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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Celebrity sale: K-pop star T.O.P adds millennial appeal to record Sotheby"s auction

Hong Kong (CNN)A Sotheby"s auction guest-curated by Korean pop star T.O.P. pulled in $17.4 million (HKD$136 million) on October 3, exceeding pre-sale high estimates and setting multiple auction records.

"Infantry", a 1983 painting by the late American artist Jean Basquiat, was the evening"s top lot out of the collection of 28 Asian and Western contemporary artworks, realizing $5.98 million.

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Ahead of the auction, CNN Style interviewed T.O.P during an exhibition preview in Seoul, South Korea

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A commissioned work by Japanese artist Kohei Nawa also sold for $72,115 ($562,500 HKD), seven times the high-estimate projected by Sotheby"s.

Seven of the top 10 works sold to private Asian buyers whose names were not disclosed.

RELATED: A private viewing of #TTTOP

The success of the evening was largely thanks to its unlikely star, K-pop icon T.O.P of South Korean boy band Big Bang. An avid art collector, T.O.P curated the auction and helped Sotheby"s reach a younger demographic with hype-generating posts to his 5.8 million Instagram followers.

Curated by T.O.P #TTTOP @Sothebys in Seoul

A video posted by T.O.P (@choi_seung_hyun_tttop) on Sep 21, 2016 at 2:12am PDT

The auction highlighted the spending power of millennials in Asia, as well as the power of celebrity-endorsed social media, especially when it comes to art.

In China alone, the consumption rate of people between the ages of 18 and 30 is growing at 14% a year, according to the Boston Consulting Group, double that of those age 35 and older.

The importance of drawing in young collectors in Asia is not lost on Yuki Terase, a contemporary Asian art specialist at Sotheby"s Hong Kong.

"As much of 40 percent of new clients that transact with us for the first time in Asia are young collectors (those being under 40 years old)," Terase says. "So it"s a very significant phenomenon that we witness in Asia that is truly notable and influences the entire art world."

Democrats gain narrow registration edge in Colorado

(CNN)For the first time in 30 years, Democrats have the voter registration advantage in the battleground state of Colorado, edging ahead of Republicans in a key metric of party strength with one month to go before Election Day.

According to new numbers released Monday by the Colorado Secretary of State, there are about 6,000 more Democrats on the rolls than Republicans. There are 998,845 registered Democrats and 992,944 registered Republicans. That being said, there are still more independent voters in the state -- 1,080,438 Coloradans are currently registered as "unaffiliated."

The GOP lead has been shrinking in recent months -- it was roughly 12,000 in August and 2,700 in September.

Republicans have enjoyed an edge in voter registration in Colorado since 1986, according to an analysis of decades of publicly available voter registration records. The numbers fluctuate on a monthly basis, but the GOP advantage was about 177,000 in November 2004, when George W. Bush carried the state. Republicans continued to lead Democrats on the voter rolls even as Barack Obama won Colorado in 2008 and again in 2012.

Clinton leads by 11 points over Trump in a four-way race, according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday.

Shifts in registration don"t necessarily indicate which party is attracting new voters -- that"s because people switch parties, move to new states, and are scrubbed from the rolls when they die. But these statistics are an important part of the political landscape and can indicate which party is more organized on the ground.

Ferrari reveals fastest convertible of all time -- and has already sold out

Paris (CNN)Ferrari has revealed its fastest convertible ever -- and it has already sold out.

Named the LaFerrari Aperta, the brand new ride is a convertible version of an existing model, the LaFerrari hybrid supercar.

Read: World"s most outrageous concept cars

The car was revealed to the public for the first time on September 29 at the Paris Motor Show, but it actually sold out in July -- despite its hefty $2.2-million price tag.

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The Aperta features a V12 engine with 750 horsepower, making it the most powerful engine ever used in a Ferrari road car, with a top speed of 217 miles per hour.

From prison to paragon: These beautiful buildings were former jails

(CNN)Jails are not the first place people typically look to for design inspiration. For the most part they are brutalist, utilitarian blocks that are built to house row after row of prison cells and which offer altogether dismal living conditions.

But a few disused penitentiaries have had their potential unlocked by redevelopers -- and in these second leases on life, former jails have been transformed into everything from luxury hotels to schools, shopping complexes, or even a film lot.

Pentridge Prison in Australia guarded some of the nation"s most notorious criminals -- including the legendary outlawed "bushranger" Ned Kelly -- but it"s now being re-envisioned as a vibrant residential and commercial hub in Melbourne.

In the Turkish capital of Istanbul, the Sultanahmet "Capital City Murder" Jail -- which is now a luxurious Four Seasons Hotel -- had its fifth section reserved for famous personages such as poet Nazim Hikmet and satirist Aziz Nesin. Somewhat foreshadowing its destiny as hotel accommodation, the prison was ironically referred to as "The Hilton".

Take a look through the gallery above to see creative examples of former prison spaces now rehabilitated.

South Carolina boy shot at school to get "superhero funeral"

(CNN)A "superhero funeral" will be held on Wednesday for Jacob Hall, a 6-year-old boy who died after being shot last week at a South Carolina elementary school, CNN affiliate WHNS reported.

Jacob"s mother, Renae Hall, said the boy loved superheroes and always wanted to save people from danger.

That"s why the pallbearers at the funeral will be dressed in superhero outfits and people attending the Tuesday visitation and Wednesday funeral are encouraged to wear a superhero costume or T-shirt, she said.

Jacob will be dressed in a Batman costume, reported CNN affiliate WYFF.

"I don"t want suits and ties and all that," Hall told WHNS. "There will be a lot of children there and I don"t want it to be scary for them. Jacob will be dressed in his superhero costume."

