Will Smith reveals his 14-year-old son Jaden wants to be emancipated

Published May 14, 2013

The Sun

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  Will Smith, left, and his son Jaden Smith arrive a news conference to promote their movie "After Earth" in Tokyo May 2, 2013.Reuters

Will Smith was brought up by a military father who expected him to be seen and not heard.

But the upbringing that he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith are giving their own children Jaden and Willow could hardly be more different.

They don’t punish them, instead letting them make their own decisions. And actor son Jaden has decided that for his 15th birthday in July he would like the gift of FREEDOM from his parents — and to be able to live in a home of his own.

Will, 44, revealed to The Sun: “He says, ‘Dad, I want to be emancipated.’ I know if we do this, he can be an emancipated minor, because he really wants to have his own place, like ooh.

“That’s the backlash. On the other side, if kids just want to have command of their lives, I understand.”

He and Jaden are about to be seen together in their second film, sci-fi tale After Earth.

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Illinois governor wants appeal of concealed carry ruling

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –  Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday that he wants the state's attorney general to appeal a federal court ruling that Illinois' last -in the-nation concealed carry ban is unconstitutional, a move that would take it before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Illinois' ban last year and gave lawmakers until early June to legalize the concealed carry of firearms. Last month, the court declined Illinois' request to reconsider the ruling.

The matter has led to intense hours-long hearings at the State Capitol, where lawmakers and anti-violence advocates from Chicago -- which has seen a spike in violence -- have been pitted against gun rights advocates from less populated and more conservative areas. The matter has placed Illinois in the spotlight at time when the nationwide debate over gun control has been reignited.

Quinn, a Chicago Democrat who favors strict gun control including an assault weapons ban, said violence has been an "epidemic" in parts of the state and Illinois should be the nation's leader in keeping the concealed carry ban in place.

"The only hope now would be to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court," he told reporters after an unrelated event. "The attorney general ought to take look at that and pursue that."

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had said she hadn't decided whether to appeal, said Wednesday that she disagreed with Quinn. She said she wants to wait for lawmakers to come up with and act on a concealed-carry proposal first -- even though she thinks that Illinois' law -- which prohibits the concealed carry of weapons in public -- is constitutional.

"If the Legislature passes a bill, then appealing would not necessarily be something we need to do, because it would become moot," she said.

Madigan's comments come as she's weighing a Democratic primary challenge against Quinn in next year's gubernatorial election. Madigan -- also a Chicago Democrat who wants an assault weapons ban -- has been a prominent attorney general who appeared on the national stage in connection with a range of issues, including home foreclosures. Her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is the head of the Democratic Party in Illinois and arguably the most powerful Democrat in the state.

Lisa Madigan dismissed the notion that waiting for a decision on a Supreme Court appeal was a political maneuver.

Since the court's December ruling, lawmakers have considered dozens of amendments dealing with concealed carry, many of which restricted where guns could be carried. That includes gun prohibitions in schools, casinos, stadiums and other locales. Gun-rights advocates have argued that the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.

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Basketball personality Rodman says North Korea leader wants Obama to call

Former NBA star and provocateur Dennis Rodman delivered a message Sunday from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to President Obama: Call me.

Rodman, who has made headlines for several days as a result of his trip to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotters, told ABC’s “This Week” that the 28-year-old leader “doesn’t want to do war.”

Rodman is the highest-profile American to meet Kim since he took power in December 2011 after his father's death.

He did the interview in the network’s New York studio dressed in sunglasses and a sports coat emblazoned with images of U.S. dollar bills.

The trip took place amid strained ties between the United States and North Korea over that country’s recent underground nuclear test.

The State Department on Friday distanced itself from Rodman's visit.

Rodman also defended the suggestion that he’s putting out propaganda and attempted to explain why he earlier called Kim "an awesome guy,” despite widespread reports about the country’s imprisoning citizens and other human rights violations.

“I don’t condone that,” Rodman said. “He’s not his father. He’s not his grandfather.”

Rodman said when Kim said he loved basketball, he said: "Obama loves basketball. Let's start there" as a way to warm up relations between the countries.

