Free Republic

In the months following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, a charity run by hip-hop star Wyclef Jean spent a pittance of the money it took in on disaster relief and doled out millions in questionable contracts. Yele Haiti’s coffers swelled to $16 million in 2010, the most the charity had ever received. But less than a third of that went to emergency efforts, and $1 million was paid to a Florida firm that doesn’t seem to exist, The Post has learned. Jean’s charity, which he founded in 2005 with his cousin Jerry Duplessis, was already troubled when the earthquake struck...

WYCLEF’S BIG ON PALIN: On Monday night, at about the time the Republican presidential hopefuls were onstage to debate in Tampa, Wyclef Jean was at the Urban Zen Center in the West Village talking the future of the American right. Donna Karan was hosting an after party for her Donna Karan Collection show which earlier that day doubled as the opening of an exhibit of the Haitian artwork that had inspired the show. When the Haitian-born Jean arrived, Karan made sure to point out that both she and he are Libras. Despite his recent failed presidential bid in Haiti, the...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — Singer Wyclef Jean's high-profile bid for Haiti's presidency ended after election officials on the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation disqualified his candidacy. The Haitian-American hip hop star expressed disappointment at the late Friday ruling, but called on his followers to act "peacefully and responsibly."

Reporting from Port-au-Prince, Haiti — Wyclef Jean's candidacy for president of this rubble-strewn country gives a charge of electricity to what so far has been feeble interest in upcoming elections. But the heroic narrative he's pitching — hip-hop superstar returning from America to rescue his homeland — will quickly get battle-tested in the fractious, murky and often violent world of Haitian politics. Jean's humanitarian organization, Yele Haiti Foundation, and his status as the most famous member of Haiti's diaspora give him immediate prominence. Young people, for the most part, seem to love him. "Bon bagay," said Saintil Wilson, 22. "Good...

Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean has come under fire regarding the financial administration of his charity. Jean, 37, has been a celebrity face of the disaster and has been pleading for donations to his Yele Haiti Foundation. But an investigation into the organisation has raised questions about the distribution of funds and accounting practices. Financial records indicate Jean and his business partner Jerry Duplessis have been paid $443,000 by the charity, The Smoking Gun reports. And despite operating for 12 years, the foundation reportedly only filed its first tax returns last year — providing records for just three calendar years in...

Now that Shakira will be performing at the World Cup in Germany next month, she has decided to learn everything there is to know about the game. The Columbian singer will be performing her new hit My Hips Don't Lie, before the championship final on July 9 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.