London

Often considered the most popular entertainer of the 20th century--his extravagant performances set still-unchallenged attendance records--Liberace (dubbed "Mr. Showman" in tribute to his flashy theatricality) sued a London columnist in 1956 for implying he was gay. He won.

LONDON - British authorities on Thursday began combing through their intelligence files and evidence from the attack site to determine whether the apparently terrorism-related killing of a young soldier on a London street could have been prevented. As political and community leaders vowed not to be cowed by the vicious assault, Scotland Yard announced the arrest of two additional suspects. A man and a woman, both 29, were held on suspicion of conspiring to murder. Investigators gave no further information.

From the nation that brought you "Are You Being Served?" comes "Mr. Selfridge," a loose dramatization of the founding of a British retail institution, the Selfridge & Co. department store, familiarly called Selfridges. Its eight-part run begins Sunday, under the colors of PBS' "Masterpiece. " Starring Jeremy Piven as Harry Gordon Selfridge, the American who brought recreational shopping to Britain, it is neither a miniseries nor a biopic, but a full-on, open-ended TV series - a second season is already slated for 2014 - which, like "The Tudors/The Borgias," takes real people from a real place and time and embroiders their lives with the sort of things you watch television for. There are resemblances to "Mad Men," as well, in that it is a period piece about the business of selling and the dreaminess of buying; and of "Downton Abbey" because it is concerned with social mobility at the end of the Edwardian era and ... big hats.

LONDON - As bystanders watched in horror, a man was hacked to death in broad daylight on a London street Wednesday and two suspects were shot and wounded by police, who are investigating the incident as a likely terrorist attack. The two assailants, who reportedly shouted "God is great!" in Arabic as they mounted their assault, set upon a young man near a military barracks in the southeast London neighborhood of Woolwich, police said. The attackers slashed their victim to death with knives or machete-like weapons, then advanced menacingly on officers, who shot them, according to witness accounts.

Grammy-winning singer Adele hasn't been going out in public much lately, but on Monday she and her baby bump made a rare appearance on the streets of London beside her boyfriend, former investment banker Simon Konecki. She wore a body-hugging gray dress, a long blue sweater and flats as photographers snapped shots of her and Konecki leaving the hospital and getting into a car. According to the New York Daily News, the pair appeared quite happy, with Konecki being extra solicitous in his actions towards his pregnant girlfriend.

Many hard-working people need access to short-term credit in a pinch to cover the cost of an emergency room visit or replacing a busted stove or carburetor. Yet apart from asking friends and relatives for assistance, a wellspring that comes with its own costs and often runs dry, many families turn to alternative, "predatory" lenders to finance unexpected expenses. Although the products offered by these alternative lenders — such as payday or car-title loans — can help families weather a financial emergency, the eye-popping interest rates can be devastating.

Merry Clayton's spine-chilling vocal on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is one of the most famed in '60s rock. But the 1969 classic brings painful memories to Clayton: The physical strain of the intense duet with Mick Jagger resulted in a miscarriage after the session. So audiences' frequent requests for "Gimme Shelter" might sting like salt in an old wound. Clayton, who performs at the Gardenia Room on Friday, says she was buoyed by her religious upbringing in combating the loss.

I've just returned from a two-week visit to London and Paris. If you're heading over and art is important to you, avoid the giant museums and think small. In London, seek out the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House, the Royal Academy; the Wallace Collection; and the Clore Gallery of the Tate Britain, housing its Turners. In Paris, the Musée Marmottan Monet, loaded with some of Monet's best; the Musée Delacroix (early works); and the Musée de l'Orangerie (surround yourself with Monet's waterlilies)

If you go THE BEST WAY TO LONDON From LAX, nonstop service is offered on British, Air New Zealand, United, American and Virgin Atlantic. Connecting service (change of plane) is offered on United, American, KLM, Delta, Continental and Air France. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $711, excluding taxes and fees. St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Road, London; 011-44-207-841-3540, http://www.stpancrasrenaissance.com . Rooms in the Chambers (original building)

A bargain in London? True. I was pleased with the Premier Inn Hampstead. This is not fancy, but it offers a great shower, comfortable bed, cable TV and a wonderful staff. It's in a safe neighborhood. Premier Inn Hampstead, 215 Haverstock Hill, Hampstead; 011-44-8715-27-8662, http://www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/LONHMP/london-hampstead . Doubles begin about $95 online. Laurie Dominic Santa Monica

A San Fernando Valley jeweler at the center of an insider-trading scandal pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and agreed to turn over $1.27 million in ill-gotten stock gains made from tips from a top auditor at accounting giant KPMG. Bryan Shaw, 52, of Lake Sherwood admitted Monday to conspiring with KPMG auditor Scott London to trade in the stocks of the accounting firm's clients. The pair, who became friends after meeting on a golf course, plotted to profit from the market in what federal prosecutors described as a "severe breach of trust.

