People News Roundup: Nobel-winning author Toni Morrison dead at 88; Singer R. Kelly charged in Minnesota

Following is a summary of current people news briefs.

Nobel-winning author Toni Morrison dead at 88

U.S. author Toni Morrison, whose 1987 novel "Beloved" about a runaway slave won a Pulitzer Prize and contributed to a body of work that made her the first black woman to be presented the Nobel Prize in Literature, has died at the age of 88, her publisher said on Tuesday. Paul Bogaards, a spokesman for the publishing company Alfred A. Knopf, announced the death but did not provide an immediate cause. The Washington Post said she died on Monday at a New York hospital.

Singer R. Kelly charged in Minnesota with soliciting sex from minor

Singer R. Kelly, jailed in New York last month after he was charged in Brooklyn and Chicago with numerous sexual misconduct felonies, was charged on Monday in Minnesota with soliciting sex from a minor at a Minneapolis hotel room 18 years ago. The 52-year-old R&B vocalist known for such hits as "I Believe I Can Fly," is accused in the Minnesota case of paying a 17-year-old girl $200 to take off her clothes and dance for him, and then engaging in sexual contact. (Complaint: http://bit.ly/2YKuBYK)

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(With inputs from agencies.)