LAS VEGAS – Jerry Lewis said Saturday that his years of service to the Muscular Dystrophy Association helped make him a star, but he didn’t provide details on his recent departure as the group’s national chairman.

In his first public appearance since the that announcement, Lewis accepted a lifetime achievement award from the Nevada Broadcasters Association, saying that he made his reputation in show business by saving lives.

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Jerry Lewis accepts the Nevada Broadcasters Association Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday. The Associated Press

K’naan, in blue plaid and hat

“I made my reputation in this business caring for what I did, caring for the people that I did it for,” said Lewis, who donned a red foam clown nose at one point during his speech in front of politicians and other entertainers.

“Let me tell you that saving lives is a very, very special project in the life of any man who wants to do that, but I have had the joy of … extending my life by what I feel in my heart,” he said.

Lewis hinted during his brief speech that he could not explain why he is no longer the national chairman of the MDA after 45 years. He will also no longer host the group’s annual Labor Day weekend telethon.

Lewis said he was humbled to hear several congressmen and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval recall watching him host the MDA’s annual Labor Day weekend telethon throughout their childhoods.

“It was as meaningful tonight as ever,” the 85-year-old said of his charitable work. “And I don’t think I can go into the why of that.”

Lewis appeared briefly at the dinner, entering just before his tribute and leaving the room minutes after making his speech.

In May, Lewis said in a statement that he would make his final appearance on the telethon this year and sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during a broadcast scheduled for Sept. 4.

Rapper K’naan promises to help Somali homeland

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali-born rapper K’naan brought his waving flag back home Sunday, promising to help his country as it struggles with a devastating famine that has killed tens of thousands of children.

The rapper, who left Somalia as a child more than two decades ago to settle in Canada, made a brief visit to Mogadishu on Sunday. He was mobbed by refugees who tried to shake his hand or hug him as he toured Mogadishu’s Banadir Hospital and met with malnourished children.

“I came to Somalia to see the situation here and give any donation I have to the people and anything else available,” he said, speaking in Somali. “I will do all I can to help my people in Somalia.”

He did not perform his hit song “Wavin’ Flag,” which tells of the difficulties he faced growing up in the lawless, impoverished Horn of Africa nation. A version of that song was used for a Coca-Cola campaign when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup.

The United Nations said more than 3.2 million Somalis need food aid. The U.S. said 29,000 Somali children under age 5 have died.

Police: Machine Gun Kelly triggered flash mob

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – Authorities said rapper Machine Gun Kelly organized a flash mob at a suburban Cleveland mall and was charged with disorderly conduct.

Strongsville police said the group gathered Saturday, and mall management asked three people standing on a table near a second-floor railing to step down. Kelly was among the three. When they refused, police were called.

Police said they’re no longer in custody. Kelly tweeted later that “today was a statement.”

Sean “P. Diddy” Combs told MTV this month that he signed Kelly, an Ohio native, to his Bad Boy Records label.

The Plain Dealer said that Cleveland’s mayor recently vetoed an ordinance that would have criminalized some uses of social media and was aimed at curbing flash mobs.

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