| live news headlines: Daily News Digest: Entertainment - Reuters ... Apr 27th 2012, 19:09 John Mayer stumps for vets on Capitol Hill
Fri,27 Apr 2012 11:55 AM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - John Mayer is piping up for America's veterans. The "Waiting for the World to Change" crooner made a stop in Washington D.C. on Wednesday to attend the Grammys on the Hill event, where he was one of the night's main attractions. Mayer was honored for his efforts to support veterans in their transition back to civilian life, along with his work in promoting music education programs. On the red carpet at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel, Mayer took a moment to talk about promoting his two causes on Capitol Hill. ...
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Kris Jenner, reality producers defend big paydays
Fri,27 Apr 2012 11:52 AM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Reality producers are not a conservative group. When the Beverly Hilton's fire alarms went off in the middle of Thursday's Hollywood Radio & Television Society lunch with the industry's top reality television producers, production companies, and executives, almost nobody evacuated the ballroom, despite the flashing lights and repeated announcements. "If we all die, what a great story this is going to be," moderator Tom Bergeron cracked. "Idiot Reality People Don't Leave Burning Building. ...
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Not my time to go, says ousted "Idol" Elise Testone
Fri,27 Apr 2012 11:41 AM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ousted "American Idol" singer Elise Testone said on Friday she was proud of her song choices and performances on the show, even though they may not have connected with the voting public. But bluesy rock singer Testone, the oldest of the contest's Top 10 at 28, said she had hoped to stay on and fight another day. "I was a little bit surprised because in my heart I didn't feel it was time for me to go. But it wasn't a total shock because being in the bottom three that many times it was inevitable it would happen sometime. ...
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Titanic band leader's final letter sells for $154,974
Fri,27 Apr 2012 09:38 AM PDT
Reuters -  LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - A letter written by the British bandleader on the Titanic to his parents in England five-days before the ship struck an iceberg and sank a century ago sold for nearly $155,000 in an online auction on Thursday. An unnamed U.S. investment group bought the letter written by Wallace Hartley, 33, who led the ship's eight-piece band, which played ragtime and other tunes to calm the passengers as the ship slowly slipped beneath the waves of the north Atlantic. ...
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Travel Picks: Top 10 wedding anniversary spots
Fri,27 Apr 2012 09:09 AM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine approach their first year of marriage on Sunday, online travel adviser Cheapflights has come up with a list of its top 10 travel destinations to celebrate wedding anniversaries. Reuters has not endorsed this list: 1. For frugal couples ... the Dominican Republic Starting a new life together can be expensive, and the first few anniversaries can sometimes get pushed aside. For those looking to celebrate an anniversary without a hefty price tag, consider heading south to Santo Domingo, a dollar gets you a long way. ...
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UK royals riding high in media a year after wedding
Fri,27 Apr 2012 09:08 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - One year after some two billion people around the world tuned into watch Britain's Prince William marry Kate Middleton, the global media remain captivated with the lives of the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The wedding fervor, which saw a million Britons cram the streets of London on April 29, 2011 to catch a glimpse of the future king and queen, has inevitably faded with the memory of the fairytale dresses, uniforms and horse-drawn carriages. ...
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Rolling Stone overhauls album ranking, Kanye stars
Fri,27 Apr 2012 09:02 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Three Kanye West albums have made it on to the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine's authoritative "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, placing him among the greats of popular music. The new ranking, which combines a 2003 list (updated in 2005) with a later survey of the 2000s, saw two Radiohead records join the elite club, while long-established names including Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan also had albums added. ...
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Conductor Masur in hospital after falling off stage
Fri,27 Apr 2012 08:27 AM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Celebrated German conductor and former East German dissident Kurt Masur was recovering in hospital on Friday after falling off stage at a Paris concert hall while conducting Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony, France's National Orchestra (ONF) said. Masur, 84, who has been music director of the ONF since 2002, fell some 1.5 meters (yards) into the front row of the audience after losing his balance during the performance of the concert at Paris' Theatre des Champs-Elysees. A spokeswoman for the orchestra would not say whether the fall was linked to any pre-existing illness. ... Full Story | Top |
Operation "Waistcoat" recovers art from Swiss heist
Fri,27 Apr 2012 08:13 AM PDT
Reuters -  ZURICH (Reuters) - One of four paintings stolen at gunpoint from a Swiss museum four years ago in a stunning art heist has been returned to Zurich, the city's senior public prosecutor said on Friday, meaning all the paintings have now been recovered. The painting by Edgar Degas, regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, was returned several months ago, but the information was withheld to avoid compromising investigations while Swiss and Serbian police were still hunting a painting by Paul Cezanne, still missing at the time. ...
