Judge allows mention of accuser's arrest in Jonathan Majors trial

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Defense attorneys for Marvel star Jonathan Majors will be allowed to tell the jury about his accuser's recent arrest in connection with the domestic violence case, the judge decided Thursday on the second day of the trial.

Majors, 34, faces misdemeanor assault and harassment charges stemming from an incident in New York City in March with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, whose case the Manhattan district attorney's office dropped.

The Emmy-nominated actor was arrested after officers responded to a 911 call in Manhattan for an alleged domestic dispute. He subsequently filed a cross-complaint against Jabbari, alleging he was the one assaulted.

Actor Jonathan Majors arrives with Meagan Good for the jury selection in his assault and harassment case at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, Nov. 29, 2023.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Jabbari was arrested in October in New York on multiple charges, though the Manhattan district attorney's office subsequently said it decided not to prosecute her because the case "lacks prosecutorial merit."

The defense argued her arrest is "part and parcel" of its case.

"There is no case law the People have cited that prevents the defense from asking Ms. Jabbari about her actions that night," defense attorney Seth Zuckerman said.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to preclude the defense from discussing Jabbari's arrest.

"This was not a quid pro quo," assistant district attorney Kelli Galaway said. "This was not a benefit she received."

Judge Michael Gaffey ultimately decided on Thursday to allow the defense to bring up her arrest during the trial.

Majors is accused of twisting Jabbari's arm behind her back, striking her in the head and pushing her into a vehicle, a criminal complaint alleges. She was treated at a hospital for minor neck and head injuries, including a cut to her ear, police said.

He has denied the assault. His attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said Majors is heard on police body camera footage telling officers "She slapped me" and "She ripped my coat" before they arrested him. The defense has claimed that authorities failed to properly evaluate his account before moving forward with misdemeanor charges.

Ross Kramer, an attorney for Jabbari, called her arrest "unfortunate and re-traumatizing" in a statement to The Associated Press in October.

The Manhattan district attorney's office "carefully reviewed all the facts of the case and concluded that Ms. Jabbari was the victim, and not the perpetrator," the statement to the AP said.

Majors has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could serve up to a year in prison.

Actors Jonathan Majors, center, and Meagan Good, right, arrive at court for a jury selection on Major's domestic violence case, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in New York.

Yuki Iwamura/AP

Jury selection also began on Thursday to pick the six jurors and two alternates who will decide the case. Majors, dressed in a dark gray double-breasted suit, entered the courtroom holding the hand of his girlfriend, actress Meagan Good, and carrying a Bible.

He stood, clasped his hands and bowed his head toward the prospective jurors as the judge introduced him.

At least one potential juror signaled she recognized Majors -- known for his roles in the "Ant-Man" films, as well as starring in the Disney+ TV show, "Loki."

A number of other potential jurors said they had heard about the allegations and had already made up their mind.

Several women said they had seen a video of Jabbari dancing two hours after the assault claim against Majors. A few of them told the judge they could not put the images out of their minds and render a verdict based solely on the evidence.

"We need to know that you can be fair and impartial jurors," Gaffey said.

Jonathan Majors arrives at court for a jury selection on his domestic violence case, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in New York.

Yuki Iwamura/AP

One woman said she knew nothing about the case but told the judge she had been the victim of domestic violence and did not think she could be fair.

Majors appeared to listen intently and look each prospective juror in the eye as they spoke about what they had seen, heard or read.

The judge read out the multiple counts of assault and aggravated harassment Majors faces.

"These are just allegations against Mr. Majors. He has denied these charges," Gaffey said.

A jury of six was seated by Thursday evening. Gaffey scheduled opening arguments for Monday. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.

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December 01, 2023 at 01:34AM

'Killers of the Flower Moon' named best film of 2023 by New York film critics

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NEW YORK -- Martin Scorsese's “Killers of the Flower Moon” has been named the best film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle.

It's the third time that Scorsese has been given the best film award from his hometown's critics, who named 1990's “GoodFellas” their top movie, as well as 2019's “The Irishman.” On Thursday, the group also awarded Lily Gladstone, who stars alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon," best actress.

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” a $200 million Apple Studios production based on David Grann's nonfiction bestseller, chronicles the Osage murders of the 1920s.

“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan's blockbuster drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, picked up several awards: best director for Nolan and best cinematography, by Hoyte van Hoytema.

The New York Film Critics Circle, founded in 1935, is the oldest critics group in the country. The awards will be handed out at a dinner on Jan. 3. Last year, the critics named Todd Field's “Tár” the best film of 2022.

Here's a full list of their picks:

Best Film: “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Director: Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”

Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Actor: Franz Rogowski, “Passages”

Best International Film: “Anatomy of a Fall”

Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”

Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, “May December”

Best Screenplay: “May December”

Best Non-Fiction Film: “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros”

Best Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema, “Oppenheimer”

Best First Film: “Past Lives”

Best Animated Film: “The Boy and the Heron”

Special Award: Karen Cooper, director of the Film Forum, the standard-bearing New York arthouse cinema

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December 01, 2023 at 03:04AM

Review: In concert film 'Renaissance,' Beyoncé offers glimpse into personal life during world tour

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LOS ANGELES -- In Beyoncé’s concert film, she described her recent Renaissance World Tour as being run like a machine: From lighting to set design, the superstar singer had a hand in everything production-related to ensure her stadium tour exceeded expectations after four years of preparation.

As a perfectionist, Beyoncé was tirelessly determined — working almost 50 days straight — to create an epic concert experience. This comes clear in her movie “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” which chronicles the massive tour in support of her seventh studio album. The film — written, directed and produced by Beyoncé — perfectly captures her dazzling performances for the big screen and somewhat unveils intimate behind-the-scenes footage from a normally private singer, who has rarely done interviews in the past decade.

Beyoncé released her nearly three-hour “Renaissance” movie through AMC Theaters in similar fashion as the “ Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour ” film, which opened with a record-breaking $97 million domestically for a concert film last month. But unlike Swift, whose project primarily focused on her onstage performances, Beyoncé took a different approach by offering more insight into her personal life.

“I'm really excited for everyone to see the process,” she said in the film.

With “Renaissance,” Beyoncé displays more of her human side like in her 2019 Netflix film “ Homecoming," which delved into the singer headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This time, she goes a step further into her story as arguably music's most hardest-working performer, who attempts to juggle being a mother of three children while she maintains her mental and physical fortitude during her tour.

Beyoncé expressed frustration with challenges to her lofty aspirations for her tour and felt she wasn’t being heard because she’s a Black woman. The tour ultimately grossed around $500 million, according to Billboard. She opens up about having surgery on her knee, which forced her into rehabilitation a month before her first opening show in Stockholm.

Unlike her tour, Beyoncé confesses she's "not a machine.”

But through her aches and pains, Beyoncé — who is the most decorated Grammy artist in history — showed up and performed at a very high level. It's what she demanded of herself and others who mirrored her mentality to make each show come into fruition.

