PHOENIX – Time magazine has named U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

President Barack Obama wrote the tribute to Arizona congresswoman in the magazine’s May issue, saying Giffords may not have been a household name before she was shot in the head in a Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson, but now “she’s got the prayers of a nation rooting for her.”

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U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., is a “model of civility and courage and unity,” President Obama said in his tribute to her in Time magazine. The Associated Press

James Franco

Obama wrote Giffords is a “model of civility and courage and unity – a needed voice that cannot return soon enough.”

Those who also made the list of leaders, thinkers, artists and heroes include comedienne Amy Poehler, Oscar winner Colin Firth, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, singer Justin Bieber, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, first lady Michelle Obama and author Jonathan Franzen.

Also on Time’s list was Wael Ghonim, the Google Inc. executive who anonymously launched a Facebook page that helped organize protests that led to the oust of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, wrote Ghonim’s tribute, saying that the Egyptian worked “outside the box.”

“By emphasizing that the regime would listen only when citizens exercised their right of peaceful demonstration and civil disobedience, Wael helped initiate a call for a peaceful revolution.”

Prince Charles accepts use of private jet for U.S. trip

LONDON – A Texan billionaire has given Prince Charles use of a private jet for his upcoming trip to the U.S., palace officials said Thursday.

The prince will travel to Washington for a May 3-5 visit featuring a meeting with President Barack Obama. It will come just days after the wedding of his son, Prince William, to Kate Middleton in London on April 29.

Charles’ office said that given the current economic climate, it felt it was right to accept the offer for a private charter from Joe Allbritton, a close personal friend and supporter of the prince’s charities with deep ties to Washington’s elite.

It is thought to be the first time Charles – who recently entered the record books for spending the longest time as heir apparent to the British throne – has used an aircraft paid for by a private individual for an official visit.

James Franco wins spot in writing program

HOUSTON – James Franco has won a spot in a University of Houston creative writing program.

The university confirms that the actor nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for best actor in “127 Hours” has been accepted for the school’s doctoral program in literature and creative writing. Creative writing program director James Kastely tells the Houston Chronicle that Franco plans to enroll in September 2012.

Franco publicist Robin Baum did not respond to telephone and email messages.

Kastely says 20 students are chosen from about 400 applicants each year.

The 33-year-old actor has been studying in a doctoral program in English at Yale University.

Community service ordered

NEW YORK – Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards’ daughter Theodora will get her New York City graffiti and drug case dismissed in exchange for doing two days of community service, a judge said Thursday.

Theodora Richards, a 25-year-old model, smiled but stayed mum as she left a Manhattan court. She has until late June to do the community service and won’t have to enter a plea.

Police said officers spotted her March 1 writing the letters “T” and “A,” with a heart symbol between them, in red ink on the side of a Manhattan building that houses a convent. She has a sister named Alexandra, her lawyers noted.

Theodora Richards had a small amount of marijuana and hydrocodone pills in her purse.

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