New Delhi, May 29 -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 28) granted a series of pardons to a diverse group that included a chart-topping rapper, political allies, reality TV stars, and former officials with criminal pasts.

Kentrell Gaulden, the Louisiana rap artist better known as NBA YoungBoy, was among the most high-profile names. Gaulden was serving a nearly two-year prison sentence for weapons charges and had pleaded guilty in a Utah prescription drug fraud case.

"I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building - as a man, as a father, and as an artist," Gaulden said in a statement. "This opens the door to a future I've worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into...