Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush discharged from hospital

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush was discharged on Friday from a Houston hospital where he was treated for a mild case of pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, a family spokesman said.

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Pope says religious leaders must unite to defeat "barbarity"

CAIRO (Reuters) - Leaders of all faiths should unite in renouncing religious extremism and counter the "barbarity of those who foment hatred and violence," Pope Francis said on Friday at the start of a two-day visit to Cairo.

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Serena says accidentally spilled news of her pregnancy

(Reuters) - Serena Williams had no intention of sharing her pregnancy with the world last week but spilled the beans when she accidentally uploaded the "20 weeks" photo of herself on Snapchat, the world number one said on Tuesday.

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Ballet great Baryshnikov granted Latvian citizenship

RIGA (Reuters) - Latvia has granted citizenship to ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov, who left more than 50 years ago when the Baltic country was still under the Soviet rule.

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Slain friend of Robert Durst once posed as his missing wife: testimony

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Real estate scion Robert Durst, whose ties to three slayings were portrayed in HBO series "The Jinx," had his close friend Susan Berman make a phone call pretending to be his missing wife, a former acquaintance of Berman testified on Wednesday.

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'Silence of the Lambs' director Jonathan Demme dies of cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Movie director Jonathan Demme, best known for "The Silence of the Lambs" has died at the age of 73, his publicist said on Wednesday.

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Friend of Robert Durst of 'The Jinx' feared he might harm her: testimony

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Real estate scion Robert Durst's friend, Susan Berman, was in a state of emotional distress in the early 1980s when she said that if anything happened to her it would be his fault, Berman's friend testified on Tuesday at a hearing.

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Lawyer for ex-NFL star Hernandez denies letter mentioned prison lover

BOSTON (Reuters) - A lawyer for former National Football League star Aaron Hernandez on Tuesday denied media reports that the athlete wrote a letter to a prison lover before hanging himself in his prison cell last week.

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Elton John recovering from 'potentially deadly' bacterial infection

(Reuters) - Elton John spent two nights in intensive care with a potentially deadly bacterial infection and has canceled all his concerts for the rest of April and May, his publicist said on Monday.

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Tom Hanks jokes Twitter CEO inspired his character in 'The Circle'

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, who plays a Silicon Valley tycoon in the new film "The Circle" about a powerful social media company, teased Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey on Monday that he may have been inspiration for the part.

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Serena thanks unborn baby after returning to world number one

LONDON (Reuters) - Serena Williams returned to the top of the WTA world rankings on Monday and immediately shared the news with her unborn baby.

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'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' author Pirsig dies at 88

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Robert M. Pirsig, author of the influential 1970s philosophical novel "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," died on Monday at the age of 88, his publisher said.

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will.i.am to mix tech know-how with banking at Britain's Atom

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Atom has hired pop star will.i.am as a strategic adviser to its board as the app-based bank seeks to grow.

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Funeral set for former NFL star Aaron Hernandez

BOSTON (Reuters) - The funeral of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez will take place on Monday, five days after he was found hanged by a bed sheet in a Massachusetts prison in what state officials have ruled a suicide.

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Lively, Chastain, Chelsea Clinton honored for philanthropic work

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood actresses Blake Lively and Jessica Chastain were among the six women honored on Friday for their philanthropic efforts with organizations helping women and children.

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UK's William, Harry and Kate open up about emotional struggles

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William, his wife Kate and brother Harry have given their most public comments on their emotional struggles and how the siblings' closeness helped them cope with their mother's death.

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Pope to make 'Fatima visionaries' saints during visit in May

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - During his trip to Fatima, Portugal in May, Pope Francis will make two of the three shepherd children believed to have seen a vision of the Madonna 100 years ago there saints, the Vatican said on Thursday.

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Actor Harvey Keitel loses lawsuit against E*Trade over commercials

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Harvey Keitel, the Oscar-nominated actor whose movies include "Taxi Driver" and "Pulp Fiction," has lost a lawsuit he brought over a starring role he did not get in E*Trade commercials.

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Brady, Kaepernick named to Time most influential list

(The Sports Xchange) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James were among seven sports figures named to Time Magazine's annual list of the world's most influential people, which was announced Thursday.

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Bill O'Reilly to receive maximum of one year salary -source

(Reuters) - Bill O'Reilly will receive a maximum of one year's salary following his ouster from Fox News, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

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UC Berkeley cancels Ann Coulter speech; she says she will do it anyway

(Reuters) - Conservative commentator Ann Coulter says she will proceed with an anti-immigration lecture next week at the University of California, Berkeley, although school officials have told organizers to cancel the event over safety concerns.

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New Prince music release blocked by U.S. court

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has blocked a planned release of new Prince music on the first anniversary of his death this week.

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Ex-NFL star Hernandez hangs self in prison; family seeks probe

BOSTON (Reuters) - Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez hanged himself on Wednesday in a prison cell where he was serving a life sentence for murder, prison officials said, and his family called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances.

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Tennis great Serena Williams appears to reveal pregnancy

(Reuters) - Tennis superstar Serena Williams on Wednesday appeared to reveal she is pregnant, posting a photo of herself in a bathing suit on Snapchat with the caption "20 weeks."

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Top-rated host Bill O'Reilly is out at Fox News: New York magazine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fox News has decided to part ways with star host Bill O'Reilly following allegations of sexual harassment, New York magazine reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources briefed on the discussions.

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New Prince music released a year after musician's death

(Reuters) - A set of previously unreleased tracks by Prince are going on sale to mark the one-year anniversary of the musician's death.

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Julia Roberts named People's 'most beautiful' for record fifth time

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Julia Roberts was named People magazine's world's most beautiful woman for a record 5th time on Wednesday, but the actress said she thought her best years were yet to come.

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HSBC refuses to open bank account for Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said on Wednesday global banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc refused to open a personal bank account for him in Hong Kong for what he assumed were political reasons, a conjecture the bank dismissed.

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Prince William warns 'stiff upper lip' can damage mental health

LONDON (Reuters) - Prince William has warned British men that keeping a "stiff upper lip" by bottling up emotions was detrimental to mental health, stepping up an awareness campaign that includes a video chat with Lady Gaga.

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Numerous opioids found in Prince home, but no clue on source of fentanyl

(Reuters) - Police investigating the death a year ago of pop star Prince found numerous opioids scattered around his home but appear not to have identified where or who supplied the dose of fentanyl that caused his death, according to court documents unsealed on Monday.

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Britain's Prince Harry sought counseling more than a decade after mother's death

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Harry sought counseling in his late twenties to help deal with the grief of losing his mother more than a decade earlier, he told the Telegraph newspaper.

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Cosby loses latest appeal in Pennsylvania sexual assault case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pennsylvania's high court has rejected Bill Cosby's latest appeal in his sexual assault case, ensuring the 79-year-old comedian will face trial in June.

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'Cash me ousside' star cashes in as viral villain

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When Barbara Ann Bregoli appeared on CBS's "Dr. Phil" show in December to get advice about how to control her car-stealing teenage daughter, nobody could have predicted she would be giving birth to a villainous viral star.

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'No regrets' says Mexican actress del Castillo of El Chapo interview

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Mexican actress Kate del Castillo helped orchestrate a secret meeting between actor Sean Penn and drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in what became an explosive Rolling Stone article, little did she know she'd be drawing from the experience for her new Netflix series.

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A Minute With: Gemma Arterton on "The Finest", solidarity among women

LONDON (Reuters) - Actress Gemma Arterton joins forces with fellow Britons Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy in heart-warming film "Their Finest", playing a writer asked to pen a movie to lift morale in World War Two Britain.

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Comedian Charlie Murphy dies in New York at age 57: reports

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comedian and actor Charlie Murphy died in his sleep at a New York hospital on Wednesday at age 57 after suffering from leukemia, according to entertainment media reports.

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German cinematographer Ballhaus, Hollywood veteran, dead at 81

BERLIN (Reuters) - German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, who counted "Goodfellas", "Gangs of New York" and "The Departed" among the blockbuster movies he filmed, died overnight at his home in Berlin, his publisher said on Wednesday. He was 81.

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UK's Daily Mail to pay Melania Trump damages over modeling claims

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Daily Mail agreed on Wednesday to pay Melania Trump an undisclosed sum and issue an apology after it published an article saying the U.S. First Lady had offered "services beyond simply modeling" in her former job.

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No charges expected for One Direction star in LA airport scuffle

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson is not expected to be criminally charged over a tussle with a photographer at Los Angeles airport last month, judicial officials said on Tuesday.

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Musician J. Geils, dies at Massachusetts home: police

NEW YORK (Reuters) - J. Geils, leader of The Geils Band whose hard-driving hits of the late 1970s and early 1980s included "Centerfold," "Freeze Frame" and "Love Stinks," died on Tuesday at his home in Groton, Massachusetts, police said. He was 71.

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Obama to join German Protestant Reformation celebrations in May

BERLIN (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama will join German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in May as part of celebrations to mark 500 years of Protestantism in Europe, officials said on Tuesday.

