NEW YORK (AP) — Lil Wayne says he wasn’t intentionally stepping on the American flag when shooting his latest video.

Video of the rapper from his music video shoot for the song “God Bless Amerika” hit the Web on Monday. In it, he appears to be stepping on top of the American flag. But he said in a Facebook post Tuesday the flag on the ground will not appear in the clip.

He writes it was never his intention “to desecrate the flag of the United States of America.”

He says the flag will reveal a group of people behind him in the video.

The New Orleans-based rapper says in the statement his environment helped shape the way he views America and his song and video represent the people he grew up with.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino giant MGM Resorts International and entertainment company AEG say they’ve inked a deal to build a 20,000-seat Las Vegas Strip arena.

Officials with Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts and Los Angeles-based AEG say the joint venture will provide a centerpiece for a renovation of the area from Las Vegas Boulevard to Frank Sinatra Drive between the New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts.

Groundbreaking for the $350 million arena is expected next summer, with completion by spring 2016.

The companies say an unnamed privately funded third-party will also provide financing.

MGM Resorts International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren calls finalizing the agreement a project milestone.

The international design firm Populous has been hired to design the arena with premium seating and hospitality areas for entertainment and sports events.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who worked as a stunt double for Angelina Jolie has sued Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp. in Los Angeles, claiming she’s a victim of a phone hacking scheme to obtain information about the actress.

Eunice Huthart, of Liverpool, England, is the first person to sue the media company in the U.S.

She cited numerous references to the United Kingdom phone hacking scandal involving News Corp. companies and claims numerous grounds for damages.

The federal suit claims Huthart began missing telephone messages from family, friends and others, causing damage to relationships with her daughter and husband.

The lawsuit also names as defendants News Corp. entities News International Ltd. and News Group Newspapers Ltd., and unidentified private investigators and journalists.

A News Corp. representative in New York was not immediately returned.

PHOENIX (AP) — A made-for-television movie on Jodi Arias is scheduled to air this weekend.

“Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret” is set to be shown Saturday on Lifetime, but the movie won’t be about the trial.

Screenwriter Richard Blaney wrote the script with Gregory Small. Blaney told The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/19NmBq4 ) the project was in the works more than a year ago. He says they completed the script in December.

That was the same month that Arias‘ televised trial started in the brutal 2008 slaying of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, a Mesa motivational speaker.

Small says they didn’t anticipate the trial getting as much attention as it did.

A jury convicted Arias of first-degree murder in May but couldn’t reach a decision on whether she should live or die.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

NEW YORK (AP) — He really is more than a businessman.

Jay-Z‘s partnership with Samsung for his new album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” is another sign of how musicians are finding new ways to push, sell and promote their music, and how the multiplatinum performer — whose famously rapped “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man” — continues to leverage his enduring popularity into a successful brand.

Jay-Z will give his new album to 1 million users of Galaxy mobile phones on July 4, three days before the album’s official release date. The 43-year-old broke the news about his twelfth album in a three-minute commercial during the NBA Finals.

Details about the Samsung-Jay-Z deal, announced Sunday, weren’t disclosed and both parties did not grant interviews.

But Jay-Z’s partnership is just another way artists are promoting their music at a time when album sales are low and the digital market has taken the lead in the music industry.

Jim Donio, the president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), said top level acts like Jay-Z and Taylor Swift have the power to launch new albums in spectacular ways with various partners.

“For an artist whose album release is an event in itself … they carry with them a much wider profile in the marketplace that they speak to, so their audience and all the things that they do affords these unique opportunities,” he said.

In 2011, Lady Gaga sold 440,000 copies of her “Born This Way” album on Amazon for just 99 cents when it was on sale for two days, helping the album sell 1.1 million in its debut week. Others have also used that trend to sell albums, though not in its debut week: Last year, Phil Collins‘ greatest hits jumped into the Top 10 at No. 6 — its peak — when it was sold for 99 cents for a day. And Bruno Mars‘s “Doo-Wop & Hooligans” and Demi Lovato‘s “Unbroken” both jumped about 100 spots on the Billboard chart when they were on sale for 99 cents months after they were released.

Taylor Swift, one of the top sellers in music, had her second platinum-debut week with “Red” last year. Her partnerships for the album included Target, Walgreens and Papa John’s (you could order a pizza and a Swift album at the same time.)

“Even if you didn’t purchase the CD, her face was still on the pizza box,” Donio said.

And Prince released his “20Ten” album in 2010 via the Daily Mirror newspaper in United Kingdom.

Jay-Z’s new partnership is one of his many business deals. His Roc Nation agency, which manages Rihanna, Shakira and other musicians, recently expanded into the sports world, and he now is helping the careers of New York Yankee Robinson Cano, New York Jets rookie Geno Smith and others. Jay-Z has launched fashion lines, has a string of 40/40 nightclubs, was also the president of Def Jam and owned part of 1 percent of the Brooklyn Nets.

He’s also still a consistent hitmaker and a superstar who transcends music — which is why Samsung likely partnered with him for his new album. Samsung has chipped away at Apple’s share of the mobile market with its Galaxy phones, and companies are relying more on music to lure new customers (Apple last week announced it will debut iRadio, its streaming music service, in the fall).

One of the many questions about the Samsung deal still unanswered: Will the 1 million downloads count towards first week sales of the album, giving it elite status of debuting with platinum sales, an accomplishment few artists have achieved? Billboard, which tracks album sales and chart information for the industry, did not return emails seeking comment. Samsung reportedly purchased the albums though it’s unclear what the price-point was.

Jay-Z made it clear Monday what he felt the trade publication should do.

“If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard doesn’t report it, did it happen? Ha,” Jay-Z, adding: “Platinum!!!”

Donio said he thinks more deals like Samsung-Jay-Z are on the horizon.

“The record labels that are putting out the music and partnering with a variety of types of commerce outlets are going to look at just anything and everything that may work with that particular artist and that particular album release,” he said.

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Online:

http://www.magnacartaholygrail.com/

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Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter: twitter.com/MusicMesfin