Lady Gaga joins Andrew Cuomo against campus sex assault
Lady Gaga is teaming up with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to push for a new campus sexual assault policy at all the state’s colleges and universities.
The pop artist and the Democratic governor published a joint op-ed on Billboard magazine’s website Monday urging lawmakers to extend a policy already in place at New York’s public universities to private schools as well.
The policy includes a new definition of sexual consent requiring a clear, affirmative agreement between partners.
In the op-ed, Gaga and Cuomo say campus sexual assault is an “unacceptable epidemic” and that the bill is needed to reduce assaults and ensure justice for victims.
Franklin holds service for dad, brother
A memorial service planned by Aretha Franklin for her late father and brother has drawn hundreds of people to a Detroit church where they were ministers.
The Sunday service featuring gospel music and a free soul food buffet packed New Bethel Baptist Church, the Detroit News reported. Several people shared their memories of Franklin’s father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, and her brother, the Rev. Cecil Franklin.
Her father, who died in 1984, was also a civil rights activist, and her brother, who died in 1989, managed her career.
Nearly two hours into the service in her hometown, the soul singer appeared onstage to perform the gospel tune “The Old Ship of Zion.”
Bush keeping mum about election
The matriarch of the Bush dynasty says she wants no role in the 2016 presidential election.
“I’ve promised that during this next campaign season, I will not talk,” former first lady Barbara Bush said Monday on NBC’s “Today” show, the day she celebrated her 90th birthday. “I won’t give any interviews.”
Her son Jeb is expected to announce on June 15 that he intends to run for the Republican nomination and become the third Bush to win the White House. Though she told CNN in 2013 that “I really don’t” want Jeb to run for president because “we’ve had enough Bushes,” she’s now behind him.
Lee inducted into writers hall of fame
“To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee is among the inaugural inductees for the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.
The 89-year-old Lee and 11 other writers were honored as the hall’s first class Monday night in Tuscaloosa.
The honor comes weeks before the release of Lee’s second book, “Go Set a Watchman.”
Posthumous inductees to the hall include Helen Keller and William March.
The birthday bunch
Comedian Jackie Mason is 87. Actor Michael J. Fox is 54. Actor Johnny Depp is 52. Actress Gloria Reuben is 51. Actress Michaela Conlin (“Bones”) is 37. Actress Natalie Portman is 34.