LONDON — Priceless paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and others were unharmed Saturday after firefighters worked to douse a blaze that broke out in the roof of Somerset House, a large central London arts venue, officials said. Heavy smoke and flames seen coming from the top of the historic building around noon had been knocked …
Read more “Priceless art reportedly unharmed after fire at London’s Somerset House”
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los angeles — A prosecutor says five people have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose last year, including the actor’s assistant and two doctors. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges Thursday, saying the doctors supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine and even wondered in a text message …
Read more “Matthew Perry’s assistant among 5 people charged in ‘Friends’ star’s death”
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WASHINGTON — The ancient ritual meaning of Stonehenge is still a mystery, but researchers are one step closer to understanding how the famous stone circle was created. The unique stone lying flat at the center of the monument was brought to the site in southern England from near the tip of northeast Scotland, researchers reported Wednesday …
Read more “Stonehenge’s ‘altar stone’ came from Scotland, not Wales, new research shows”
london — Street artist Banksy on Monday unveiled a new mural of a rhinoceros that looks like it is climbing on top of a car in London — the eighth animal-themed artwork he has posted in the past week in a collection that includes elephants, a goat, a wolf, pelicans and more. The elusive graffiti artist, …
Read more “Banksy unveils new rhino art, animal-themed collection seen across London”
New York — In the Ryan Reynolds-Blake Lively box-office showdown, both husband and wife came out as winners. Reynolds’ Marvel Studios smash “Deadpool & Wolverine” remained the top movie in North American theaters for the third straight week with $54.2 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it’s now surpassed $1 billion. “Deadpool …
Read more “Reynolds-Lively husband and wife team wins weekend box office”
NEW YORK — Visitors to corn mazes across the country are finding a familiar and joyous figure in the winding labyrinth of tall stalks. Snoopy. More than 80 farms in the U.S. and Canada have teamed up with Peanuts Worldwide to create “Peanuts”-themed mazes to celebrate the beloved strip’s 75th birthday this summer and fall. A …
Read more “Farmers honor ‘Peanuts’ creator with corn mazes in US, Canada”
PARIS — Paris is getting a colorful splash of Olympic creative spirit with nearly 30 vibrant street art pieces that have popped up on bustling metro station walls, a large billboard at the airport and in front of City Hall. One shows a drawing of French fencer Ysaora Thibus in action. Another has canoers paddling down …
Read more “Street art pops up throughout Paris, adding Olympic color to major landmarks”
PARIS — Women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics has highlighted the complexity of drafting and enforcing sex eligibility rules for women’s sports and how athletes like Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan are left vulnerable in the fallout. When eligibility for women’s events has come into question, it often has been a legally …
Read more “Sex eligibility rules for female athletes are complex, legally difficult”
NEW YORK — Renowned French high-wire artist Philippe Petit marked the 50th anniversary of his famous walk between New York’s Twin Towers with a performance in a Manhattan cathedral, accompanied by live music from Sting. Petit walked between the spires of the World Trade Center skyscrapers, 1,350 feet up, on August 7, 1974. A photographer captured …
Read more “Tightrope walker marks Twin Towers stunt, 50 years on”
PARIS — Sprinter Noah Lyles revealed he had COVID-19 after missing out on another gold medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Elsewhere, French basketball star Victor Wembanyama moved closer to his dream of a first gold after helping Les Bleus beat Germany to set up a dream final against the U.S. …
Read more “COVID-hit Lyles misses out on a double; US team breaks 100-medal mark”
New York — After 10 days in theaters, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is already the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, not accounting for inflation. In its second weekend, the Marvel Studios blockbuster starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman continued to steamroll through movie theaters, collecting $97 million according to studio estimates Sunday. That raised its two-week total to …
Read more “With $97M in 2nd weekend, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ sets record”
PARIS — Faith leaders gathered with Olympic officials Sunday morning in front of Notre Dame Cathedral to celebrate how “faith and sport can complement each other,” in the words of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. The 2024 Paris Games got off to a rocky start with many religious groups around the world, including the Vatican. …
LOS ANGELES — Aerosmith says Steven Tyler’s voice has been permanently damaged by a vocal cord injury last year and the band will no longer tour. The iconic band behind hits such as “Love in an Elevator” and “Livin’ on the Edge” posted a statement Friday announcing the cancellation of remaining dates on its tour and …
Read more “Aerosmith ends touring, citing permanent damage to singer’s voice”
PARIS — LGBTQ+ athletes, officials and observers have warned that a deluge of hateful comments misidentifying female boxer Imane Khelif in the Paris Olympics as transgender or a man could pose dangers for the LGBTQ+ community and female athletes. The concerns come as famous figures — from former U.S. President Donald Trump to Harry Potter author …
Read more “Vitriol about female boxer fuels concern of backlash against LGBTQ+, women athletes”
NANTERRE, France — The party for Léon Marchand spread beyond the pool, quickly sweeping across Paris. At Stade de France, hosting the first night of track and field, an enormous ovation broke out when Marchand won his fourth gold medal of the Olympics. The roar was so loud that the first heat of the 400-meter run …
EAUBONNE, France — Growing up in cutthroat New York gave Lauren Scruggs the competitive mindset needed to claim an unexpected fencing silver medal on her Olympic debut in Paris. The 21-year-old Queens native shared the podium with fellow American Lee Kiefer, who retained her Olympic title in the women’s individual foil event gold medal bout on …
Paris — As a gay youth growing up in central France, Hugo Bardin never felt he lived in a world that represented who he was — a world in which he had a place. And that is why Bardin, who performs as the drag queen Paloma, felt it was meaningful and important to be part of …
Midyat, Turkey — Through a basement door in southeastern Turkey lies a sprawling underground city — perhaps the country’s largest — which one historian believes dates back to the ninth century before Jesus Christ. Archaeologists stumbled upon the city-under-a-city “almost by chance” after an excavation of house cellars in Midyat, near the Syrian border, led to …
Read more “Ancient secrets unearthed in vast Turkish cave city “
NEW YORK — Edna O’Brien, Ireland’s literary pride and outlaw who scandalized her native land with her debut novel “The Country Girls” before gaining international acclaim as a storyteller and iconoclast that found her welcomed everywhere from Dublin to the White House, has died. She was 93. O’Brien died Saturday after a long illness, according to …
Read more “Edna O’Brien, Irish literary giant who wrote ‘The Country Girls,’ dies at 93”
HOUSTON — The gold bikini-style costume that Carrie Fisher wore as Princess Leia while making “Return of the Jedi” in the “Star Wars” franchise has sold for $175,000, according to the auction house that handled the sale. The costume was made famous when Fisher wore it at the start of the 1983 film when Leia was …
Read more “Princess Leia bikini costume from ‘Star Wars’ movie set sells for $175K”
CHADDS FORD, Pa. — At first glance, it looks like an aerial photo of a cemetery destroyed by war, with charred coffins ripped from broken concrete vaults and arched marble tombstones flattened by a bomb blast. Then, the viewer begin to discern details: the coffins and vaults are actually parts of a keyboard. Instead of names …
Read more “Frank Stewart photos captured culture of jazz, church and Black life in US”
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