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| U.S. names Colombian pop singer indigenous ambassador Friday, Apr 04, 2014 04:14 PM PDT  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday named Colombian pop singer Carlos Vives its first "inclusion ambassador" in an effort to promote rights and economic opportunity for Colombia's displaced indigenous communities. The alliance is part of efforts by the U.S. government's anti-poverty agency to help Colombia transition away from its civil conflict which has uprooted about 5 million people, according to Colombian government figures. Grammy award-winning Vives and USAID have a nationwide tour slated for the summer. The singer will mentor indigenous music groups and appear in a series of events aimed at highlighting indigenous culture, USAID said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| George Washington's spy ring comes alive in AMC drama 'Turn' Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:28 PM PDT By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The world of espionage has been brought to life by characters such as James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer on film and television, but a new AMC drama is going back to spy origins with America's own founding father, George Washington. "Turn," which premieres on Sunday, tells the story of four childhood friends who find themselves pulled together as spies during the height of the American Revolutionary War in 1778 in New York's Long Island, under the orders of General Washington. The series is based on Alexander Rose's 2007 book "Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring." The Culper Ring was formed by Major Benjamin Tallmadge, who chose an unsuspecting group of his friends, civilians who opposed the British occupation of New York - farmer Abe Woodhull, pub landlady Anna Strong and fisherman Caleb Brewster. Full Story | Top |
| 'Jesus Christ Superstar' U.S. arena tour to start in June Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:07 PM PDT  By Curtis Skinner NEW YORK (Reuters) - Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1970s rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" will be resurrected with a 54-city U.S. summer tour, promoters said on Friday. The show, with lyrics by Tim Rice, chronicles the final days of the life of Jesus. British actor Ben Forster, who plays the title role, said the tour "is my American dream about to come true." Brandon Boyd, lead singer of the American rock band Incubus; John Rotten Lydon, former frontman of the punk rock group the Sex Pistols, is also part of the cast. Full Story | Top |
| Vivendi to take weekend to study dueling SFR bids Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:14 PM PDT  By Leila Abboud, Gwénaëlle Barzic and Sophie Sassard PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - France's Vivendi said on Friday that its board needed more time to weigh two bids for its SFR telecom business, leaving business and political circles in suspense over a month-long, 15 billion euro takeover battle. The move came after Bouygues, the outsider in the race but favored by the French government, submitted a last-ditch offer for SFR that put an extra 1.85 billion in cash on the table, taking the total to 15 billion euros ($20.6 billion) plus shares. Before Bouygues' latest gambit, cable group Numericable had been best-placed to win after Vivendi's board chose it on March 14 for three weeks of exclusive talks. Numericable's last public offer would have given Vivendi 11.75 billion euros and a 32 percent stake in the new company. Full Story | Top |
| Rapper Trick Daddy arrested in Florida on cocaine, gun charges Friday, Apr 04, 2014 01:34 PM PDT  Police arrested rapper Trick Daddy and charged him with cocaine and gun possession after a stakeout at his south Florida home on suspicion he was running a an indoor marijuana farm, according to a police affidavit. A report by the Broward Sheriff's Office said the rapper, whose real name is Maurice Young, was arrested on Thursday. If convicted, he faces at least three years in prison under Florida's mandatory minimum sentencing law. "He admitted that he just had powder cocaine in the residence and maybe marijuana roaches, but no grow house," according to the affidavit. Full Story | Top |
| Former President George W. Bush's brush portrays world leaders Friday, Apr 04, 2014 11:54 AM PDT  By Bill Trott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday revealed a series of portraits of world leaders he painted in a new pursuit that he said has "opened my mind," even though it left him exposed to joking criticism from his mother. An exhibit titled "The Art of Leadership: A President's Personal Diplomacy" opens on Saturday at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas and was shown to reporters on Friday. It feature Bush's paintings of some two dozen world figures he worked with during his 2001-2009 presidency, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama. Accompanying each portrait, are some rarely seen photos of Bush with each leader, including a photo of Bush and former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi strumming guitars during a tour of Graceland in 2006. Full Story | Top |