The film showcases a few big-named performers who separately accompanied Beyoncé onstage including Megan Thee Stallion in Houston. During her Los Angeles stint, Kendrick Lamar was special guest along with Diana Ross, who sang to Beyoncé for her 42nd birthday.

But out of all the celebrity appearances, the one who stole the show was Beyoncé's 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, who made her presence felt as a background dancer. Initially, the singer was opposed to pushing Blue into the limelight of performing in front of tens of thousands.

“She told me she was ready to perform, and I told her no,” Beyoncé said in the film.

In time, Queen Bey finally gave into her princess, agreeing she had only one time to show her stuff. Her first performance, however, fell under heavy scrutiny on social media from those who criticized Blue Ivy's dance moves as subpar.

But Blue Ivy used the criticism to train harder. She gained confidence as the tour progressed and gained more standing applauses each time she hit the stage.

Blue Ivy's maturation brought joy to Beyoncé and to Mathew Knowles, the proud grandfather who was shown saying “Now, that's a Knowles!”

During a stop in Houston, Beyoncé along with her mother, Tina Knowles, drove around her old Third Ward neighborhood before they stopped by her childhood home. The return to her hometown marked another reunion between Beyoncé and all the members of the girl group Destiny's Child — which included Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, who was once ousted from the group.

Now, it appears peace is between them. There were no words exchanged on camera except for a collective hug, which Beyoncé called during her narration a “new birth for us. A lot of healing.”

Beyoncé along with her mother shared heartfelt moments of the singer's late uncle Johnny — a Black gay man who introduced her to house music as a child and made her prom dress. She dedicated the “Renaissance” album to him.

The film squeezed in Beyoncé's appreciation for her devoted BeyHive fanbase who were often shown in the audience in various cities. During her shows, she expressed her gratitude for them, calling them “beautiful faces.”

Not every song performed on tour made the cut for the film except for jams like “Alien Superstar,” “Church Girl" and “Cuff It.”

And that's just fine. This “Renaissance” film is more about getting a glimpse into her life - even for just a little bit.

“Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” an AMC release, is not rated. Running time: 168 minutes. Four stars out of four.

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December 01, 2023 at 02:49AM

Frances Sternhagen, Tony Award-winning actor who was familiar maternal face on TV, dies at 93

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NEW YORK -- Frances Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93.

Sternhagen died peacefully of natural causes Monday her son, John Carlin, said in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday. “Fly on, Frannie,” he wrote. “The curtain goes down on a life so richly, passionately, humbly and generously lived.” Sternhagen's publicist confirmed the death and said it occurred in New Rochelle, New York.

Sternhagen won a Tony for best featured actress in a play in 1974 for her role in Neil Simon's "The Good Doctor" and a second one in 1995 for a revival of "The Heiress." Her last turn on Broadway was in “Seascape” in 2005.

She was nominated for Tonys four other times, for starring or featured roles in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," "Equus," "Angel" and "Morning's at Seven." In 2013, she played Edie Falco’s mother in the off-Broadway play “The Madrid.”

“I have been very fortunate,” Sternhagen told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California, in 2002. “And I think a lot of that is because I’m considered a character actor — which really means you can do a variety of things. It doesn’t mean that you can’t do leading parts, because I have. But you’re not limited to playing yourself.”

In a 2005 review of “Steel Magnolias,” then-Associated Press drama critic Michael Kuchwara called Sternhagen “one of the treasures of New York theater, able to invest any role she plays with considerable sympathy. Here, she turns what could be a throwaway part into one that provides much laughter — and applause.”

She kept up a flourishing career while at the same time raising six children. She always said her family came first — commuting from her suburban home in New Rochelle while acting on Broadway — but admitted that touring and movie and TV work sometimes took her away from home.

“I remember telling my older daughter when she was about 13 that sometimes I felt terribly guilty that I wasn’t home all the time,” she told a Gale Group reporter. “And my daughter said, `Oh, Mom, you would have been impossible if you were home all the time.′ I’m sure she was right.”

TV viewers knew her as played the rich grandmother of Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) in the long-running “ER.” On “Cheers” she was the know-it-all mother of postman Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger). “She was just impossible and great fun to play,” she told The New York Times. The role brought her two Emmy nominations.

More recently, she had a recurring role in “Sex and the City” as Bunny MacDougal, the strong-minded mother-in-law of Charlotte (Kristin Davis), which brought her her third Emmy nomination, and played Kyra Sedgwick’s mother in “The Closer.” Soap opera fans in the 1960s knew her in “Love of Life” as Toni Prentiss Davis, who carried a gun and went mad.

“I must say it’s fun to play these snobby older ladies. It’s always more fun to be obnoxious. I have known women like that, and I can imitate them, I guess,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2002.

Playwright Paul Rudnick on Wednesday called her “a wonderful actress, capable of the highest comedy and deeply moving drama.” She was, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “an indelible presence.”

In “Equus,” opposite Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth on Broadway in 1974, she originated the role of the mother of the troubled youth whose shocking act of violence against horses sets the drama in motion, earning her a Tony nod.

In 1979, she appeared in the original Broadway production of “On Golden Pond” in the role of Ethel Thayer that Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for in the film version. “I feel very close to Ethel,” Sternhagen told the Times. “She reminds me of my mother and I took to her immediately.”

Sternhagen was one of three actors to handle the title role over the long off-Broadway run of “Driving Miss Daisy,” another stage role that became an Oscar-winner on screen, this time for Jessica Tandy.

She made her film debut in “Up the Down Staircase” in 1967. Among her other movies: “Hospital,” “Two People,” “Fedora,” “Bright Lights Big City,” “Misery,” “Doc Hollywood,” “Raising Cain” and “Curtain Call.”

Sternhagen was born in 1930, in Washington, D.C., where her father was a tax court judge. As a child she loved to perform — she recalled herself as “a shameful show-off” — but she never considered an acting career. She entered Vassar as a history major, but a friendly teacher suggested another direction: acting.

“Even though I was acting in college,” she told the New York Daily News, “it hadn’t occurred to me to major in drama.” But when it was noted that she was doing “C” work in history, Sternhagen switched to drama.

After graduation she taught drama, modern dance and singing outside Boston, earning $2,000 for the year before deciding to pursue work in the theater.

“I thought I would try it, see if I liked it, and then get out,” she told the Times in 1981. “But you never get out. It’s an addiction, because it touches your emotions, because it’s where you want to live. ... I think those of us who can stay in it are just plain lucky.”

She met her husband, actor Thomas A. Carlin, while appearing in a production in Maryland. He died of heart failure in 1991.

She didn’t let her pregnancies interfere much with her work schedule, explaining that as an only child, “I always longed for a big family.’

“I was lucky,” she told the Times. “I usually didn’t show a pregnancy until the sixth or seventh month. I was afraid to stop acting, because if I stopped I would never start again.”

