POLICE: MAN BROKE INTO TAYLOR SWIFT'S HOME, TOOK OFF SHOES

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) — Police say a man who broke into Taylor Swift's beachfront mansion in Rhode Island took his shoes off because he wanted to be polite.

Westerly police who responded to the home just after 5 p.m. Friday found 26-year-old Richard Joseph McEwan inside.

Police Chief Shawn Lacey tells The Westerly Sun the Milford, New Jersey man wasn't wearing shoes. When asked why, he said he was always taught to take his shoes off when entering someone's home to be polite.

He's charged with breaking and entering and wilful trespassing. Online court records did not list a defence attorney.

Lacey says his officers have had to deal with several suspicious people at the singer's home, but this is the first time he remembers someone making it inside.

He says no one was home.

SMOLLETT'S ATTORNEYS ARGUE CITY LAWSUIT SHOULD BE TOSSED

CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett's attorneys say the actor shouldn't have to pay Chicago $130,000 for the police investigation into what he claimed was a racist and homophobic attack because he had no way of knowing how much time officers would spend on the probe.

That argument contained in a filing this week by Smollett's attorneys is the latest effort to have the city's federal lawsuit dismissed.

Attorneys say Smollett couldn't have known that his police report after the alleged January attack would trigger 1,836 hours of police overtime and that such reports don't typically result in such extensive investigations.

Smollett was charged with staging the attack but after he pleaded not guilty, prosecutors dismissed the charges. Now a special prosecutor is examining that decision. A court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22.

COUNTRY MUSICIAN BENTLEY FINED FOR ILLEGAL COLORADO FISHING

DENVER (AP) — Country music star Dierks Bentley has been fined $139.50 for fishing without a license after Colorado concertgoers reported him to state officials.

The Denver Post reported Monday that Bentley and fellow country star Luke Bryan talked on stage about fishing during a festival in Buena Vista.

Officials say audience members contacted the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department to check whether the singers had fishing licenses.

Officials say the reports alone were not enough to warrant action, but Bentley posted online proof Sunday.

A photo posted on social media shows Bentley holding a brown trout in Cottonwood Creek in the central Colorado town.

A parks and wildlife spokesman says an officer located Bentley in Buena Vista Monday and issued a ticket.

Bentley paid the fine in cash on the spot.

APRIL TRIAL DATE SET IN R. KELLY'S FEDERAL CASE IN CHICAGO

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has set an April 27 trial date in R. Kelly's federal case in Chicago that accuses the R&B star of child pornography and obstruction of justice.

But the judge said at a Wednesday status hearing the date could be moved since the 52-year-old faces similar cases in three other judicial districts.

Kelly stood in court in orange jail clothes, his hands behind his back. Several supporters waved at Kelly as he was led back to jail and he nodded in their direction.

Kelly attorney Steve Greenberg told the hearing that having to prepare for four trials is challenging and he wasn't sure the singer's legal team could ready by April. Prosecutor Angel Krull estimated a trial would last three weeks.

The next hearing is Sept. 18.

AP EXCLUSIVE: R. KELLY'S DAUGHTER SAYS MUSIC 'SAVED MY LIFE'

NEW YORK (AP) — For a long time, Buku Abi ran away from pursuing music.

As the daughter of R. Kelly, she experienced her fair share of hardships, especially in her teenage years when she contemplated suicide. Abi said going to public school for the first time was challenging — there she heard stories about her father that she had not heard before.

But while singing onstage in high school, she said she discovered music was for her.

Entering the music business comes with a different challenge for Abi though: She can't escape the fact that R. Kelly — who is in the midst of multiple sexual abuse charges — is her father. She is no longer in touch with him and says being his daughter is like "a double-edged sword."

Abi released her debut EP, "Don't Call Me," this March.

OPRAH WINFREY LAUNCHING WELLNESS ARENA TOUR IN EARLY 2020

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is taking her motivational spirit on the road early next year with an arena tour to promote a healthier lifestyle.

The talk-show host and chief of OWN television network said Wednesday that she will launch the "Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus" tour starting Jan. 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is working with Weight Watchers Reimagined to offer a full day of wellness conversations during the nine-city tour.

It's her first speaking tour in five years.

Winfrey says she wants to empower audiences to "support a stronger, healthier, abundant life." She will be joined by high-profile guests. The names will be released at a later date.

Winfrey's previous speaking tours include "Oprah's Life Class" and "Oprah's The Life You Want Weekend" in 2014.

