Today: September 20, 2024
Today: September 20, 2024

Arts

Arts

'Blue Beetle' actors may be sidelined by the strike, but their director is keeping focus on them

In a normal summer, Friday’s arrival of “Blue Beetle,” the first DC superhero movie to feature a Latino lead, would be a splashy, triumphant moment for its filmmakers and stars. But with actors and screenwriters on strike, the film’s promotional campaign has been without its lead cast. That’s left director Ángel Manuel Soto as the main voice promoting the film, a rare big-budget summer movie highlighting Latinos and Latino culture. Soto has taken the burden in stride and found clever ways to spotlight his cast. At a film screening this week, Soto and his wife held

August 18, 2023
'Blue Beetle' actors may be sidelined by the strike, but their director is keeping focus on them
Arts

Agreement central to a public dispute between Michael Oher and the Tuohys is being questioned

In 2004, when Michael Oher was a coveted college football recruit, the 18-year-old high schooler agreed in court to allow the Memphis couple he lived with to make decisions for him about signing contracts and any medical issues. Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy had taken in Oher, who had been in the Tennessee foster care system and at one point lived on the streets. The judge-approved agreement, called a conservatorship, was made with the permission of Oher’s biological mother and inked about two months before Oher signed to play offensive line for Ole Miss, where Sean

August 18, 2023
Agreement central to a public dispute between Michael Oher and the Tuohys is being questioned
Arts

Broadway's 'Here Lies Love' to show love for other Filipino stars with Lea Salonga's departure

As Tony Award winner Lea Salonga prepares to depart the first ever all-Filipino Broadway cast this week, her role will become a revolving door to showcase other well-known talent from the Philippines. Actor and singer Vina Morales, also beloved in the Philippines, will take over as Aurora Aquino in “Here Lies Love” for a month-long engagement starting Sept. 22, the production exclusively told The Associated Press on Friday. Producers say they are committed to highlighting the country’s “abundance of talent,” allowing guest performers a Broadway debut. “To be able to perform on Broadway is a dream come true for any

August 18, 2023
Broadway's 'Here Lies Love' to show love for other Filipino stars with Lea Salonga's departure
Arts

Rhiannon Giddens is as much scholar as musician. Now, she's showing her saucy side in a new album

Most people familiar with singer Rhiannon Giddens know her scholarly side. She won a MacArthur “genius grant” for her work making sure the contributions of Black Americans aren’t ignored in the history of folk and country music. Earlier this year, she earned a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the opera “Omar,” about an enslaved Muslim man who lived in Charleston, South Carolina. She’s produced an online series on the history of the banjo — which she plays adeptly — and has lectured at Harvard, Stanford and Yale. Her saucy side, not so much. That will change for

August 18, 2023
Rhiannon Giddens is as much scholar as musician. Now, she's showing her saucy side in a new album
Arts

Florida ethics commission chair can't work simultaneously for Disney World governing district

The chair of Florida’s ethics commission has an ethics problem, but it’s due to working at The Mouse rather than being a rat. Glen Gilzean, the new administrator of Walt Disney World’s governing district, can’t continue to work in his new job and chair the Florida Commission on Ethics at the same time since Florida law prohibits public employees from serving as members on the commission, according to a legal opinion issued Thursday. The ethics commission is charged with setting the standards of conduct for public employees and public officeholders in Florida, and it investigates complaints of violations. Gilzean is

August 18, 2023
Florida ethics commission chair can't work simultaneously for Disney World governing district
Arts

Dealer gets 10 years in prison in death of actor Michael K. Williams

A New York City drug dealer was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for providing “The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin, causing his death. Irvin Cartagena, 40, of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams. Cartagena had pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to distribute drugs. Williams overdosed in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment in September 2021. He died hours after authorities said he bought the heroin from Cartagena on a sidewalk in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood in a deal recorded by a security camera. Williams famously portrayed Omar Little,

August 18, 2023
Dealer gets 10 years in prison in death of actor Michael K. Williams
Arts