“I can’t say it’s been easy. There have been quite a number of things I haven’t done. You make choices and have to stick with them.”

She and Carlin had four sons, Paul, Tony, Peter and John, and two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. She also is survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“A celebration of her remarkable career and life is planned for mid January, near her 94th birthday,” said a statement from her family. “We continue to be inspired by her love and life.”

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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November 30, 2023 at 06:28AM

Actor Jonathan Majors in court for expected start of jury selection in New York assault trial

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NEW YORK -- The actor Jonathan Majors appeared in court in New York on Wednesday for the expected start of jury selection in a trial in which he is accused of injuring his then-girlfriend during an argument last spring.

The trial could wind up playing a big role in what happens next with Majors, who had emerged as a breakout star with major roles in films including “ Creed III ” and who was being set up as the next great supervillain in the Marvel multiverse.

The 34-year-old actor entered a Manhattan courtroom alongside his current girlfriend, the actress Meagan Good, carrying a Bible and his signature coffee cup. He did not speak during the start of the proceeding.

Majors was arrested in March over a confrontation between the actor and Grace Jabbari, his girlfriend at the time, during a car ride in Manhattan.

Prosecutors said Jabbari had grabbed a phone out of the actor's hand after seeing a text, presumably from another woman, saying “Wish I was kissing you right now.” Majors tried to snatch the phone back.

Jabbari said the actor pulled her finger, twisted her arm behind her back and hit her face. After the couple's driver stopped the car and the pair got out, Jabbari said Majors threw her back into the vehicle. Police said Jabbari was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Majors’ attorneys have maintained that Jabbari was the aggressor during the fight and had scratched and hit him.

Jabbari was also briefly arrested by New York City police last month after Majors filed a cross complaint against her, but the district attorney’s office dropped all charges against her the next day.

Majors, 34, is charged with misdemeanors including assault and could be sentenced to up to a year in jail if convicted.

Before jury selection could begin Wednesday, attorneys for Majors sought to bar the public and press from the courtroom in order to discuss evidence in the case that has not been made public. The attorney, Seth Zuckerman, warned the evidence could “taint the jury pool beyond repair for Mr. Majors,” adding that his client may face “trial by newspaper.”

The Manhattan District Attorney did not take a position on the matter. An attorney hired to represent the press, Katherine Bolger, opposed the move to seal evidence, noting that the public had a right to know the evidence in the case.

The judge, Michael Gaffey, said he would rule on the issue later in the day.

Majors starred in the Marvel TV series “Loki" and the film “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” and was awaiting the release of another star vehicle, “Magazine Dreams,” which is now in limbo.

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November 30, 2023 at 12:19AM

Elton John to address Britain's Parliament in an event marking World AIDS Day

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Elton John is to address Britain’s Parliament on his work fighting HIV at an event to mark World AIDS Day

ByThe Associated Press

November 29, 2023, 9:15 AM

FILE - Elton John performs on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Elton John is set to address Britain's Parliament on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, on his work fighting HIV at an event to mark World AIDS Day. The British star's AIDS Foundation has led campaigns to extend a pilot government program to test people visiting hospitals' emergency departments for HIV. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

The Associated Press

LONDON -- Elton John is to address Britain's Parliament on Wednesday on his work fighting HIV at an event to mark World AIDS Day.

The British star's AIDS Foundation has led campaigns to extend a pilot government program to test people visiting hospitals' emergency rooms for HIV.

Under the program, which was recently introduced in London and other cities, including Manchester, anyone 16 years old or older who has their blood tested in an emergency room will also get tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, unless they opt out of the testing.

John's charity has urged the government to expand the service, which officials say has been key in discovering hundreds of undetected cases of HIV.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to John's AIDS Foundation, saying he was pleased its work was being celebrated in Parliament.

“Sir Elton has been a powerful voice for change in the U.K. and the world,” Sunak told lawmakers. “Through the brilliant work of the AIDS Foundation he has raised awareness of the issue, reduced stigma and saved lives.”

John’s publicist confirmed the singer will attend Wednesday’s event, but declined to provide details.

World AIDS Day takes place on Friday. The U.K. hopes to achieve zero HIV transmissions in England by 2030, in line with World Health Organization goals.

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November 29, 2023 at 11:49PM

R&B singer Kiana Ledé is taking back control of her music and her life

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NEW YORK -- Kiana Ledé is one of R&B’s brightest rising stars but that doesn’t mean she always embraces the compliment.

“I kind of have mixed feelings about it because it gets me in my head about me needing to do more or me being more invested in my craft, or I just don’t have the right (industry) politics surrounding me,” said Ledé, who’s launching the international leg of her “Grudges” tour Tuesday starting in Auckland, New Zealand. “(But) it also makes me feel great because they’re clearly appreciating me and understanding that I do this for healing purposes and that the music is just good.”

It’s a pivotal moment in the career of the 26-year-old songstress whose upcoming tour stops include London, Paris, Sydney and Berlin. Ledé, who wrapped up her 21-date North American tour in October and recently parted ways with her record label, Republic, has built a loyal fanbase and respect from industry contemporaries. But she doesn’t always garner the same attention as some of the leading ladies of R&B’s new generation.

“I probably get at least four tweets every day with my name mentioned next to ’underrated’…that is a constant conversation that people have about me,” said Ledé.

Crafting popular songs like “Wicked Games ” and “EX,” which reached No. 9 on Billboard’s hot R&B songs chart, the Phoenix-raised artist released her sophomore album, “Grudges,” during the summer. The 17-track project has features from Bryson Tiller, Khalid and Ella Mai, and is executive produced by Nija Charles who scored a non-classical songwriter of the year Grammy nomination for her work on Beyoncé's “Renaissance.”

“Grudges” follows Ledé’s critically-acclaimed debut, “Kiki,” which reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and No. 7 on the top R&B album charts. Her latest work unabashedly recounts her experiences with love and unhealthy relationships, a musical composite sometimes referred to as an unofficial genre, toxic R&B.

“‘Grudges,’ I think, is…me just being able to be honest about what I was going through in that moment, knowing that it’s healthy and okay to be upset,” said Ledé, who has writing credits on every track. “I’ve been so happy with the response to ‘Grudges’…I always say this almost every show, I have two goals: to make you twerk and to make you cry.”

Part of what draws fans to the artist, whose previous collaborations include with Usher, Kehlani and Offset, is a combination of raw transparency and skilled writing, conveying sensitive emotions through the music.

“It’s her being so relatable and being so real…I feel like a lot of artists are robots – artists are just moving on what people are telling them to do,” said Christine Sanchez, Ledé’s manager. “We’ve all been in a place where we’ve just been bitter after a relationship. But for someone to acknowledge it and be so honest about it, you’re just like, wow, OK, I see myself in her.”

