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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has landed a spot on Jay Leno’s late-night talk show, a chance for the president to add a light touch to his effort to get the economy back on track.

NBC says it will be the first time a sitting president has appeared on such a program.

The White House said Monday that Obama will visit “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” during his trip to Los Angeles on Thursday. NBC will tape the program and then air it that night, after Obama has returned to Washington.

Presidential candidates, Obama among them, have appeared on talk shows during their campaigns.

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LOS ANGELES – “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen and his wife Brooke Mueller Sheen are the proud parents of twin boys.

Publicist Stan Rosenfield says the babies, Bob and Max, were born Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Rosenfield says Mueller Sheen is “doing great,” and that the father is “ecstatic.”

The twins are the first children for the couple, who married last May. Charlie Sheen shares custody of two young daughters with ex-wife Denise Richards and also has an older daughter with a former girlfriend.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects name of wife to Brooke Mueller Sheen, not Brooke Mueller, per her publicist. Moving on general news and entertainment services.)

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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – An arrest warrant has been issued for actress Lindsay Lohan, possibly in connection with a 2007 drunken driving arrest after she crashed her Mercedes-Benz into a tree, police said Saturday.

A judge at Los Angeles Superior Court in Beverly Hills issued the warrant on Friday and it carries a bail amount of $50,000, Sgt. Mike Foxen said.

“We believe it has to do with her arrest for DUI,” Foxen said. He said he did not have any other details about the warrant.

Shawn Chapman Holley, Lohan’s attorney, said in a statement Saturday that her client has complied with the terms of probation and all court orders.

“The warrant issued on Friday was, in our view, born out of a misunderstanding which I am confident I can clear up next week,” she said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office had not been formally advised that a warrant was issued, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

However, a court hearing for Lohan is scheduled for Monday and it “apparently has something to do with Ms. Lohan’s probation,” Gibbons said. “We don’t know exactly what it’s about. The court contacted the defense directly, not us.”

The 22-year-old star of the 2004 movie “Mean Girls” was arrested during the Memorial Day weekend in 2007 after crashing her Mercedes in Beverly Hills.

She was arrested again last July after the mother of her former personal assistant reported that her car was being chased by an SUV. Police said Lohan was at the wheel of the SUV and she was arrested in Santa Monica.

In connection with those cases, Lohan pleaded guilty in August 2007 to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine; no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and one count of reckless driving.

Lohan spent 84 minutes in jail and had to perform community service and undergo drug-rehabilitation treatment.

At the time, she released a statement through her publicist that read: “It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs.”

Lohan also was placed on probation for three years. A prosecutor warned that she if she violated the terms of the probation Lohan could face up to a year in jail on each of the drunk-driving and cocaine charges and 90 days on the reckless-driving charge. Violations could include failing to complete a drug test or report to her probation officer.

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NEW YORK – Three people were arrested and six others hurt Saturday after bedlam broke out while they waited to audition for “America’s Next Top Model,” police said.

Police didn’t know what prompted the chaos involving hundreds of people outside the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan. The panic left the street outside the hotel littered with shoes and clothing, according to news reports.

“It was pretty scary,” Jessica Paravati told WNYW-TV. She said she was caught up in a stampede after waiting on line overnight, hoping for a shot at stardom on the reality show.

Two women and a man were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, police said. Authorities also shut down the audition, saying it wasn’t properly organized.

Four injured people declined treatment, while two others were taken to a hospital, the fire department said. Their conditions weren’t immediately available.

The hotel’s phone rang unanswered. Representatives for The CW Network, which airs the show, released a statement saying it was working with authorities investigating the incident.

The model competition is hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks, who also serves as its executive producer. The current season began March 4.

Her agent and publicist didn’t immediately return telephone calls.

Banks has said she created the show to counter stereotypes about beauty, and Saturday’s auditions were open only to women no taller than 5-foot-7, which is shorter than the industry’s conventions.

Tryouts also were being held this month around the country, including in Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

At least one would-be contestant in the New York throng said the tumult wouldn’t stop her from trying again.

“This is my dream, so I’m not going to give up,” Gifty Asika told WNBC-TV

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NEW YORK – Jon Stewart hammered Jim Cramer and his network, CNBC, in their anticipated face-off on “The Daily Show,” repeatedly chastising the “Mad Money” host for putting entertainment above journalism.

“I understand that you want to make finance entertaining, but it’s not a … game,” Stewart told Cramer, adding in an expletive during the show’s Thursday taping. The episode was scheduled to air at 11 p.m. EDT on Comedy Central.

It was perhaps the hardest lashing Stewart has given to a TV commentator since 2004 when he called Tucker Carlson and his then co-host Paul Begala “partisan hacks” on CNN’s “Crossfire,” the since canceled political commentary program.

