Justin Bieber books space voyage on Virgin Galactic

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Canadian pop star Justin Bieber is the latest celebrity to reach for the stars, signing up to go into space with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

British entrepreneur Branson announced on Twitter on Wednesday that Bieber, 19, and his manager, Scooter Braun, were the latest "future astronauts." Bieber tweeted in response, "let's shoot a music video in SPACE!!"

Virgin Galactic commercial space flights, which are slated to begin next year, have reportedly already drawn high profile passengers including physicist Stephen Hawking as well as actors Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

At a charity auction during the Cannes film festival last month, one guest paid $1.2 million to purchase a seat next to actor Leonardo DiCaprio on Virgin Galactic.

Last year, "Two and a Half Men" actor Ashton Kutcher became the 500th person to sign up.

A seat on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot spaceship, costs $250,000 and will take passengers to an altitude of about 68 miles, giving them a few minutes to experience zero gravity and glimpse Earth from space.

The SpaceShipTwo rocket is currently undergoing vigorous tests in preparation of its first space trip with Branson and his family, scheduled for the end of this year.

Virgin Galactic is a division of Branson's Virgin Group.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Sandra Maler)

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Jackie Chan leaves imprints in Hollywood for the second time

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chinese action film star Jackie Chan on Thursday became the first person to twice leave the imprints of his hands and feet in cement at Hollywood's famed Chinese Theatre.

Chan, who has starred in some 150 films in a career spanning more than 40 years, first left imprints in the forecourt of the theater in 1997, adding to the collection that features screen legends from Clark Gable to Marilyn Monroe.

But over the years, as ownership of the theater changed hands, the cement slab featuring Chan's prints was lost. Slabs are changed often to make room for new entries in the collection.

Representatives at the newly named TCL Chinese Theatre confirmed that Chan was the first two-time inductee. They said they did not know when the prints vanished but were sure that the slab was not stolen from the forecourt.

On Thursday Chan left imprints of his hands, feet and nose in cement, accompanied by his "Rush Hour" co-star Chris Tucker and "The Karate Kid" co-star Jaden Smith.

Chan, 59, told a crowd gathered for the occasion that he had always dreamed of having his prints in cement at the theater.

"My first time in the Chinese Theatre, I walked on the red carpet ... and I see that there are so many stars doing the interviews. And at that time I had nothing to do, standing there looking around," he said.

"During all those years I dreamed. Slowly, slowly, I got there," the actor said.

Chan has become one of China's biggest film stars, crossing into Hollywood movies with his Kung Fu fighting skills and ability to do his own action stunts.

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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China's 'first lady' Peng avoids California limelight

By John Ruwitch

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (Reuters) - China's photogenic "first lady" Peng Liyuan played steel drums in Trinidad, strolled hand-in-hand with a coffee farmer's daughter in Costa Rica and snapped pictures with her iPhone in the shadow of Mayan ruins in Mexico.

But the glamorous and popular wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped out of the spotlight for two days in California while her husband held unprecedented informal talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at a lush retreat in the desert on the last leg of a four-country trip.

Peng, a singer who many Chinese say was far more famous than Xi before he became a top leader, has decisively broken the mold of Chinese first wives who have kept an intentionally low profile since the 1970s.

Many in China expected to see more of her in California and hoped that she would have a chance to interact with U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, potentially adding a fresh dimension to the nascent relationship between their presidential husbands.

But Mrs. Obama's decision to stay in Washington with her daughters rather than meet the Chinese first couple sidelined Peng to some extent.

U.S. officials said it had been made clear to the Chinese side early on that a scheduling conflict would prevent Mrs. Obama from the summit at the Sunnylands estate near Palm Springs.

But the U.S. first lady did make a gesture.

"Mrs. Obama wrote a letter to Madame Peng welcoming her to the United States. The First Lady said she regretted missing her this weekend but hopes to have the chance to visit China and meet Madame Peng sometime soon," a White House official said.

Still, Michelle Obama's absence set the Chinese blogosphere and some Chinese media outlets alight with speculation, anger, pride and more than a few jokes.

