‘Could be months’ before Tracy Morgan walks again, says lawyer

Plus: Chelsea Clinton quits $600,000-a-year job at NBC; Mily Cyrus's homeless friend turns himself in to the police; and Harry Belafonte to be honoured for activist work.

Tracy Morgan. Greg Allen / Invision / AP Photo

The comedian Tracy Morgan is having a tough time recovering from the road accident in June that left a fellow comedian dead. His lawyer, Benedict Morelli, told The Star-Ledger newspaper that the 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live star still relies on a wheelchair and it could be months before he can fully walk again. He says Morgan appears to be making progress, but it would be a month before he is assessed. Morgan broke his leg, nose and several ribs in a six-car accident involving his limo bus. Morgan's fellow comedian James McNair was killed. Their vehicle was struck by a Wal-Mart lorry, the driver of which has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and assault by auto. Morgan has accused Wal-Mart of negligence in a federal lawsuit. – AP

Chelsea Clinton quits $600,000-a-year job at NBC

Chelsea Clinton is quitting her job as a reporter at NBC News because of an increased workload at the Clinton Foundation and the imminent birth of her first child. The daughter of the former president Bill and Hillary Clinton, she had been working at the network since 2011, occasionally reporting on people or organisations doing public-spirited work. Politico magazine reported this year that she was being paid US$600,000 (Dh2.2m) a year by the network. "I loved watching the 'Making a Difference' stories about remarkable people and organisations making a profound difference in our country and our world," Clinton wrote on her Facebook page. "I am grateful NBC gave me the opportunity to continue this important legacy." "Chelsea's storytelling inspired people across the country and showcased the real power we have as individuals to make a difference in our communities," said Alex Wallace, the senior vice president of NBC News. Clinton's departure avoids any awkwardness for the network should her mother run for president in 2016. Clinton and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, announced in the spring that she was pregnant with their first child. – AP

Miley Cyrus’s homeless friend hands himself in to police

The young homeless man who accompanied Miley Cyrus to the MTV Video Music Awards and who it later emerged had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Oregon, has handed himself in to police. Jesse Helt, 22, went to Polk County Jail in Dallas, Oregon, where he was booked on a probation violation warrant and posted $2,500 bail, said Martin Silbernagel, the director of Polk County community corrections. He is expected to appear before a judge in about two weeks. Court records show that the arrest warrant was issued in November 2011 when Helt breached his probation order after pleading guilty to criminal mischief and criminal trespass charges. Helt moved to Los Angeles and lived on the streets while trying to find work as a model. He gained worldwide attention this month when Cyrus, who met Helt through the Hollywood homeless centre My Friend's Place, let him accept her award for Video of the Year at the VMAs and he used the platform to call attention to the issue of youth homelessness. – AP

Belafonte to be honoured for work as an activist

Oscars organisers are to present the actor, producer and singer Harry Belafonte with a prestigious humanitarian award for his work as an activist who has helped raise awareness of racism and inequality. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced honorary lifetime awards for the Japanese director of animated films Hayao Miyazaki, the French screenwriter and actor Jean-Claude Carrière and the Irish actress Maureen O'Hara. Belafonte will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award while Miyazaki, Carrière and O'Hara will receive Governors Awards. They will be presented at the body's 6th annual Governors Awards on November 8 in Hollywood. Belafonte, 87, has spent much of his life campaigning for causes such as education, famine relief and Aids awareness. He was also an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. He was named a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador in 1987. – AP