While Ledé introduced the album with the Ella Mai-assisted “Jealous” and the sultry track “Deeper,” songs like “Same Type” highlight her vulnerability, as she laments about significant men in her life, including her father, all being the same type and the emotional scars they’ve caused. And on “Deserve,” Ledé addresses being sexually assaulted.

“I remember crying almost that whole session… I needed to help myself heal from that situation because that was about me being raped a few years before,” recalled Ledé. “There’s some people I told about that experience that either didn’t believe me or never went through it, so they didn’t really empathize or sympathize. And with…almost every person in that room being a woman, I felt so heard and seen and loved.”

Ledé says she’s been working to heal from painful experiences from her past.

“There’s still a lot of ways it affects me to this day…most of my sexual experiences have been traumatic,” revealed the singer. “But I’m a lot more balanced and healed than I was even six months ago, a year ago. So, I think over time, it gets a little bit quicker – but I also have a great therapist.”

Ledé first experienced depression at age 12 and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during the coronavirus pandemic. The singer, who has Black, Native American, Mexican and white heritage, initially rejected the diagnosis, saying “she was a white therapist, so I didn’t trust her with half the stuff that I was telling her about,” sharing the mistrust many people of color have toward medical professionals. Actor Jennifer Lewis, who has bipolar disorder, also hinted to Ledé that she might have the same mental health issue, but it wasn’t until Ledé found a Black female therapist that she accepted it.

“The way that she said it just felt so gentle…she showed me basically a road map of how I can feel more healthy mentally, and how I didn’t have to struggle as much as I was,” said Ledé as tears formed in her eyes.

Describing her sound as alternative R&B, Ledé grew up listening to an eclectic mix of musicians. Citing Alicia Keys as a significant inspiration, she was also influenced by artists such as Ne-Yo, Ryan Leslie, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, along with pop and alternative acts like The Spice Girls, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer and Sara Bareilles.

Ledé’s entrance into the music industry began at 14 after she won KIDZ Star in 2011, the annual Kidz Bop talent contest. That led to a record deal with RCA, and at 21, she joined Republic Records. In addition to her two studio albums, Ledé has released several EPs, including 2018’s “Selfless” which birthed “EX” and “Wicked Games.” She’s also an actor, securing roles on “Scream: The TV Series” and “All About the Washingtons.”

While “Grudges” hasn’t garnered the commercial success of “Kiki,” Ledé has been taking back control of her life in all aspects, and her manager says momentum is moving in the right direction.

“The music’s always been her, but as far as putting it out into the world, it’s always been a bunch of people helping… kind of really (being) told what to do. And (“Grudges”) was taking control back,” said Sanchez, who understands Ledé’s apprehension over the underrated title. “Nobody needs to change her. We just need to amplify her, and that’s the next step…her moment is coming.”

Ledé is also optimistic about her future, both in her career and personal life, but she’s also laser-focused on the present – and that includes connecting with those who love her music the most, at home and abroad.

“Being on tour, being on stage in front of my fans, that’s where I feel like my heart and my spirit, my soul, my body… lives the biggest and feels the most love,” said Ledé. “I love just making people feel something and making people smile – and it makes me smile.”

___

Follow Associated Press journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.

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November 29, 2023 at 02:50AM

Judge cites handwritten will and awards real estate to Aretha Franklin's sons

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DETROIT -- A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin awarded real estate to the late star's sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions.

The decision Monday came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite scribbles and many hard-to-read passages. Franklin had signed it and put a smiley face in the letter "A."

The papers will override a handwritten will from 2010 that was found at Franklin's suburban Detroit home around the same time in 2019, the judge said.

One of her sons, Kecalf Franklin, will get that property, which was valued at $1.1 million in 2018, but is now worth more. A lawyer described it as the “crown jewel” before trial last July.

Another son, Ted White II, who had favored the 2010 will, was given a house in Detroit, though it was sold by the estate for $300,000 before the dueling wills had emerged.

“Teddy is requesting the sale proceeds,” Charles McKelvie, an attorney for Kecalf Franklin, said Tuesday.

Judge Jennifer Callaghan awarded a third son, Edward Franklin, another property under the 2014 will.

Aretha Franklin had four homes when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The discovery of the two handwritten wills months after her death led to a dispute between the sons over what their mother wanted to do with her real estate and other assets.

One of the properties, worth more than $1 million, will likely be sold and the proceeds shared by four sons. The judge said the 2014 will didn't clearly state who should get it.

“This was a significant step forward. We've narrowed the remaining issues,” McKelvie said of the estate saga.

There's still a dispute over how to handle Aretha Franklin's music assets, though the will appears to indicate that the sons would share any income. A status conference with the judge is set for January.

Franklin was a global star for decades, known especially for hits in the late 1960s like “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Respect.”

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez

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November 29, 2023 at 01:18AM

WWE Hall of Famer Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch sentenced to 17 years in prison for fatal DUI crash

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Former pro wrestler Tammy “Sunny” Sytch has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for drunkenly colliding with another car and killing a 75-year-old man in Florida last year

ByThe Associated Press

November 28, 2023, 12:45 PM

WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch looks around the courtroom during her sentencing, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., for a DUI crash that killed a man in 2022. (David Tucker/The Daytona Beach News-Journal via AP, Pool)

The Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Former pro wrestler Tammy “Sunny" Sytch has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for drunkenly colliding with another car, killing a 75-year-old man, while her blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit, authorities in Florida said.

Sytch, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, pleaded no contest in August to driving under the influence manslaughter and other charges. She also had an unsealed bottle of vodka in her vehicle and cannabis in her system at the time of her arrest in Volusia County in March 2022, authorities said.

She had faced up to more than 25 years in prison during her sentencing hearing on Monday. During the hearing, Sytch said she felt remorse and regret "deep in my soul" for killing Julian LaFrancis Lasseter of Daytona Beach.

Sytch, 50, previously had been arrested multiple times from driving under the influence in Pennsylvania, where her driver's license had been suspended. She didn't have a Florida driver's license.

“The defendant’s history of drinking and driving is horrendous," State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement after the sentencing. “It was only a matter of time before her drunk driving killed an innocent and unsuspecting individual.”

Sytch first signed a contract with the WWE in 1995 and became a fan favorite with her brash personality and good looks. Besides wrestling in the ring, she also managed other WWE personalities and did broadcasting.

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November 29, 2023 at 01:03AM

How a group of ancient sculptures sparked a dispute between Greece and the UK

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

ATHENS, Greece -- For decades, Britain and Greece were able to differ, largely politely, over the world's toughest cultural heritage dispute: What's the right place for some of the finest ancient Greek sculptures ever made, which have been displayed in London for more than 200 years but which Greece vocally wants back.

Diplomacy failed when U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly called off a London meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Mitsotakis publicly voiced annoyance. Sunak's spokesman linked the snub with the Greek leader's using British television to renew his call, a day earlier, for the 2,500-year-old masterpieces' return.

