AP National Entertainment News

Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Greg Iles, the Mississippi author of the “Natchez Burning” trilogy and other works, has died. He was 65. Iles died Friday after a decades-long battle with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, his literary agent Dan Conaway posted Saturday on Facebook. Initially diagnosed with the incurable condition in 1996, he

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press Tristan Rogers, who played legacy character Robert Scorpio on ABC’s “General Hospital,” died Friday, less than one month after he made a special appearance on the soap opera. He was 79. “The entire ‘General Hospital’ family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers’ passing,” said Frank Valentini, the show’s executive

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former police chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” spent months planning his escape from an Arkansas prison, and said lax security in the kitchen where he worked allowed the convicted murderer to gather the supplies he needed, an internal review by prison

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press BAYREUTH, Germany (AP) — In Wagner’s home theater, a twist has been added to the classic opera “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” Instead of Walther joining the guild of master singers and preparing to marry Eva after he wins the song contest, in Bayeuth’s new version she grabs the medal out

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer When Michelle Yeoh first saw “Ne Zha 2” in Hong Kong, she walked away dreaming about a dubbed version. The Chinese blockbuster, which this year became the highest-grossing animated film of all time with over $2.2 billion in ticket sales, had seemed to her like an ideal movie for

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Thomas has not one but two big shoes to fill when he goes out on the road this summer in a celebrated one-man show. The Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee is portraying the great American writer Mark Twain in a play written

By JONATHAN MATTISE and KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For a 3 1/2-year-old, Elmo sure has sung a lot on “Sesame Street” with some of the best musicians in the world. But it wasn’t until Thursday that the friendly red monster made his Grand Ole Opry debut, a country music rite

By DAVID FISCHER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Singer Sean Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Friday after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme in which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxury items that he then never paid for. Kingston, whose

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Toronto International Film Festival will screen a documentary on the 2023 Hamas attack, after all, following an uproar over the film’s disinvitation from the upcoming festival. Earlier this week, TIFF withdrew its invitation to the film “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.” The

By ITZEL LUNA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. version of “ The Traitors ” has brought a group of public figures to a castle in the Scottish Highlands for a game of deceit, with hundreds of thousands of dollars up for grabs. Now, the Emmy award-winning competition will open its doors to

By ITZEL LUNA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lady Gaga is extending her dominance of this year’s MTV Video Music Awards and has been added as a performer, show organizers announced Saturday. The Grammy-award winning musician leads this year’s VMA nominations with 12 nods, including artist of the year and best album for “Mayhem,”

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has struck down key parts of a Florida law that helped parents get books they found objectionable removed from public school libraries and classrooms. It is a victory for publishers and authors who had sued after their books were removed. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza in Orlando said

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Call it a symphony for dissolution. American thrash metal giants Megadeth have announced their forthcoming album will be their last. They will also embark on a farewell tour in 2026. “There’s so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Odenkirk ducks into a West Village coffee shop wearing sunglasses and a Chicago Cubs cap. Some degree of subterfuge might have been necessary for Odenkirk years ago. Surely fans of “Mr. Show” or “The Larry Sanders Show” might have recognized him. But with time,

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Taylor Swift’s upcoming album release and her love of all things orange isn’t lost on her fans – or brands that are seeking a ride on what has become an enormous economic tailwind. On Wednesday after Swift went on the “New Heights” podcast co-hosted by her boyfriend and NFL

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Robert A. Caro’s latest literary honor is very close to home. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian has been named the first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical, the venerable museum and cultural center where Caro’s archives are stored and a research room is named

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Lifestyles Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Orange you ready for it? Taylor Swift swathed her bombshell album announcement in a shade she’s calling Portofino Orange Glitter after donning the color onstage during the latter part of her latest tour. So now, will “The Life of a Showgirl” usher in the pop

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When the musical “Mamma Mia!” said goodbye to Broadway a decade ago, there were tears and hugs and tons of applause. In the audience of its last show, one woman wasn’t entirely buying it. “I felt then that it wasn’t goodbye forever. I felt we’d

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bringing football fans, Brazil and Karol G together for a one-night experience? That’s a winning formula. The Grammy award-winning musician will headline a halftime show during YouTube’s first exclusive NFL broadcast next month, which will stream live from Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil on

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Supreme Court rejected a 30 million won ($21,600) damage claim Thursday by an American composer who accused a South Korean kids content company of plagiarizing his version of “Baby Shark,” ending a six-year legal battle over the globally popular tune known for its

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. Trump takes issue with two comments Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with American

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer Priscilla Presley’s former business partners have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50 million in damages, alleging fraud and breach of contract. Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko filed the lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Among many other allegations, they say Presley used them to financially exploit her

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein faces sentencing and a possible retrial in his New York City sex crimes case, but it’s still unclear when they’ll happen — and whether the former movie mogul will end up in front of another jury at all. Manhattan Judge

By ANNIKA HAMMERSCHLAG Associated Press By the end of the century, rising sea levels could push powerful seasonal waves into Easter Island’s 15 iconic moai statues, according to a new study published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage. About 50 other cultural sites in the area are also at risk from flooding. “Sea level rise

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press Billy Joel’s beloved Long Island motorcycle shop is closing down after nearly 15 years of offering fans a free peek at his personal collection of dozens of bikes. The music icon will be shuttering 20th Century Cycles in Oyster Bay, New York, in late September and auctioning off his collection

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Toronto International Film Festival has pulled from its lineup a documentary on the Hamas 2023 attack into Israel over what the festival says was a footage rights issue. Organizers for the festival acknowledged on Tuesday that they withdrew Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich’s “The Road

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A$AP Rocky had no idea Denzel Washington was going to throw Nas at him. Midway through Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” a New York riff on Akira Kurosawa’s “High to Low,” wealthy music executive David King (Washington) has cornered aspiring rapper Yung Felon (Rocky) after

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Charlie Brown and Snoopy go to sleepaway camp in a new, bittersweet Apple TV+ special fueled by a pair of Emmy Award-nominated songwriters that’s being billed as the first “Peanuts” musical in 35 years. “My motivation has always been to preserve and enhance my dad’s