The program opened in mock hype of the confrontation, which caught headlines through the week as each snipped at the other over the air. The show announced it as “the weeklong feud of the century.”

In his opening, Stewart announced that it was “go time.” He played a video clip of Cramer’s Thursday guest appearance on “The Martha Stewart Show” in which Cramer beat a mound of dough, pretending it was Stewart.

Said Stewart: “Mr. Cramer, don’t you destroy enough dough on your own show?”

Once Cramer came out for the interview, Stewart wondered: “How the hell did we get here?”

Cramer, his sleeves characteristically rolled up, said he was a “fan of the show.”

But the humorous tone – at least for Stewart – changed as the interview continued.

Stewart repeatedly said Cramer wasn’t his target, but aired clip after clip of the CNBC pundit.

“Roll 210!” announced Stewart, like a prosecutor. “Roll 212!”

Most were from a 2006 interview not meant for TV in which Cramer spoke openly about the duplicity of the market.

“I can’t reconcile the brilliance and knowledge that you have of the intricacies of the market with the crazy … I see you do every night,” said the comedian.

Stewart said he and Cramer are both snake-oil salesman, only “The Daily Show” is labeled as such. He claimed CNBC shirked its journalistic duty by believing corporate lies, rather than being an investigative “powerful tool of illumination.” And he alleged CNBC was ultimately in bed with the businesses it covered – that regular people’s stocks and 401Ks were “capitalizing your adventure.”

For his part, Cramer disagreed with Stewart on a few points, but mostly acknowledged that he could have done a better job foreseeing the economic collapse: “We all should have seen it more.”

Cramer said CNBC was “fair game” to the criticism and acknowledged the network was perhaps overeager to believe the information it was fed from corporations.

“I, too, like you, want to have a successful show,” said Cramer, defending his methods on “Mad Money.” He later added: “Should we have been constantly pointing out the mistakes that were made? Absolutely. I truly wish we had done more.”

Cramer insisted he was devoted to revealing corporate “shenanigans,” to which Stewart retorted: “It’s easy to get on this after the fact.”

At one point, Cramer sounded the reformed sinner, responding to Stewart’s plea for more levelheaded, honest commentary: “How about I try that?” said Cramer. “I’ll do that.”

By the end, the two-segment interview went far beyond its allotted time. Comedy Central said the on-air version would be cut by about eight minutes, though the entire interview would be available unedited on ComedyCentral.com on Friday.

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LONDON – Tickets for Michael Jackson’s 50 London concerts sold out within hours of becoming available, organizers said Friday.

For Ayesha Obi – who, having waited since Wednesday, was first in line – the experience was a thriller.

“He is a legend and I love his message to the world,” Obi, a 19-year-old student said outside the O2 Arena in south London. “I’ve been hoping that he would perform live again.”

The shows are scheduled to kick off in July and stretch into February. The pop singer has said the series, entitled “This is It,” will be his last in the British capital.

After 360,000 advance tickets sold out earlier this week, roughly 500,000 tickets were made available Friday, organizers said. Hundreds of people waited outside the arena for the chance to buy them.

“I have come 150 miles just for this,” said Lee Middleton, a 34-year-old construction worker from Liverpool, in northwest England. “We have made some very interesting friends waiting in line. … People were singing his songs and dancing.”

Tickets were priced between 50 pounds and 75 pounds ($70 and $105) – but some were went for hundreds of pounds (dollars) on internet auction sites.

While Jackson has said the shows will be his last in London, there has been speculation they could be part of a world tour. Jackson, who has sold more than 750 million albums and won 13 Grammys, hasn’t undertaken a a major tour since 1997 or released an album of new material since 2001.

The 50-year-old singer has been seen in public infrequently since he was acquitted of child molestation in California in 2005. He has struggled to pay his debts, and was forced last year to give up the deed to Neverland, his 2,500-acre (1,000-hectare) ranch and miniature amusement park in California.

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LOS ANGELES – A nice guy – and a nice girl – finished last on “American Idol.”

Jorge Nunez, the affable 20-year-old college student from Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Jasmine Murray, the melodious 16-year-old high school student from Starkville, Miss., were the first two finalists eliminated Wednesday from the popular Fox singing competition.

Murray, the judges’ wild card pick who sang “I’ll Be There” on Tuesday’s Michael Jackson-themed performance show, pleased the panel with her vocal ability but disappointed it with a lack of personality. Meanwhile, Nunez was hammered for his lackluster song selection: Jackson’s “Never Can Say Goodbye.” The pair received the lowest viewer votes.

Wednesday’s episode began with the announcement of a new twist in the show: The judges will have a one-time-only opportunity to save a contestant from being eliminated until the top five finalists are selected. If the panel unanimously agrees, no singers will be eliminated that week, but two contestants will be sent packing the next week.