It was an "arrogant show of fear of inferiority" which caused Michelle Obama not to meet Peng, and an insult to the Chinese people, an opinion piece carried by the semi-official China News Service said. The article appeared to have later been removed from the service's website but it was widely circulated on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblog.

'DISRESPECT AND RUDENESS'

"Even if Xi's wife doesn't care, many Chinese believe this is a show of disrespect and rudeness towards the Chinese leader," it said.

Michelle Obama has had cordial interactions with other foreign leaders' wives who have visited the White House as well as with those she has met abroad. But lacking any major diplomatic role in the administration, she has shown few signs of forging close personal bonds with her foreign counterparts.

On Weibo, several commentators took their own stabs as to why Michelle avoided California.

"She was afraid of Mama Peng's charm. How shameful that the aura of the First Lady of the world's superpower can't beat that of the First Lady of developing China," wrote a user with the handle Chiki_Wang.

Another wrote: "Michelle decided to hide before being humbled. She was afraid that after dinner the two couples would sing karaoke and so she said she needed to be with her daughters - one of the most common excuses, even in China."

Peng stepped into the limelight in her new role as first lady in March, the same month that Xi became president, when she accompanied him to Russia and Africa. She became an instant internet sensation back home.

Images of her wearing a fashionable, made-in-China wardrobe have been popular back home - a parallel she shares with Michelle Obama, who Vogue magazine said in its April cover story had "inspired a modern definition of effortless American chic."

Chinese first wives have occasionally appeared in photographs when traveling abroad with their husbands. Most have appeared frumpy and awkward, though, and none of Peng's predecessors stretching back to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 could be described as glamorous.

All have kept a low profile because of the experience of Jiang Qing, the widow of the founder of Communist China, Mao Zedong. Jiang was the leader of the "Gang of Four" that wielded supreme power during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. She was given a suspended death sentence in 1981 for the deaths of tens of thousands during that period of chaos.

By contrast, Peng's easy, casual and fun demeanor were on full display once again on the earlier leg of Xi's trip, which took in Trinidad, Costa Rica and Mexico. She has also been trying out her English, which sources with ties to the leadership told Reuters she has been learning.

In California, Palm Springs' local newspaper, the Desert Sun, snapped photos of her visiting the Palm Springs Art Museum on Friday afternoon. Almost no other media were present.

And Peng joined Obama and Xi for tea on Saturday before the Chinese first couple departed, U.S. national security adviser Thomas Donilon said. It lasted about a half hour.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in RANCHO MIRAGE and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Walsh)

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Top of the Pops: Bill Clinton named father of the year

By Francesca Trianni

NEW YORK (Reuters) - He's been commander in chief, Time magazine's 1993 man of the year, had hopes of becoming "First Laddie" of the United States and now former U.S. President Bill Clinton is in line for a new title - Father of the Year.

The non-profit National Father's Day Council plans to award him that honor at a New York fundraiser for Save the Children on Tuesday.

Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, was just 12 years old when the family moved into the White House and Bill Clinton and wife former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton worked to keep her out of the limelight.

One of the most iconic images of the family to come out of that period was when the three were photographed, walking hand in hand across the White House lawn to a waiting helicopter shortly after the news broke of Bill Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. That scandal lead to Clinton's impeachment for perjury.

Chelsea Clinton, now 33 and a special correspondent for NBC News, said on Twitter "I completely agree!!!" when the award was first made public in January.

The National Father's Day Council cited Clinton's philanthropy work through the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, both started after he left the White House in 2001.

In addition to his charity work, Bill Clinton appeared on the campaign trail in 2008 when Hillary Clinton ran for president, joking that if she was elected his honorific title could be "First Laddie."

Clinton, 66, as well as Macy's Inc Chief Executive Terry Lundgren, will be honored for "their success in balancing accomplished careers and the demands of fatherhood," the council said in a statement.

Since the Father of the Year award was first bestowed in 1941, the citation has gone to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, Generals Douglas MacArthur, Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf, and sports notables Shaquille O'Neal and George Foreman.

Years after leaving the White House, as he prepared for his daughter's 2010 wedding to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, Bill Clinton said he was preparing for what he called the most important job he would ever do: "walking Chelsea down the aisle."

