Mary Wilson open to Supremes reunion
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Someday they’ll be together – well, maybe.
Mary Wilson, the longest-reigning member of the original Supremes, is open to a reunion tour with the legendary pop trio’s best-known member, Diana Ross.
Ross, Wilson and Florence Ballard made up the first successful configuration of the group. Cindy Birdsong replaced Ballard in 1967. With 12 number one singles from 1964-70, The Supremes (later, Diana Ross & The Supremes) became the biggest female vocal group in chart history.
“People always ask if we will ever reunite,” Wilson said in an interview in a Hollywood recording studio. “But that’s very difficult, because Florence passed away (in 1976). And, unfortunately, Cindy is having a few illness problems. And I think Diane is into her own stardom. She is a diva, a superstar. Sometimes it’s hard to go back.”
But reflections were no problem for the 70-year-old Wilson, who reminisced on a major milestone — the 50th anniversary of the Supremes first number one, million-selling song, Where Did Our Love Go, released June 17, 1964.
Arrestee’s ‘handsome’ mug shot goes viral
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A handsome mug shot of a Northern California man arrested on felony weapons charges has gone viral on social media, attracting more than 33,000 “likes” and drawing comments praising his high cheek bones, chiseled face and striking blue eyes.
Jeremy Meeks, 30, a convicted felon, was arrested Wednesday on five weapons charges and one gang charge, according to Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.
Silva declined to say what Meeks was previously convicted of, saying the department does not routinely release information about a suspect’s criminal history.
No previous arrest photo has garnered so much positive attention since the department set up the Facebook page in March 2012, Silva told The Associated Press.
“I have not seen that many likes for a photo before,” he said.
By late Thursday, Meeks’ arrest photo had garnered more than 33,000 “likes,” and 10,400 comments, and had been shared more than 3,300 times. Other postings on the site generally receive hundreds of “likes.”
Meeks was one of four men taken into custody during Operation Ceasefire, a multiagency mission to curb a recent increase in shootings and robberies in the Weston Ranch area of Stockton, a Northern California city of about 300,000 nestled amid the network of waterways that form the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Four firearms were confiscated during a sweep Wednesday involving the Stockton police gang unit, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Task Force and other agencies.
Silva called Meeks “one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area,” though he declined to provide any details on the crimes that Meeks is believed to have been involved in.
Meeks, who is being held in lieu of $900,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
Silva did not know whether he had retained a lawyer.
Tracy Morgan in rehab
NEWARK, NJ (AP) — Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan has been moved from a hospital to a rehabilitation facility as he recovers from a serious auto accident, his spokesman said yesterday.
The former star of 30 Rock is showing signs of improvement but has a long road to full recovery, spokesman Lewis Kay said in an email. Morgan suffered a broken leg and broken ribs in the June 7 crash.
Kay didn’t identify the rehab facility where Morgan is staying, saying only that it is in New Jersey.
Morgan’s limousine van was hit from behind by a Wal-Mart truck on the New Jersey Turnpike. Morgan’s friend James McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, was killed and Morgan and two other men were seriously injured.
On Thursday, a report by federal transportation safety investigators said truck driver Kevin Roper was driving 65 mph in the 60 seconds before he slammed into the limo van. The speed limit on that stretch of the turnpike is 55 mph and was lowered to 45 mph that night because of construction.
The report also raised anew questions about Roper’s work hours and whether they were in conflict with federal safety guidelines.
The 35-year-old Roper, of Jonesboro, Georgia, has pleaded not guilty to one count of death by auto and four counts of assault by auto.
Roper had been on the job about 13 1/2 hours at the time of the crash, the report concluded. Federal rules permit truck drivers to work up to 14 hours a day, with a maximum of 11 hours behind the wheel.
Had Roper continued to his eventual destination in Perth Amboy, he would have been pushing the 14-hour limit if he drove at the speed limit. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman had no comment Thursday on Roper’s hours or his itinerary.
The safety board report said investigators were still probing Roper’s activities in the days leading up to the crash to determine the amount of rest he received. The criminal complaint against Roper contends he hadn’t slept in more than 24 hours before the crash.