White House goes a little bit country

Washington — The White House went a little bit country Tuesday.

“Now, I know folks think I’m a city boy, but I do appreciate listening to country music,” President Barack Obama said to guests gathered in the East Room for a performance by country musicians Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Brad Paisley and country music legend Charley Pride also entertained the audience, which included first lady Michelle Obama, Cabinet secretaries and lawmakers.

The president, whose hometown is Chicago, said the genre has helped to make Americans more hopeful. “It’s captured our restlessness and resilience, and told so much of our story in the process,” he said.

The performance, along with a morning workshop for students, was the second in a music series that Mrs. Obama launched last month to encourage arts and arts education. The first session was devoted to jazz. A classical music workshop is planned for the fall.

Susan Boyle: Fame like ‘giant demolition ball’

New York — Susan Boyle says sudden fame hit her like a “giant demolition ball.”

The Scottish singing sensation tells NBC’s “Today” show, in an interview to air today, that adjusting to her overnight celebrity has been difficult.

Her first appearance on “Britain’s Got Talent” earlier this year had millions of YouTube hits. After placing second on the TV competition, the former church volunteer was hospitalized for exhaustion.

When asked if she felt overwhelmed by fame, Boyle says: “It’s a lot like a giant demolition ball.” Boyle says she had to wrap her head around the experience, but is glad for the opportunity to have a professional singing career.

Her interview on the NBC morning show was taped in London last week.

O’Neal opens up about Fawcett’s final hours

New York — Ryan O’Neal says even as Farrah Fawcett lay dying, she clung to life.

O’Neal tells NBC’s “Today” show that doctors said Fawcett had a couple of hours left, but she held on for a couple of days.

O’Neal says Fawcett “wouldn’t pass,” and “it was awful.”

He says Fawcett’s eyes were open for the last three weeks of her life. He thinks she was “holding on,” since she had so much left to do.

Finally, he says, Fawcett closed her eyes and she was gone.

She died last month after a long battle with anal cancer.

O’Neal says he writes to Fawcett in his journal, fulfilling a promise he made to his longtime love. He said he’d “see her every day” after her death.

Publicist: Barton ‘making improvements’

Los Angeles — Mischa Barton is “making improvements” and plans a return to work nearly a week after Los Angeles police say they escorted her for an undisclosed medical problem.

Spokesman Craig Schneider says the 23-year-old actress is “still seeking treatment but making improvements.”

He would not elaborate on Barton’s condition, but said Tuesday that Barton planned to report to work on the new CW series “The Beautiful Life” later this month. A CW spokesman for the show, which stars Barton as a pill-popping supermodel, said production was scheduled to begin July 31.

Police say they removed Barton from her home last Wednesday for an undisclosed medical problem. The department will not say what it was.

Wrongdoing probed in Jackson memorial cost

Los Angeles — Investigators looking into the chain of events that led City Hall to spend an estimated $1.4 million for police protection and other services at Michael Jackson’s memorial have turned up possible criminal wrongdoing, the city attorney said Tuesday.

The disclosure two weeks after Jackson’s lavish farewell came amid a public backlash over the taxpayer bill, which included more than $48,000 for sandwiches brought in for police from 70 miles away.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has been reviewing the procedures that led the city to deploy thousands of police and other city workers for the star-studded tribute at the downtown Staples Center, hoping to identify a way for taxpayers to recoup at least some of the money.

“Our investigation has taken an unanticipated turn that raises both civil and criminal aspects,” Trutanich told the City Council. The investigation is continuing, but he said he could not reveal any further details about possible criminal activity.

Sutherland gets NYC assault charge dropped

New York — Kiefer Sutherland’s legal troubles for allegedly head-butting a fashion designer in a New York City nightclub are over.

The Manhattan district attorney’s spokeswoman said Tuesday that misdemeanor assault charges against the actor are being dropped because the alleged victim wouldn’t cooperate with prosecutors.

The star of the Fox TV show “24” was charged in May after designer Jack McCollough said Sutherland head-butted him and broke his nose in a Manhattan nightclub.

Sutherland and McCollough issued a joint statement a few weeks later saying they had resolved their differences. Sutherland apologized to McCollough in the statement.

Sutherland’s attorneys declined to comment Tuesday.