newsmakers

newsmakers

Winfrey to reveal ‘miracle’ reunion

LOS ANGELES

Oprah Winfrey has staged many a family reunion on her talk show. But on Monday’s episode, she promises, the drama will be about her.

Winfrey told viewers Thursday that she will have a reunion of her own on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

She wouldn’t say with whom — only that it involves something she’s learned about recently and is known to only a few people close to her.

“I thought I’d seen it all. But this, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles,” Winfrey says in a promotional spot for the show. The word “miracle” appears on screen, reinforcing her pronouncement.

“I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I’m the one being reunited,” she said.

“I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday, you’re going to hear it straight from me.”

Michelle Obama on Winfrey show

WASHINGTON

Michelle Obama is going on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The White House says the first lady is returning to her Chicago hometown to tape one of the last original episodes of Winfrey’s nationally syndicated talk show.

Mrs. Obama will discuss plans to launch a nationwide campaign to support families with someone in the military.

The first lady has become an advocate for military families.

She has traveled to military installations to talk with service members about their needs and concerns and has urged Americans to volunteer time to help them.

The program is scheduled to air Thursday.

Bob Marley’s heirs fight for his image

LAS VEGAS

A lawyer told a federal jury in Las Vegas that Bob Marley’s children don’t want to see the reggae legend portrayed as a bobblehead or a plush toy.

Attorney Jill Pietrini used closing arguments in a lawsuit to cast a business-interference claim as a battle for the Jamaican singer’s legacy.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Marley’s widow and nine of his 11 children are seeking damages from a Nevada corporation called AVELA and its licensees.

They accuse the defendants of improperly making and selling apparel featuring Marley’s image.

Attorney Byron Ball, who represents the defendants, says Marley’s name isn’t being improperly used.

Assange’s story will be a movie

LOS ANGELES

An upcoming biography of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange isn’t even in stores yet, and it’s already been optioned into a feature film.

Plans are under way for Andrew Fowler’s book, “The Most Dangerous Man in the World,” to be turned into a movie.

The Australian reporter first interviewed Assange last May, and his investigative biography is due out later this year.

Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Productions jointly optioned the movie rights.

Assange, 39, is the founder of WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing website that revealed classified information.

He’s in London, where he’s battling extradition to Sweden over sex-crime allegations.

Vindicator wire services