• Meghan Markle was joined by her mother Thursday to launch a cookbook aimed at raising money for the victims of London's Grenfell Tower fire. The former actress from the United States, who married Prince Harry and is now the Duchess of Sussex, hosted the reception at Kensington Palace beside her mother, Doria Ragland, to support the cookbook titled Together. The book celebrates the power of cooking to strengthen communities and bring people together. Harry also attended the event. The book was inspired by Markle's visit to the Hubb Community Kitchen in North Kensington, which could only open a few days a week for lack of funds. The cookbook features recipes from women in the community who prepare food to help and heal. The dishes include coconut chicken curry, aubergine masala, caramelized plum upside-down cake and spiced mint tea. The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people and prompted nationwide calls for tightening building codes and increasing firefighting capabilities for large apartment blocks.
• Demi Lovato's mother says the singer is "doing really well" nearly two months after being hospitalized for a drug overdose. In an interview aired this week on Newsmax TV, Dianna De La Garza said the pop star is "happy, she's healthy, she's working on her sobriety, and she's getting the help she needs." She said she found out about the overdose through text messages from people who had heard the news. She then got confirmation from Lovato's assistant and said, "I was in shock; I didn't know what to say." De La Garza said she "didn't know for two days if she was going to make it or not." Lovato was sober for six years before relapsing. De La Garza said her daughter's outlook "encourages me about her future and the future of our family."
• A 26-year-old Austin, Texas, man has been arrested on federal charges after being accused of sending threatening letters to pop star Taylor Swift and showing up at her record label in Nashville, Tenn. Federal prosecutors in Nashville said in a press release Thursday that Eric Swarbrick has been charged with interstate stalking and sending interstate communications with the intent to threaten. He is currently in custody in Texas and will be brought to Tennessee at a later date. According to prosecutors, Swarbrick personally delivered letters threatening to harm Swift and himself to the Big Machine Label Group office on multiple occasions and was arrested by Nashville police on Aug. 2. He was released from custody, but continued to send letters and emails.
A Section on 09/21/2018