NEWSMAKERS: Palace reveals details of prince’s wedding

NEWSMAKERS

Palace reveals details of prince’s wedding

LONDON

The bride will arrive by car and leave in a gilded carriage, as befits a newly minted princess. Those key details and others about the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton emerged Wednesday in advance of their April 29 wedding at Westminster Abbey.

Prince Charles’ representative broke weeks of silence with a statement that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will marry the couple in an 11 a.m. ceremony that will include several other prominent clergy.

The palace also lifted the secrecy surrounding the processional route the newlyweds will take from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace — information deemed vital to those hoping to get out early and catch a glimpse of the couple as they glide by in a horse-drawn carriage. Palace officials said Queen Elizabeth II, William’s grandmother, would host a reception at Buckingham Palace after the wedding ceremony, with guests drawn from the wedding congregation.

‘Baker Street’ singer Gerry Rafferty dies

LONDON

Gerry Rafferty’s agent says the Scottish singer behind hit songs “Baker Street” and “Stuck in the Middle With You” has died. He was 63. Paul Charles confirmed Tuesday that his client, whose 1978 hit record “Baker Street” reached No. 3 in the U.K. and No. 2 in the U.S. music charts, had passed away after a long illness.

Rafferty wrote hit single “Stuck in the Middle With You” in 1972 while performing as part of the Scottish folk-rock band Stealers Wheel. The ode — or mocking tribute— to Bob Dylan’s raspy voice grew new wings in filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s movie “Reservoir Dogs,” and has sold more than a million copies worldwide. He made headlines in recent years for his public struggles with alcoholism and reportedly had suffered liver failure.

Police: Collins failed to pay restaurant tab

JACKSON, Miss.

Police say they arrested former TV host and actor Gary Collins and charged him with the felony of leaving a restaurant without paying his $59.35 tab. Rodney McGilvary, assistant chief of the Biloxi police department, confirmed that Collins was arrested Tuesday. He said Collins was being held early Wednesday on a $5,000 bond in a detention center in Gulfport.

In November, Collins was charged with a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of a minor auto accident in Jackson. He was fined $500.

Meteorologist wanted attention, cops say

NEW YORK

Authorities say a New York TV meteorologist told police she concocted claims of being attacked because she was under personal and professional stress and wanted attention. Heidi Jones appeared briefly in a Manhattan court Wednesday to answer misdemeanor charges of false reporting. Her lawyer says she’ll fight the charges.

Prosecutors filed a court document Wednesday. It says Jones told police Dec. 1 that she’d been attacked in Central Park in September and then again outside her apartment in November. Police investigated. The court document says Jones then admitted Dec. 13 that she’d made up the attacks “for attention” and because of stress.

Report: Boney M died of heart disease

MOSCOW

Russian investigators say Boney M singer Bobby Farrell — whose group Boney M topped the 1970s European charts with glittering showmanship and a dance floor-filling blend of disco and Calypso music — died of heart disease. Farrell, a 61-year-old native of Aruba, was found dead Dec. 30 in his hotel room in St. Petersburg, where the group had come for a performance.

The frontman had appeared as scheduled at a concert in the city the night before, but Farrell complained of breathing problems before and after the show, his agent, John Seine, said at the time.

Sergei Kaptionov, a spokesman for the St. Petersburg branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, was quoted by Russian news agencies Wednesday as saying the death was due to heart disease and was not a criminal matter.

Associated Press