AP National Entertainment News

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — On the frozen edge of the world, staying in practice as a professional musician takes ingenuity, grit and a plastic instrument for schoolchildren that’s guaranteed not to freeze to your fingers or face. Natalie Paine is a French horn player in New Zealand ’s navy

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ESPN and Major League Baseball appeared headed for an ugly separation after the network opted out of its rights deal in February. Nine months later, it appears to be the best thing to happen to both parties. ESPN has a reworked deal that includes out-of-market streaming rights while NBC

ATLANTA (AP) — The music artist and entertainment executive Usher is suing a group of investors who have been trying to open a new restaurant and lounge in Atlanta. Usher Raymond IV lent $1.7 million to the investor group toward the purchase of property for the planned Homage ATL, his lawyers said in a lawsuit

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer The Oscars are making room for one more award on their live broadcast in 2026. The new prize for achievement in casting will be part of the 98th Academy Awards in March, the academy told The Associated Press on Wednesday. That brings the total award count to 24 for

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The 76th National Book Awards will unveil this year’s winners Wednesday night, with novels by Megha Majumdar and Karen Russell, and a memoir by Yiyun Li among the finalists in one of the most high-profile literary events. Hundreds of writers, publishers, editors and other industry

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A grand jury in Texas has indicted the man accused of killing “King of the Hill” voice actor Jonathan Joss on a murder charge. But it is unclear whether Joss’ killing will be considered a hate crime. Police in San Antonio did not immediately return an

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer BEDFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Brendan Fraser is staring at a cooling fireplace. “I have an urge to poke this fire so bad,” Fraser says with a grin. The 56-year-old actor is midway through breakfast at a boutique Westchester inn not far from his home. He arrived, as Fraser usually

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Fifteen miles south of Sin City, Brandon Lake is seated backstage at a packed arena in Henderson, Nevada. In a matter of hours, he will perform an energetic, “family-friendly” show, as he tells The Associated Press, for thousands of people. He’s on the road with

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer New York City’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, hasn’t taken office yet. But he’s already the new avatar of evil for conservative media figures. He’s been called “downright sinister” and “incompatible with America.” His labels include commie, Marxist, jihadist sympathizer and “seething leftist.” Fox News’ Laura Ingraham warned her viewers

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Excuse me, you look like you like… country award shows. And you’re in luck: The 2025 Country Music Association Awards are here. So, what should you expect? Probably a lot of women taking home prizes they deserve! Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson lead

By The Associated Press Ted Danson’s “A Man on the Inside” returning to Netflix for its second season and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo belting out the “Wicked: For Good” soundtrack are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Rapper Nicki Minaj took up President Donald Trump’s allegations that Christians are persecuted in Nigeria, saying Tuesday at a United Nations event organized by the U.S. that she wants to shine a spotlight on “the deadly threat.” Trump has said Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and has told the

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump denounced ABC News’ Mary Bruce as a “terrible reporter” Tuesday and threatened the network’s license to broadcast after she asked him three sharp questions at the White House. The network’s chief White House correspondent was among reporters let into the Oval Office

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it’s investigating a new sexual battery allegation against hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is serving a four-year prison sentence on prostitution-related convictions. A male music producer and publicist said he was asked in late 2020 to come to a photo shoot involving clothing

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — National Public Radio will receive approximately $36 million in grant money to operate the nation’s public radio interconnection system under the terms of a court settlement with the federal government’s steward of funding for public broadcasting stations. The settlement, announced late Monday, partially resolves a legal dispute

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Nobel laureate Han Kang’s “We Do Not Part,” Megha Majumdar’s “A Guardian and a Thief” and Yiyun Li’s “ Things in Nature Merely Grow” are among the finalists for Andrew Carnegie Medals, fiction and nonfiction awards presented by the American Library Association. “A Guardian and

By HILARY FOX Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Royal Mint is celebrating Freddie Mercury with a new coin design that marks 40 years since his iconic Live Aid concert performance. The coin features an image of the Queen front man, head thrown back and holding the microphone stand midperformance. A musical stave that runs

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson filed a petition Monday for his two rape convictions and long prison sentence to be thrown out, saying that his trial lawyer failed to call key witnesses and introduce essential evidence that might have exonerated him. The petition for

NEW YORK (AP) — The December lineup for “Saturday Night Live” now includes Ariana Grande as host on Dec. 20, with Cher returning as musical guest for the first time in nearly 40 years. It’s Grande’s third time hosting. Cher hasn’t been on the “SNL” stage since 1987. Josh O’Connor will make his hosting debut

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — If there’s been one uniting theme of all the blockbuster fashion exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it’s the simple idea that fashion is art. “Costume Art,” announced Monday as the next big show at the museum’s Costume Institute — launched by the starry

LONDON (AP) — Bridget Jones has joined Harry Potter, Mary Poppins and Paddington as permanent residents of London’s famed Leicester Square. A new bronze statue of the romantic comedy heroine was unveiled Monday to mark 25 years since the release of the first “Bridget Jones” film. Actor Renée Zellweger, who has played the titular character

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tom Cruise, at 63 still the biggest movie star in a room full of them, finally got to hold his own Oscar on a Hollywood stage on Sunday night. “Making movies is not what I do, it’s who I am,” said Cruise. He was composed

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer It’s no magic trick: The third installment in the thieving magician “Now You See Me” series beat the high-profile action pic “The Running Man” at the North American box office this weekend. Lionsgate’s “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” pulled in $21.3 million, while Paramount’s “The Running Man”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51. Wong died of an infection Friday at a hospital in San Francisco, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong’s family. Ho called her friend a “luminary

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Todd Snider, a singer whose thoughtfully freewheeling tunes and cosmic-stoner songwriting made him a beloved figure in American roots music, has died. He was 59. His record label said Saturday in a statement posted to his social media accounts that Snider died Friday. “Where do we find the words for the

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience Saturday celebrating cinema and its ability to inspire and unite. Leo encouraged the filmmakers and celebrities gathered in a frescoed Vatican audience hall to use

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk hears the popular catchphrase “6-7” all the time at home, possibly more often than please and thank you. Getting an earful of it at a women’s basketball game, well, that was new for the mother of three. Baranczyk and the sixth-ranked Sooners became the latest college team

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House Historical Association has reclaimed a series of sketches by American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell, spending a whopping $7.25 million at auction on Friday. The four 1940s-era sketches titled “So You Want to See the President!” were displayed in the

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Fans of the Buddy Holly crosswalk in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, with a painted depiction of the rock and roll legend’s iconic glasses, will soon have to say goodbye to it. That’ll be a day that will possibly make them cry. Lubbock City Council members