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Imax misses profit estimates by a cent
Fri,27 Apr 2012 05:19 AM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Imax Corp's quarterly net profit missed estimates by a cent, even as the Canadian giant movie screen maker posted higher recurring revenue and continued to expand its global footprint. The company expects to install 17 to 21 new theatre systems in the second quarter, with a backlog of 261 theatre systems at the end of March. Imax, which also designs and produces cameras and projection equipment for its namesake motion picture film format, installed 16 new systems in the first quarter. The company recorded a net income of $2. ... Full Story | Top |
Adele's label XL is big winner at Music Week Awards
Fri,27 Apr 2012 02:46 AM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Record label XL was the big winner at the Music Week Awards late on Thursday, picking up four prizes mainly for its work on Adele's chart-topping "21". At a ceremony in central London, music business publication Music Week honored XL Recordings with the A & R Award, the artist marketing campaign prize for 21 and the best record company award. Richard Russell, XL Recordings boss, also picked up the outstanding contribution prize, while Adele turned up to present her manager Jonathan Dickins with his manager of the year award. ... Full Story | Top |
Korean Christians aim to stop Lady Gaga's "pornographic" show
Fri,27 Apr 2012 02:17 AM PDT
Reuters -  SEOUL (Reuters) - Christian groups in South Korea called on Friday for pop icon Lady Gaga to cancel her concert here saying it was "pornographic" and promoted homosexuality. South Korea's government has already bowed to public pressure and banned under-18s from attending the 26-year old's concert, but protesters gathered outside the venue said that was not enough. "Some people can accept this as another culture but its impact is huge beyond art and debases religions. ...
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China state news portal jumps on debut after $219 million IPO
Fri,27 Apr 2012 01:30 AM PDT
Reuters - SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's People.cn Co Ltd finished 74 percent higher on its first day of trading in Shanghai after a $219 million IPO as investors flocked to the state-backed news portal, giving it a bigger market value than the New York Times. Demand for People.cn shares were so high that the stock was suspended for most of the afternoon, after triggering multiple stock exchange circuit breakers. "Investors are scrambling for People.cn due to its scarcity. ... Full Story | Top |
International education, FT boost Pearson results
Thu,26 Apr 2012 11:43 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Publishing group Pearson reported underlying sales growth of 3 percent in the first quarter, helped by international education and the Financial Times, and said it still expected sales and operating profit to grow this year. The British company, which owns the world's biggest education business and Penguin books as well as the FT, said on Friday first-quarter sales were 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion). Pearson reiterated its forecast for sales and operating profit to grow for 2012 as a whole, despite cuts to U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
WPP nudges full-year outlook higher
Thu,26 Apr 2012 11:23 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - WPP, the world's largest advertising group, nudged its full-year outlook higher on Friday after strong growth in Asia Pacific and Latin America got the group off to a solid start to 2012. Martin Sorrell's firm said revenues on a like-for-like basis were up four percent in the first quarter and said it now expected full-year revenues to be up over four percent as opposed to an earlier forecast of around four percent. ... Full Story | Top |
AMC Entertainment drops IPO plan again: report
Thu,26 Apr 2012 08:58 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Theatre operator AMC Entertainment has shelved plans for an initial public offering for the second time in almost four years, the LA Times reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. The IPO plan has been scrapped as AMC Entertainment's owners are concerned that market conditions are not ideal for a stock offering, two sources told the newspaper. The Kansas City, Missouri-based company had filed with U.S. regulators in July 2010 to raise up to $450 million in a stock offering for paying down debt. ... Full Story | Top |
Missing Cuban actor, "War Witch" win Tribeca awards
Thu,26 Apr 2012 08:17 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - "War Witch," a sensitive drama about a 12-year-old girl abducted by vicious armed rebels in sub-Saharan Africa, and a nonfiction film that examines the plight of women in modern India, won the top awards at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday. "War Witch" picked up the jury prize for best narrative feature and best actress for Rachel Mwanza who plays the girl forced to become a child soldier, while "The World Before Her" that parallels women in the Miss India beauty pageant and a fundamentalist Hindu girls camp won best documentary. ...