RAPPER FUTURE TO GIVE SCHOLARSHIPS, TICKETS TO FANS ON TOUR

ATLANTA (AP) — The rapper Future has promised to give a $2,000 scholarship and pair of concert tickets to a fan at each stop on his Legendary Nights tour.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that eligible fans must be active area college students who follow Future's FreeWishes Foundation on Instagram and submit an essay on how the scholarship would "be a dream come true." The website says the Atlanta rapper and his family launched the non-profit to deliver messages of hope by "making dreams come alive."

Future, whose real name is Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, is touring 24 cities with Meek Mill and Megan Thee Stallion. The tour started in St. Louis, Missouri, and ends in Atlanta this month. Applications are due before the tour stops in each applicant's city.

MOTOWN FOUNDER BERRY GORDY DONATES $4M TO MUSEUM EXPANSION

DETROIT (AP) — Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. is donating $4 million toward a project to expand a museum housed in the Detroit building where he built his music empire.

Motown Museum announced Wednesday that Gordy's gift is the largest individual donation to the project. It coincides with Motown's 60th anniversary.

Gordy says in a statement that he's "excited about the future" of the museum and "happy to support it."

Museum expansion plans, announced in 2016, include interactive exhibits, a performance theatre, recording studios, an expanded retail area and meeting spaces.

Gordy launched the company in 1959 and moved it to Los Angeles in 1972. His late sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, launched the museum in the former "Hitsville U.S.A." headquarters in 1985.

SOUND:

081229-w-330:96-(Margie Szaroleta (zar-oh-LEH'-tah), AP music correspondent, with music)-"I'm Margie Szaroleta"-Motown founder Berry Gordy donates $4M to museum expansion (4 Sep 2019)

¤¤CUT ´081229 (09/04/19)££ 330:96 "I'm Margie Szaroleta"

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET MAKES A BIG IMPRESSION IN VENICE

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Timothée Chalamet has made a movie star's debut at the 76th Venice International Film Festival this week for his Henry V film "The King."

The 23-year-old Oscar nominee wore a bold silver suit and silky blouse from French-Colombian designer Haider Ackermann for his walk down the red carpet Monday.

Chalamet said Tuesday male actors in the past might have felt pressure to avoid using wardrobe as self-expression but he finds it fun.

The "Call Me By Your Name" star has caused a commotion nearly everywhere he's turned up on the Lido, with hordes of fans swarming him for autographs and photos, which he obliged where possible.

"The King" director David Michôd says last year they could walk through London without any fuss, but Chalamet's life is "very different now."

SWEDISH LAWYER WON'T APPEAL A$AP ROCKY'S ASSAULT VERDICT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The lawyer for American rapper A$AP Rocky says his client won't appeal his assault conviction for a June 30 street brawl in Stockholm.

Slobodan Jovicic told Sweden's TT news agency Wednesday that the rapper doesn't have the energy to appeal.

A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, had pleaded self-defence and said he had tried to avoid a confrontation with two men who he said were persistently following his entourage. He said during his trial that one of the men picked a fight with a bodyguard.

On Aug. 14, Mayers and the bodyguards were given "conditional sentences" for the assault convictions, meaning they won't serve prison time unless they commit a similar offence in Sweden again.

Last month, the prosecutor said he wouldn't appeal the verdict either.

MARIO BATALI'S INDECENT ASSAULT CASE RETURNS TO COURT

BOSTON (AP) — A hearing on the indecent assault and battery case against celebrity chef Mario Batali is scheduled.

A judge is slated to hear arguments Wednesday from lawyers at a pre-trial hearing in Boston Municipal Court. It's not immediately clear what issues will be addressed.

Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins' office and lawyers for Batali didn't respond to emails seeking comment Tuesday.

A hearing was also held last week in the case. Batali didn't attend and wasn't expected to attend Wednesday.

Batali pleaded not guilty in May to forcibly kissing and groping a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. His career crumbled in the wake of that and other accusations of sexual misconduct.

Batali's lawyer has said the Boston charge is "without merit."

RENOWNED FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER PETER LINDBERGH HAS DIED AT 74

PARIS (AP) — Renowned German fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, who worked in the 1980s and 1990s with supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista, has died. He was 74.

A message posted on Lindbergh's official Instagram account by his wife Petra, his ex-wife, his four sons and seven grandchildren writes "it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Lindbergh ... He leaves a big void."

The cause and circumstances of the death Tuesday were not detailed.

Lindbergh was renowned for his cinematic, elegant style. Born in 1944, he grew up in Germany, where he made his first steps as a photographer before moving to Paris in 1978 to pursue his career.

News from © The Associated Press, 2019