We’re not sure if Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden would want to add the following accomplishment to his already-lengthy bio, but it would probably be a wise move if he’s looking to corral the desirable tween vote for running mate Barack Obama: Without him, there would be no Pete Wentz.

This is because, according to a report on People.com and then confirmed to MTV News by Wentz himself, his parents — Pete Sr. and Dale — met while working on a Biden Senate campaign in (he thinks) 1972.

“Yeah, it’s true,” he told MTV News in an e-mail Wednesday (August 27). “Maybe [it was in] ‘72? I’m not even sure. I’d have to ask my dad. I was born in ‘79, so it might’ve been later.”

We’re not sure either. Biden ran again for the Senate in 1978, so it could’ve been then too. Whatever. The ’70s were a confusing time for everyone. Regardless, when we first heard the news, something went off in our MTV News brain: Where had we heard this story before? And then it hit us.

Wentz had first told us about his Biden connection way back in January, when we were out in Chicago to cover the Obama fundraiser he threw at Lakeshore Broadcasting Company, the dive bar he co-owns in his hometown. Both his parents were there to show their support for their son and Obama, and at one point, Wentz introduced us to his dad … all while mentioning that his folks had met while campaigning for Biden.

We’ve got the video — plus a little bit of Pete Sr. stumping for Barack — after the jump.
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David Kravitz has no beef with the DNC. In fact, the rangy opera singer from Massachusetts was only in the officially designated protest zone (dubbed the “freedom cage” by protesters) on Tuesday afternoon to check it out and snap a few photos.

Luckily for him, like at the Tent State University site across town, there was plenty of space. In fact, the soccer-field-size, heavily fortified parking lot with barely a glimpse of the Pepsi Center in the distance was empty except for a fellow blogger from Kravitz’s bluemassgroup.com site and a local Denver college couple who were also hoping to see some real live protestation.

So Kravitz did what any opera singer worth his salt with an open stage and a public address system at his disposal would do — he belted out a powerful rendition of “God Bless America” as one of the shock-troop-looking cops took some personal video and gave him a round of applause. The dozen heavily fortified officers on the other side of the impenetrable fence near the cop joined in on the applause, happy to have any action in the zone, which they said has been a virtual ghost town since it opened two days earlier.

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Organizers predicted tens of thousands would flood Cuernavaca Park in downtown Denver as part of the Tent State University anti-war protests going on all this week during the Democratic National Convention.

Maybe they were taking a walk when we stopped by today, but just a day before Rage Against the Machine are scheduled to headline a show in support of the protest, the scene at the far-flung park — several miles from the Pepsi Center — was more like a Sunday picnic with your mellowed-out buds than a 1960s-style revolutionary effort to disrupt the Dems’ party. Local media had reported some clashes between anti-war protesters and other anarchist groups since Sunday, including an intense clash just blocks from the Pepsi Center last night, during which police used their pepper-ball rifles to disperse crowds near the 16th Street mall and later arrested 90 protesters.

More on the Tent State University protest plus photos after the jump.
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You’ve got to hand it to Sean “Diddy” Combs. The man’s in Los Angeles with his pals when sheriff’s deputies stop them. One officer even pulls a gun. But does that faze Diddy? Not at all. In fact, the hip-hop mogul has nothing but nice things to say about the fuzz.

According to The Associated Press, a spokesperson for Diddy said the cops were completely professional and “very respectful.” The spokesperson also disputed earlier reports that the gun was pointed at the rapper. Really, it was all a big misunderstanding, sort of like Diddy’s brief beef with our own James Montgomery, which was so sweetly resolved on last week’s “FNMTV.”

On Saturday morning, sheriff’s deputies stopped Diddy’s seven-car convoy along Sunset Boulevard because one of the cars (not the one Diddy was in) had an expired registration. When several members of Diddy’s entourage approached the car, the cops became “concerned,” according to sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore, and one of them drew his weapon. But the situation didn’t get out of hand. Ultimately, no citations were issued because the car was a rental, and Diddy and company were allowed to continue on their merry way.

Amazingly, Diddy hasn’t turned this incident into a media war — perhaps because none of the sheriff’s deputies made snarky comments about Donnie Klang.

By Daniela Capistrano

Yo La Tengo, Titus Andronicus and Ebony Bones performed a bittersweet send-off Sunday for the final JellyNYC Pool Party held at Williamsburg’s McCarren Park Pool.

