Splashy comments lead to arrest at ‘War’ premiere

London – The London premiere of Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” turned into a war of words after Tom Cruise was squirted in the face by a man posing as a reporter.

Four men were released on bail and were ordered to return to a police station Monday, when they may be charged with assault, a police spokesman said.

The 42-year-old actor was outside a movie theater in central London’s Leicester Square doing press interviews Sunday when a man squirted Cruise with a water pistol disguised as a microphone, London’s Metropolitan Police said.

Cruise appeared to laugh but then asked the prankster: “Why would you do that?”

As the man gave a barely audible excuse, Cruise said: “Do you like thinking less of people, is that it?” The prankster tried to walk away but Cruise reached across the metal barrier, held his arm and said: “Don’t run away. That’s incredibly rude. I’m here giving you an interview and you do that … it’s incredibly rude.”

The actor grew increasingly irritated and told the man: “You’re a jerk.”

Police detained the man who squirted Cruise and arrested three other men who filmed the incident. The four were working on a new comedy show for British TV station Channel 4 in which celebrities are the targets of practical jokes. They were released on bail several hours later.

London auction to feature Lennon memorabilia

London – A major collection of John Lennon memorabilia, including an oil painting from his student days and a handwritten “All You Need Is Love” manuscript, will go on sale next month.

The July 28 auction also will include a table from the home Lennon shared with his first wife, Cynthia; a tunic thought to have inspired the costumes on the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album cover; and a bedspread from Lennon’s “bed-in” for peace in Montreal with Yoko Ono, Cooper Owen auction house announced Monday.

Cooper Owen, which specializes in auctions of music and film memorabilia, said it expects to raise $2 million from the auction, to be held at The Hippodrome nightclub in central London.

Singer returns to road

Reno, Nev. – LeAnn Rimes is on the road with her summer tour, after recovering from an injury to one of her vocal cords and an unspecified dental procedure.

“I look at it in a positive way – I got some good vocal rest,” the 22-year-old singer told The Associated Press by phone from her tour bus as it headed for Saturday night’s concert in Santa Fe, N.M.

In April, Rimes was ordered not to speak for two weeks after a coughing fit during a bout with bronchitis burst a blood vessel in one of her vocal cords. Last month, her periodontist told Rimes it was time to undergo some dental surgery she’d put off, which forced her to cancel an appearance at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tenn.

Live Aid organizer gives into pressure for sequel

New York – For years, Bob Geldof balked at recreating the 1985 Live Aid event because he thought he couldn’t top himself.

“Not to be immodest, but the first one was perfect in almost every sense,” Geldof told the latest edition of Time magazine. “Artistically, people seemed to up the ante, and the performances were pretty great across the board. Huge amounts of money were raised, not a penny lost, and politically it elevated the issue onto the global table. The whole thing just worked, unbelievably.”

But Geldof gave in to pressure from U2’s Bono and screenwriter Richard Curtis, and the three friends are organizing Live 8, a series of free concerts scheduled July 2 worldwide to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.

The concerts are intended to influence the leaders of the world’s richest nations ahead of a summit of Group of Eight industrialized countries next month.

Sears gets softer side

Alexandria, La. – There are no old chairs, linoleum or nasty green walls in this store’s break room. Think brown leather couch with bright cushions, flat-screen TV, bar and photographs hanging on walls of burnt orange and gray-blue.

Call it an Extreme Breakover: It’s a break room restyled by Ty Pennington of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” A Sears store in Alexandria won the honor for its outstanding customer service.

Pennington and his police escort showed up about 7:45 a.m. Saturday for a brief ceremony to show it off.

Store workers decided that a $5,000 donation to charity – also part of the prize – should go to Hope House, a center for homeless women and children.

Foo fans converge in Roswell

Roswell, N.M. – About 500 people were treated to an exclusive album-release Foo Fighters concert in a town that likes odd events.

Lead singer Dave Grohl said he is a huge fan of UFOs but had never been to Roswell, the site of a purported 1947 crash-landing of something many suspect to have been alien spacecraft.

“In Your Honor,” released June 14 on Roswell/RCA Records, is the band’s fifth album. The two-disc set features 10 hard-rock and 10 softer acoustic songs released on the band’s 10-year anniversary.

Fans nationwide won tickets and transportation to Saturday’s concert through an online trivia contest run by Rhapsody, a new Internet music service.