First lady lights candles for victims
Michelle Obama and her daughters visited Milan’s Duomo cathedral on Thursday, where an official traveling with her said they lit candles in memory of the victims of the shooting in South Carolina.
The first lady made no comment and issued no statement.
Earlier Thursday, she visited the Expo 2015 World’s Fair in Milan, which focuses on food and nutrition, where she found kindred spirits in her campaign to promote healthy eating during visits to the U.S. and the Italian pavilions.
She was leading a presidential delegation to Expo, which included the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, John R. Phillips, star chef Mario Batali, NBA all-star Alonzo Mourning and the co-founder of Sweetgreen, Nicolas Jammet.
Earlier, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi’s wife, Agnese Landini, took Obama around the five-story Italian pavilion. The first ladies stopped to meet with 8-to-10-year-olds from a nearby international elementary school who showed off their video projects, which featured ideas for tackling how to feed 9 billion people by 2050.
Lawsuit against Bieber, Usher returns
A federal appeals court has reinstated a $10 million lawsuit claiming Justin Bieber and Usher copied parts of a song written by two Virginia songwriters.
In a unanimous ruling Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a jury should decide whether the song “Somebody to Love” – performed by the two stars – is intrinsically similar to a song of the same name copyrighted by Devin Copeland and Maerio Overton.
A federal judge in Norfolk dismissed the complaint last year, saying the two versions differed significantly in tone and lyrical content. The appeals court, which listened to all versions of the song, acknowledged the differences but said the choruses are similar enough that a reasonable jury might find in favor of the songwriters.
The birthday bunch
Actress Gena Rowlands is 85. Hall of Fame race car driver Shirley Muldowney is 75. Singer Spanky McFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 73. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 67. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 65. Actress Kathleen Turner is 61. Singer-dancer-choreographer Paula Abdul is 53. Actress Zoe Saldana is 37. Rapper Macklemore is 32.