Natural history museum closes because of chemicals in taxidermy collection

A South Dakota museum has closed after almost 40 years over concerns that the chemicals in its taxidermy collection could endanger visitors and staff, the affiliated zoo announced Thursday. The Great Plains Zoo said Thursday that it is has closed the Delbridge Museum of Natural History in Sioux Falls. The zoo’s CEO Becky Dewitz said strong chemicals were used in the taxidermy process and that tests found detectable levels of those chemicals in the museum, KELO-TV reported. It wasn’t an easy decision to close the museum but it’s the right one, she said. “The specimens

August 18, 2023
Natural history museum closes because of chemicals in taxidermy collection
Arts

Michael Jackson sexual abuse lawsuits revived by appeals court

A California appeals court on Friday revived lawsuits from two men who allege Michael Jackson sexually abused them for years when they were boys. A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal found that the lawsuits of Wade Robson and James Safechuck should not have been dismissed by a lower court, and that the men can validly claim that the two Jackson-owned corporations that were named as defendants in the cases had a responsibility to protect them. A new California law that temporarily broadened the scope of sexual abuse cases enabled the appeals court

August 18, 2023
Michael Jackson sexual abuse lawsuits revived by appeals court
Arts

British and Swiss police break up a crime ring and recover a valuable Ming vase in a sting operation

A sting operation at a London hotel helped authorities recover a 15th-century Chinese vase worth about 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) and break up the criminal ring believed to have stolen the artifact from a Swiss museum, British police said Saturday. The vase, which dates to the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, was one of three items stolen from the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva in 2019. The Metropolitan Police Service made the announcement after a London court on Friday found two men guilty of charges related to the gang’s effort to sell the

August 19, 2023
British and Swiss police break up a crime ring and recover a valuable Ming vase in a sting operation
Arts

Ron Cephas-Jones, 'This Is Us' actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66

Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday. Jones’ manager, Dan Spilo, said in an emailed statement the actor he died “due to a long-standing pulmonary issue.” “Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him,” Spilo said. Jones had a double lung transplant in 2020 because

August 20, 2023
Ron Cephas-Jones, 'This Is Us' actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66
Arts

‘Blue Beetle’ unseats ‘Barbie’ atop box office, ending four-week reign

The DC superhero film “Blue Beetle” led weekend ticket sales with an estimated $25.4 million, according to studio estimates, dethroning “Barbie” from the top spot after a record-setting run that left movie theaters colored pink for a month. The “Barbie” phenomenon is far from over. Greta Gerwig’s film, which earlier this week became the highest grossing Warner Bros. release ever domestically, nearly managed to stay No. 1 again with $21.5 million in its fifth weekend. Its in North America is up to $567.3 million. And the other half of “Barbenheimer” also continues to perform remarkably well

August 20, 2023
‘Blue Beetle’ unseats ‘Barbie’ atop box office, ending four-week reign
Arts

Court documents suggests reason for police raid of Kansas newspaper

The police chief who led the raid of a Kansas newspaper alleged in previously unreleased in court documents that a reporter either impersonated someone else or lied about her intentions when she obtained the driving records of a local business owner. But reporter Phyllis Zorn, Marion County Record Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer and the newspaper’s attorney said Sunday that no laws were broken when Zorn accessed a public state website for information on restaurant operator Kari Newell. The raid carried out Aug. 11 and led by Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody brought international attention to the small central Kansas

August 20, 2023
Court documents suggests reason for police raid of Kansas newspaper
Arts

'Barbie' for $4? National Cinema Day is coming, with discounted tickets nationwide

Still haven’t seen “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer”? This Sunday, you’ll be able to catch up for $4 a ticket in movie theaters nationwide. Theater owners announced Monday that the second annual National Cinema Day will be held Sunday, Aug. 27. For one day, all movies — in all formats and at all showtimes — will be $4 at participating theaters. More than 3,000 theaters are participating, which accounts for most of the cinemas in the U.S., including the leading chains AMC and Regal. It’s the second straight year theaters are trotting out the one-day event at the

August 20, 2023
'Barbie' for $4? National Cinema Day is coming, with discounted tickets nationwide
Arts

Tenor Freddie de Tommaso, a young British sensation, makes US opera debut

“British Tenor Saves Night at Opera,” proclaimed the Daily Mail. The opera was Puccini’s “Tosca,” and the tenor was then-28-year-old Freddie de Tommaso, jumping in at London’s Royal Opera House when the scheduled singer withdrew after Act 1 because of illness. That was nearly two years ago. Now de Tommaso has just made his U.S. debut at the Santa Fe Opera in the same role, appearing to enthusiastic applause on Aug. 12, five days after a bout of laryngitis forced him to cancel his first performance. His final performance is Saturday. And he’ll return in

August 21, 2023
Tenor Freddie de Tommaso, a young British sensation, makes US opera debut
Arts

Trial scheduled in 2024 for movie armorer in fatal shooting of cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin

A New Mexico judge has set a 2024 starting date for the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of a Western film. State district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Monday scheduled the trial to run from Feb. 21 through March 6 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The first day begins with jury selection. Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal

August 21, 2023
Trial scheduled in 2024 for movie armorer in fatal shooting of cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin
Arts

Free Disney World passes is latest front in war between Disney and DeSantis appointees

Already involved in two lawsuits with Disney, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a board that oversees Disney World’s governing district on Monday launched a battle against the company on a new front — free passes and discounts for district employees. Board members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District submitted a complaint to the state Inspector General, claiming that the millions of dollars in season passes, as well as discounts on hotels, merchandise, food and beverages, that their Disney-supporting predecessors provided governing district employees amount to unethical benefits and perks. Last year alone, before the DeSantis appointees took over the

August 21, 2023
Free Disney World passes is latest front in war between Disney and DeSantis appointees
Arts

Inside KCON LA 2023, an extravagant microcosm of K-pop's macro influence

Hours before doors would open, thousands of K-pop fans lined up in downtown Los Angeles, stretching long city blocks in the warm August sun. In pleated skirts and platform shoes, toting the clear bags that have become arena staples, they danced and traded homemade stickers, banners, bracelets and photocards. Inside was their paradise: an IRL space to commune over their URL passions. If anything, the 2023 LA KCON was a microcosm of K-pop’s macro influence on the music industry as a whole. Held from Friday to Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center and adjacent Crypto.com

August 22, 2023
Inside KCON LA 2023, an extravagant microcosm of K-pop's macro influence
Arts

Microsoft revamps deal for video game maker Activision Blizzard to meet UK demands

Microsoft revamped its bid to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard on Tuesday to appease British competition regulators, who are the last major hurdle to closing one of the biggest deals in tech history. The Competition and Markets Authority said it has opened a new preliminary investigation into the updated transaction with a deadline for a decision due on Oct. 18. Xbox maker Microsoft has been on a quest to acquire Activision, maker of the popular Call of Duty game franchise since announcing the $69 billion deal in January 2022. The blockbuster deal has secured approvals from

August 22, 2023
Microsoft revamps deal for video game maker Activision Blizzard to meet UK demands
Arts

In his new book 'The Fall,' author Michael Wolff foresees the demise of Fox News

The next book from “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff is both a recounting of the recent past and a prediction for the near future. Wolff’s “The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty” will come out Sept. 26, publisher Henry Holt announced Tuesday. A spokesperson told The Associated Press that Wolff, whose previous books include “Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Owns the News,” interviewed “people throughout the Murdoch organization, including many with direct knowledge of Murdoch and his family.” Wolff will offer behinds-the-scenes accounts of everything from Tucker Carlson’s ousting, to Rupert

August 22, 2023
In his new book 'The Fall,' author Michael Wolff foresees the demise of Fox News
Arts

Behind ‘Bottoms,’ the wild, queer and bloody high school sex comedy coming to theaters

“Gay High School Fight Club” was the working title of the script that Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott sent off to a producer a few years ago, riding a surreal wave of virtual goodwill after their film “Shiva Baby” became a kind of cult sensation during the pandemic. This story was about two unpopular friends, PJ and Josie, who are eager to lose their virginity (ideally to two beautiful cheerleaders). The only way they can figure out how to get close to said cheerleaders, however, is to form an all-female self-defense class that quickly devolves into a bloody fight club.