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Andre Grenon)

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Ringo Starr puts his life on display in Grammy Museum exhibit

By John Russell

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr put snapshots of his musical and creative life on display in a new exhibit, "Ringo: Peace & Love," which opened on Tuesday at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Starr, 72, was on hand at the exhibit, which offers an in-depth look at his career as he rose to fame with The Beatles.

Highlights include Starr's Ludwig drum kit, used during The Beatles' appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and the outfit he wore during the era of the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, between 1966 and 1967.

Starr took Reuters on a tour of the exhibit, which will be open until March 2014, pointing out memorabilia from the height of "Beatlemania," beginning with the band's August 1965 performance at New York's Shea Stadium, which was attended by 55,600 people.

"After Shea, and Shea was the biggest audience, that was the first time anyone played a stadium and that we were like, 'wow,' Starr said. "People were talking about people screaming, but that is how it was. We got up, people screamed, we ended and they went home."

The Beatles, was formed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Starr in Liverpool in the 1960s.

McCartney and Starr are the only surviving members, after Lennon was shot dead in New York in 1980 and Harrison died from lung cancer in 2001.

Nearly 50 years after The Beatles first arrived in the United States, Starr said he keeps busy and is working on adapting the Beatles' song "Octopus's Garden" into a children's picture book.

He is also releasing an e-book titled "Photograph" exclusively on Apple's iBookstore on Wednesday, which will lift the lid on a collection of previously unseen photographs of the Fab Four from his personal collection.

(Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Christopher Wilson)

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A Minute With: John Krasinski on life after 'The Office'

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - John Krasinski is best known for playing the handsome, affable salesman Jim Halpert on the hit TV series "The Office," but that could change as the versatile actor tackles new projects, including writing two new scripts.

The Massachusetts native will appear on the big screen in the 3D animated film "Monsters University," which opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, providing the voice for "Frightening" Frank McCay in the prequel to the Pixar and Disney 2001 hit movie "Monsters, Inc."

He also has a guest role on the Internet video streaming service Netflix's revival of the Emmy-winning series "Arrested Development."

Krasinski, 34, spoke to Reuters about the creative process, achieving hero status and how hard it has been to leave "The Office," which ended its nine-year run last month.

Q: After playing Jim Halpert for so long was it difficult to take on the characters in "Monsters University" and "Arrested Development"?

A: It was fun to do both those roles but they were small, fun roles ... For me it was just supporting two things I love so much.

I think "Arrested Development" is one of the best shows ever on television, so I was just honored to be a part of that in any way. And it is exactly the same with 'Monsters University.' Not only am I a fan, but my nieces and nephews are bigger fans than I am, so it is the first time in my career that I reached hero status in their eyes.

Q: You've worn a lot of different hats in your career. You're an actor, writer, director, film producer. Do you prefer one job over another?

A: I really prefer acting over everything else. I think acting for me is the most fun. It is what I did from the beginning. All these other avenues have been fascinating roads to go down but, for sure, acting is the most fun.

Quickly I am falling in love with writing and producing and all of it just because it is nice to be part of the process. The business is changing rapidly, so to be a part of the development of new ideas, new shows, new movies is really exciting, and to work with a whole bunch of different talent.

Q: You co-wrote the film "Promised Land" with actor Matt Damon. Do you plan to do more writing in the future?

A: I am writing two scripts right now. I got hooked. As soon as I did it with him I wanted to do it more and more. It is a lot of fun to sit down and write. It is challenging, but it is so exciting - to have the power to create characters and worlds, rather than to just read scripts that are sent to you.

Q: Can you reveal what the scripts are about?

A: They are totally different movies and definitely different from "Promised Land." One of them is an action-adventure kind of movie and the other one is ... sort of an investigation of one of the government agencies.

Q: You have another project in the works, an HBO miniseries about the Chateau Marmont hotel with writer Aaron Sorkin, which you will executive produce. What attracted you to that?

A: It is an incredibly historic hotel for our town; probably the most historic hotel ... There is so much of our town and of our business that was created in that hotel. We're definitely fascinated to tell the story of the hotel.