I've just returned from a two-week visit to London and Paris. If you're heading over and art is important to you, avoid the giant museums and think small. In London, seek out the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House, the Royal Academy; the Wallace Collection; and the Clore Gallery of the Tate Britain, housing its Turners. In Paris, the Musée Marmottan Monet, loaded with some of Monet's best; the Musée Delacroix (early works); and the Musée de l'Orangerie (surround yourself with Monet's waterlilies)

The Olympics have come and gone for Bryshon Nellum. So has the pain in his legs that made his success in London last summer so amazing. His story was seized upon, correctly so, by much of the media in London, even non-U.S. outlets. After all, even in something as huge as the Olympics, how many athletes win a silver medal in a track event after being shot in the legs and told by doctors they'd never again be a world-class runner? More so, how many carry their country's flag in the closing ceremony?

Nokia, taking a chapter right out of Apple's playbook, is sending invitations for a press event that gives only a hint of what it might be about. It's unclear what the Finnish phone maker will unveil at the May 14 event in London, but the invitation gives two clues. It says: "The Nokia Lumia story continues," and in a much harder-to-see text, adds: "See what's next. " Such invites have been an Apple hallmark that often fuels rampant speculation and generates buzz. PHOTOS: The top smartphones of 2013 For Nokia's press event, there's already several theories floating around.

More than 25 years after Roddy Doyle wrote "The Commitments," the bestselling book-turned-movie is bound for London's West End. The scrappy story about a group of down-and-out Dubliners who form a soul band will open on Oct. 8 at the Palace Theatre. Doyle co-wrote the script for the 1991 movie of the same name, but was reluctant to adapt the story for the stage. PHOTOS: Hollywood stars on stage In part because of "The Commitments'” on-screen success, and until he saw "Jersey Boys,” the novelist, well, didn't care for musicals.

Security concerns did not stop the London Marathon on Sunday, as a reported 35,000 participants ran through the streets of the city, cheered on by a tens of thousands of spectators. But the specter of last week's Boston Marathon bombing, in which three people died and scores were injured, weighed heavily on the race. Many of the London runners wore black ribbons and armbands. Organizers asked for a moment of silence at the starting line. "This whole weekend was dedicated to Boston, and we got huge support from London," wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden told the Guardian . The American racer won her event in Boston and followed up with another victory in London.

A nighttime image of London and the southern part of Great Britain taken on March 27, 2012, shows some of the other sites where Olympic events will be held. The image was taken by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite with a day-night band that uses light intensification to enable the detection of dim signals. Lee Valley White Water Center, indicated on the image, will be the site of canoeing; Portland Harbour will be the home of sailing; Eton Dorney will host rowing and canoeing; and Hadleigh Farm will be the location for cycling and mountain biking events.

Business-focused cloud service Box is taking the company international, with a new headquarters in London. "We've seen some pretty significant traction there in the past couple of years," Box founder and Chief Executive Aaron Levie told The Times. The company plans to hire 20 employees by the end of the year and 100 employees across Europe by the end of 2013. The office, which is up and running, will first be populated with four or five Box employees from the U.S., a sort of "DNA-injection team to build out the environment, to ensure the culture remains a cohesive" part of the Box family, Levie said.

There have been a number of stage plays devoted to the lives of visual artists -- Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso and Mark Rothko have all received the grand theatrical treatment. But Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is unlike the others in that he is a bonafide online phenomenon in addition to being a creative force. Howard Brenton's #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei" -- the hashtag refers to the artist's prolific Twitter habit -- opened last week in London at the Hampstead Theatre. The English-language play is based on the book by journalist Barnaby Martin and features British actor Benedict Wong as the artist.  The plot focuses on Ai's 81 days in secret detention in 2011, and the relationship that formed between the artist and his guards.