Stars launch green-energy campaign

Plus: exhausted Empire actress hospitalised; The Holmes Brothers singer dies at 71; Bieber and Usher copyright case reopens; radio listeners unhappy with Kardashian; Joan Rivers's daughter to join Fashion Police; and The 'Burbs actor Rick Ducommun dies at 62.

Leonardo DiCaprio attends the Solutions Project garden party at La Plaza Cultural in New York. Charles Sykes / Invision / AP Photo

Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo have teamed up to widen access to clean energy. The movie stars have launched 100%, a campaign that aims to make energy from renewable sources available and affordable to all. DiCaprio has spent much time over the past few years working on environmental and animal-conservation efforts. During Thursday night’s launch at a community garden in New York, the actor said the clean-energy movement was no longer about politics but humanity. “This is a grass-roots people’s movement, but the ambition of this movement is absolutely revolutionary. Clean energy grows local economies,” he said. Avengers star Ruffalo – a co-founder of the campaign – said it was a “serious issue”. He added: “This is really mankind’s greatest threat and it should take some serious problem-­solving on all of our parts. And we don’t really have to give up anything to do it. We will be collecting the sun and the wind that falls on us every single day.” – AP

Exhausted Empire actress hospitalised

Taraji P Henson has been hospitalised suffering from exhaustion. The actress, star of the hip-hop TV drama Empire, on Friday posted a photo of an IV connected to her arm but reassured fans that she was fine and just needed a rest. A spokeswoman for the actress confirmed that she had become exhausted but was taking it easy and would be fine. No further details about the actress's location or condition were given. In her posts, Henson said: "God has a way of saying: 'You're doing too much!'" In a reference to the name of her character in Empire, the actress added that she is a "tough cookie". Henson said her mother and friends were coming to check on her. – AP

The Holmes Brothers singer dies at 71

Wendell Holmes, the guitarist, pianist, singer and songwriter with the soul and blues band The Holmes Brothers, has died. His manager, Paul Kahn, said the 71-year-old musician died on Friday at his home in Rosedale, Maryland, of complications from pulmonary hypertension. Holmes and his older brother, bassist Sherman Holmes, played at churches in Virginia when they were growing up and, after high school, started playing professionally in New York. They formed The Holmes Brothers in 1979 with drummer Willie "Popsy" Dixon, who died in January. Kahn says Wendell Holmes was a natural musical talent, whose most popular song was the soul ballad We Meet, We Part, We Remember. – AP

Bieber and Usher copyright case reopens

An appeals court has reinstated a US$10 million (Dh36.7m) lawsuit that accuses singers Justin Bieber and Usher of copying parts of a song written by two Virginia songwriters. In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, a three-judge panel said a jury should decide whether Somebody to Love, performed by the two stars, is similar to a song of the same name by Devin Copeland and Maerio Overton. A judge in Norfolk, Virginia, dismissed the complaint last year, saying the two versions differed significantly in tone and lyrical content. The appeals court acknowledged the differences, but said the choruses are similar enough that a reasonable jury might find in favour of the songwriters. – AP

Radio listeners unhappy over Kardashian

Hundreds of angry listeners have complained to America's non-profit broadcaster National Public Radio about an appearance by Kim Kardashian on the humorous quiz show Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! Kardashian took part in a segment called Not My Job, in which she answered questions about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. She answered two of three questions correctly. But many listeners were outraged that she had been invited onto the Chicago-based show. Some have threatened to stop donating to NPR. On NPR's website, ombudsman Elizabeth Jenson seemed bemused by the outrage over Kardashian's 11-minute appearance. She said that while the reality-TV star wasn't a great guest, "she was gracious" and had a couple of funny lines. – AP

Joan Rivers’s daughter to host Fashion Police

Melissa Rivers is taking her late mother Joan’s role as co-host of the TV series Fashion Police. The E! channel said she would join Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski when the celebrity fashion-critique series returns during the summer. She will also continue to serve as executive producer. E! channel executive Jeff Olde said that, as one of the show’s original producers, Melissa Rivers had helped create its blend of fashion and comedy. Her mother died last September at the age of 81 after suffering complications during minor throat surgery. Kathy Griffin joined Fashion Place as co-host this year but quit after seven episodes, saying it didn’t fit with her kind of comedy. The show has been on hiatus since. It will return for six episodes from August 31. – AP

The ’Burbs actor dies at 62

Actor and comedian Rick Ducommun, best-known for his role in the 1989 film The 'Burbs, has died. He was 62. Peter Ducommun said on Thursday that his brother died on June 12 at a hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, hospital after suffering from complications due to diabetes. After The 'Burbs which became a cult classic, Ducommun appeared in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, the Bill Murray hit Groundhog Day and Ghost in the Machine. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, his brother said the actor spent the last few years in Vancouver and stepped away from showbiz after having a family. He is survived by his four children and ex-wife. – AP