Q: After nine years on "The Office," how hard was it to leave for the last time?

A: "Each day I am not on set and not going through that routine with that group of people is excruciating. It is moving on not only from a television show but from an era of life ...

It was the most important things in my career, and at the end of the day I may still be known as Jim Halpert more than anything else. And I am really proud of that.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

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NASCAR driver Jason Leffler killed in New Jersey crash

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - NASCAR driver Jason Leffler died from injuries suffered when his car slammed into the wall of a dirt raceway in New Jersey, state police said.

The crash occurred during a race at the Bridgeport Speedway in Logan township in southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia, state police spokesman Sergeant Adam Grossman said.

Leffler, 37, of Huntersville, North Carolina, was rushed to the Crozier Hospital in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 9:02 p.m., police said.

The raceway calls itself the "Fastest Dirt Track in the East." It consists of a spacious 5/8-mile high-banked dirt oval, where average speeds reach well over 100 miles per hour, according to the track's website.

Leffler was a two-time winner of the Nationwide Series. He had been racing for over a decade, with experience in so-called midget race cars as well as the Indianapolis 500, where he placed 17th in 2000, his website noted.

New Jersey State Police said in a Twitter posting that the accident was under investigation.

"NASCAR extends its thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to the family of Jason Leffler who passed away earlier this evening," the organization said in a Twitter posting. "For more than a decade, Jason was a fierce competitor in our sport and he will be missed."

(Additional reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Peter Cooney)

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Rupert Murdoch's aim: A divorce with little fodder for tabloids

By Karen Freifeld

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch appears to be seeking a quiet divorce, based on the lawyer he has chosen and the absence of incendiary allegations, people with knowledge of the case and experience of high-profile New York divorces said.

Divorce papers filed by the media mogul on Thursday comprised a short document saying the marriage is irretrievably broken, according to a person with knowledge of the filing.

The document, which formally starts a divorce action under New York's no-fault law, contains no details of wrongdoing, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

That, his choice of lawyer and a series of pre- and post-nuptial agreements all favor a strategy for ending his 14-year marriage to Wendi Deng Murdoch as quickly and quietly as possible, the experts said.

"While she might try to get more money somehow, and he might be willing to give it to her because he's got so much money, it seems to me she's bound by all those agreements," said John Vassallo, who has represented rock star Mick Jagger and movie star Harvey Keitel in divorce proceedings.

Ira Garr, representing Rupert Murdoch, was referred to the case through a lawyer at News Corp, the Murdoch media empire, the person with knowledge of the divorce filing said. He may have been hired because of a reputation for settling divorces quietly and because he is friendly with Pamela Sloan, the lawyer representing Wendi Deng, the person said.

Among his previous divorce clients were businessman Donald Trump's former wife Ivana Trump and federal judge Kimba Wood.

Sloan's firm, Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, helped represent actress Katie Holmes in her divorce from actor Tom Cruise. She is also known for achieving high-profile divorces with a minimum of public fuss, according to other New York divorce lawyers.

"Pam is not somebody to call up the New York Post," Vassallo said in reference to the Murdoch-owned tabloid known for its gossip column and screaming headlines.

PRE-NUP, POST-NUP

While New York law almost guarantees a court will grant a divorce, the couple could still fight about finances, who gets their New York apartment and over their two children, Grace, 11, and Chloe, 9, including custody and child support.

Deng has yet to make any kind of public response to her husband's filing. Steven Rubenstein, a spokesman for Murdoch, declined to comment on whether the split could be resolved amicably.

Financial matters are likely to be governed by the agreements the couple signed. "New York is very favorable toward enforcing pre-nups," said William Zabel, an expert on such agreements.

In the Murdochs' case, they signed a pre-nuptial agreement in 1999, in which Sloan represented Wendi Murdoch, and they signed two post-nuptial agreements in 2002 and 2004, the person with knowledge of the case said.

Some divorce lawyers said that if the couple have not agreed on a proposed settlement, there is always the prospect of a public battle, if not one in the courtroom.

