AP-Newswatch

Freddie Mercury’s eclectic collection of ‘clutter’ for sale

LONDON (AP) — Freddie Mercury’s extensive collection of costumes, fine art, and even hand-written working lyrics to “We Are the Champions” and “Killer Queen,” will be auctioned in September. Sotheby’s said Wednesday that it will auction off about 1,500 items that the Queen frontman collected and stored in his home in the upscale Kensington neighborhood of London. He left it all to his close friend Mary Austin when he died, at 45, of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991. Austin has decided to sell the loot. The collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse and a rhinestone-studded crown and fake fur robe Mercury wore in his final concert with Queen in 1986.

Residents told to lock doors amid search for jail escapees

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Authorities are still hunting for four inmates, including one suspected of killing a man and stealing his pickup truck, who escaped from a Mississippi jail that has been under federal scrutiny. Multiple law enforcement agencies were searching parts of the state Wednesday, with at least one county sheriff’s department telling residents to keep their doors locked and have no keys or weapons in their vehicles. Police say the inmates escaped from the Raymond Detention Center over the weekend. Authorities say one of the prisoners stole a public works vehicle that was later recovered in a suburb of Houston.

Harry Belafonte, activist and entertainer, dies at 96

NEW YORK (AP) — Harry Belafonte has died at age 96. He was a dedicated activist and award-winning actor and singer. He sold millions of records and starred on stage and screen before scaling back his career and becoming a relentless supporter of civil rights and other causes. Belafonte not only participated in protest marches and benefit concerts, but helped organize and raise support for them. He worked closely with his friend and generational peer the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., often intervening on his behalf with both politicians and fellow entertainers. He died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home.

Sheriff: Uber Eats driver slain, dismembered making delivery

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man is charged with murder and other offenses in the slaying and dismemberment of an Uber Eats driver who had brought food to the assailant’s house. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a news conference Tuesday that Oscar Solis Jr., 30, is charged with killing the driver during a delivery Wednesday at a home in Holiday, Florida. The remains were found at the house in trash bags and a cooler, which also contained a receipt with Solis’ name on it. Solis faces charges of murder while engaged in a robbery, failure to register as a convicted felon and for a parole violation. Solis was released from an Indiana prison in January after serving four years for an assault and burglary conviction.

Prosecutors now doubt imprisoned mother killed her children

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prosecutors have acknowledged that new scientific evidence leaves reasonable doubt that an imprisoned Australian mother deliberately killed her four children. A retired judge is hearing final submissions in an inquiry into whether Kathleen Folbigg should be pardoned. Her children all died before their 2nd birthday from what their mother says were natural causes. New South Wales state prosecutor Sally Dowling told the inquiry it could conclude there is reasonable doubt of Folbigg’s guilt. The hearing was adjourned until Thursday. The judge could recommend that she be pardoned and could report to an appeal court to consider quashing her convictions. Evidence submitted to the inquiry showed her daughters had a genetic variant and one son had a neurogenetic disorder.

Mattel introduces first Barbie with Down syndrome

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barbie has introduced its first doll representing a person with Down syndrome. Mattel worked with the National Down Syndrome Society to create the Barbie, which is part of the toy company’s 2023 Fashionistas line aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 6,000 babies are born in the U.S. each year with Down syndrome.

Hawks playoff win pushes Janet Jackson concert back 1 day

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks are still alive in the playoffs and that will force fans planning to attend Janet Jackson’s concert in the city this week to wait a day to see the music star. The Hawks rallied to beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 in Game 5 of their playoff matchup on Tuesday night, sending the series back to Atlanta for Game 6. It means that State Farm Arena is double-booked for Thursday night. Live Nation says the casualty will be Jackson’s concert, which will be postponed until Friday.

Singapore executes man for helping buy 2 pounds of cannabis

HONG KONG (AP) — Singapore has executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency and protests that he was convicted on weak evidence. Tangaraju Suppiah was sentenced for abetting the trafficking of 2.2 pounds of cannabis even though he was not caught with the drugs. Prosecutors said traced phone numbers showed he coordinated the delivery, but Tangaraju maintained he was not the person who communicated with others connected to the case. Relatives and activists sent letters to Singapore’s president to plead for clemency, and his niece and nephew made a video appeal raising concerns. Critics say Singapore’s death penalty has mostly snared low-level mules and done little to stop drug trafficking.

When told of Kishida attack, safety chief kept eating eel

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s public safety chief has come under fire for his remark that he enjoyed eel rice so much that he kept eating after his agency informed him of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s narrow escape from a pipe bomb attack two weeks ago. Koichi Tani, chair of the National Public Safety Commission for Kishida’s Cabinet, made the comment at a governing party gathering Tuesday. Tani was some 150 miles away from the attack when it happened. Opposition lawmakers say Tani lacked sense of urgency and should be removed. But Kishida has rejected the criticisms and says Tani handled his duties adequately. Kishida will host the Group of Seven summit May 19-21 in Hiroshima.

Neighborhood fights Haiti gangs after vigilante killings

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Resident in the hilly suburbs of Haiti’s capital are arming themselves with machetes, bottles and rocks and fighting back against encroaching gangs after a crowd beat and burned 13 suspected gang members to death in a gruesome outburst of vigilante violence. Scores of men in the Canape Vert neighborhood of Port-au-Prince spent the night on roofs and patrolled entrances of their community on Tuesday blocked with big trucks spray-painted with the words, “Down with gangs.” Until now, Canape Vert and Turgeau had largely avoided the gang-fueled violence that has been consuming the capital and surrounding areas since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse,