At 80, Yoko Ono sees a world full of new activism

BERLIN (Reuters) - Half a life-time ago, artist Yoko Ono lay in an Amsterdam hotel bed with husband John Lennon, staging a week-long "bed-in" for peace and feeling they were very alone in their activism.

Today, Ono, whose own energy for campaigning has never tired, sees a world full of activists, maintaining her energy and faith in humanity.

"When John and I did the bed-in, not many people were with us. But now there are so many activists, I don't know anyone who is not an activist," she told Reuters in an interview in Berlin on Monday, her 80th birthday.

"Even the corporations - John always used to say the corporations need to be with us... Corporations now say 10-20 percent of their profits will go to such and such charity. They have to do that almost for people to feel good about it."

The late Beatle and Ono's 1969 bed-in to protest against the Vietnam war was repeated in Montreal, Canada. Press attention was huge, but much of it was mocking.

Ono, who gave a sell-out concert in Berlin on Sunday alongside their son Sean Lennon which closed with the anthem "Give peace a chance", said it was still critical to stand up for peace despite new conflicts in the intervening decades.

"I don't want to be drowning in sadness. I think we have to stand and up and change the world," she said.

The artist, born to a wealthy Japanese family in Tokyo in 1933, has recently become a passionate opponent of fracking, a controversial procedure which has sharply lifted energy output in the United States but which critics fear pollutes drinking water deep underground and could increase earthquake risks.

"Fracking is an incredible risk to the human race, I don't know why they even thought of doing it," she said.

Ono, whose birthday is being marked by a major retrospective of her work in Frankfurt, said she feels she is becoming freer in her art.

"My attitude has changed... I'm allowing things to happen in a way I hadn't planned before," she said.

Asked about her feelings on becoming an octogenarian, she said: "I'm surprised. It is a miracle in a sense that I am 80, I am proud about it. Not everybody gets there."

(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson, editing by Gareth Jones and Paul Casciato)

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Singer Fergie says she and actor Josh Duhamel expecting baby

(Reuters) - The Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said on Monday that she and her husband, actor Josh Duhamel, are expecting a baby.

"Josh & Me & BABY makes three!!!," she tweeted. She also posted photos of herself and her husband as toddlers.

It is the first child for the couple married in 2009.

Duhamel, 40, appeared in the "Transformers" movies and stars this year in the film "Safe Haven."

Fergie, 37, whose real name is Stacy Ferguson, joined The Black Eyed Peas in 2002 for their third album, "Elephunk," which proved to be a huge commercial success.

(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst in New York; Editing by Barbara Goldberg)

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Michael Jackson's teenage son lands U.S. television gig

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The teenage son of late pop star Michael Jackson has signed up to be a correspondent for the "Entertainment Tonight" television show, following in the footsteps of his show business family.

Prince Jackson, 16, was to debut on "Entertainment Tonight" on Tuesday, interviewing actors James Franco, Zach Braff and director Sam Raimi as they promote their upcoming film "Oz the Great and Powerful," the program said.

Prince, who was born Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., is the oldest of Michael Jackson's three children.

Jackson told the syndicated tabloid news show that he wants to eventually get into the film business.

"I'm looking to become well-rounded as a producer, director, screenwriter and actor," he said.

Jackson's sister Paris, 14, signed up in 2011 to star in a movie called "Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys," based on a young adult fantasy novel. The film is still in development.

Michael Jackson died unexpectedly at his home in Los Angeles in June 2009 at age 50 from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and sedatives.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Scorsese becomes first filmmaker to deliver Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Martin Scorsese has been tapped to deliver the 2013 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities.

The Oscar-winning director of "The Departed" and "Raging Bull" will hold forth on his career as one of the foremost chroniclers of Catholic guilt, violence and criminality in the annual talk sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Scorsese is the first filmmaker to get the honor, a prestigious forum that in the past has drawn such leading figures in the arts and academia as Toni Morrison, Robert Penn Warren and Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust. It carries with it a $10,000 honorarium.

"Martin Scorsese is a scholar of, advocate for, and icon of American cinema," said NEH Chairman Jim Leach in a statement. "He is the first filmmaker designated as a Jefferson Lecturer, but he follows in the tradition of earlier speakers like John Updike, Barbara Tuchman, and Arthur Miller in revealing a profound understanding and empathy for the human condition."

Scorsese will present the lecture on April 1 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Scorsese has directed and produced more than 50 films, including such classics as "Goodfellas," "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver." He is currently working with Leonardo DiCaprio on "The Wolf of Wall Street," which will tell the true story of a New York stockbroker who becomes embroiled in a securities fraud case.

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Oscar "losers" to go home with $45,000 gift bags

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar nominees who don't end up with a coveted gold statuette at the Academy Awards on Sunday won't go home empty handed after all.

Los Angeles-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets will be handing out its annual "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee Gift Bag", valued at more than $45,000, to the talented and well-dressed "losers," the company said on Tuesday.

Among the items in the gift bags, known as swag bags, are trips to Australia, Hawaii and Mexico, personal training sessions, condoms, a bottle of tequila, hand-illustrated tennis shoes, appointments for injectable fillers and 'portion-controlled' dinnerware for those watching their figure, Distinctive Assets said in a statement.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, stopped its practice of giving gift baskets to presenters and performers in 2007 after the practice came under closer scrutiny from U.S. tax authorities.

Celebrities who receive gifts and free trips at awards shows are expected to declare them to the Inland Revenue Service as income and pay the appropriate taxes.

The Distinctive Assets gift bag is not endorsed by the Academy but has been creating consolation goodie bags for 11 years now. The bags are delivered to the losing nominees to their homes directly or through their agents or publicists.

This year's "Not Everyone Wins...." swag bag also includes an under-the-counter water filtration system, acupuncture and aromatherapy sessions, a one-week stay at a fitness and weight-loss retreat, and a one-year membership to London's Heathrow Airport's private VIP service.

Nominees' children also benefit: they get to enroll in professional all-kid circus classes.

The Academy Awards, the highest honors in the movie business, will be handed out a ceremony on Sunday in Hollywood.

(Reporting by Zorianna Kit, editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

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Singer Morrissey requests meat-free Los Angeles concert venue

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British singer Morrissey has convinced a Los Angeles concert venue to not sell meat at concessions during his performance next month.

The longtime animal rights activist and former singer for 1980s rock group The Smiths urged the Staples Center arena to shutter the concession stands of fast food chain McDonald's and to halt the sale of meat by other outlets at the venue for his March 1 performance.

"We respect Morrissey's lifestyle and his concern for the wishes of so many of his fans and are happy that we are able to honor his requests in this manner," Lee Zeidman, the arena's general manager, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Staples Center operator Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) said the arena will also roll out a special line of meatless food concessions, including vegan sloppy Joes, vegan sushi, and hummus and pita bread.

"I don't look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals," the "Irish Blood, English Heart" singer said earlier this week.

AEG and its promoter subsidiary Goldenvoice will donate a portion of ticket sales from the show to the animal rights group PETA, Morrissey said.

Morrissey, 53, who co-wrote The Smiths' 1985 song "Meat Is Murder," postponed a series of concerts on his North America tour last month after being hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer.

He is expected to relaunch the tour with a performance on U.S. late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" next week.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

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Donald Trump threatens $25 million lawsuit over Macy's protest

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Donald Trump is apparently in a suing mood lately.

Not only has Trump filed suit against comedian Bill Maher after Maher jokingly suggested that Trump was spawned from sex between a human and an orangutan, the "Apprentice" host/media fixture is threatening to sue the organizer of a boycott asking that Macy's sever its ties with Trump.

Trump's attorney, Alan Garten, has sent a letter to Angelo Carusone, who launched an online petition urging Macy's to drop Trump, saying that Trump will sue Carusone for damages "not less than $25,000,000" if he continues his campaign.

"While you claim to be merely exercising or right to free speech, your egregious, pre-meditated and illegal conduct far exceeds anything protected by the Constitution," the letter, dated December 27, reads. "Rather than simply engage in lawful protest, you have apparently made it your mission to interfere with and intentionally disrupt Mr. Trump's longstanding and well-established business relationship with Macy's as well as his contractual dealings with other third parties through mob-like bullying and coercion."

The letter goes on to accuse Carusone of intentionally disseminating misinformation about the extent of his support, calling Carusone's public backing as "marginal at best."

Carusone launched his petition, which has so far gathered more than 683,000 signatures, last year on SignOn.org. The petition urges Macy's Chairman, CEO and President Terry J. Lundgren to stop selling Trump's fragrance and clothing lines at Macy's stores, because of what the petition calls "especially unpleasant, nasty and despicable behavior." According to the petition, that would include "sexist behavior" and the perpetuation of the "birther theory" that President Barack Obama may not have been born in the United States.

"Donald Trump does not reflect the 'magic of Macy's.'" the petition reads. "We urge you to sever ties with him. Carusone is unfazed by the legal threat.

"Donald Trump's attempt to silence me will not work. I've dealt with enough bullies and know better than to succumb to intimidation," Carusone said in a statement. "By threatening me, Trump is only reinforcing the point that we've been trying to get Macy's to recognize: that Trump's brand is consequence-free bullying and chicanery; it shouldn't be rewarded."

Carusone's attorney, Paul Levy of Public Citizen, responded to Garten's letter with his own correspondence in January.

"Your letter repeatedly asserts, without any factual basis, that Carusone has exaggerated the extent to which members of the public have endorsed his boycott effort; you also contend, again without being specific, that Carusone casts Trump in a false light," Levy's letter reads.

"Your letter repeatedly asserts, without any factual basis, that Carusone has exaggerated the extent to which members of the public have endorsed his boycott effort; you also contend, again without being specific, that Carusone casts Trump in a false light," the letter reads.

"There is a well-established First Amendment right to advocate a boycott over policy-related objections ... I have no reason to believe that there is a tort of exaggerating the public support for a political campaign," Levy continues. "If there were such a tort, I imagine that most candidates for public office, no doubt including your client, would be liable at one point or another."

Garten told TheWrap on Tuesday that there is currently no lawsuit filed on the matter.

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Crime lab report confirms Mindy McCready's death a suicide

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - An Arkansas Crime Lab preliminary autopsy confirmed country music singer Mindy McCready's death was a suicide from a single gunshot wound to the head, the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday.

McCready, 37, whose career was overshadowed by substance abuse and suicide attempts, was found dead on the porch of a house in Heber Springs, Arkansas, on Sunday afternoon beside her boyfriend's dead dog. Officials have said she shot the dog.

"It is with the deepest sadness we say goodbye to an extraordinary and gifted talent, a daughter, a mother and friend, Miss Mindy McCready," McCready's family said in a statement released on Wednesday.

The statement requested a time of "quiet" for her family and friends and said McCready's "friends in music" were planning to host a memorial in Nashville soon.

The singer's 1996 debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," sold 2 million copies. Four other studio albums followed. Her fifth album, "I'm Still Here," was released to acclaim in 2010.

McCready, though, had a complicated personal life with a history of substance abuse, suicide attempts, family disputes and tragedy. She was in a legal dispute over custody of her oldest son, Zander, with the boy's father at the time of her death.

In November 2011, she left Florida with Zander and fled to Arkansas. McCready's mother, who had custody of the child, filed a missing person report against her daughter and regained custody.

Last month, record producer David Wilson, the father of McCready's son Zayne, who was born last year, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Heber Springs. An investigation was ongoing into his death.

(Editing by David Bailey and Leslie Adler)

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Palestinian filmmaker briefly detained in Los Angeles on way to Oscars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Palestinian filmmaker on his way to the Academy Awards said on Wednesday he was held at Los Angeles International Airport and threatened with deportation before being allowed into the United States.

Emad Burnat, whose "5 Broken Cameras" is competing for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category, said U.S. immigration officials took him, his wife and 8-year-old son aside when they arrived in Los Angeles from Turkey on Tuesday evening.

"Immigration officials asked for proof that I was nominated for an Academy Award ... and they told me that if I couldn't prove the reason for my visit, my wife Soraya, my son Gibreel and I would be sent back to Turkey on the same day," Burnat said in a statement.

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said in a series of Twitter messages that he stepped in to help resolve the situation.

"Although he (Burnat) produced the Oscar invite nominees receive, that wasn't good enough & he was threatened with being sent back to Palestine. ... Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn't understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help ... I called Academy officials who called lawyers. I told Emad to give the officers my phone # and to say my name a couple of times," Moore tweeted on Tuesday evening.

Burnat said he and his family were detained for about an hour.

U.S. officials declined to comment on the incident, citing privacy laws.

"Travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel, and confirmation of admissibility," U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. "The United States has been, and continues to be, a welcoming nation."

Burnat, a farmer, is the amateur filmmaker behind "5 Broken Cameras," which documents about five years of protests against land seizures by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers in his village of Bil'in in the occupied West Bank. It was co-directed by Israeli activist and filmmaker Guy Davidi.

It is the first Palestinian film to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, according to representatives for the film.

"5 Broken Cameras" is one of five films nominated for an Oscar in the documentary category. One of its competitors is Israeli film "The Gatekeepers," which looks at the decades-old Middle East conflict through the eyes of six top former Israeli intelligence bosses.

The Oscars, the highest awards in the movie industry, will be presented on Sunday in Hollywood.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

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Baseball and broadcasting veteran Joe Garagiola retires at 87

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Joe Garagiola, the Major League baseball veteran best known for his affable personality and quick wit as a sports commentator, game show host and even late-night television personality, retired from broadcasting on Wednesday.

Garagiola, 87, who made his Major League debut with his hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals, in 1946 and ended his baseball career nine seasons later with the New York Giants, embarked on a much longer broadcasting career in 1955.

He began calling Cardinal radio broadcasts on KMOX that year and went on to a nearly three-decade association with NBC starting in 1961, making his mark as a commentator for the network's baseball game of the week broadcasts into the 1980s.

Garagiola crossed over from sports to NBC's news division, serving as a "Today" show panelist from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1990 to 1992, and also worked in entertainment television.

During the 1960s and 70s, he filled in for Johnny Carson as an occasional guest host of NBC's "Tonight Show" and presented various game shows, including "He Said, She Said", Joe Garagiola's Memory Game", "To Tell the Truth" and "Strike It Rich".

In addition to his Major League stints with the Cardinals and the Giants, the left-handed-hitting catcher played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs during a 676-game career that earned a .257 batting average, 42 home runs and 255 RBI.

"I really appreciate everything that has happened to me," Garagiola said at news conference at the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. "I don't deserve a lot things that happened to me, but I remember Jack Benny said he had arthritis, and he didn't deserve that either."

Garagiola capped his Hall of Fame broadcasting career as a part-time television analyst for the Diamondbacks since 1998.

(Writing by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Steve Gorman and Pravin Char)

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