Writer Chinua Achebe honored in Nigeria funeral
Thursday, 23 May 2013 11:14 Published in News Headlines
OGIDI, Nigeria — Writer Chinua Achebe is being remembered in Nigeria as a fearless writer who bowed to no political pressure.
Mourners gathered in his hometown for a funeral Thursday in Ogidi, a small town in Nigeria's east. Among attendees was Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who held up copies of Achebe's books during the service at a local Anglican church — including his famous essay "The Trouble With Nigeria." Ghanaian President John Mahama also attended alongside Jonathan.
Achebe's family will bury him in a mausoleum next to his home in Ogidi later Thursday.
Achebe died at age 82 in March after living much of his later life in the United States. He is the author of 1958 classic novel "Things Fall Apart," as well as other works. -- (AP)
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is holding a summit in Philadelphia on technology and innovation.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is the current president of the organization, whose summit will bring more than 30 mayors from across the U.S. to Philadelphia Thursday and Friday.
The group's summit will focus on how cities can utilize technology and innovation to create sustainable solutions to challenges, increase civic engagement and improve the quality of public services. It's being done in conjunction with Temple University's Fox School of Business.
Local municipal unions are planning protests outside the hotel where the group will be meeting. They're engaged in a long-running contract dispute with Nutter. -- (AP)
Aretha Franklin taking June off, postponing shows
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 17:52 Published in Entertainment
LOS ANGELES — Aretha Franklin is taking off the month of June.
A spokesman for the 71-year-old singer says Franklin will reschedule two shows and resume her touring schedule in July.
Publicist David Brokaw provided no other details.
Franklin announced earlier this month that she would cancel scheduled performances in Chicago and Connecticut this week to undergo medical treatment. She did not specify what type of treatment she was receiving.
Franklin appeared on the season finale of "American Idol" last week via satellite, singing a medley of her hits with the show's female finalists. -- (AP)
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Sergio Garcia apologized to Tiger Woods on Wednesday for saying he would have "fried chicken" at dinner with his rival, a comment that Woods described as hurtful and inappropriate.
"I want to send an unreserved apology. I did not want to offend anyone," Garcia said Wednesday. "My answer was totally stupid and out of place."
Garcia was at a European Tour awards dinner Tuesday night when he was jokingly asked if he would have Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open. The two players had been verbally sparring since The Players Championship nearly two weeks ago.
"We'll have him round every night," Garcia replied. "We will serve fried chicken."
The remark took the golfers' differences into ugly territory, reminiscent of when Fuzzy Zoeller made a similar comment about Woods after he won the 1997 Masters, becoming the first player of black heritage to win a major.
"The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate," Woods said in a series of tweets. "I'm confident that there is real regret the remark was made. The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it's long past time to move and talk about golf."
For once, both players agreed.
Garcia held an impromptu news conference at the BMW PGA Championship to elaborate on a statement he sent out Tuesday night through the European Tour.
"I want to also apologize to my Ryder Cup teammates who were there last night for taking the shine away from a wonderful event, and finally and foremost, I want to apologize to Tiger to anyone I could have offended. I felt very sick about it and feel really bad, and just hope to settle things down and move on."
Garcia said he called Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at Excel Sports, because he doesn't have a phone number for the world's No. 1 player.
The Spaniard said his comment about fried chicken was not intended as a racist remark.
"It was a funny question and I wanted it to be a funny answer in reply," he said. "I started to get a sick feeling straight after the dinner and I felt so bad I thought my heart was going to come out of my body. I felt bad about (it) all day." -- (AP)
Jarron Collins jokes he missed Jason's 'red flags'
Thursday, 16 May 2013 12:20 Published in Entertainment
Jason Collins would always make excuses for why he wasn't interested in the women his twin brother and sister-in-law would set him up with on dates.
Jarron Collins still never figured out that Jason was gay.
Jarron joked Wednesday on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that he missed "red flags" about Jason, who recently came out as the first active gay male athlete in one of the major U.S. sports.
The brothers, who played together at Stanford before playing in the NBA, appeared together on the show and discussed how Jason finally let Jarron know after being hesitant for so long.
"He's my best friend and any time you come out to someone, you always have that apprehension that they're going to reject, even though I knew that that wasn't going to be the case," Jason Collins said.
Jarron was supportive but said he botched his response at first, saying things such as "Are you sure?" and "Since when?"
"He's my twin brother, of course I was going to be supportive of him all the time," Jarron said.
Jarron said since Jason's announcement, he's been approached by other men asking if he is Jason. To help clear that up, Kimmel gave him a T-shirt that read: "I'm the straight one." -- (AP)