JERUSALEM – Colombian pop singer Shakira promoted her global education campaign with a stop at a joint Israeli-Arab school in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Kicking off Israel's third annual President's Conference on Tuesday with a plea for children's education worldwide, Shakira, a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, said the Holy Land was the "perfect place to talk about how urgent it is to invest in education."

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Organizers of the June 14 Bama Rising tornado relief benefit concert headlined by the country music group Alabama say the event raised more than $2 million.

More than 13,000 people attended the concert at Birmingham's Civic Complex to help raise money for recovery efforts throughout the state. The group Alabama and a variety of others performed.

Concert organizer Ali Harnell said the event made more than $1 million through ticket sales alone.

ISTANBUL – Turkey says Angelina Jolie can visit Syrian refugees who have fled violence and are camped out on the Turkish side of the border.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said Wednesday the Hollywood celebrity and goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees might arrive in Turkey on Friday, but that the date remains uncertain.

Unal said Turkey granted permission to visit after assessing an application submitted on Jolie's behalf.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Oscar winner Jeff Bridges is lending his star power to a public-private partnership in Virginia to combat childhood hunger.

Bridges joined Gov. Bob McDonnell and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at Barcroft Elementary in Arlington for the start of Virginia's No Kid Hungry campaign. The program will connect low-income kids to federal nutrition programs, like those that provide lunches during summer when school's out.