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John sued by off-duty officer alleging sexual harassment

LOS ANGELES

A decorated Los Angeles police captain has sued Elton John, claiming he was repeatedly groped by the singer while he was working off-duty on the Grammy winner’s security detail.

The lawsuit filed Monday by Capt. Jeffrey Wenninger alleges the groping and sexually suggestive comments by John occurred in early 2014. Orin Snyder, an attorney for John’s Rocket Entertainment Group, denied the allegations.

“This baseless lawsuit is brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment,” Snyder said in a statement. “These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff.”

Wenninger was employed off-duty through a private company that he also is suing, alleging he was improperly removed from working with John in September 2014. That lawsuit states he found out about the change after he requested to work with the singer.

Video Game Hall of Fame reveals finalists for May induction

ROCHESTER, N.Y.

“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Space Invaders” and “John Madden Football” are among 15 games named Tuesday as finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

The winners will be inducted May 5 at The Strong museum in Rochester, where the hall opened last year.

The contenders also include: “Elite,” “Final Fantasy,” “Grand Theft Auto III,” “The Legend of Zelda,” “Minecraft,” “Nurburgring,” “The Oregon Trail,” “Pokemon Red and Green,” “Sid Meier’s Civilization,” “The Sims,” “Street Fighter II” and “Tomb Raider.”

The finalists “span decades, gaming platforms and countries of origin, but what they all have in common is their undeniable impact on the world of gaming and popular culture,” said Jon-Paul Dyson, director of The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games.

The list was culled from thousands of nominations from more than 100 countries, hall officials said. An international advisory committee of journalists, scholars and others will guide the final selection.

Associated Press