AP National Entertainment News

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 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.

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge related to the serious beating of a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023. Brown, 36, wearing a blue suit, white shirt and black-rimmed glasses, was arraigned in London’s Southwark Crown Court

By JUWON PARK and MARIA SHERMAN Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Suga, a rapper and songwriter in the global K-pop sensation BTS, has been discharged from South Korea’s mandatory military service, marking the official return of all seven members from their enlistment duties. The label confirmed that Suga completed his alternative service duties

By MARIA SHERMAN and JUWON PARK Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — It’s official. All seven members of the massively popular K-pop group BTS have completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. Rapper Suga was the last of the bandmates to be released Wednesday from his duties as a social service agent, an alternative to

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Nero’s ancient Rome and Jazz Age New York were similar. That is the message of “The Comet/Poppea,” an intriguing combination of Monteverdi’s 1643 opera “L’incoronazione di Poppea” and George E. Lewis’ “The Comet,” a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year. The mashup conceived by director Yuval Sharon

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — In a new production of “Evita,” one of the biggest moments isn’t on the stage. Midway through the show, Rachel Zegler, playing Argentine first lady Eva Perón, emerges onto an exterior balcony at the London Palladium and sings “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” to whoever is passing

By The Associated Press Friday marks the 50th anniversary of “Jaws.” It remains one of the most beloved and rewatched movies of all time. But how good is your knowledge of the some of lore surrounding Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece? Read on and see how much you know about “Jaws.” What was the nickname given

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Global sales of personal luxury goods are ”slowing down but not collapsing,” according to a Bain & Co. consultancy study released Thursday. Personal luxury goods sales that eroded to 364 billion euros ($419 billion) in 2024 are projected to slide by another 2% to 5% this year,

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — What makes a great song of the summer? Is it an up-tempo pop banger? Something with an earworm chorus? Does it need to feature the words “summer,” “sunshine,” or another synonym — “California” — in the title? How could anyone attempt a song of the

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer In the early days of Israel’s attack on Iran, U.S.-operated Radio Farda, which broadcasts in the Persian language in Iran, debunked a state media report that an Israeli pilot had been shot down and captured. Its journalism has continued despite the Trump administration’s threat to its future, along with

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Jeezy released his commercial debut two decades ago, he prepared a contingency plan in case his musical aspirations weren’t achieved. “You don’t know if you’re going to be around in 20 years,” said the drug dealer-turned-rap legend. “The streets change fast. But it’s also