newsmakers

newsmakers

Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ jacket up for auction

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

The jacket Michael Jackson wore in his “Thriller” video is hitting the auction block. Auction administrator Darren Julien says the red and black leather jacket is “the most recognized and significant piece of pop culture” to come up for sale, and he expects it to fetch at least $200,000 at the Music Icons auction on June 25 and 26 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills.

Jackson autographed the jacket as a gift to his longtime costume designers, Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush. He wanted them to use the small calfskin jacket as a template for his future concert fashions. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will benefit the Shambala Preserve, where Jackson’s two Bengal tigers, Thriller and Sabu, have been living since the pop star left his Neverland ranch in 2006.

Singer Sean Kingston breathing on his own

MIAMI

A publicist for Sean Kingston says the “Beautiful Girls” singer is breathing on his own and walking in a Miami hospital. Joseph Carozza says his client’s condition has been upgraded to serious more than a week after Kingston crashed his watercraft into a bridge off Miami Beach. A female passenger also was injured.

Bon Jovi listens to New Jersey youths

NEWARK, N.J.

Jon Bon Jovi has been taking a break from his worldwide concerts to engage in a different kind of tour — listening to the concerns of young people across the United States. The rocker visited a youth-services center in New Jersey’s largest city Monday as the final stop on a “listening tour with disengaged youth.”

It’s part of the New Jersey native’s role as a member of the White House Council for Community Solutions, which is looking at successful youth programs that can be replicated. Participants in the Newark session told Bon Jovi that jobs, a lack of mentors for young people and bullying were among their top concerns.

Vindicator wire services