Judge sides with Usher in child custody battle

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has dismissed an emergency request by R&B singer Usher's ex-wife seeking temporary custody of their two children.

Tameka Foster Raymond had requested the hearing after their 5-year-old son got caught in a pool drain at Usher's home Monday while the singer was not home. Usher's aunt, Rena Oden, was poolside.

After a hearing in which both Usher and Raymond took the stand, the judge dismissed her request for temporary primary custody and decision-making authority.

Raymond's court filing said their son, Usher Raymond V, "suffered a near-death accident." The boy was still in the hospital Friday.

Usher and Tameka Raymond married in 2007 and divorced two years later. They went through a lengthy child custody battle, and Usher was awarded primary custody of the boys last year.

After the judge issued the ruling, Usher approached his ex-wife and gave her a long hug.

Usher left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

The pool accident comes nearly a year after Raymond's 11-year-old son, Kile Glover, Usher's stepson, died from injuries he suffered when he was run over by a personal watercraft.