Here's a look at what the dispute's about, and what could come next.

They were carved in 447-432 B.C. to adorn the iconic Parthenon, a temple of the city's patron goddess Athena, on the Acropolis hill.

Free-standing statues filled the triangular pediments that stood above the marble columns on the building's short sides. Just below, sculpted panels stood at intervals along all four sides, while an unbroken strip of relief sculpture — the frieze — depicting a religious procession ran around the outer wall inside the colonnade. They were originally painted in bold colors that have since vanished.

All survived mostly intact for more than 1,000 years, despite war, earthquakes, foreign invasions and the temple's makeover first as a church and then a mosque. But in 1687, the Parthenon was blown up by a besieging Venetian army, and many of the works were lost.

The survivors are now roughly split between the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum in Athens — with little fragments in a handful of other European museums.

London holds 17 pedimental figures, 15 panels and 247 feet (75 meters) of the frieze.

For decades, these were known as the Elgin Marbles, after the Scottish nobleman who started the trouble more than 200 years ago. Now even the British Museum goes by the preferred Greek form — Parthenon Sculptures. Besides, “marbles” lends itself to too many bad puns.

Ancient Greek sculpture has been admired for millennia, serving as a key artistic point of reference. For many, Parthenon Sculptures are its most striking example.

They form a coherent group designed and executed by top artists — the Leonardo da Vincis of the day —for a single building project meant to celebrate the height of Athenian glory.

More than a century after the destructive explosion, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire — of which Athens was still an unwilling subject — Lord Elgin obtained a permit to remove some of the sculptures.

They were shipped to Britain and eventually joined the British Museum's collection in 1816 — five years before the uprising that created an independent Greece.

Athens says the works were illegally removed and should join other surviving parts of the group in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum, at the foot of the ancient citadel.

This, the Greek argument runs, will allow them to be seen against the backdrop of the Parthenon, from which all sculptures have been removed for protection from pollution and the elements.

The Greek campaign was loudly championed in the 1980s by Melina Mercouri, an actress and singer then serving as culture minister. It waxed and waned since but was never dropped and has been enthusiastically taken up by Mitsotakis.

In his BBC interview on Sunday that triggered the diplomatic dispute, Mitsotakis compared the current situation to Leonardo's Mona Lisa being cut in half and split between two countries.

The British Museum says the sculptures were acquired legally and form an integral part of its display of the world's cultural history.

It says it's open to a loan request, but must be sure that in such an event it would get the works back. So Athens should first acknowledge the institution's legal ownership of the works — which Mitsotakis has ruled out.

Successive U.K. governments have insisted that the sculptures must stay put.

The current spat notwithstanding, the British Museum's chairman said earlier this year that he's been in “constructive” talks with Greece on a compromise “win-win” deal.

George Osborne said that he was “reasonably optimistic” about striking a deal, but cautioned that “it may well not come to anything.”

And Greek officials insisted Tuesday that the talks would continue.

Meanwhile, Athens is trying to round up as many of the small fragments in other European museums as it can. That would add pressure on the British Museum, while U.K. public opinion is seen as increasingly backing the Greek demand.

Following an initiative by Pope Francis in January, the Vatican Museums sent back three smaller fragments of sculptures from the Parthenon that they had held for two centuries. A year earlier, a museum in Sicily returned its own small fragment.

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November 29, 2023 at 12:48AM

US-Best-Sellers-Books-PW

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

HARD COVER FICTION

1. “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower)

2. “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower)

3. “The Edge” by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)

4. “The Little Liar” by Mitch Albom (Harper)

5. “Fourth Wing” (special edition) by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower)

6. “The Exchange” by John Grisham (Doubleday)

7. “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride (Riverhead)

8. “The Narrow Road Between Desires” by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW)

9. “Resurrection Walk” by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)

10. “The Secret” by Child/Child (Delacorte)

11. “Dirty Thing” by Janet Evanovich (Atria)

12. “System Collapse” by Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

13. “Holly” by Stephen King (Scribner)

14. “Clive Cussler: The Corsican Shadow” by Dirk Cussler (G.P. Putnam's Sons)

15. “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett (Harper)

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HARDCOVER NON-FICTION

1. “The Woman in Me” by Britney Spears (Gallery)

2. “My Name is Barbra” by Barbra Streisand (Viking)

3. “My Effin' Life” by Geddy Lee (Harper)

4. “The Great Disappearance” by David Jeremiah (Thomas Nelson)

5. “Tired of Winning” by Jonathan Karl (Dutton)

6. “Arete” by Brian Johnson (Heroic Blackstone)

7. “Ghosts of Honolulu” by Mark Harmon (Harper Select)

8. “Prequel” by Rachel Maddow (Crown)

9. “Pretty Boys Are Poisonous” by Megan Fox (Gallery)

10. “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready” by Ree Drummond (William Morrow)

11. “Limitless” (expanded ed.) by Jim Kwik (Hay House)

12. “Guinness World Records 2024” (Guinness World Records)

13. “The Wager” by David Grann (Doubleday)

14. “Teddy and Booker T.” by Brian Kilmeade (Sentinel)

15. “How to Know a Person” by David Brooks (Random House)

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MASS MARKET BESTSELLERS

1. “Without a Trace” by Danielle Steel (Dell)

2. “Overkill” by Sandra Brown (Grand Central Publishing)

3. “The Jailhouse Lawyer” by James Patterson (Grand Central Publishing)

4. “Forever Under the Mistletoe” by Debbie Macomber (Mira)

5. “Wyoming Proud” by Diana Palmer (Canary Street)

6. “Bring Me Home For Christmas” by Robyn Carr (Mira)

7. “Shooting Iron” by Johnstone/Johnstone (Pinnacle)

8. “Girl, Forgotten” by Karin Slaughter (William Morrow)

9. “Falling Stars” by Fern Michaels (Zebra)

10. “In a Holidaze” by Christina Lauren (Pocket)

11. “A Flicker in the Dark” by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur)

12. “All is Bright” by Raeanne Thayne (Canary Street)

13. “Shadow of a Dead Man” by William W. Johnstone (Pinnacle)

14. “The Bite Before Christmas” by Sands/Frost (Avon)

15. “The Boys From Biloxi” by John Grisham (Vintage)

_____

TRADE PAPERBACK BESTSELLERS

1. “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace (Atria)

2. “Wildfire” by Hannah Grace (Atria)

3. “Love Redesigned” by Lauren Asher (Bloom)

4. “The Christmas Fix” by Lucy Score (Bloom)

5. “Too Late” by Colleen Hoover (Grand Central Publishing)

6. “Wreck the Halls” by Tessa Bailey (Avon )

7. “Bookshops & Bonedust” by Travis Baldree (Tor)

8. “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury)

9. “Things We Left Behind” by Lucy Score (Bloom)

10. “King of Greed” by Ana Huang (Bloom)

11. “King of Wrath” by Ana Huang (Bloom)

12. “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr (Scribner)

13. “The Storyteller” by Dave Grohl (Dey Street)

14. “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig (Penguin Books)

15. “Murdle, Vol 1” by G.T. Karber (Griffin)

_____

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November 28, 2023 at 02:19AM

Book Review: 'Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars' argues history repeats itself

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

“There is nothing new under the sun.”

ByKRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press

November 27, 2023, 12:10 PM

This cover image released by Abrams Books shows "Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars" by Kliph Nesteroff. (Abrams Books via AP)

The Associated Press

“There is nothing new under the sun.” So goes the adage which conveys the tendency for history to repeat itself.

It’s this unstated premise that drives Kliph Nesteroff’s latest book, “Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.” In it, Nesteroff artfully seeks to demonstrate how current catchphrases like “cancel culture” and “political correctness” are just variations of the same generational and ideological divides which have undergirded American society throughout Hollywood’s history.

Nesteroff turns his attention to comedians in particular, citing the ways in which they have historically been unique targets of the culture wars.

His arguments are cogent and his histories entertaining – how is it possible that “vaguely defined spirit of the times” is not a quote about wokeness, but instead a denunciation of critiques levied on comedians more than half a century ago?

Still, it’s worth noting that Nesteroff began his career as a comedian, which perhaps betrays an inherent sympathy for the prophetic martyrs who have frequently been subjected to unjust censorship and criticism throughout the history of showbiz.

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AP book reviews: https://ift.tt/Yq0uKW5

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November 28, 2023 at 12:42AM

Hiam Abbass' Palestinian family documentary 'Bye Bye Tiberias' applauded at Marrakech Film Festival

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

MARRAKECH, Morocco -- Thirty years ago, Palestinian actor Hiam Abbass left her home to pursue her dreams of being in the movies, joining generations of women in her family who were shaped by exile and “learned to leave everything and start anew.”

That's one of the stories told in her director daughter Lina Soualem's documentary “Bye Bye Tiberias,” which received a standing ovation and shouts of “Long Live Palestine” on Saturday night at the Marrakech International Film Festival for the film's first screening in the Arab world.

The documentary, the Palestinian entry for next year's Academy Award for Best International Feature, follows Abbass and Soualem as the mother-daughter pair laugh, cry and tell the story of four generations of women in their family.

“Bye Bye Tiberias” first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, more than a month before the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the militant group's deadly incursion into Israel on Oct. 7.

It is the only Palestinian film in competition in Marrakech, where festival organizers have, unlike past years, not held screenings in a popular square that has seen protests against the war.

Introducing the documentary on Saturday, Soualem and Abbass acknowledged it was an emotional time to present the film, thinking about the children and grandchildren of Palestinian refugees in Gaza.

Soualem declined to answer a question about how today's war affected reactions to her film. Speaking carefully, she later said that she felt the emotional response from festival audiences in Europe and the United States and noted her emphasis on offering a different Palestinian narrative amid current events, humanizing Palestinian women and the complex choices they make throughout their lives.

“Our hearts are heavy, seeing everything happening in Gaza — all the destruction and all the deaths, which we are mourning,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday. “Every screening, there is a sense of repair and warmth. There’s a lot of people who feel that they cannot speak or they are silenced.”

“Bye Bye Tiberias” splices together intimate interviews of Soualem's family members, primarily her mother, Abbass, known to both Arab and Western audiences from her work in the television series “ Succession ” and “ Ramy ” as well as films such as “The Lemon Tree” in 2008, the Blade Runner 2049 in 2017, and “Gaza mon amour" in 2020.

It builds off Soualem's first documentary “Their Algeria” — another personal history about her grandparents' exile from North Africa and move to France amid war and economic downturn.

Unlike other Palestinian narratives, which focus on the broad diaspora, the Gaza Strip or the occupied West Bank, “Bye Bye Tiberias” documents a family displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war from one city to another within modern-day Israel, where they retained citizenship but lived in a Palestinian village largely segregated from Jewish Israeli life.

Abbass rolls her mother Nemat in a wheelchair past Hebrew street signs and a now-dilapidated mosque in modern-day Tiberias as Soualem explains how the 1948 war upended her grandmother's education and “propelled her at full speed into history.”

Intimate interviews are spliced with excerpts from home movies shot by Soualem's father at their family's home in Deir Hanna, and archival footage spanning back to 1948.

That year, the British ordered the family to leave their home in Tiberias, a city on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The home was later destroyed, the family was prohibited from returning and its members resettled far and wide, including in Syria and Deir Hanna, a Palestinian village within the borders of modern-day Israel.

“These images are the treasure of my memory that I don’t want to fade,” says Soualem, who narrates the documentary.

A generation later, living amid such tension “suffocated” Abbass, who emigrated to France three decades ago to pursue her dreams of becoming an actor.

“Today, I wish I could ask my mother if she forgives me for making a choice that was contrary to her traditions and her life,” Abbass says at one point in “Bye Bye Tiberias.”

For much of her daughter's life, Abbass rarely talked about her departure from the Middle East, not wanting to “open the gate to past sorrows,” Soualem says.

In the film, though, she does. Soualem captures Abbass mourning the loss of her mother, remembering performing in Jerusalem's Palestinian National Theatre, and peering across the Sea of Galilee trying to digest the enormity of what happened to Palestinian families like hers post-1948, as well as her choice to leave a land that holds great meaning to her.

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November 28, 2023 at 12:27AM

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Dec. 3-9

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Dec. 3-9:

Dec. 3: Singer Jaye P. Morgan (“The Gong Show”) is 92. Singer Ozzy Osbourne is 75. Singer Mickey Thomas of Jefferson Starship is 74. Bassist Paul Gregg of Restless Heart is 69. Actor Steven Culp (“Desperate Housewives”) is 68. Actor Daryl Hannah is 63. Actor Julianne Moore is 63. Actor Brendan Fraser is 55. Singer Montell Jordan is 55. Actor-comedian Royale Watkins is 54. Actor Bruno Campos (“Nip/Tuck,” ″Jesse”) is 50. Actor Holly Marie Combs (“Charmed”) is 50. Actor Liza Lapira (“The Equalizer”) is 48. Actor Lauren Roman (“Bold and the Beautiful”) is 48. Musician Daniel Bedingfield is 44. Actor Tiffany Haddish (“Girls Trip”) is 44. Actor Anna Chlumsky is 43. Actor Jenna Dewan (“The Resident,” ″Supergirl”) is 43. Actor Brian Bonsall (“Family Ties”) is 42. Actor Dascha Polanco (“Orange Is the New Black”) is 41. Singer-songwriter Andy Grammer is 40. Drummer Michael Calabrese of Lake Street Dive is 39. Actor Amanda Seyfried (“Mamma Mia”) is 38. Actor Jake T. Austin (“The Fosters,” ″Wizards of Waverly Place”) is 29.

