LITTLE ROCK — Madonna voiced hope Monday that three feminist Russian rockers on trial for performing a “punk prayer” against Vladimir Putin will be released soon. “Obviously I believe in freedom of speech and I’m against censorship, so I hope that the judge is lenient with them and that they are freed soon,” the pop star said during a concert tour of Russia. Two weeks before Putin’s return to the presidency in a March election, five members of the band staged their political protest in Moscow’s main cathedral, singing “Virgin Mary, drive Putin away!” Three of them were arrested, and have spent five months in custody on charges of hooliganism. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted. International-rights groups have called them prisoners of conscience, and leading musicians have called for their release. During her interview, Madonna also shared impressions about her MDNA world tour, saying that performing in London’s Hyde Park was “really great.” She said she also enjoyed “the intimacy of it being able to be so close to my fans” at a much smaller show in Paris’ Olympia Theatre. Madonna, who is a co-partner in a new chain of global gyms, Hard Candy Fitness, also attended the opening Monday of one in Moscow. “Exercise is a really big part of my life, everybody knows that. I work out, I’ve been working out all my life dancing, training for my shows,” she said.

Michelle Obama is headed back to Jay Leno’s stage. NBC announced Monday that the first lady will make her third appearance on The Tonight Show on Aug. 13 to talk about the London Olympics and life with President Barack Obama and their children at the White House. On her last stopover in January, the first lady promoted her “Let’s Move!” campaign to get children excited about fitness and healthy eating habits. She managed to persuade vegetable-hating Leno to nibble on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini. In London, she played a little tennis with kids, handed out some hugs and posed for photos with athletes as she formally began her stint leading the U.S. Olympics delegation.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 08/07/2012