The State Department also has criticized North Korea for "wining and dining" Rodman while its own people go hungry.

Rodman said he was aware of North Korea's human rights record, which the State Department has characterized as one of the worst in the world, but said he wasn't apologizing for Kim.

Basketball is popular in North Korea, and an exhibition game Thursday with two Americans playing on each team alongside North Koreans ended in a 110-110 tie. Following the game Kim threw an "epic feast" for the group, plying them with food and drinks and making round after round of toasts.

Rodman said he planned to go back to North Korea to "find out more what's really going on."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Father wants school dress code changed after son asked to remove Marines T-shirt

An Illinois father wants a school district to reconsider its dress code after his son was asked to remove a U.S. Marines T-shirt or be suspended, FoxNews.com has learned.

Daniel McIntyre, 44, of Genoa, told FoxNews.com that his 14-year-old son, Michael, was asked to remove the T-shirt by eighth-grade teacher Karen Deverell during reading class at Genoa-Kingston Middle School on Monday. Deverell, citing the school’s dress code, said the garment’s interlocking rifles was problematic and had to be removed from sight, McIntyre said.

“My son is very proud of the Marines, and, in fact, of all the services,” McIntyre said. “So he wears it with pride. There are two rifles crossed underneath the word ‘Marines’ on the shirt, but to me that should be overlooked. It’s more about the Marines instead of the rifles.”

"This is not right. This policy that they have in place can obviously be loosely interpreted, so they need to change it.”

- Daniel McIntyre, father

McIntyre said his son was initially threatened with suspension before complying with Deverell’s request to turn it inside out. He has worn the T-shirt to school many times before without incident, McIntyre said.

“He was upset, he couldn’t understand it,” he continued. “He couldn’t understand why a teacher would make him do that.”

Brett McPherson, the school’s principal, referred questions to Genoa-Kingston Superintendent Joe Burgess, who reiterated that the shirt is not in violation of the district’s dress policy.

“We’ve been accused of a lot of things, but our middle school is well-known for its support of the armed forces,” Burgess told FoxNews.com. “That’s why this is so disheartening to all of us.”

Deverell did not inform school officials of the incident, Burgess said, adding that McPherson would have quickly determined the shirt to be a non-issue if consulted.

“Nobody took the next step of asking the principal or making them aware of it,” Burgess said. “The teacher is obviously allowed to question anything they feel might be a violation of dress code, but again, had an administrator been allowed to respond, this could have been taken care of yesterday.”

Students within the district are expected to wear clothing in a “neat, clean and well-fitting manner,” according to a copy of the policy, which was obtained by FoxNews.com. While addressing “violent behavior,” gang symbols and other inappropriate images, it does not explicitly ban images of guns and other weapons.

“Student dress (including accessories) may not advertise, promote, or picture alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, violent behavior, or other inappropriate images,” it reads. “Student dress (including accessories) may not display lewd, vulgar or obscene or offensive language or symbols, including gang symbols.”

Hats, bandannas and sunglasses are also banned inside the building. Students who violate the dress code will be asked to wear their gym uniform, it reads.

District officials, meanwhile, said its students are dutiful patriots who support U.S. troops as much as they can.

“The students and staff regularly write letters of support to the troops, and hold patriotic ceremonies for Veterans Day and Patriots' Day,” a statement obtained by FoxNews.com reads. “We very much support the armed forces and were disheartened to learn of this matter through the media. The administration and school handbook agree that this shirt is not a violation of the dress code. We also take school safety very earnestly and it needs to be recognized that is a topic that we also take very seriously and support our students and staff in providing a safe environment to learn, teach and work in on a daily basis.”

McIntyre said he believes the incident is likely an overreaction to recent mass shootings, particularly to the Dec. 14, 2012, massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 20 students and six staffers were killed after Adam Lanza killed his mother at their Connecticut home.

“I backed him up and he knows that,” McIntyre said of his son. “This is not right. This policy that they have in place can obviously be loosely interpreted, so they need to change it.”

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