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'Stop staring,' says Caitlyn Jenner, announcing genital surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Caitlyn Jenner says she has undergone genital surgery, two years after the Olympic-winning decathlete announced she had transitioned to a woman.

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Malala receives highest U.N. honor to promote girls education

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai a U.N. Messenger of Peace on Monday to promote girls education, more than four years after a Taliban gunman shot her in the head on her school bus in 2012.

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Fox to investigate sexual harassment claim against O'Reilly

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fox News parent Twenty-First Century Fox Inc said on Sunday it will investigate a sexual harassment claim against TV anchor Bill O'Reilly, who has seen several companies pull their ads from his top-rated news show in the past week.

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Prince Harry attends UK team trials for Invictus Games

BATH, England (Reuters) - Prince Harry was on hand to cast an eye over potential new recruits for Britain's Invictus Games team during trials in the southwest English city of Bath on Friday.

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Snoop Dogg on a mission in Augusta to make golf cool

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Rapper Snoop Dogg this week said that while the U.S. Masters may be the most prestigious tournament in golf, it suffers from a coolness deficit, something he plans to change when he brings his brand of "hip hop flavor" to the staid tournament.

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Master insult comic Don Rickles dead at age 90 in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Don Rickles, the master insult comic who created laughs with ridicule and sarcasm in a decades-long career that earned him the facetious nickname "Mr. Warmth," died on Thursday at his Los Angeles home from kidney failure, his publicist said. He was 90.

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Johansson says she 'baffled' by Ivanka Trump's advocacy comments

(Reuters) - Actress Scarlett Johansson said on Thursday she was "baffled" by Ivanka Trump's recent comments that she would prefer to be an advocate for issues behind the scenes of President Donald Trump's administration rather than in the public arena.

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Judge sets 2018 trial date for rap mogul Suge Knight

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jailed rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was ordered on Thursday to stand trial in Jan. 8, 2018 on murder charges stemming from a fatal hit-and-run at a Los Angeles area burger stand more than two years ago.

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Barry Manilow feared disappointing fans by coming out as gay

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barry Manilow has spoken publicly for the first time about being gay, saying he feared he would disappoint his mostly female fan base had he come out decades ago.

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Singer Jackie Evancho hopes Trump changes heart on transgender issue

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After a year that began in controversy as one of the few celebrities to agree to perform at the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, teen singer Jackie Evancho is hoping to switch the focus back to her music.

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Spice Girl Mel B gets restraining order after accusing husband of abuse

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Spice Girl Melanie 'Mel B' Brown was granted a restraining order against her estranged husband after filing court papers claiming he had emotionally and physically abused her for much of their 10-year marriage.

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Harrison Ford not disciplined by U.S. agency for pilot mishap

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Harrison Ford, the daring space pilot of "Star Wars" fame, will get to keep flying airplanes in real life after federal officials closed a probe of his latest aviation mishap near Los Angeles without fines or other discipline, his lawyer said on Monday.

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Roman Polanski loses latest bid to end U.S. rape case from abroad

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Filmmaker Roman Polanski on Monday lost another bid to end his 1970s rape case without serving more jail time when a Los Angeles judge ruled the French-Polish director could not seek relief from the courts while still a fugitive.

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Prosecutors fight to use Cosby's own words at June trial

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - Lawyers for comedian Bill Cosby and Pennsylvania prosecutors clashed in court on Monday over whether his own words can be used against him at his sexual assault trial in June.

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Nobel saga all over now as Dylan finally gets prize

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Bob Dylan got the Nobel Literature prize-giving he wished for on Saturday, a Swedish broadcaster reported, finally receiving his diploma and medal in a private ceremony in Stockholm a world away from the media storm the award has generated.

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Fox, Bill O'Reilly settle claims with five women: New York Times

(Reuters) - Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and his employer have made payouts totaling about $13 million to five women to settle claims of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

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Pop art pioneer James Rosenquist dies at 83

(Reuters) - Artist James Rosenquist, a leading figure of the 1960s pop art movement known for his room-sized works, has died at the age of 83, his studio said.

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Soviet poet Yevtushenko dies in U.S.A.: TASS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian poet Evgeny Yevtushenko has died in the United States at the age of 85, TASS news agency reported on Saturday, citing a close friend.

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Gilbert Baker, inventor of gay rights rainbow flag, dies at 65

(Reuters) - Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco-based activist and artist best known for creating the rainbow flag representing gay rights, has died at the age of 65, his longtime friend announced on social media on Friday.

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