Jury seated for R. Kelly trial
CHICAGO, May 16 (UPI) -- Jury selection for R&B singer R. Kelly's long-delayed child pornography trial in Chicago was completed and opening statements are slated to begin next week.
The 12-member jury consists of eight white people and four black people. Four of the jurors are women, the Chicago Tribune said Friday.
The last four jurors, as well as four alternates, were chosen Thursday.
Kelly's attorneys accused prosecutors throughout the selection process of deliberately trying to prevent African-Americans from serving on the panel. The singer's lawyers also complained when Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan allowed a rape victim on the jury, the Chicago Sun-Times said.
When the prosecution moved to strike a black prospective juror from the pool because of his criminal record, defense attorney Sam Adam Sr. stood up and told the court, "They've used 50 percent of their challenges on African-Americans."
Gaughan countered by saying to Adam, "You haven't said anything about all the white males you've dismissed."
Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Boliker noted that all six of the defense's challenges were for white prospective jurors, the Sun-Times said.
Gaughan denied the defense's request to dismiss the rape victim, stating they looked directly at Kelly and sincerely promised him a fair trial.
Kate to stand in for Will at royal wedding
LONDON, May 16 (UPI) -- Kate Middleton reportedly is standing in for her boyfriend, Britain's Prince William, at the wedding of Queen Elizabeth's eldest grandchild Peter Phillips.
The Daily Telegraph said Middleton will attend Saturday's royal wedding alone, while her boyfriend heads to Kenya for a close friend's wedding.
The decision to have Middleton stand in for the prince at a royal event is fueling speculation that an engagement between Middleton and William is imminent, the newspaper said.
Clarence House declined to comment on the scheduling of the two events but a senior royal source told The Telegraph the prince's family isn't upset with him for missing the wedding of his cousin.
"Prince William is going to be out of the country this weekend on a long-standing prior engagement," the source said. "It is an unfortunate clash but he spoke to his cousin Peter and he is fine with the situation. His girlfriend will be going in his absence."
Ludacris, Tommy Lee to build bamboo houses
LOS ANGELES, May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. rocker Tommy Lee and rapper Ludacris are to help build two environmentally friendly houses from sustainable structural bamboo on a TV special.
"Battleground Earth: Ludacris vs. Tommy Lee" is to debut Aug. 3 on Discovery Communication's new Planet Green channel.
"These structures are the first of their kind to be built on the U.S. mainland and result from decades of testing non-toxic, sustainable treatments to get structural bamboo internationally certified for permitted residential and commercial buildings," Jeffree Trudeau, president of Hawaii's Bamboo Technologies, said in a statement.
"Our buildings range in size from a 120-square-foot tropical bungalow, like those assembled on 'Battleground Earth,' to an over 3,000-square-foot, fully insulated, two-story Bamboo Mansion," Trudeau added. "The smaller kits assemble in a matter of days, and in the case of Tommy Lee and Ludacris, in a matter of hours, making them particularly attractive for disaster relief."
"Battleground Earth's" houses will be disassembled and auctioned on eBay.
'LEGO Indiana Jones' game debuts online
REDMOND, Wash., May 16 (UPI) -- Microsoft and LucasArts have premiered "LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures," a game based on the Hollywood film franchise, at GamesforWindows.com.
Microsoft announced Thursday that an exclusive playable demo of the upcoming Games for Windows-branded "LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures" is available on the official Games for Windows Web site, which can be reached by visiting http://www.lucasarts.com/games/legoindianajones/demo or http://www.gamesforwindows.com/.
The game's debut came a week before "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the fourth installment in the film series, is set to hit theaters.
The game will be available in stores June 3.