But fear not, outdoor concert lovers — JellyNYC plans to work with local officials and community advocacy groups to find a new mainstay venue in the area by next summer.

Ebony Bones found some shelter with us from the sweltering heat and shared her thoughts on the last pool party right before her set. We were having so much fun we missed her signal to get onstage, which resulted in Ebony making a mad dash for her own show!

Check out what Ebony had to say and some of her set after the jump.
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For months now — really, it feels like years — we’ve been bringing you story after story of celebrities endorsing Barack Obama, whether it’s Jay-Z; Soulja Boy Tell’em; Big Boi, Mary J. Blige and John Legend; or just about everybody else.

Finally, we have some good news for John McCain: Reggaeton king Daddy Yankee is a fan! On Monday (the first day of the Democratic National Convention, BTW) he endorsed the Republican candidate for president, and the unlikely duo appeared together at Phoenix Central High School. The teenage girls standing behind him seemed sort of nonplussed until McCain dropped the name of Daddy’s 2004 hit “Gasolina.”

“I know why you are sitting here,” McCain said in his speech, according to a press release from his campaign, “and that is not to listen to me so much, but I brought a special friend along with me today, a great American success story. As you know, he’s from Puerto Rico. He’s been married for 15 years. He has children aged 14, 12 and 10. One of his most famous songs, I know you’re very familiar with, ‘Gasolina.’ Well, here he is, Daddy Yankee.”

Daddy Yankee followed by saying:

“It is a very special honor to be here this beautiful morning with everybody right here. This is very special school. … It is a big pleasure that you guys invited me, and thanks to Senator McCain. And I am here endorsing Senator McCain because I believe in his ideals and his proposals to lead this nation. And like I said before, he has been a fighter for the Hispanic community, and I know that for me personally, I chose him as the best candidate because he has been a fighter for the immigration issue. So for me he is the best guy to lead this nation. And once again, I want to say thank you to everybody for the support it has given me in my entire career. This is a great honor sharing this beautiful morning with everybody. I am a man of few words but with a lot of action, like I always said.”

Neither the artist nor the senator took questions — and what both failed to mention is that Daddy Yankee can’t vote for McCain in November! Puerto Rico is a United States territory, not a state, and its residents cannot vote in presidential elections — but hey, they don’t have to pay federal income taxes, either …

By Liz Nord and Kristin Grimmett

DENVER — If hip-hop and Barack Obama were on Facebook, their relationship status would be: “It’s complicated.” So when the ladies of Choose or Lose descended upon the Mile-High City Saturday to cover the Democratic National Convention, where Obama will officially be named the Dems’ presidential candidate, we went backstage at the Denver Rock the Bells show — where we saw so much Obama gear that you’d have sworn it was an Obama concert — and talked politics with everyone from Ghostface Killah to the Pharcyde, and even got a special message for Obama from Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon. Read more…

Over the weekend, “Hairspray” star Amanda Bynes, 22, was involved in a minor car accident in Los Angeles — her second smashup of 2008.

According to People.com, police claim no major injuries were sustained in the crash, which they’ve said was Bynes’ bad.
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This morning, the rumor that reality-TV fixture Kim Kardashian would be participating in the next season of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” was confirmed. But according to news reports, Kardashian may have hurt her chances on the show before her first fox-trot, now that she’s damaged her twinkle toes.
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Last week, the music world lost a great producer. Jerry Finn, who was just 39, died on August 21, close to two weeks after he’d been taken off life support and about one month after he had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage.

The name may not be instantly recognizable, but chances are you’re familiar with Finn’s work. He mixed Green Day’s 1994 release Dookie and their 1995 LP Insomniac, and produced Rancid’s breakthrough disc …And Out Come the Wolves. He also helmed records by Blink-182, the Vandals, Fastball, Madness, MxPx, Sum 41, Sparta, Alkaline Trio and Bad Religion.

Finn will always be remembered, in my mind at least, for mixing Jawbreaker’s 1995 offering Dear You. But more than that, for me, he’ll always be the dude who worked with AFI on their two smash hits, 2003’s Sing the Sorrow and 2006’s Decemberunderground, two records that brought the band out of obscurity and straight to TRL. The man will be missed.

Do you have a favorite Jerry Finn-produced album? Let us know about it in the comments section below.