August 22, 2023
Behind ‘Bottoms,’ the wild, queer and bloody high school sex comedy coming to theaters
Arts

Maxine Hong Kingston, bell hooks among those honored by Ishmael Reed's Before Columbus Foundation

Maxine Hong Kingston, Darryl Pinckney and the late bell hooks were among the authors honored this year by the Before Columbus Foundation, a nonprofit co-founded by Ishmael Reed that celebrates multicultural literature. Established in 1976, the Before Columbus Foundation each year presents American Book Awards to both fiction and nonfiction writers. Kingston, best known for her memoir “The Woman Warrior,” received a lifetime achievement prize. Pinckney was cited for his memoir “Come Back in September,” and hooks, who died in 2021, was given a special award for criticism. On Tuesday, the foundation also announced awards for

August 22, 2023
Maxine Hong Kingston, bell hooks among those honored by Ishmael Reed's Before Columbus Foundation
Arts

Maluma has a new alter ego. Meet Don Juan, also the title of the Colombian superstar's new album

On New Year’s Eve 2022, Colombian superstar Maluma bid farewell to his musical alter ego Papi Juancho, created during the coronavirus pandemic. “Fue un placer,” he wrote on Instagram. “It was a pleasure.” Then he teased a new era: Don Juan, coming 2023. The wait is over. On Friday, Maluma will release his highly anticipated album, “Don Juan.” The choice of title is both a clever reference to the infamous 17th century literary Lothario and a reference to Maluma’s birth name, Juan Luis Londoño Arias. It’s a rich place to pull from, and that matches the

August 22, 2023
Maluma has a new alter ego. Meet Don Juan, also the title of the Colombian superstar's new album
Arts

Kerry Washington, Martin Sheen shout for solidarity between Hollywood strikers and other workers

Kerry Washington and Martin Sheen, a pair of fictional former politicos, turned Hollywood’s strikes into a rousing campaign rally Tuesday with speeches celebrating unity across the industry and with labor at large. “We are here because we know that unions matter,” said Washington, who played a political fixer on ABC’s “Scandal.” “Not only do we have solidarity within our union, we have solidarity between our unions, because we are workers.” The rally outside Disney Studios in Burbank, California, coming more than a month into a strike by Hollywood actors and more than three months into a

August 22, 2023
Kerry Washington, Martin Sheen shout for solidarity between Hollywood strikers and other workers
Arts

Australian prosecutors drop case against actor Amber Heard over pet Yorkshire terriers

Australian prosecutors dropped a potential criminal case against American actor Amber Heard over allegations that she lied to a court about how her Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo came to be smuggled into Australia eight years ago, the government said Wednesday. Heard and her then-husband Johnny Depp became embroiled in a high-profile biosecurity controversy in 2015 when she brought her pets to Australia’s Gold Coast, where Depp was filming the fifth movie in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, a biosecurity watchdog, said the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions

August 23, 2023
Australian prosecutors drop case against actor Amber Heard over pet Yorkshire terriers
Arts

Public Enemy, Ice-T to headline free D.C. concerts, The National Celebration of Hip Hop

Hip-hop, the most popular genre in America, turned 50 this August. Born in the Bronx and spread to every corner of the world, it’s hard to find the words to express the culture’s influence and legacy — but, hey, that’s what the music is for. To celebrate this momentous milestone, pioneers Public Enemy and Ice-T will headline The National Celebration of Hip-Hop, free concerts held at the West Potomac Park on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on Oct. 6 and 7. “Hip-hop is beyond, not just a musical genre,” said Public Enemy ‘s Chuck D

August 23, 2023
Public Enemy, Ice-T to headline free D.C. concerts, The National Celebration of Hip Hop

Follow