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Missing Cuban actor, "War Witch" win Tribeca awards
Thu,26 Apr 2012 08:16 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - "War Witch," a sensitive drama about a 12-year-old girl abducted by vicious armed rebels in sub-Saharan Africa, and a nonfiction film that examines the plight of women in modern India, won the top awards at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday. "War Witch" picked up the jury prize for best narrative feature and best actress for Rachel Mwanza who plays the girl forced to become a child soldier, while "The World Before Her" that parallels women in the Miss India beauty pageant and a fundamentalist Hindu girls camp won best documentary. ... Full Story | Top |
Strong women take center stage in Tribeca foreign films
Thu,26 Apr 2012 06:29 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - As women increasingly press for greater equality in countries around the world, filmmakers are breaking barriers too, making their female protagonists as strong and varied as the characters they meet in everyday life. New York's Tribeca Film Festival, which draws to a close this weekend, has shown its spotlight on several foreign-made movies that feature strong women roles, from the Israeli military drama "Room 514" to Mexican border thriller "The Girl." "In Israeli films, I found that women's parts are always prostitutes or some secondhand old woman nobody wants. ...
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Corrected: Iraqis under threat, Indian women in focus at Tribeca
Thu,26 Apr 2012 06:27 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iraqis living in danger after working with U.S. troops and diplomats and an examination of women in modern India are two subjects grabbing the attention of critics and audiences among documentaries showing at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. Both films are part of a lineup of 32 documentaries at the New York festival, which runs through Sunday, that tell true tales from inside and outside the United States. Documentaries, which have become more stylized in recent years with inexpensive hi-tech cameras, have traditionally been a strength at Tribeca. ... Full Story | Top |
"Octomom" says leaked photos of her home were a "set-up"
Thu,26 Apr 2012 06:22 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California mother of octuplets dubbed "Octomom" defended herself on Thursday against pictures that showed the house she shares with her 14 children in disarray, saying she was the victim of a "set-up" over the leaked photos. Nadya Suleman appeared on the ABC television program "Good Morning America" on the same day celebrity website TMZ posted video of a second child welfare visit to her home after a similar check earlier this week. She told the website the latest visit ended well. ... Full Story | Top |
"The Avengers" racks up presale and overseas sales
Thu,26 Apr 2012 03:39 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Marvel's "The Avengers" is proving to be greater than the sum of its superhero parts, at least when it come to box-office presales. With a week and a day to go before its domestic opening, the summer action flick has already beaten the combined presale totals for "Iron Man," "Iron Man 2," "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger" at the same moment in their respective release cycles, according to sales figures from MovieTickets.com. The presale figures bode well for the film's 3D and Imax prospects, too. ...
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"Make It or Break It" canceled by ABC Family
Thu,26 Apr 2012 03:34 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Make It or Break It" is no longer making it. The ABC Family series will come to an end after its current season, which airs May 14 at 9 p.m. The show, which premiered in June 2009, has suffered declining ratings, averaging 1.4 million total viewers for its current third season so far, or about half of what its first season drew. The series also received only eight episodes for its current third season, as opposed to the 20 seasons of its first two seasons. ... Full Story | Top |
Actor Lane Garrison charged with domestic violence
Thu,26 Apr 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Prison Break" star Lane Garrison was charged on Thursday with misdemeanor battery against his ex-girlfriend, which could violate his parole over a conviction for vehicular manslaughter. Since his arrest on Sunday, Garrison, 31, has been held in jail without bail. His probation for the 2007 manslaughter conviction was set to expire in one week, his attorney said. Security cameras at his ex-girlfriend's Beverly Hills apartment show a dispute on Saturday between Garrison and Ashley Mattingly in the lobby of the building. ...
