WNCTIMES

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans bid farewell to renowned author Carlos Fuentes on Wednesday in an emotional tribute attended by the president and the country's most prominent intellectuals before a planned burial in France. Fuentes, who died suddenly on Tuesday at 83 after an internal hemorrhage, was one of Latin America's best-known novelists and was still active until the very end of his life working on books and participating in events. ...

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday named Rafael Reif, an electrical engineer born in Venezuela who has been the university's provost since 2005, as its 17th president. Reif, 61, replaces Susan Hockfield, the first female president of MIT, who announced in mid-February that she was stepping down after almost eight years leading one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. Reif will take up his post at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university on July 2, the first MIT president not to be a native English speaker. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The second masseur who accused John Travolta of sexual battery dropped his lawsuit against the Hollywood star on Thursday and hired celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who said she may file a new complaint in a different court. Allred now represents the Atlanta-based man, known as John Doe No. 2, as well as the original Travolta sexual battery accuser, a Texas masseur known as John Doe No. 1. "We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court and, therefore, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice," Allred said in a statement. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Peter Berg parlayed successful acting work on TV shows like medical drama "Chicago Hope" to an even greater directing career of movies such as "Friday Night Lights," which later became a TV series, and the Will Smith action flick "Hancock." On Friday, Berg's latest film, alien-invasion actioner "Battleship," steams into theaters. It takes its title from the Hasbro board game in which two players engage in a guessing game to see who can sink the other's naval ships. ...

BRESCIA, Italy (Reuters) - John Elkann, the media-shy chairman of one of the world's biggest car companies, got behind the wheel and demonstrated his driving skills on Thursday in Italy's legendary four-day Mille Miglia rally race. The 36-year-old head of Fiat, which now control Chrysler and was founded by his great-great grandfather Giovanni Agnelli in 1899, will take turns driving a custom-made 1952 eight-cylinder Fiat 8V with his wife, Lavinia Borromeo, who also has a passion for iconic cars. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Michelle Obama showed off her neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago to some NATO visitors on Sunday, taking five other first ladies to a youth center for lunch and for a musical performance by the children. The women toured the Gary Komer Youth Center, which features a gymnasium, dance studio and a theater. The center provides tutoring, college preparation, training in culinary arts and horticulture for young people in the community, 90 percent of whom come from low-income households. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Getting married was a smart business move as well as a personal milestone for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, with the timing of the wedding, the day after the company's initial public offering, potentially proving particularly advantageous, California divorce lawyers said on Sunday. Assuming the couple signed a prenuptial agreement, as most wealthy Californians do, Zuckerberg and Chan would have agreed exactly how to split assets, including his Facebook stock, if their marriage dissolved in future. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The masseur whose $2 million sexual battery lawsuit against Hollywood actor John Travolta was dismissed earlier this week hired celebrity attorney Gloria Allred on Wednesday and could file a new claim. Allred, who numerous high-profile cases over the years have included representing women involved in the Tiger Woods sex scandal, said on Wednesday that she is now the attorney for "John Doe No. 1" and will be consulting with the masseur on his next steps in the case that has made headlines worldwide. "Mr. ...