Oscar-winning British actress Emma Thompson, now starring at age 59 as a family court judge in the dramatic movie “The Children Act,” said on Thursday that older women still need more opportunity on the big screen. Known for period dramas such as “Howards End” and “Sense and Sensibility,” Thompson plays …

From pictures of their favorite Madonna looks to naming their top tracks by the songstress, fans paid tribute to the “Queen of Pop” on Thursday as the “Material Girl” turned 60. Taking to social media under the hashtag #MadonnaAt60 fans young and old – and some famous in their own …

Belgian flower growers bested the summer’s blistering heat to lay out 500,000 blossoms on the central square of Brussels, in this year’s edition of the world-famous flower carpet. As Europe endured one of its hottest summers on record, organizers worried that the heat would prevent the flowers from blooming. “It …

Musical icon Aretha Franklin, known by millions around the world as the Queen of Soul, is dead at the age of 76. The American singer — who had been ill for a while — was considered one of the country’s greatest musical artists. She sold millions of albums, received numerous …

Aretha Franklin, the American singer known to millions of fans around the world as the “Queen of Soul,” has died at the age of 76. Franklin passed away Thursday in her hometown of Detroit, where she had been under hospice care after a long battle with cancer. Born March 25, …

Along the Gulf Coast in the southern part of the United States, two distinct cultures have settled in the area: Vietnamese refugees and Cajuns descended from French colonists, who first lived in the eastern part of Canada and eventually resettled in Louisiana. Many of the Vietnamese who live along the …

Cajun food is well known along the Gulf Coast in the southern part of the United States. This type of food is known for its unique blend of spices in seafood, sausage and rice. But less well known is a much newer type of cuisine. It blends Cajun food introduced …

The creator of the long-running animated TV series The Simpsons brings his first new show in 20 years to Netflix this week, a story that centers around a drunken princess, an elf and a demon. Set in a medieval world called Dreamland, Disenchantment is creator Matt Groening’s take on shows …

Neil Diamond may have retired from the road because of Parkinson’s disease, but he said he’s working hard to get back onstage. “Well, I’m doing pretty well. I’m active. I take my meds. I do my workouts. I’m in pretty good shape. I’m feeling good. I want to stay productive. I …

Jimmy Fallon remembers a summer a few years back when it seemed everybody was reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. “Everyone had that book. If we had people over, or went on vacation poolside, people had that book wrinkled and curled up. I read it with my wife and we …

Aerosmith is the latest act to head to Las Vegas to launch a residency. The rock band announced Wednesday that Aerosmith: Deuces are Wild would kick off April 6, 2019, at the Park Theater, where Lady Gaga will launch her residency in December. Aerosmith announced 18 shows for April, June …

The plain green telephone President Dwight D. Eisenhower used at his summer residence in Rhode Island has sold at auction. The Newport Daily News reports that the phone with no numbers or dial was sold earlier this month by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers of Cranston for $1,375.   The telephone …

People are praying for Aretha Franklin in the Detroit church where her father was once a pastor. The special vigil at New Bethel Baptist Church began before dawn Wednesday. The prayers come one day after Stevie Wonder visited the ailing Queen of Soul at her home. The Rev. Jesse Jackson …

Stevie Wonder visited an ailing Aretha Franklin at her home in Detroit on Tuesday.   Franklin’s publicist Gwendolyn Quinn told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Franklin’s ex-husband, actor Glynn Turman, also visited the Queen of Soul, who is seriously ill.   A person close …

Constance Wu had resigned herself to the fact that “Crazy Rich Asians” was not going to work out for her. She was under contract for her sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat,” both were filming in the fall, and that was that. “Crazy Rich Asians” would be the first studio-made Asian-American …

Once upon a time in central Greece … a small town fell in love with famed film composer Ennio Morricone and painted a huge mural in his honor. The residents of Larissa have launched a fan club dedicated to the Italian maestro — known for his scores for classic movies …

Glenn Close may be known for playing strong, often ruthless women, but like her long-subdued character in The Wife she says she’s only just starting to feel comfortable in her own skin. Close plays Joan, the self-effacing spouse of a successful novelist in The Wife, which opens in the United …

Fans and friends, including Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott, offered prayers and well wishes to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who is seriously ill. A person close to Franklin, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to publicly talk about the topic, told The …

Over the last 25 years, Hugo Kohl has developed his own style of vintage jewelry using the same techniques as industrial revolution artisans at the end of the 18th century. …

Talk about going green. One British soccer team has made it its goal to become the first professional sports team in the world to be certified carbon neutral. It’s an official designation recently awarded to the team by the Secretary in charge of Climate Change at the United Nations. But …

One of the oldest zoos in the U.S., the Chicago Lincoln Park Zoo, is celebrating a big milestone: its 150th anniversary. The zoo opened in 1868 with just two pairs of swans. It has a considerably larger collection today, but its priorities have not changed that much. As Roman Verkhovsky …

Black cats, candles, mysterious ingredients and ancient books. It’s not a scene from a scary Hollywood movie, just a few of the items passers-by will see through the shop window of a New York boutique that specializes in witchcraft and magic. Enchantments, has been a fixture for more than 35 …

Hugo Kohl has been interested in art and design since he was a child. In college, he studied finance, but also took several jewelry-making classes to satisfy his curiosity about this form of art and the history behind it. Upon his graduation, he started a career in financing, but after …

A strange looking motorized raft, loaded with all kinds of cameras, sensors and high-tech widgets, looks like an invader from outer space. But it serves the down-to-earth purpose of making extraordinary maps of waterways of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the Eastern United States. The pontoon raft has a 4-meter-tall …

V.S. Naipaul, the Trinidad-born Nobel laureate whose celebrated writing and brittle, provocative personality drew admiration and revulsion in equal measures, died Saturday at his London home, his family said. He was 85. His wife, Nadira Naipaul, said he was “a giant in all that he achieved and he died surrounded …