AP National Entertainment News

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Culture Writer PARIS (AP) — The birds scattered in every direction as the first drumbeat thundered across the plaza outside Paris’ Pompidou Center Tuesday, clearing the way for a different kind of flight: Beyoncé and Jay-Z swept into the front row. The star couple anchored a guest list at Pharrell Williams’

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Culture Writer PARIS (AP) — It-designer Anthony Vaccarello on Tuesday sent out a Saint Laurent men’s collection that felt both sun-drenched and haunted, set not just in the heart of Paris, but drifting somewhere between the city and the legendary queer enclave of Fire Island in New York. Staged at the

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer In a test case for the artificial intelligence industry, a federal judge has ruled that AI company Anthropic didn’t break the law by training its chatbot Claude on millions of copyrighted books. But the company is still on the hook and must now go to trial over how it

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer Bobby Sherman, whose winsome smile and fashionable shaggy mop top helped make him into a teen idol in the 1960s and ’70s with bubblegum pop hits like “Little Woman” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me,” has died. He was 81. His wife, Brigitte Poublon, announced the death Tuesday and

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs told the judge at his sex trafficking trial that he’s doing an “excellent job” as he confirmed Tuesday that he won’t testify. Combs made the comment to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian after being asked about testifying. The question

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shane Gills will host ESPN’s annual awards show, the ESPYS, the network announced Tuesday. The ceremony, which honors the top athletes and sports moments of the past year, will be held in Los Angeles on July 16 and broadcast live on ESPN. The 37-year-old Gillis is one of the nation’s most

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Damson Idris was trying to tune out the noise, but that’s a little difficult at a Formula One race. The British-Nigerian actor was in the zone, in character, filming the high-octane summer movie “F1” with Brad Pitt at some of the world’s most famous racetracks. While Idris’ profile has

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Six months ago, Jennifer Rubin had no idea whether she’d make it in a new media world. She just knew it was time to leave The Washington Post, where she’d been a political columnist for 15 years. The Contrarian, the democracy-focused website that Rubin founded

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — Giorgio Armani’s menswear collection for the next warm weather season encoded the geography of summer in textures, geometrical designs and his signature relaxed silhouettes. The 90-year-old designer skipped the runway preview show closing Milan Fashion Week on Monday to recover from an undisclosed condition, but his

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer Mick Ralphs, a guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of the classic British rock bands Bad Company and Mott the Hoople, has died. A statement posted to Bad Company’s official website Monday announced Ralphs’ death at age 81. Ralphs had a stroke days after what would be his final

By The Associated Press The Jack Black-led movie phenomenon “A Minecraft Movie” and Lorde’s fourth studio album, “Virgin,” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: All 10 episodes of season

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America is seeking more information from the government about whether it is complying with his order preserving the 83-year-old international news service. During a hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth asked a Justice

By BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — With his calm and cool demeanor, fashion disruptor and multi-hyphenate Virgil Abloh artfully challenged the fashion industry’s traditions to leave his mark as a Black creative, despite his short-lived career. In the years since his 2021 death at just 41, his vision and image still linger.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, a little girl with a bob haircut appeared on our TVs, speaking a mix of English and Spanish, with a spunky, can-do spirit. She had an adventure planned, a backpack, a monkey friend and upbeat songs. “Hi, I’m Dora. What’s your name?”

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer The Pac-12 struck a media-rights deal with CBS on Monday that sets up the network to broadcast a minimum of four football and men’s basketball games per season on its main network and provide a cable and streaming presence for the reconfigured league from 2026-31. Financial details of the

By CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Three dozen police captains pair off in a Chicago conference room to play a game: They must start a sentence with the last word their partner used. Many exchanges are nonsensical, full of one-upmanship using difficult words and laughter. But the improvisation game eventually makes sense. “What

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — There is a history-rich part of London that few people have seen, where the city braced for the Blitz, James Bond’s creator got inspiration and secret Cold War messages passed between Washington and Moscow. It’s a network of tunnels 100 feet (30 meters) below the streets that

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said Monday. Pomodoro died at home in Milan on Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — At 4-foot-11, Kristin Chenoweth always wanted to play basketball. It never happened, but she still made it to the NBA Finals. The award-winning actress, singer, Oklahoma native, Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee and unabashed Thunder fan sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Game 7 of the

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Neither Pixar nor zombies were enough to topple “How to Train Your Dragon” from the No. 1 slot at North American box offices over the weekend. The Universal Pictures live-action remake remained the top film, bringing in $37 million in ticket sales in its second

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — Dolce & Gabbana beckoned the warm weather with crumpled, take-me-anywhere comfort in their menswear collection for spring-summer 2026, previewed during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday. The show opened and closed with a relaxed pajama silhouette — deliberately rumpled and effortless — in a clash of stripes,

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press KEENE, N.H. (AP) — Madeline Murphy remembers the instructions she was given on the set of “Jumanji” when she was an extra some 30 years ago: “Pretend you’re frightened and you’re screaming because an elephant’s coming after you.” So, that’s what she did in the Central Square of Keene, New

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The sixth week of the Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial was shortened by a holiday and a juror’s illness as prosecutors nearly concluded their case, setting the stage for a one- or two-day defense presentation next week. In the trial’s first

By ANDREW DALTON and HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Carol Kaye, a prolific and revered bassist who played on thousands of songs in the 1960s including hits by the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and Barbra Streisand, told The Associated Press on Friday that she wants no part of the Rock &

By JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A judge has denied singer R. Kelly ‘s request to be freed from prison, saying she lacks jurisdiction to consider the convicted sex offender’s allegations that federal prison officials plotted to murder him. U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold canceled Friday’s scheduled arguments in Chicago,

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A sheer dress silhouetting a black body suit, Usher’s signature crowd interaction and a tweet from her child’s father: that concoction created a nearly two-week social media frenzy starring Keke Palmer back in 2023. Now, the multi-hyphenate creative has channeled that experience into her new

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former Syracuse University basketball player who worked recently for Sean “Diddy” Combs as a personal assistant testified at the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial on Friday that Combs got “extremely creative” when he was on drugs. Brendan Paul, 26, was arrested

MILAN (AP) — Giorgio Armani will not be present to take his bows as usual after the upcoming Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani runway shows during Milan Fashion Week, his fashion house announced Friday. The designer is “currently recovering at home,” the fashion house said in a brief statement that offered no details about his

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer When American Masters approached Marlee Matlin about doing a documentary, Matlin had one name in mind to direct: Shoshanna Stern. Like Matlin, Stern is deaf. She also hadn’t directed before. But Matlin, who herself became the first deaf person in the Directors Guild of America just a few years

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — During his best director acceptance speech at this year’s Academy Awards, Sean Baker zealously spoke about the importance of theatergoing, particularly the increasingly threatened independently-owned cinemas. Baker was accepting the award for “Anora,” which won five of the six Oscars it was nominated for that night.