Meek Mill’s conviction thrown out

A court overturned rapper Meek Mill’s conviction in a drug and gun case and granted him a newtrial.

Meek Mill’s conviction thrown out, granted new trial

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday overturned rapper Meek Mill’s conviction in a drug and gun case that has kept the rapper on probation for a decade and made him a celebrity crusader for criminal justice reform.

The unanimous three- judge opinion granted the rapper a new trial because of new evidence of alleged police corruption and said he would likely be acquitted if the case is retried.

“We conclude the after- discovered evidence is of such a strong nature and character that a different verdict will likely result at a retrial,” the opinion said.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court also overturned the trial judge’s parole violation findings that sent the entertainer back to prison in 2017 for fivemonths, and, in a rare move, pulled her off the case.

Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley had kept Williams on probation for 10 years over his arrest in 2007 at age 19. He is now 32 and has been called back to court repeatedly over technical violations of his parole, many of them involving travel issues as he has risen to fame under the mentorship of music mogul Jay- Z.

Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, became a symbol for criminal justice reform after Brinkley sent him back to prison in 2017.

Oscar winner Anne Hathaway is pregnant with baby No. 2

NEWYORK>> Anne Hathaway is signing up for more diaper duty.

The 36- year- old actress announced Wednesday on her Instagram account that she and her husband, actor and jewelry designer Adam Shulman, are expecting their second child.

She posted a photo of her growing belly with the caption “It’s not for a movie...”

Hathaway also went on to say that she was sending “extra love” to anyone with fertility issues because she’s experienced it, too, with both pregnancies.

The new baby will join big brother, Jonathan, now three.

Hathaway, who won an Oscar for her work in “Les Miserables,” just wrapped filming the movie “The Witches” with Octavia Spencer, an adaption of the Roald Dahl childrens’ book.

Lebanese rock band takes center stage in freedoms debate

BEIRUT>> A popular Mideast rock band known for its rousing concerts and lyrics challenging social norms in the conservative Arab world is once again at the center of a heated debate about freedom of expression, this time over a planned concert in its hometown in Lebanon.

Church leaders and conservative politicians set off a storm of indignation on social media when they demanded that an August concert by Mashrou’ Leila in the coastal city of Byblos be canceled.

They say the group’s songs are an insult to Christianity.

The group supports LGBT rights and sings against sectarianism. The band has previously been banned from performing in Jordan and Egypt.