| Vivendi board to study SFR bids over weekend Friday, Apr 04, 2014 11:44 AM PDT France's Vivendi said its board would continue to work this weekend to evaluate the two offers it had received for its SFR telecom unit, which has been the subject of a month-long bidding war. Numericable and Bouygues are both vying to buy France's second-largest telecom operator in a deal that values the target at above 15 billion euros ($20.5 billion). "The board will continue to work over the weekend," a spokeswoman for Vivendi said on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| 'Cinderella', 'Phantom', 'Mamma Mia!' alter Broadway schedules Friday, Apr 04, 2014 10:22 AM PDT Fans of some of Broadway's top musicals will be able to see their favorite shows on a different day and time as producers introduced Thursday matinees to meet audience demand. "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," "Mamma Mia!" and "The Phantom of the Opera" have begun Thursday matinees in addition to, or instead of, the usual Wednesday afternoon performance. "We banded together and decided to be pioneers on this and to see if we can make it work," said Robyn Goodman, the producer of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" and Tony winning musicals "Avenue Q" and "In the Heights." "It will be a trend if it works," she added. "Cinderella," starring Grammy-nominated pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen in the title role, will feature two week-day matinees - Wednesday and Thursday - but there will be no performance on Wednesday evening. Full Story | Top |
| Denzel Washington wins raves on Broadway for 'A Raisin in the Sun' Friday, Apr 04, 2014 10:21 AM PDT  By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Denzel Washington may be best known for his film roles, but the award-winning actor is dazzling theater critics in the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's acclaimed 1959 play "A Raisin in the Sun." "Heart-stopping," "a Broadway bulls-eye" and "nothing short of revelatory" are just a few of the accolades used to describe director Kenny Leon's production, which opened on Thursday at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. "It captures the play's passion, pathos and intelligence, without stinting on Hansberry's dry humor," the New York Post said. Hansberry's story about a struggling African-American family seeking a better life after inheriting a windfall was the first play written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. Washington, 59, plays an ambitious chauffeur with big dreams of success but no business acumen to achieve it. Full Story | Top |
| J.Lo-backed network to buy Madison Square Garden's Fuse TV Friday, Apr 04, 2014 07:20 AM PDT (Reuters) - Latino-focused cable network NUVOtv, backed by Jennifer Lopez, said its parent company SiTV Media Inc would buy Madison Square Garden Co's Fuse TV. Madison Square Garden will receive $226 million and a 15 percent stake of the combined company and will also gain a seat on the SiTV board. "It enhances our distribution relationships, dramatically expands our aggregate subscriber base, provides substantial economies of scale, affords unique opportunities for programming and cross-promotion...," NUVOtv Chief Executive Michael Schwimmer said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five 'Game of Thrones' Destinations Fans Should Visit Friday, Apr 04, 2014 04:27 AM PDT  (Reuters) - In the bleak and dismal break between seasons of "Game of Thrones", what better way for fans to keep in the spirit of proceedings than by visiting one of the exotic lands where filming for the programme took place? Northern Ireland Much of the fictitious land of Westeros is located in Northern Ireland. Winter may have just left the Emerald Isle, but given Ireland's average 300 rainy or cloudy days a year, many of the locations filmed here were used to depict Winterfell, the north, and other less sunny parts of the Seven Kingdoms. Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland Those who want to tread the same grounds as the Family Stark should explore the area of Downpatrick, County Down, where Castle Ward was used to film parts of the family home. Full Story | Top |
| Pussy Riot protesters cleared of religious hatred charge Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:52 AM PDT  Two women from Russia's Pussy Riot protest group who were jailed for a song deriding President Vladimir Putin were cleared in a Moscow court on Friday of inciting religious hatred. Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova spent nearly two years in prison after performing a protest song against Putin in Moscow's main cathedral in 2012. The two protesters were released in December, three months before completing their sentences, under an amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia's constitution. In the same month, Russia's Supreme Court ordered a review of their case, saying that lower courts overlooked mitigating factors, and did not provide evidence of a portion of the verdict that says they were motivated by "hatred of a certain social group". Full Story | Top |
| Letterman retirement gives CBS chance to draw younger viewers to late night Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:02 AM PDT  By Ronald Grover LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - David Letterman's surprise retirement announcement gives CBS a much-needed chance to lure younger viewers to his late-night television time slot, matching the recent elevation of Jimmy Fallon that reenergized rival NBC's "Tonight Show" franchise, according to media executives. Since the 39-year old Fallon succeeded Jay Leno as star of "The Tonight Show," NBC's ratings for the 11:35 p.m. hour have jumped both in overall audience numbers and among the key demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49 that advertisers most desire. In the most recent Nielsen ratings, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" averaged 5.2 million viewers, up 41 percent from Leno's numbers before his February departure from NBC. Full Story | Top |
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