Jacob died on Saturday in a hospital. He was shot on September 28 when a 14-year-old boy opened fire at the playground at Townville Elementary School, southwest of Greenville, authorities said. Another child and a teacher were wounded.

Before going to the school, the teen shot and killed his father at their Townville home, authorities said. No motive has been released.

Because of his age, the youth is not being named by authorities.

The local prosecutor said Monday that because Jacob died, an attempted murder charge against the teenager has been upgraded to murder.

The suspect also faces five counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and a third attempted murder charge for a recently identified child victim. The teenager was charged with murder in his father"s death.

A GoFundMe effort has raised more than $126,500 for the Hall family and their expenses.

Supreme Court, like the country, struggles with race

(CNN)Race has divided the Roberts court like nearly no other issue.

The justices have wrangled over how openly to talk about their differences. And now, as a new session begins, the court is delving into a set of racially charged cases in the explosive context of the criminal justice system.

The disputes evoke some of the hostile rhetoric of the presidential campaign and real conflicts seen on urban streets: Slurs against Mexican-Americans. Testimony that black defendants are more dangerous than whites. A claim that police used racial epithets during an arrest then fabricated evidence.

The cases could especially test a Supreme Court that has been trying to smooth over differences since the February death of Antonin Scalia and no Senate action on US Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland, nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed him.

The cases also arise as individual justices have been speaking more pointedly about the state of race in America.

Denying the request for a hearing, the Colorado Supreme Court said H.C."s comments, no matter how "ideologically loathsome," did not merit an exception to jury deliberation secrecy.

Two years ago, the Supreme Court foreshadowed this dispute when it reinforced the principle protecting deliberations but said in the opinion by Sotomayor that, "There may be cases of juror bias so extreme that, almost by definition, the jury trial right has been abridged." The new case will be heard October 11.

A long-running Texas appeal spotlights a psychologist"s testimony during sentencing that Duane Buck, an African-American convicted of the 1995 murder of his former girlfriend and a male friend, was statistically more likely to commit future violent acts than a white defendant.

Buck contends he was denied effective assistance of counsel; his lawyers had hired the psychologist to testify on his behalf. Lower courts ruled that Buck lacked the "extraordinary circumstances" needed to reopen his case.

Five years ago when the high court rejected a separate appeal from Buck, two justices (Sotomayor and Elena Kagan) said his case was "marred by racial overtones" and should be reviewed.

Three others justices (Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer and Scalia) deemed the psychologist"s testimony "bizarre and objectionable" but were among those rejecting Buck"s petition. His new appeal will be heard Wednesday.

When can citizens sue for "malicious prosecution?"

The third racially charged dispute also up Wednesday explores when a person may sue for "malicious prosecution" based on Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The dispute traces to March 18, 2011, when Joliet, Illinois, police officers stopped a car for failure to signal a turn and pulled Elijah Manuel from it. Manuel"s lawyers told the justices in a filing that an officer him pushed him to the ground and said, "You remember me, street punk? Now I got you... ." The officer used a racial slur on Manuel, who is African-American.

Police found a bottle of pills that Manuel said were vitamins but that officers contended were illegal Ecstasy pills. Manuel said tests at the scene and in a police lab showed the pills did not contain controlled substances. Police claimed the opposite, leading to his indictment for unlawful possession. When Manuel"s lawyer asked for a copy of lab results and it was clear the pills were not illegal, Manuel was released from jail on May 5, 2011.

Manuel sued for "malicious prosecution" on April 22, 2013, possibly beyond a two-year statute of limitations. The case involves several procedural issues, but an overriding question is whether Fourth Amendment protection extends beyond an arrest, through arraignment, and can serve as the basis of a "malicious prosecution" claim.

The Innocence Network, a decade-old consortium of 69 groups representing prisoners, emphasized in a "friend of the court" brief the possible consequences of Manuel"s case for minorities: "Those incarcerated as a result of police misconduct ... suffer extensive harm. Racial minorities, the poor, and the uneducated disproportionately suffer these effects."

Syria: Suicide bomber kills 22 at Kurdish wedding party

(CNN)ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing on Monday at a Kurdish wedding party in northeast Syria, the latest violent act to destabilize the embattled country.

At least 22 people were killed and dozens more wounded in the explosion near the city of Hasaka, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The groom was among those killed, SOHR founder Rami Abdulrahman said.

The group cited sources as saying a suicide bomber set off the explosion inside a wedding hall in the village of Tal Tawil, which is under the control of Syrian Kurdish forces. Kurdish forces are playing a key role in fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that was posted on Twitter and retweeted by several ISIS supporters. The statement said an ISIS suicide bomber ambushed a Kurdish Workers" Party gathering on the outskirts of Hasaka with a machine gun, and after he ran out of ammunition, the attacker blew up his explosive vest among the "PKK apostates."

The news comes on the same day the United States announced it is suspending bilateral talks with Russia amid continued bloodshed in Syria.

Citing a recent spate of attacks by Russia and its Syrian regime allies on hospitals and other civilian areas in Aleppo, the United States accused Russia of failing to uphold a ceasefire and trying "to bomb civilian populations into submission," in the process preventing humanitarian aid from reaching people in need.

Government forces now control the strategic area around al-Kindi Hospital in northern Aleppo, pro-regime media and activists said, strengthening their push toward the rebel-held eastern part of the city.

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This is Aleppo...

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The past week"s assault on rebel-held areas of the key city involved some of the worst violence since the start of the war in 2011. Sunday, the Syrian military called on rebels to leave the besieged eastern areas of Aleppo, saying the Syrian and Russian armies "guarantee their safety," according to a statement from the Syrian Armed Forces.

Terrorist groups including ISIS have taken advantage of country"s instability to mount their own attacks.