Mad Men diehards gathered in bars, restaurants and clubs in New York on Sunday night to discover the fate of Don Draper as the last-ever episode of the award-winning TV drama aired on US TV. After seven seasons, eight years and nearly 100 episodes, it all came down to this – and few seemed disappointed with the finale. Twitter threatened to go into meltdown, with #MadMenFinale trending, while there were tears and cheers at City Winery in the Tribeca neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, where more than 100 people watched on giant screens. "It's my favourite TV show, it's very addictive," said Dawn Carrington, a London designer, her eyes glued to the screen. "I think it's special because of two things: in terms of style they are very accurate. The writing is very good. The characters are very real." Mad Men, which debuted in 2007, follows the bed-hopping lives of a group of advertising men in 1960s New York. Greg Caulfield, a 42-year-old engineer, said: "One of the best series finales ever. Very clever. Mad Men is not about advertising, that is just the background. It's about the people and the time they are living because there's chaos. The '60s were very dramatic times – assassinations, Vietnam, civil disorder." Twitter users flooded the social media network to express their appreciation. One user, @sanriel, wrote: "A great hour of television. The last 5 minutes not only defined these characters, but also the next 40 years of media content." – AFP
Police chief in rock star row reinstated
A Guns N’ Roses guitarist says he is happy that a former Las Vegas police captain who was axed from his job after he helped the musician use a department helicopter for a wedding proposal has won his job back. Daren Jay “DJ” Ashba hailed Friday’s decision by a Nevada state board ordering the Las Vegas police department to reinstate David O’Leary. “When you know you’re innocent for almost two years, it couldn’t be a better day,” said Ashba. “He loses his job because he did something out of the kindness of his heart. He did nothing wrong. We did nothing wrong.” O’Leary had been criticised for helping arrange a police helicopter ride for his friend so that the rocker could propose to Nathalia Henao in 2013. Ashba said he had asked O’Leary where he could find a private helicopter to use for his proposal and was instead offered a ride in a police helicopter. The board’s ruling said O’Leary had asked a fellow officer for advice and the participants had signed the necessary department paperwork. The police department said it plans to appeal the ruling. O’Leary has been with the department for about 25 years and led its financial crimes division. – AP
Yash Raj Films to connect with fans via Twitter
In an attempt to more closely connect with audiences, film production house Yash Raj Films has teamed up with Twitter India. Using the handle @YRF, it will send selected Tweets – with the hashtag #YRFBuzz – as text messages to users who subscribe to the service, which is available free of charge on any phone or network. "We are on the cusp of widespread growth across mobile, web and social media," says Anand Gurnani, vice president (Digital) of Yash Raj Films. "This syndicated ... programme will aim to reach mobile-friendly audiences and analyse consumption patterns and trends across web and mobile. Moreover, the move is aligned to the company's 'mobile-first' approach." Pratiksha Rao, head of TV and entertainment partnerships, Twitter India said that the site was focused on reaching every person with a mobile phone and "this product is in service of that goal". – Ians
Tributes to murdered New York rapper
French Montana, the Moroccan-born rapper and label chief, yesterday paid tribute to New York rapper Chinx, who was shot dead on Sunday at the age of 31. He said the killing showed that "the devil comes in all shapes and sizes and he's ruthless. Life here is temporary". Suggesting that "jealousy" could have been a motive for the killing, Montana added: "They will kill you for this lifestyle. These streets don't love us." Father-of-two Chinx, real name Lionel Pickens, won a growing following by turning his bleak experiences as a drug-dealer into verse. The rapper – whose work included a series of mixtapes with the tragically prophetic title Hurry Up and Die – was driving a Porsche in the early morning in the New York borough of Queens when another motorist opened fire, police said. The motive was not immediately known. The rapper became a breakaway success in the hip-hop world with his 2012 song I'm a Coke Boy recorded with his mentor Montana. A remix of the song featured rap giant Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. Chinx was an acronym he developed in prison, standing for Coward-Hearted Individuals Never Exist. — AFP
Details emerge of Affleck ancestor’s slaves
Details of the evidence that Hollywood actor Ben Affleck’s distant relatives owned slaves – which prompted the actor to ask PBS to cut the details from a TV programme highlighting his family tree – have been revealed. A family death in 1858 left the actor’s great-great-great grandfather with legal custody of his mother-in-law’s most valuable property – her slaves. The 19th century documents offer a window into the life of Benjamin L Cole during the South’s reckoning with slavery. He had personal ties with slavery, with estate records showing his family owned at least two dozen slaves. Cole had deep public ties as well. He served as sheriff of Chatham County, which includes Savannah, during a time that included the Civil War and its aftermath, as tensions mounted between freed slaves and white people desperate to maintain control. – AP