“The whole point of this competition is America votes for who they want to save,” judge Simon Cowell said. “If someone happens to be at the bottom, and we think they deserve another chance, we’re going to give them another chance.”

“Idol” host Ryan Seacrest pointed to the early eliminations of past contestants, such as Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson, as the motivation for the new power. Hudson, who was booted sixth during the third season, went on to win an Oscar for her role in “Dream Girls.” Daughtry, who placed fourth in the fifth season, and his band had 2007’s top-selling album.

After Murray and Nunez were revealed to have the lowest number of viewer votes, the judges decided not to save either from dismissal. The 11 finalists remaining in the competition are Adam Lambert, Alexis Grace, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Corkrey, Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre.

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SOMERVILLE, Mass. – U2 shook a small city, and riled up a core of rabid fans, when it gave a private concert in a venue a tiny fraction of the size of the stadiums it plans to fill later this year.

The Irish rock band played the 1,000-seat Somerville Theatre in Davis Square on Wednesday night as fans swarmed the area, looking for a way into the show or for just a glimpse of the musicians.

The group played five songs, four from its new album, “No Line on the Horizon.” U2 started off the set with the new song “Get on Your Boots.” It also played “Vertigo.”

U2 was big in the Boston area before it was big everywhere, and played the Paradise club in Boston in 1980 during its first North American tour.

“This is where it all began for us, Boston, Mass.,” said lead singer Bono, who along with the rest of the band, took written questions from the audience after the performance.

There were several days of rumors and speculation before the location for the concert was revealed. Tickets were long gone by showtime, many through local radio stations.

Socrates Cruz, 24, a musician from Cambridge, said he spent almost the entire day calling radio stations trying to win tickets. He didn’t succeed, but decided to go to the scene anyway.

“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t come,” he said.

Elena Viveiros, 45, of Somerville, said she had “zero hope” of getting into the show but wanted to experience the energy outside the theater. She carried a radio on her hip so she could hear a live broadcast of the concert.

Some fans were luckier.

JoAnn and Steve Lagasse, of Haverhill, said they’d seen the band all around the country. When they learned that tickets were going to be available on the radio for the Somerville concert, they each picked a station and started dialing.

“I bawled, I started crying, in fact I couldn’t even speak for a while when (Steve) told me we won,” JoAnn Lagasse said.

The theater is one of the small venues U2 is playing as it promotes its new album. The band is touring this summer, starting in Europe and ending in the United States, including a Sept. 20 concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

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FRESNO, Calif. – After decades in the public eye, California first lady Maria Shriver says she has no intention of running for public office in 2010.

The Democrat said she is too much of a free spirit to be tied to a desk job.

During a stop in Fresno on Tuesday to promote a tax program for low-income Californians, Shriver said she is focused for now on her latest projects, a best-selling book and an HBO special about Alzheimer’s disease. She did not expressly rule out a campaign for public office in the future, however.

“I’m not really comfortable in the office. I’m too much of a free spirit,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’m trying to use my entire life experience from being in a public family, my experience as a reporter, and everything else in the work I’m doing right now.”

Shriver, a member of the Kennedy political dynasty, said she is not ready to endorse any of the candidates exploring campaigns to replace her husband, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will be termed out of office in January 2011.

The potential Democratic field already is getting crowded, with former governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi among the better-known politicians considering a run.

Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former Rep. Tom Campbell are vying for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

The seat of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer also is up next year, but the Democrat is seeking re-election.

Shriver, a former NBC News correspondent, took a leave from the network when Schwarzenegger ran for governor in 2003 and announced she was leaving her job a year later because she could not juggle her work as a journalist with her duties as first lady.

Since his election, Shriver has toured the state to promote her tax program and has made the annual First Lady’s Conference on Women and Families her signature event. She also is credited with overhauling the California Museum in downtown Sacramento and, with Schwarzenegger, starting the California Hall of Fame.

Last year, she released a book entitled “Just Who Will You Be?”

“I lost a sense of my identity when I left that job a few years ago,” she said, referring to her career in broadcasting. “But this job has turned into a great thing for me. … I like bringing government to the people.”

Shriver’s father, Sargent Shriver, was the 1972 Democratic candidate for vice president and she is the niece of President John F. Kennedy.

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NEW YORK – Nickelodeon says it has no plans to remove Chris Brown as a nominee for its annual Kids’ Choice Awards, despite the singer’s felony charges for allegedly beating up his girlfriend Rihanna.

Brown is nominated for favorite male singer and favorite song for “Kiss Kiss.” He’ll be competing in the latter category with Rihanna, who police say was allegedly punched, bitten and choked by Brown last month.

An online petition asking Nickelodeon to remove Brown and Rihanna as nominees had 2,166 signatures Tuesday. Nick says Brown was nominated for his work as a performer, and kids will decide who wins.

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