PEOPLE
KYIV, Ukraine — Is Ukraine's leader trying to charm Tom Cruise?
Mission impossible? Maybe not — Cruise is studying possible Ukrainian locations for an upcoming film, according to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy tapped his roots as a TV and film comedian when hosting Cruise in the Ukrainian presidential headquarters Monday night.
As Cruise walked in, he said “You're good-looking!,” according to video excerpts released Tuesday by his office. The Hollywood star laughed and said, “It pays the bills.”
Zelenskiy joked about how exhausting it is to be president, and mentioned the stalled peace process for conflict-ravaged eastern Ukraine.
The excerpts included no mention of the U.S. impeachment inquiry.
CHICAGO — The special prosecutor appointed to look into why the state's attorney's office in Chicago abruptly dropped the case against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett acknowledged he donated to the top prosecutor's campaign and that his law firm co-hosted a 2016 fundraiser for her.In a court document, Dan K. Webb says he doesn't recall writing the $1,000 check for State's Attorney Kim Foxx. He also says he doesn't remember attending the fundraiser thrown by his high-powered firm, Winston & Strawn.Webb says an attorney for Foxx brought the matter to his attention last week. He says it's common for lawyers at his firm to host political fundraisers.A judge appointed Webb to determine why Foxx's office dropped charges accusing Smollett of staging a racist, anti-gay attack against himself in January.
LONDON — The musician and songwriter Bob Marley has been honored with an English Heritage blue plaque at the west London address where he and his band the Wailers lived in 1977.The Jamaican-born reggae star joins John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Mozart and other musicians and composers who have been honored with a rare blue plaque.The plaque was unveiled Tuesday at 42 Oakley St. in the Chelsea neighborhood. Anecdotal reports from witnesses indicate the house was the band's headquarters and Marley's primary address.The plaque was unveiled by Rastafarian writer Benjamin Zephaniah and broadcaster David Olusoga, who called Marley “a cultural icon who blazed a trail for other black artists.”The band was recording its renowned “Exodus” album at the time.Marley died in 1981 at the height of his fame.