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Hopper, Bellows paintings lead American art auction
Thu,26 Apr 2012 02:53 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Paintings by two iconic artists, Edward Hopper and George Bellows, are expected to be the top selling lots at an auction of American Art next month, Sotheby's said on Thursday. Hopper's "Bridal Path," an oil painting done in 1939 and the first to appear at auction since 2006 when the sale of "Hotel Window" set a record price for the artist, has a pre-sale estimate of up to $7 million for the May 17 sale in New York. ... Full Story | Top |
US returns stolen antiquities to Italy
Thu,26 Apr 2012 02:21 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Seven works of ancient art and other antiquities that had been looted and smuggled out of Italy were returned to that country's government by U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday. Two 2,000-year-old ceramic vessels, one Roman sculpture, one Renaissance painting and three music sheets from choir books dating to the 13th century were recovered in four separate investigations by U.S. law enforcement. They were handed back to Italian ambassador Claudio Bisogniero at a ceremony attended by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. ... Full Story | Top |
New breed of boy bands takes over airwaves
Thu,26 Apr 2012 01:32 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Boy band fever is storming the music scene in the United States, led by the Brits who are breaking away from the slick, squeaky-clean image of old as they battle to become America's newest pin-ups. The five young men of The Wanted take on their baby-faced rivals One Direction with their self-titled debut EP released this week, following One Direction's No. 1 first album on the U.S. Billboard charts last month. It's more than 10 years since New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and N'Sync ruled the U.S. ...
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Rupert Murdoch blames rogue tabloid for phone-hacking
Thu,26 Apr 2012 01:32 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch called his News of the World tabloid an "aberration" on Thursday, accusing journalists of hiding phone-hacking from himself, his son James and his protégée Rebekah Brooks, and said he wished he had shut it down sooner. "The News of the World, to be quite honest, was an aberration, and it's my fault," the media mogul said in a second day of testimony in Britain's High Court on Thursday. "I'm sorry I didn't close it years before." But he went out of way to defend his Sun tabloid, Britain's top-selling daily. ...
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Fandango adds 1,400 paperless ticket locations
Thu,26 Apr 2012 01:29 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Fandango will introduce paperless mobile tickets at more than 1,400 additional screens across the country. The announcement means that more comic book lovers will be able to use their smartphones and mobile devices to check into "The Avengers" on May 4. The latest expansion marks Fandango's widest paperless ticket rollout yet, adding 1,300 select Cinemark screens and 100 select Regency Theatres screens to its network of paperless mobile ticket locations. It more than doubles the number of locations where Fandango boasts the service. ... Full Story | Top |
Ailing country star George Jones cancels more shows
Thu,26 Apr 2012 01:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country music veteran George Jones has again canceled upcoming tour dates after doctors ordered more recovery time from his recent bout with an upper respiratory infection, the singer's spokesman said on Thursday. The 80-year-old Texas native is postponing all tour dates through May 20th, including Canadian shows in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec City and New Brunswick, to continue resting at his Franklin, Tennessee home. ...
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Redford aims to bring indie U.S. cinema to London
Thu,26 Apr 2012 01:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Actor-director Robert Redford aims to bring the spirit of independent American cinema to Britain this week with Sundance London, transporting the film festival held annually in Park City, Utah, across the Atlantic for the first time. The inaugural Sundance London Film and Music Festival will showcase several small budget features and documentaries as a counterweight to Hollywood blockbusters which tend to dominate cinema theatres the world over. ...
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Sony bets on Spider-Man, James Bond at Cinemacon
Thu,26 Apr 2012 12:45 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - From James Bond to Spider-Man, Sony is making big, splashy bets on its most established franchises in 2012 in what it boldly predicts will be a record-breaking year. The studio came to the exhibition trade show CinemaCon Wednesday armed with an arsenal of blockbuster hopefuls, most of them sequels or reboots. "Sony's 2012 slate will rival any slate I've seen in over 30 years at the studio," Rory Bruer, president of Sony's worldwide distribution, told the assembled exhibitors. ...
