Celebrity news
Myanmar’s long-detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, is receiving Amnesty International’s highest honor, U2’s Bono announced yesterday before 80,000 cheering fans in Dublin. The human rights group earlier said it hoped the Ambassador of Conscience Award would help protect her as she faces a potential prison sentence. The award was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Suu Kyi’s initial arrest on July 20, 1989, as she led a campaign to oust Myanmar’s military dictators. Suu Kyi’s opposition party won national elections in 1990 but the military refused to relinquish power. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. (AP)
Octuplets protected
A guardian has been appointed to oversee the estate of Nadya Suleman’s octuplets. A judge in Orange County, Calif., granted a petition yesterday filed on behalf of a former child actor who is an advocate for children in entertainment. Paul Petersen said he wanted a guardian to ensure labor laws are followed and money the babies earn is kept safe. Suleman’s attorney said previously the family hired an entertainment lawyer and established a trust for the children. A reality show is slated to start filming Suleman and her 14 children, all under age 8, on Sept. 1. The world’s longest-surviving octuplets, six boys and two girls, were born Jan. 26. (AP)Charge in ‘Idol’ death
A man has been charged with drunken driving following a New Jersey car accident that killed “American Idol’’ contestant Alexis Cohen, whose angry rejection rant became an Internet sensation. Daniel Bark appeared yesterday in state Superior Court on charges of reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Prosecutors say the charges have been upgraded to aggravated manslaughter and drunken driving. Defense attorney David Glassman says Bark and his family are distraught. Cohen was struck by a vehicle Saturday in Seaside Heights. (AP)Parole denied
A man convicted of killing the sister of “Frasier’’ star Kelsey Grammer in 1975 was denied parole yesterday. Freddie Glenn, 52, is serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of Karen Grammer when she was 18. Glenn won’t be eligible for parole again until 2014, said a Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman. Grammer had planned to attend the parole hearing at a state prison in Limon, Colo., but rain caused him to miss a connecting flight. Colorado law no longer allows parole in life sentences for first-degree murder, but Glenn was convicted before the law was changed. (AP)
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