People News Roundup: Tiger Woods awake and responsive after crash; Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti dies at age 101 and more

Ferlinghetti, who played a key role in a free-speech battle after he published Ginsberg's poem "Howl" in 1956, passed away on Monday evening, said City Lights Books on Twitter, adding "We love you, Lawrence." Drunk driving charge dropped against Springsteen; $500 fine for drinking at beach Bruce Springsteen was fined $500 on Wednesday after the rock 'n' roll legend pleaded guilty to a charge of consuming alcohol at a federally run New Jersey beach in November, and prosecutors dropped drunk driving and reckless driving charges.

Following is a summary of current people news briefs.

French actor Depardieu strongly contests rape charges: lawyer

French actor Gerard Depardieu strongly contests rape and sexual assault charges leveled against him, his lawyer said on Wednesday, and asked that the associated investigation be allowed to proceed away from the public eye. Depardieu, one of France's most famous and prolific actors, was placed under formal investigation on charges of rape and sexual violence in December last year, a judicial source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Tiger Woods awake and responsive after crash, police investigating cause

Police on Wednesday sought to determine what caused Tiger Woods to swerve off a Southern California road in his sport utility vehicle, colliding with a tree and rolling down a hillside in a crash that left the golf great seriously injured. Woods, 45, was pried from the wreckage by rescue crews and rushed by ambulance from the scene of the Tuesday morning crash outside Los Angeles to nearby Harbor-UCLA Medical Center suffering what his agent described as "multiple leg injuries."

Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti dies at age 101

Poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco became a West Coast literary haven for Beat Generation writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, has died at the age of 101, City Lights said on Tuesday. Ferlinghetti, who played a key role in a free-speech battle after he published Ginsberg's poem "Howl" in 1956, passed away on Monday evening, said City Lights Books on Twitter, adding "We love you, Lawrence."

Drunk driving charge dropped against Springsteen; $500 fine for drinking at beach

Bruce Springsteen was fined $500 on Wednesday after the rock 'n' roll legend pleaded guilty to a charge of consuming alcohol at a federally run New Jersey beach in November, and prosecutors dropped drunk driving and reckless driving charges. Springsteen, 71, whose songs have chronicled life in his home state of New Jersey and its shore scene for more than 50 years, entered his plea in an online arraignment before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Anthony Mautone in Newark.

(With inputs from agencies.)