AP National Entertainment News

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the revered Kenyan man of letters and voice of dissent who in dozens of fiction and nonfiction books traced his country’s history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny and challenged not only the stories told but the language used to tell them,

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press A former WWE executive who had been fighting sexual abuse allegations in a lawsuit by an ex-employee has agreed to a confidential settlement and will now help the accuser as she continues suing the company and former leader Vince McMahon, representatives and lawyers said Wednesday. John Laurinaitis, WWE’s former head

By MARIA SHERMAN Associated Press Casandra Ventura, the R&B singer and actor known simply as Cassie, has welcomed her third child, a son. The news arrived Wednesday in the midst of the ongoing Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial, at which Cassie is an essential witness. She finished testifying earlier this month while visibly pregnant

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer A stunt performer has sued Kevin Costner, alleging she was subjected to an unscripted rape scene without proper warning, consent or protocols while shooting his film “Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 2.” Devyn LaBella filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It names Costner — the director,

By STEPHEN SMITH and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump signed pardons Wednesday for reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, who were serving federal prison sentences after being convicted three years ago of bank fraud and tax evasion. The pardons paved the way for the couple, best known for

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The beloved cartoon duo Phineas and Ferb are returning for new episodes this summer after a decade away and pretty much nothing has changed. Except maybe one thing. “The more observant of you will notice Phineas’ shirt has one extra stripe,” says co-creator Jeff “Swampy”

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer CANNES, France (AP) — When Michael Cera was announced as joining the cast of a Wes Anderson movie for the first time, the prevailing response was: Hadn’t he already been in a Wes Anderson movie? So seemingly aligned in sensibility and style are Cera and Anderson that you could

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The singer Cassie was content celebrating her 29th birthday with drinks, drugs and karaoke with friends, but her boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs, had a different idea. The hip-hop mogul insisted on taking Cassie, his R&B protégé, to a Los Angeles hotel for

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton’s angelic voice floated throughout her first gospel album in 1971 with songs like “I Believe,” “Lord Hold My Hand” and the album’s title track, “Golden Streets of Glory.” The entertainment icon says the same steadfast faith that inspired those hymns have anchored her

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Cory Booker has expanded upon his historic Senate floor speech from last month into an upcoming book. “Stand” will be published Nov. 11, St. Martin’s Press announced Wednesday. In April, the New Jersey Democrat made headlines by delivering the country’s longest continuous Senate floor

By TATIANA POLLASTRI Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Two Brazilian nuns have gone viral after dropping an impromptu beatbox and dance session during a Catholic television program. Sisters Marizele Cassiano and Marisa de Paula, members of the “Copiosa Redenção” congregation, were talking about a vocational retreat on Brazil’s Pai Eterno — Eternal Father —

By The Associated Press Guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded “Hang On Sloopy,” had a hit with “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” and earned a Grammy Award for producing “Weird Al ” Yankovic’s debut album, has died. He was 77. Derringer died Monday in

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he’s planning to pardon TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, famous for “Chrisley Knows Best,” a reality show that followed their tight-knit family and extravagant lifestyle that prosecutors said was boosted by bank fraud and hiding earnings from tax authorities. The

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — If Josh Allen is experiencing any pre-wedding jitters, they weren’t evident when the Buffalo Bills opened voluntary practices on Tuesday. The quarterback, who is engaged to actor and singer Hailee Steinfeld, looked his usual, outgoing self. He danced in the huddle to the music

By BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Rudveep Randhawa’s three kids competed in eight consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bees from 2016 to 2024, with four appearances by daughter Aisha and two each by daughter Lara and son Avi. Yet when Avi’s spelling journey concluded in last year’s semifinals, Randhawa, a pediatric endocrinologist

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former top aide to Sean “Diddy” Combs testified Tuesday that the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her during her first day on the job and waved a gun as he kidnapped her years later in an angry rush to find and

By MICHELLE GUMEDE Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Presley Chweneyagae, the South African actor who gained international recognition for his leading role in the 2005 film “Tsotsi”, which won South Africa’s first ever Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, has died. He was 40 years old. His talent agency MLA on Tuesday confirmed Chweneyagae’s

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — King Charles III said Canada is facing unprecedented challenges in a world that’s never been more dangerous as he opened the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday with a speech widely viewed as a show of support in the face of annexation threats by U.S. President Donald Trump.

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer She’s more than just cool for the summer — Demi Lovato is officially married. The musician-actor, 32, tied the knot with Canadian singer-songwriter Jordan “Jutes” Lutes, 34, on Sunday in California, as first exclusively reported by Vogue. The couple met while working on Lovato’s last album, 2022’s “Holy Fvck,”

WEST MONROE, La. (AP) — Phil Robertson, who turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman’s paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative cultural phenomenon, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79. Robertson’s family announced in December on their Unashamed With the Robertson Family podcast that the patriarch of

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Marcel Ophuls, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose landmark 1969 documentary “The Sorrow and the Pity” shattered the comforting myth that most of France had resisted the Nazis during World War II, has died at 97. The German-born filmmaker, who was the son of legendary filmmaker Max Ophuls,

By MEG KINNARD and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press The Democrats’ 2028 podcast primary is well underway. From Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, potential presidential contenders are following the lead of President Donald Trump, who frequently went on podcasts appealing

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has summoned France’s representative in protest after the French foreign minister praised a prize-winning Iranian film as “a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime’s oppression.” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had praised “It Was Just an Accident” after it won the prestigious Palme

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — A British-South African endurance athlete became the first person to swim around the island of Martha’s Vineyard on Monday, completing a 60-mile (97-kilometer) trek over multiple days to raise awareness about the plight of sharks as the film “Jaws” nears its 50th birthday. Lewis Pugh,

By BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press The best young spellers in the English language are set to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The first bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. The

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Britain’s King Charles III arrived Monday in Ottawa on a visit that Canada’s leader says will underscore his nation’s sovereignty amid President Donald Trump’s talk of the United States annexing its northern neighbor. Trump’s repeated suggestion that the U.S. annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney

By BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press Joanne Lagatta arrived at the University of Wisconsin in 1995 with a flawless academic record and an achievement on her resumé that she didn’t like to talk about — but that no other undergrad on the sprawling Madison campus could claim: Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The bee winner in

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist and author of the 1960s and ’70s whose “Against Our Will” was a landmark and intensely debated bestseller about sexual assault, has died. She was 90. Brownmiller, who had been ill, died Saturday at a New York hospital, according to

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer “Lilo & Stitch” teamed with Tom Cruise for a monster Memorial Day box office weekend. Disney’s live action version of “Lilo & Stitch” earned a staggering $145.5 million in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, the second biggest domestic opening of the year after “A Minecraft Movie.”

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Strauss’ “Blue Danube” is heading into space this month to mark the 200th anniversary of the waltz king’s birth. The classical piece will be beamed into the cosmos as it’s performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The celestial send-off on May 31 — livestreamed