Billie Eilish’s debut album continued its winning streak, picking up the top Billboard 200 album honor at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards. Eilish was at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday night to accept the honor for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” It won the …

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, author of a tell-all book about first lady Melania Trump, of breaking their nondisclosure agreement and asked a court to set aside profits from the book in a government trust.   In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in …

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Portuguese soccer federation.   The federation says Ronaldo, currently playing for the Portuguese national team in Nations League play, has shown no symptoms and is expected to self-quarantine.   Ronaldo, who last played Sunday in a 0-0 draw …

The state of Virginia proclaimed Monday “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” the latest of a growing list of states that have chosen to honor Indigenous Americans on a federal holiday dedicated to Christopher Columbus.“As a country and as a Commonwealth, we have too often failed to live up to our commitments with …

The ongoing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered an outpouring of support from Los Angeles’s Armenian community, one of the largest in the world. On October 10, U.S. reality television star Kim Kardashian, who is of Armenian descent, announced she had donated $1 million to the Armenia Fund, which seeks to …

For many, it’s not Christmas without the dance of Clara, Uncle Drosselmeyer, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Mouse King and, of course, the Nutcracker Prince. But this year the coronavirus pandemic has canceled performances of “The Nutcracker” around the U.S. and Canada, eliminating a major and reliable source of revenue …

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 106-93 Sunday night to capture the National Basketball Association Championship. LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists on his way to being named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. James has now won championships with three different teams, and the …

During an era when the Yankees won the World Series so routinely it was joked that rooting for them was like rooting for General Motors, their ace pitcher owned the most fitting nickname: “The Chairman of the Board.”Whitey Ford, the street-smart New Yorker who had the best winning percentage of …

A new exhibition at the recently reopened National Museum of American History shows the challenges young woman face growing up in the United States. “Girlhood (It’s complicated)” showcases the lives of American girls who advocated for social change and shaped the country’s history. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. Camera: David Gogokhia, …

“Sesame Street” has always pressed for inclusion. Now in the wake of the national reckoning on race, it’s going further — teaching children to stand up against racism. Sesame Workshop — the nonprofit, educational organization behind “Sesame Street” — will later this month air the half-hour anti-racist special “The Power …

American poet Louise Glück has won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature.The Swedish Academy praised Glück’s “unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”Glück has published 12  poetry collections, and her previous honors include the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.The literature prize is just one of a group given out this week.  Each comes with …

Somalia in September saw the opening of what is being touted as the country’s first independent, modern arts institution. The Somali Arts Foundation says it seeks to promote creativity and critical discussions on what it means to be a Somali. Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu.   Camera: Mohamed Sheikh Nor   Produced by: Rod James    …

A former tech executive was sentenced Monday to one year of home confinement for paying $300,000 to bribe his son’s way into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, even though the son did not play tennis. Peter Dameris, of Pacific Palisades, California, appeared before a Boston federal court judge via …

Legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who co-founded the influential rock band Van Halen, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 65. “I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this …

Warner Bros. film studios said it will delay the release of its “Dune” and “The Batman” movies, setting back an entertainment industry already struggling to survive because of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and social distancing measures that have closed theaters worldwide.Two weeks ago, Disney postponed the release of “Black Widow” and …

British rock band Led Zeppelin on Monday effectively won a long-running legal battle over claims it stole the opening guitar riff from its signature 1971 song Stairway to Heaven. The band, one of the best-selling rock acts of all time, was handed victory after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take …

The new horror film “Antebellum,” by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, is the latest of several Black horror films addressing race relations in the United States. Filmmakers and critics weigh in on the film and on what defines the Black horror genre. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.    …

Kenya hosted (Oct 3-4) its first social-distance culture and music event where people enjoyed live bands while they could sit in their vehicles so there is less risk of spreading COVID-19.  The Kikwetu festival aims to bring Kenyans together, despite the pandemic, to celebrate the country’s cultural diversity.  Mohammed Yusuf …

Kenzo Takada, the iconic Franco-Japanese fashion designer famed for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirited aesthetic that channeled global travel, has died. He was 81.The family said in a statement to French media Sunday that Takada died from complications from COVID-19 in a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. A public relations …

Leaders and activists warned Thursday of a global pushback against women’s rights, 25 years after a landmark conference in Beijing that set out an ambitious agenda for women’s equality.“We need to start now, with your excellencies’ commitments at this commemoration, to recapture and ‘fast forward’ from the modest gains made …

Chrissy Teigen said she and John Legend are in “deep pain” following her miscarriage, which she announced in a heart wrenching social media post. Teigen wrote that they were “driving home from the hospital with no baby. This is unreal.” “We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain …

Is dislodging African artwork from a European museum a political statement, or a criminal act? That’s the question a French court weighed Wednesday in an emotionally charged trial centered around a Congolese activist campaigning to take back art he says was plundered by colonizers. “It belongs to us!” shouted a …

Many Americans are mourning the death of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Makeshift memorials to the popular liberal justice have sprung up all over the country.  One of them at the site of a  large mural dedicated to the justice in September 2019. Anush Avetisyan has the story, narrated …

At least 13 United Nations member states still criminalize transgender people, while others use morality and indecency laws to crack down on the trans community, a report showed on Wednesday.Nigeria, Oman and Lebanon are among the nations with explicit anti-trans laws, according to the latest Trans Legal Mapping Report by …

At last year’s Latin Grammy Awards, popular reggaeton and Latin trap musicians such as J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Ozuna were dismissed in the show’s top categories. This year, they dominate. Balvin scored a whopping 13 nominations for the 2020 Latin Grammys, including two nominations for album of the year …