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In future, movies may come to theaters by satellite
Thu,26 Apr 2012 12:41 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - An initiative to beam movies into thousands of U.S. theaters by satellite is one of several technological leaps unveiled at the CinemaCon convention this week that will bring traditional movie distribution fully into the digital age. From higher frame rates to laser projection to anti-piracy systems, the annual Las Vegas trade show has overflowed with gadgets and innovations intended to improve the moviegoing experience while finding economic efficiencies. ... Full Story | Top |
Corrected: Court rejects suit accusing Egyptian star of insulting Islam
Thu,26 Apr 2012 12:36 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - A lawsuit filed against Egyptian comic actor Adel Imam for insulting Islam was rejected by a court on Thursday, but he could still face a jail sentence for a conviction in a similar case, his lawyers said. Earlier, the state-run newspaper al-Ahram incorrectly reported that the three-month sentence had been overturned on appeal. Imam's lawyers, Nabil Moawad and Safwat Hussein, told Reuters he remained a free man pending the outcome of an appeal against that conviction, the result of a case filed by the same plaintiff. ...
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North Korean symphony orchestra's U.S. trip on hold
Thu,26 Apr 2012 12:36 PM PDT
Reuters - ATLANTA (Reuters) - A planned visit to the United States by North Korea's National Symphony Orchestra next month has been postponed following Pyongyang's launch of a long-range rocket, the head of an Atlanta-based humanitarian group said on Thursday. The nonprofit group, Global Resource Services, coordinated a trip by 150 members of a U.S. chorus and orchestra to North Korea on April 16-17. As the group was headed to Pyongyang, North Korea on April 13 launched the long-range missile, which crashed into the Yellow Sea off the coast of South Korea. ... Full Story | Top |
Strong women take center stage in Tribeca foreign films
Thu,26 Apr 2012 12:26 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - As women increasingly press for greater equality in countries around the world, filmmakers are breaking barriers too, making their female protagonists as strong and varied as the characters they meet in everyday life. New York's Tribeca Film Festival, which draws to a close this weekend, has shown its spotlight on several foreign-made movies that feature strong women roles, from the Israeli military drama "Room 514" to Mexican border thriller "The Girl." "In Israeli films, I found that women's parts are always prostitutes or some secondhand old woman nobody wants. ...
Full Story | Top |
Murdoch blames rogue tabloid for phone-hacking
Thu,26 Apr 2012 12:12 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch called his News of the World tabloid an "aberration" on Thursday, accusing journalists of hiding phone-hacking from himself, his son James and his protegee Rebekah Brooks, and said he wished he had shut it down sooner. "The News of the World, to be quite honest, was an aberration, and it's my fault," the media mogul said in a second day of testimony in Britain's High Court on Thursday. "I'm sorry I didn't close it years before." But he went out of way to defend his Sun tabloid, Britain's top-selling daily. ...
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"The Innocent" soars to top of bestsellers list
Thu,26 Apr 2012 11:49 AM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - David Baldacci's latest novel, "The Innocent," shot to the top of Publishers Weekly best-sellers list on Thursday. The list is compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "The Innocent" by David Baldacci (Grand Central, $27.99) - 2. "The Witness" by Nora Roberts (Putnam, $27.95) - 3. "Calico Joe" by John Grisham 1 4. "Unnatural Acts," Stuart Woods (Putnam, $26.95) - 5. "Guilty Wives" by James Patterson & David Ellis (Little, Brown, $27.99) 2 6. ...
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Jennie Garth to play Nancy Grace book character
Thu,26 Apr 2012 11:47 AM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Pardon us if we don't see the resemblance: "Beverly Hills 90210" alum Jennie Garth has signed on to star in "Nancy Grace's Eleventh Victim," an adaptation of Grace's semi-autobiographical debut novel. Garth will play Atlanta assistant district attorney Hailey Dean, whose fiancé is murdered. Then she wins the conviction of a serial killer (Clint Burrell Cruise, in the tradition of serial killers with three names) and moves to New York City to begin a new career as a therapist. ...
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Ex-president George H.W. Bush opens up for HBO film
Thu,26 Apr 2012 11:45 AM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush, who has never written a memoir, has told his story in his own words for an HBO documentary to be broadcast on television in June. HBO said on Thursday that the documentary, called "41" to reflect Bush's position as the United State's 41st president, sees Bush reflecting on his childhood, family and a life that took him from World War Two navy aviator to CIA director, vice-president and the White House. ...
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