newsmakers

newsmakers

Miley Cyrus, Thicke to perform at VMAs

NEW YORK

Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke will perform their summer anthems at the MTV Video Music Awards later this month.

MTV also announced a new award Tuesday called best song of the summer. Both Cyrus and Thicke are nominees. Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” and Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” will compete with Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” Selena Gomez’s “Come & Get It,” One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” and “I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding.

Cyrus and Thicke are tied with Bruno Mars as the second-most nominated act with four each. Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis lead with six apiece.

Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Kanye West also will perform at the VMAs, to air live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug. 25.

Disfigured fresco is hit for artist, town

MADRID

A year ago, a botched restoration of a fresco of Christ by a Spanish retiree drew guffaws. Now, 81-year-old artist Cecilia Gimenez is having the last laugh.

Juan Maria Ojeda, an official in Borja, a town of 5,000 in northeastern Spain, said Tuesday the fresco has drawn more than 40,000 visitors and raised more than $66,285 for a local charity.

Gimenez and a local council are to sign a deal sharing profits from merchandise featuring the image. Gimenez also has had her own art exhibited.

The fresco depicts Christ with a crown of thorns in a style known as “Ecce Homo” (Behold the Man).

Lifetime renews ‘Devious Maids’

LOS ANGELES

The Lifetime channel says it’s renewing “Devious Maids” for a second season.

Lifetime says the series about the lives of domestic workers and their wealthy bosses has proved the network’s fastest-growing drama since its June debut.

“Devious Maids” is from “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry and includes Eva Longoria, who starred in the ABC drama, as an executive producer.

Inspired by a Spanish-language telenovela, the “Devious Maids” ensemble cast includes Ana Ortiz and Judy Reyes. Lifetime ordered 13 episodes for the second season.

First lady in video for healthful eating

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass.

Michelle Obama is making a cameo appearance in a video for a hip-hop song recorded to encourage kids from minority groups to take care of their bodies.

The song, “Everybody,” is one of 19 on an album called “Songs for a Healthier America,” set for release next month. The album is being produced by Hip Hop Public Health and the Partnership for a Healthier America, both of which support the first lady’s “Let’s Move” anti- childhood obesity campaign. Statistics show higher rates of overweight and obesity among black and Latino children.

In the video, Mrs. Obama talks briefly about launching “Let’s Move” and people’s doubts about whether it will make a difference.

The song itself is sung by rapper Doug E. Fresh, along with Jordin Sparks, Dr. Oz and others.

Vindicator wire services