People: ‘Law and Order’ actress supports rape kit testing efforts
Actress Mariska Hargitay, who portrays a police detective on television, on Monday pledged her support for a real-life crime-fighting effort: quicker testing for a backlog of thousands of rape kits in the Detroit area and across Michigan.
Hargitay, a star of NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” joined Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in announcing legislation at the state level aimed at stopping serial rapists by better identifying and arresting suspects in sexual assault cases through the testing.
For the past few years, Worthy’s office has been slowly wading through sexual assault kits recovered in 2009 from a Detroit police storage facility. They contain DNA and other evidence from rape cases, but a majority of the 11,000 kits never were tested in a lab.
Hundreds of thousands of kits are believed to sit untested in police departments across the country.
Testing can bring justice to rape victims, said Hargitay, founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, which works with victims of sexual abuse, child abuse and domestic violence.
Of 1,600 Detroit kits tested, 59 percent have yielded matches in a federal DNA databank. Worthy said 87 serial rapists have been identified and 10 convictions made.
Nationally, President Barack Obama is proposing $35 million in the 2015 fiscal year budget to address the testing backlog.
Mel Tillis recovers post-surgery
Country Music Hall of Fame singer Mel Tillis is recovering in Nashville after heart surgery over the weekend.
According to a statement from his daughter, Pam Tillis, the 81-year-old singer required a “routine heart procedure,” but is expected to make a full recovery.
Tillis became a successful songwriter and singer despite dealing with a stutter. His hits include “Good Woman Blues,” “Coca Cola Cowboy” and “Southern Rain.”
Bieber serenades ex-flame Gomez
Justin Bieber has kicked off the music portion of South by Southwest before the real program begins.
The 20-year-old pop star surprised a small crowd at Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden in Austin, Texas, on Sunday night.
Audience member Ashley Gregg said Monday that Bieber performed two songs, dedicating “Boyfriend” to ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez, who was backstage.
“This goes out to my baby girl,” Bieber told a crowd of about 100 people.
The music portion of South by Southwest, which will feature Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Willie Nelson and Kendrick Lamar, starts today.
The birthday bunch
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is 83. ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson is 80. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is 78. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 64. Movie director Jerry Zucker is 64. Singer Lisa Loeb is 46. Actor Terrence Howard is 45. Actor Johnny Knoxville is 43. Actor Anton Yelchin is 25.