Alum David Letterman donates hundreds of items to Ball State
MUNCIE, IND. » Ball State University alum and comedian David Letterman has donated more than 1,000 memorabilia items — including 15 Emmy Awards he won as talk show host — to the eastern Indiana school.
The (Muncie) Star Press reports that Ball State is appraising, researching and doing inventory on the items.
The gift was announced during a 2015 appearance by Letterman on the Muncie campus. Some items started arriving last August. Shipments have continued this year.
Letterman’s Kennedy Center Honor medal from 2012 and signed photos of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama from their “Late Show” appearances also were donated.
UK palace releases Prince George’s 4th birthday portrait
LONDON » Kensington Palace has released a portrait to mark Prince George’s fourth birthday.
The son of Prince William and his wife Kate celebrated his birthday Saturday. George, who is third in line to the throne, is beaming with a happy smile in the photo.
The palace said William and Kate “are delighted to share a new official portrait of Prince George to mark His Royal Highness’s fourth birthday.” It was taken by a professional photographer. In the past, Kate has released photos she has taken of the children.
George and his 2-yearold sister Princess Charlotte have been traveling with their parents this week on an official visit to Poland and Germany.
In Germany, George toured a helicopter similar to the one his father William has flown as a rescue pilot.
Country singer Scotty McCreery cited for handgun at airport
RALEIGH, N.C. » Country singer Scotty McCreery has been cited after authorities say he had a loaded handgun with him in Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Authorities told local media organizations that they found a loaded 9 millimeter handgun in McCreery’s backpack at a security checkpoint on July 13. He told authorities he had been at a firing range and forgot to take the gun out. He was flying Nashville, Tennessee.
Authorities say he had a valid concealed carry permit. He was cited for a misdemeanor concealed weapon permit violation and released.
McCreery told WTVDTV in a statement that he has learned a lesson he won’t forget, adding, “I take gun safety very seriously.” to
Russian spies’ New Jersey home heading for sale
MONTCLAIR, N.J. » A New Jersey home that has been vacant since the FBI arrested a family of undercover Russian spies living there is heading for sale.
Vladimir and Lydia Guryev lived in the home in Montclair under the names Richard and Cynthia Murphy before they were arrested in 2010 along with eight other spies accused of leading double lives, complete with false passports, secret code words, fake names, invisible ink and encrypted radio.
The parents of two young daughters had pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country and were deported to Russia in exchange for four people convicted of betraying Moscow to the West being let out of prison there.
Their story partially inspired the FX drama “The Americans,” about two undercover Russian spies that live in the U.S. with two young children.
Lydia Guryev worked as an accountant in New York and was accused of using her financial contacts to pass information to Moscow.
NJ.com reports (http:// bit.ly/2uLLG54 ) that investor Jeremy MacDonald is planning to renovate and then try to sell the home. He says he hopes it will sell for about $700,000 after doing about $200,000 in renovations, including repairing its yellow, chipped paint and dealing with overgrown bushes.
“I didn’t even know it used to be a Russian spy house,” MacDonald said. “The realtor I’m currently working with showed me all the news articles about its history.”
He said that he doesn’t expect the Russian spy connection to help or hurt the sale.
Creators, cast of ‘Stranger Things’ debut season 2 trailer
SAN DIEGO » The creators of “Stranger Things” premiered a trailer for the show’s second season at Comic-Con on Saturday that was so new, even the cast hadn’t seen it.
The Duffer Bros. were joined by director Shawn Levy and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Matthew Modine and the crew of young actors who play a group of friends searching for their buddy who mysteriously disappears. The trailer shows that Will Byers, who went missing in the first season, continues to be haunted by the experience.
Three new cast members were introduced: Paul Reiser, Dacre Montgomery and Sadie Sink. Reiser plays a government official. Sink joins the group of boys. And Montgomery described his character as a “human antagonist.”