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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

People: Legend talks justice at Bahrain concert

From Wire Reports

Award-winning American singer and songwriter John Legend took to the stage in Bahrain on Monday night, performing to a sold-out crowd of more than 2,000 people despite calls by some activists to cancel the concert due to concerns over human rights abuses in the Gulf Arab nation.

“When you look at me you might see international superstar John Legend, but I’m also the descendant of slaves … but we fought for change,” he told the concertgoers before singing his Oscar-winning song “Glory,” the anthem for the film “Selma,” which is based on the historic 1965 march in Alabama led by Martin Luther King Jr.

While not addressing the turmoil in Bahrain directly, Legend explained he was at the festival “to celebrate art and its power to bring us together and help us see each other’s humanity.”

“A just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love,” added Legend.

Bahrain, a close U.S. ally that hosts the Navy’s 5th Fleet, has seen nearly daily protests by members of the Shiite majority demanding a greater say in the Sunni-led monarchy. Several thousand protesters have been jailed and dozens killed in the tiny island nation over the last four years.

‘Judge Judy’ staying in session

Daytime television’s most popular personality, “Judge Judy” Sheindlin, has extended her contract for three years and plans to keep her court in session into 2020.

CBS Television Distribution didn’t discuss terms of the deal Monday. TV Guide has reported her current salary at $47 million a year – making her by far the highest-paid personality on television. Sheindlin is 72.

“Judge Judy” is in its 19th season, and has been the top daytime TV show for the past five years.

CeeLo Green meeting probation rules

CeeLo Green has completed more than 150 hours of community service and is complying with counseling requirements that are conditions of his probation in a felony drug case, court records show.

The Grammy Award-winning singer has been working with homeless veterans in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood and with a music foundation, according to a probation report filed in the singer’s case Monday.

The favorable report led Superior Court Judge David Herriford to find Green, 39, in compliance and order that the singer no longer has to attend court hearings in the case. Green, whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, pleaded no contest in August to furnishing a woman with Ecstasy during a 2012 dinner.

He was ordered to serve 45 days of community service and attend 52 drug and alcohol counseling sessions.

Green won a Grammy for the hit “Forget You.”

Singer Jennifer Warnes is 68. Singer-guitarist Robyn Hitchcock is 62. Actress Miranda Richardson is 57. Actress Julie Bowen is 45. Actress Jessica Biel is 33.