newsmakers

newsmakers

Utah appeals ruling in ‘Sister Wives’ case

SALT LAKE CITY

Utah’s attorney general has formally appealed a ruling striking down parts of the state’s anti-polygamy law in a lawsuit brought by the family on the TLC reality TV show “Sister Wives.”

The attorney general’s office filed the appeal Thursday with the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In December, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in favor of reality-show star Kody Brown and his four wives. He said a provision of the law forbidding cohabitation violated the Browns’ freedom of religion.

Advocacy groups for polygamy and individual liberties hailed it as a landmark decision that removed the threat of arrest for plural families in Utah.

Brown family attorney Jonathan Turley has said the family will take the legal fight to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

Taylor Swift, Pharrell to perform at Jingle Ball

NEW YORK

Taylor Swift, Pharrell and Maroon 5 are among the acts set to perform at radio station Z100’s Jingle Ball 2014 concert in New York City.

Other performers announced Thursday for the Dec. 12 concert at Madison Square Garden include Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, 5 Seconds of Summer, Charli XCX, Jessie J, Rita Ora, Meghan Trainor and Rixton.

Jingle Ball 2014 tickets will go on sale Thursday.

The concert will be streamed live at Yahoo.com and later broadcast as a two-hour special Dec. 18 on the CW.

The same acts will perform Dec. 5 as part of KIIS’s Jingle Ball 2014 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The national iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour will make stops in cities including Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami and Tampa, Fla.

‘Saturday Night Live’ veteran Jan Hooks dead at 57

Actress Jan Hooks, best known for her work on “Saturday Night Live” and “Designing Women,” died Thursday, a spokeswoman of Innovative Artists, the agency that represented her, confirmed. She was 57.

A cause of death was not released.

Hooks was in a variety of other television shows and movies, including a role in the 1992 blockbuster “Batman Returns.”

She also had roles on “Third Rock from the Sun,” “The Simpsons” and “30 Rock.”

Hooks was a part of an “SNL” cast that included Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, Phil Hartman, Victoria Jackson, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon and A. Whitney Brown.

Hooks was born April 23, 1957, in Decatur, Ga.

One of her first roles in film was in 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

Vindicator wire services