Dec. 4: Game show host Wink Martindale is 90. Singer Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon is 87. Actor-producer-director Max Baer Junior (“The Beverly Hillbillies”) is 86. Bassist Bob Mosley of Moby Grape is 81. Singer-bassist Chris Hillman (The Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers) is 79. Singer Southside Johnny Lyon of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes is 75. Actor Jeff Bridges is 74. Actor Patricia Wettig is 72. Actor Tony Todd (“Final Destination” films) is 69. Drummer Brian Prout of Diamond Rio is 68. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 68. Bassist Bob Griffin (The BoDeans) is 64. Singer Vinnie Dombroski of Sponge is 61. Actor Chelsea Noble (“Growing Pains,” ″Kirk”) is 59. Actor Marisa Tomei is 59. Comedian Fred Armisen (“Portlandia,” ″Saturday Night Live”) is 57. Rapper Jay-Z is 54. Actor Kevin Sussman (“Ugly Betty”) is 53. Model Tyra Banks is 50. Country singer Lila McCann is 42. Actor Lindsay Felton (“Caitlin’s Way”) is 39. Actor Orlando Brown (“That’s So Raven”) is 36. Actor Scarlett Estevez (“Lucifer”) is 16.

Dec. 5: Actor Jeroen Krabbe (“The Fugitive”) is 79. Opera singer Jose Carreras is 77. Singer Jim Messina (Loggins and Messina, Poco) is 76. Actor Morgan Brittany (“Dallas”) is 72. Actor Brian Backer (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) is 67. Country singer Ty England is 60. Singer-guitarist John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls is 58. Country singer Gary Allan is 56. Comedian Margaret Cho is 55. Actor Alex Kapp Horner (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 54. Actor Kali Rocha (“Liv and Maddie,” “Man with a Plan”) is 53. Bassist Regina Zernay of Cowboy Mouth is 51. Actor Paula Patton (“Precious”) is 48. Actor Amy Acker (“Person of Interest,” ″Angel”) is 47. Actor Nick Stahl (TV’s “Carnivale,” film’s “Terminator 3”) is 44. Actor Adan Canto (“Designated Survivor”) is 42. Singer Keri Hilson is 41. Actor Gabriel Luna (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) is 41. Actor Frankie Muniz (“Malcolm in the Middle”) is 38. Actor Ross Bagley (“Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) is 35.

Dec. 6: Actor Patrick Bauchau (“The Pretender,” “Carnivale”) is 85. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 82. Actor James Naughton (“Hostages,” “Planet of the Apes”) is 78. Singer Frank Beverly of Maze is 77. Actor JoBeth Williams is 75. Actor Tom Hulce is 70. Actor Kin Shriner is 70. Talk show host Wil Shriner is 70. Drummer Rick Buckler of The Jam is 68. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 68. Country singer Bill Lloyd of Foster and Lloyd is 68. Comedian Steven Wright is 68. Guitarist Peter Buck of R.E.M. is 67. Drummer David Lovering of The Pixies is 62. Guitarist Ben Watt of Everything But the Girl is 61. Actor Janine Turner (“Strong Medicine,” “Northern Exposure”) is 61. Director Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” ″Knocked Up”) is 56. Keyboardist Ulf “Buddha” Ekberg of Ace of Base is 53. Actor Lindsay Price (“Splitting Up Together”) is 47. Actor Ashley Madekwe (”Revenge,” “Salem”) is 42. Bassist Jacob Chesnut of Rush of Fools is 34.

Dec. 7: Actor Ellen Burstyn is 91. Country singer Gary Morris is 75. Singer Tom Waits is 74. Actor Priscilla Barnes (“Jane the Virgin,” “Three’s Company”) is 66. Announcer Edd Hall (“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”) is 65. Bassist Tim Butler of Psychedelic Furs is 65. Actor Patrick Fabian (“Better Call Saul”) is 58. Actor Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”) is 58. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 57. Actor Kimberly Hebert Gregory (“Kevin (Probably) Saves the World”) is 51. Rapper Kon Artis of D12 is 49. Singer Nicole Appleton of All Saints is 48. Singer Frankie J (Kumbia Kings) is 47. Country singer Sunny Sweeney is 47. Actor Shiri Appleby (“UnREAL,” “Roswell”) is 45. Singer Sara Bareilles is 44. Actor Jennifer Carpenter (“Limitless,” “Dexter”) is 44. Actor Jack Huston (“Boardwalk Empire”) is 41.

Dec. 8: Singer Jerry Butler is 84. Flute player James Galway is 84. Drummer Bobby Elliott of The Hollies is 82. Actor Mary Woronov (“Eating Raoul,” “The Munsters” films) is 80. Actor John Rubinstein (“Family,” ″Crazy Like a Fox”) is 77. Actor Kim Basinger is 70. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (Duran Duran, Missing Persons) is 67. Guitarist Phil Collen of Def Leppard is 67. Country singer Marty Raybon (The Raybon Brothers, Shenandoah) is 64. Guitarist Marty Friedman (Megadeth) is 61. Actor Wendell Pierce (“The Wire,” “Treme”) is 60. Actor Teri Hatcher is 59. Actor David Harewood (“Supergirl,” ″Homeland”) is 58. Actor Matthew Laborteaux (“Little House on the Prairie”) is 57. Guitarist Ryan Newell of Sister Hazel is 51. Actor Dominic Monaghan (“Lost,” ″Lord of the Rings”) is 47. Actor Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries,” ″Lost,”) is 45. Singer Ingrid Michaelson is 44. Singer Chrisette Michele is 41. Country singer Sam Hunt is 39. Singer Kate Voegele (“One Tree Hill”) is 37. Drummer Jen Ledger of Skillet is 34. Actor Wallis Currie-Wood (“Madam Secretary”) is 32. Actor AnnaSophia Robb (film’s “Race to Witch Mountain,” TV’s “The Carrie Diaries”) is 30.

Dec. 9: Actor Judi Dench is 89. Actor Beau Bridges is 82. Actor Michael Nouri is 78. Singer Joan Armatrading is 73. Actor Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) is 71. Actor John Malkovich is 70. Country singer Sylvia is 67. Singer Donny Osmond is 66. Bassist Nick Seymour of Crowded House is 65. Comedian Mario Cantone (“Sex and the City”) is 64. Actor David Anthony Higgins (“Malcolm in the Middle,” “Ellen”) is 62. Actor Joe Lando (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) is 62. Actor Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives,” ″Sports Night”) is 61. Keyboardist Jerry Hughes of Yankee Grey is 58. Singer-guitarist Thomas Flowers of Oleander is 56. Guitarist Brian Bell of Weezer is 55. Singer-guitarist Jakob Dylan of The Wallflowers is 54. Businesswoman and TV personality Lori Greiner (“Shark Tank”) is 54. Actor Allison Smith (“The West Wing,” ″Kate and Allie”) is 54. Former “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi is 53. Country singer David Kersh is 53. Actor Reiko Aylesworth (“24″) is 51. Drummer Tre Cool of Green Day is 51. Rapper Canibus is 49. Singer Imogen Heap is 46. Actor Jesse Metcalfe (“Desperate Housewives”) is 45. Actor Simon Helberg (“The Big Bang Theory”) is 43. Actor Jolene Purdy (“Under the Dome,” ″Donnie Darko”) is 40. Actor Joshua Sasse (“Galavant”) is 36. Actor Ashleigh Brewer (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 33.