There is the possibility that "one wants something the other doesn't want to give," said Miami lawyer Jason Marks, who has represented celebrity clients including baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

The two girls have stakes in the family trust that holds the Murdochs' share of News Corp, but they do not have voting rights, unlike Rupert Murdoch's four grown children from his first two marriages.

The family trust owned 38.4 percent of the voting stock in News Corp as of April 30. Rupert Murdoch owns an additional 1 percent in voting shares. A source familiar with the matter said that Deng does not own News Corp stock on her own or have any voting rights.

In New York, claiming irretrievable breakdown for more than six months is an easy path to an uncontested divorce. Until the law was changed in October 2010, the state only allowed divorce by claiming fault against the other spouse, such as cruel and inhuman treatment, adultery or abandonment.

If the case proceeds without a settlement, it will be assigned at random to one of the matrimonial judges in New York state court in Manhattan. A preliminary conference will be scheduled several weeks after the judge is assigned.

If the case is not resolved before then, the Murdochs will be required to appear in court with their lawyers.

Daniel Jaffe, who represented Rupert Murdoch's second wife, Anna, when they split up after more than 30 years of marriage, said he hoped the divorce would be done "as amicably as the last divorce and settlement was done."

Jaffe said that despite the absence of a pre-nuptial agreement, the whole thing was done in less than a year.

"We finished that divorce in 10 to 11 months," said Jaffe, who is based in Beverly Hills, California. "We had no court appearances. Everything was disclosed amicably."

(Reporting By Karen Freifeld; Editing by Eddie Evans, Martin Howell and Peter Cooney)

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Smiling Prince Philip leaves UK hospital after operation

LONDON (Reuters) - A smiling Prince Philip, the 92-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, left hospital after 11 days on Monday, slightly earlier than expected, following an operation on his abdomen.

Looking sprightly and in good spirits, the prince walked unaided out of the London Clinic, shaking hands with the staff and waving to onlookers outside, before getting into his car to be driven to Windsor Castle, west of London.

Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, had been taken to hospital on June 6 for the planned operation, the fourth time he had been hospitalized in the last 18 months.

"The Duke has expressed his thanks and appreciation to the medical staff at the London clinic and to members of the public for their good wishes," a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said.

The prince, who was visited by his 87-year-old wife of more than 65 years and other senior members of the royal family during his stay, had been expected to remain at the clinic for two weeks after undergoing what the palace described as an "an exploratory operation following abdominal investigations".

The palace said the results of the operation would be analyzed, while Philip would take a period of convalescence of approximately two months. He is expected to resume engagements in the autumn.

The longest-serving consort of any British monarch and the oldest living great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, Philip has had a number of health issues in recent years.

He was hospitalized for a bladder infection during the queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations last year, and spent Christmas 2011 in hospital where he underwent an operation to clear a blocked heart artery after suffering chest pains.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)

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Barbra Streisand raps Orthodox Jews' actions against Israeli women

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. entertainer Barbra Streisand on Monday took a swipe at Orthodox Jews in Israel who compel women to sit in the back of buses and assault them for following religious rituals traditionally reserved for men.

"It's distressing to read about women in Israel being forced to sit in the back of a bus or... having metal chairs hurled at them when they intend to peacefully and legally pray. Or women being banned from singing in public ceremonies," she said.

The Oscar and Emmy-winning actress and singer, who is Jewish, was speaking at a ceremony at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.

A public bus system operating in some Israeli cities forces gender segregation in deference to ultra-Orthodox rabbis who have long wielded political power in the Jewish state.

Some of these clerics are also battling against a women's prayer group seeking to liberalize worship at the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites. The women wear prayer shawls and read aloud from the Jewish scriptures there, defying a tradition that only men should do so.

Streisand starred in a 1983 film "Yentl" which explores the yearning of Jewish women for religious equality with men.

The Brooklyn-born Streisand, 71, also offered some criticism of her own country's failure to achieve full gender equality.

"I know that solutions don't come easy, and they don't in the United States, where women are still making 80 cents for every dollar that a man makes," she said.

During her visit to Israel, Streisand will also sing at a 90th birthday celebration for President Shimon Peres and will perform at two concerts in Tel Aviv.

(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, editing by Gareth Jones)

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