining about a new interactive book for toddlers in which Sesame Street character Elmo asks "who wants to die?" according to a Local 6 News report. Family members said 16-month-old Miranda Boll's new book, "Potty Time With Elmo," was supposed to teach an interactive lesson using voice commands. However, when the book's buttons are pressed, it reportedly says something it is not supposed to -- "who wants to die?" "It's a sick joke," mother Angela Bolls said. "If it's a joke then it's a bad one, you know? And it's not...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi militants claimed in a Web statement Tuesday to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him in 72 hours unless the Americans release Iraqi prisoners. The posting, on a Web site that frequently carried militants' statements, included a photo of what appeared to be an American soldier in desert fatigues seated with his hands tied behind his back. A gun barrel was pointed at his head, and he is seated in front of a black banner emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is...

Annan stopped a row between Elmo and his friendsUnited Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan has appeared on children's TV show Sesame Street, and said diplomats could learn a thing or two from its characters. Annan guest-starred on the long-running show to help teach children how to resolve conflict. He is only the third politician on the show in recent years - first ladies Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton have also appeared. Annan stepped in when puppet character Elmo and his friends argued over who would get to sing the alphabet song. In the end he persuaded them all to join in....

I wish that this was a easy subject to discuss, but it's not. The way I view this there are really three issues here that need to be separated to make any sense at all: #1) How to deal with people who we love who need our love and who are dying - this does not necessarily mean HIV only. #2) How to deal with a deadly disease that is spreading throughout the world and is communicable from person to person by contact or contact with body fluids. #3) How to best, as parents raise our children to be good,...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In what may be the first appearance of a Muppet before a congressional committee, "Sesame Street" favorite Elmo donned his best suit and tie and took his cause to Capitol Hill.</p> <p>The red furry friend to toddlers everywhere gave evidence before the Education Appropriations Subcommittee to urge more spending on music research and musical instruments for school programs.</p>