CNN - Hip hop artists Lil Wayne and Ja Rule were arrested Sunday evening after a concert in Manhattan on charges of criminal possession of weapons, each in separate incidents, a New York Police Department spokesman told CNN.

Police say officers pulled over a speeding car around 10:37 p.m. on the Upper West Side carrying Ja Rule and two others.

They also recovered a .40-caliber pistol from the vehicle.

About an hour later Lil Wayne was arrested after officers caught him and another man smoking marijuana on the street.

They found a .40-caliber pistol in his possession.

Lil Wayne’s real name is Dwayne Carter and Ja Rule’s is Jeff Atkins. Both are best-selling rap artists.

Sparkling Martini Invitations

Maybe her red eyes were just from jet lag, flying in from Los Angeles. Houston is supposedly working on her new album there after going through a yearlong rehab from drug and alcohol abuse. Since she also looked and behaved “stoned” at the pre-Grammy dinner in February — readers may recall her basically ignoring Al Gore and snickering at her table — one wonders what Houston’s rehab has really added up to.

But Houston’s shenanigans couldn’t put a damper on the wild times. The Bahamas all-star music weekend was held at the Atlantis to celebrate the new upscale Cove luxury hotel plus other new additions at Kerzner Resorts’ Caribbean gem.

The Game posted $50,000 bail Saturday night to enjoy Mother’s Day at home.

LAPD’s Friday raid of The Game’s estate is connected to a February incident which included a firearm. Apparently, police found an arsenal and declared Game Over.

According to police sources, he was extremely cooperative during the search of his home and while in the holding tank - even flashing his cash for the surveillance cameras.

Rapper Akon has been fired by Verizon — and is being threatened with prosecution — after he reportedly simulated a rape of a 15-year-old on stage during a concert in Trinidad a few weeks ago.

Verizon promoted Akon as one of the musicians on its mobile-phone music service, and said it would no longer sponsor the Gwen Stefani tour in which Akon, who recently performed on “American Idol,” is the opening act.

The rapper invited 15-year-old Danah Alleyne onto the stage, and the girl obliged, thinking that she was entering a dance contest to win a “trip to Africa,” as Akon promised. But when Alleyne “won” the contest, the “trip to Africa” turned out to be an on-stage encounter with Akon during which her “head was hitting the floor, said Alleyne to the Trinidad Express (via FOX News).

In its account of the incident, the Trinidad Express said that the “Smack That” rapper was “turning, twisting and even flipping [the girl’s] body,” while “mimicking sexual positions” and sandwiching the girl with the assistance of another performer. The Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said, in FOX News’ report, that Akon should be prosecuted.

A rep for Verizon told TMZ they were sponsoring Akon and made a decision this week to end the relationship for, as they called it, “reasons.” Beyond that, the rep would not elaborate.

Busta Rhymes was arrested on a drunk driving charge early this morning in New York, after cops stopped him for driving an SUV with “excessively tinted windows.”

According to the NYPD, the rapper, driving a 2006 GMC Yukon Denali, was pulled over on the far West side of Midtown Manhattan at 12:48 AM, because the car’s windows were too dark. When cops encountered Rhymes (real name: Trevor Smith), they noticed a “strong odor of alcohol” on his breath and issued a field sobriety test. He was then taken into custody on a charge of driving while impaired and booked at the Midtown North Police Precinct.

A message left for Rhymes’ lawyer, Scott Leemon, was not immediately answered.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said only that Rhymes “had not been arraigned.” The rapper awaits trial next Tuesday on two assault charges from last year.

Just in from TMZ:

“30 Rock” star Tracy Morgan has copped a plea that will keep him out of jail, but he’ll have to wear a high-tech ankle bracelet to make sure he stays off the booze.

Moments ago in a Los Angeles Superior County Court, a judge ordered Morgan, who was not present, to wear a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring) device — an ankle bracelet worn to test for alcohol vapors that come out of the skin. The tests will go on every 30 minutes for 90 days. If he tests positive for alcohol use he will have to start his 90 days over, and if he fails a second time he’ll be forced to spend 30 days in a county jail.

Morgan will also have to complete five days of community service.

NYPD officers busted Morgan after he was spotted driving erratically in November. The bust violated the probation of a previous DUI conviction in Los Angeles.

Morgan is due back in court May 25, when he will be fitted for his new accessory.

From TMZ:

TMZ has learned that rapperista-actress Eve was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after she crashed her gold Maserati on Hollywood Boulevard.

Eve (real name: Eve Jeffers) was driving in Hollywood around 2:45 am this morning when she hit the center divider, totaling the front of her car. TMZ was on the scene, and observed that after cops arrived, they placed her in handcuffs, and (according to our staffers) was “visibly upset” as they led her into a squad car. We’ve learned that there were two people in the car with Eve at the time.

The multiplatinum-selling Grammy-winner starred with Vin Diesel in “XXX” and had her own self-titled sitcom on the UPN.

TMZ is standing by at the Hollywood division, Los Angeles Police Department.

Got-Dam! This dude can’t stay out of the back of a patrol car! This time it looks serious!

Last night, after performing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Snoop was stopped outside of the studio on Bobe Hope Drive and served a search warrant (as part of an ongoing investigation - read story) - it was all good - until police discovered Snoop’s SECRET COMPARTMENT in his vehicle in which a gun, marijuana and COCAINE were found.

He is expected to make the $30,000 bail out by this morning.

30 Rock star, Tracey Morgan is facing up to a year behind bars after being pulled over early Tuesday morning by NYC police while swerving his Cadillac Escalade on the Henry Hudson Parkway.

Tracey turned down a $1000 fine, five days of community service, a D.U.I. program and no jail time in exchange for a guilty plea - most likely because the admission of guilt would have violated his probation in California - where he was pulled over for yet another DWI earlier this year.

Tracey is due back in court on January 4.