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November 28, 2023 at 12:12AM

What's Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2023? Hint: Be true to yourself

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

NEW YORK -- In an age of deepfakes and post-truth, as artificial intelligence rose and Elon Musk turned Twitter into X, the Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2023 is “authentic.”

Authentic cuisine. Authentic voice. Authentic self. Authenticity as artifice. Lookups for the word are routinely heavy on the dictionary company's site but were boosted to new heights throughout the year, editor at large Peter Sokolowski told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

“We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity,” he said ahead of Monday's announcement of this year's word. “What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it even more.”

Sokolowski and his team don't delve into the reasons people head for dictionaries and websites in search of specific words. Rather, they chase the data on lookup spikes and world events that correlate. This time around, there was no particularly huge boost at any given time but a constancy to the increased interest in “authentic.”

This was the year of artificial intelligence, for sure, but also a moment when ChatGPT-maker OpenAI suffered a leadership crisis. Taylor Swift and Prince Harry chased after authenticity in their words and deeds. Musk himself, at February's World Government Summit in Dubai, urged the heads of companies, politicians, ministers and other leaders to “speak authentically” on social media by running their own accounts.

“Can we trust whether a student wrote this paper? Can we trust whether a politician made this statement? We don't always trust what we see anymore,” Sokolowski said. “We sometimes don't believe our own eyes or our own ears. We are now recognizing that authenticity is a performance itself."

Merriam-Webster's entry for “authentic” is busy with meaning.

There is “not false or imitation: real, actual,” as in an authentic cockney accent. There's “true to one's own personality, spirit or character.” There's “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact.” There is “made or done the same way as an original.” And, perhaps the most telling, there's “conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features.”

“Authentic” follows 2022’s choice of “gaslighting.” And 2023 marks Merriam-Webster’s 20th anniversary choosing a top word.

The company’s data crunchers filter out evergreen words like “love” and “affect” vs. “effect” that are always high in lookups among the 500,000 words it defines online. This year, the wordsmiths also filtered out numerous five-letter words because Wordle and Quordle players clearly use the company’s site in search of them as they play the daily games, Sokolowski said.

Sokolowski, a lexicologist, and his colleagues have a bevy of runners-up for word of the year that also attracted unusual traffic. They include “X” (lookups spiked in July after Musk's rebranding of Twitter), “EGOT” (there was a boost in February when Viola Davis achieved that rare quadruple-award status with a Grammy) and “Elemental,” the title of a new Pixar film that had lookups jumping in June.

Rounding out the company's top words of 2023, in no particular order:

RIZZ: Slang for “romantic appeal or charm" and seemingly short for charisma. Merriam-Webster added the word to its online dictionary in September and it's been among the top lookups since, Sokolowski said.

KIBBUTZ: There was a massive spike in lookups for “a communal farm or settlement in Israel” after Hamas militants attacked several near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7. The first kibbutz in Israel was founded circa 1909.

IMPLODE: The June 18 implosion of the Titan submersible on a commercial expedition to explore the Titanic wreckage sent lookups soaring for this word, meaning “to burst inward.” “It was a story that completely occupied the world,” Sokolowski said.

DEADNAME: Interest was high in what Merriam-Webster defines as “the name that a transgender person was given at birth and no longer uses upon transitioning.” Lookups followed an onslaught of legislation aimed at curtailing LGBTQ+ rights around the country.

DOPPEL​GANGER: Sokolowski calls this “a word lover's word.” Merriam-Webster defines it as a “double,” an “alter ego” or a “ghostly counterpart.” It derives from German folklore. Interest in the word surrounded Naomi Klein's latest book, “Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World,” released this year. She uses her own experience of often being confused with feminist author and conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf as a springboard into a broader narrative on the crazy times we're all living in.

CORONATION: King Charles III had one on May 6, sending lookups for the word soaring 15,681% over the year before, Sokolowski said. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the act or occasion of crowning.”

DEEPFAKE: The dictionary company's definition is “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.” Interest spiked after Musk’s lawyers in a Tesla lawsuit said he is often the subject of deepfake videos and again after the likeness of Ryan Reynolds appeared in a fake, AI-generated Tesla ad.

DYSTOPIAN: Climate chaos brought on interest in the word. So did books, movies and TV fare intended to entertain. “It's unusual to me to see a word that is used in both contexts,” Sokolowski said.

COVENANT: Lookups for the word meaning “a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement” swelled on March 27, after a deadly mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. The shooter was a former student killed by police after killing three students and three adults.

Interest also spiked with this year's release of “Guy Ritchie's The Covenant” and Abraham Verghese's long-awaited new novel, “The Covenant of Water,” which Oprah Winfrey chose as a book club pick.

More recently, soon after U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson ascended to House speaker, a 2022 interview with the Louisiana congressman recirculated. He discussed how his teen son was then his “accountability partner” on Covenant Eyes, software that tracks browser history and sends reports to each partner when porn or other potentially objectionable sites are viewed.

INDICT: Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on felony charges in four criminal cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C., in addition to fighting a lawsuit threatening his real estate empire.

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November 27, 2023 at 12:28PM

NFL RedZone Channel broadcast interrupted due to fire alarm

Repost Ent dalamlima.blogspot.com

Sunday’s airing of the late afternoon games on the NFL RedZone Channel literally went code red

ByThe Associated Press

November 26, 2023, 8:22 PM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus celebrates after catching a touchdown pass over Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The Associated Press

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Sunday's airing of the late afternoon games on the NFL RedZone Channel literally went code red.

The broadcast was interrupted Sunday when a fire alarm went off in the NFL Network building, which is located across the street from SoFi Stadium in the Hollywood Park complex. Host Scott Hanson informed viewers that his production crew had to evacuate the studio.

An NFL Network official said there had been a false alarm at the studio. The alarm did not effect pregame preparations for the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers across the street.

Hanson referred to the incident as a "first in my 20-something-year broadcasting career.” RedZone remained on the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills before Hanson and his crew were able to return to the studio a short time later.

“As we come back into the studio right now, I am reminded of an old Chinese proverb, which says: 'May you live to see interesting times,’” Hanson said when he came back on the air.

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AP NFL: https://ift.tt/NSRdweh

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NFL RedZone Channel broadcast interrupted due to fire alarm
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November 27, 2023 at 11:42AM