Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.
Late actor Heston’s insult of judge helps upend murder conviction
A decades-old feud between a Philadelphia judge and the late actor Charlton Heston may have helped a Pennsylvania man get his 1998 murder conviction overturned on Tuesday. A U.S. appeals court granted Paul McKernan’s last-ditch appeal, ruling that the judge who found him guilty 19 years ago, Lisa Richette, may have felt pressure to dispel Heston’s claim that she was soft on crime.
SoundCloud launches budget plan to attract paying subscribers
Music-streaming service SoundCloud launched a budget subscription package on Tuesday, hoping to convert more listeners into paying subscribers and undercutting rivals Apple and Spotify. The $4.99 per-month offer will give subscribers access to 120 million music tracks without having to listen to ads. Its $9.99 premium subscription, rebranded as SoundCloud Go+, offers 150 million tracks, with new features to be announced this year.
Xbox unveils $9.99 monthly subscription for videogames
Microsoft Corp’s Xbox division said on Tuesday it would launch a $9.99-per-month subscription service that will allow gamers to play over 100 Xbox One and “backward compatible” Xbox 360 videogames. The service, “Xbox Game Pass”, will allow subscribers to download games directly to a console and play them online as well as offline, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, said in a blog post.
U2 is sued for allegedly stealing song for ‘Achtung Baby’
A British songwriter and guitarist has sued U2, claiming the band stole one of his works for a song on its blockbuster 1991 album “Achtung Baby.” In a complaint filed on Monday night in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Paul Rose sought at least $5 million in damages from U2 lead singer Bono and bandmates The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., as well as Island Records.
Future’s self-titled album tops Billboard 200 chart
Rapper Future topped the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 chart on Monday, scoring his fourth chart-topping album. Atlanta rapper Future’s self-titled album sold 140,000 units in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan for the week ending Feb. 23.
Judge lets Cosby have jurors from other Pennsylvania county
A judge granted a request by Bill Cosby’s defense lawyers on Monday to have jurors picked from a different Pennsylvania county in his upcoming sexual assault trial. The comedian’s lawyers had argued that his case had drawn too much publicity to allow for a fair criminal trial in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.