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• Divorce is common in Russia, and nearly 700,000 couples dissolved their marriages in 2009, according to UNICEF. But Russian leaders, unlike their American counterparts, generally keep their domestic lives well out of public view and divorce among top officials in Russia is unprecedented.
• Lyudmila Putina, 55, was rarely seen in public during her husband's long tenure at the top of Russian politics, fueling rumors that she and Putin had separated.
• While break-ups involving prominent politicians are exceptionally rare, some sections of the media often sneer at celebrity splits.
• ___

• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman never worked with Mel Brooks, and the Oscar winners came to a ceremony in his honor to let him know they resent it.
• Brooks received the American Film Institute's 41st Life Achievement Award Thursday, and Freeman and De Niro were among a galaxy of stars who paid tribute to the man behind "Blazing Saddles," ''Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers."
• Martin Short opened the program with a song-and-dance routine set to a medley of melodies from Brooks' films.
• "The word genius is used a lot in Hollywood, so I might as well call Mel one," Short said.
• Billy Crystal, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Cloris Leachman, David Lynch, Larry David and Carl Reiner also honored the 86-year-old filmmaker at a private dinner at the Dolby Theatre that had the energy of a good-natured roast.
• ___

• MIAMI (AP) -- Tim Duncan's NBA Finals game looks as good now as it did last decade.
• And last century.
• Duncan overcame a slow start to finish with 20 points and 14 rebounds, Tony Parker banked in a desperation jumper on a broken play with 5.2 seconds left and the San Antonio Spurs withstood LeBron James' triple-double to beat the Miami

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