A Bulgarian skier has come out of retirement for another shot at Olympic gold. He competed in Sochi under the Balkan country’s flag, but at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he’d be a one-man team. Arash Arabasadi reports. …

Curling, once a minority pastime played mostly by Scots and Canadians, will sweep onto the ice at next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics with the proud boast of being the world’s fastest-growing winter sport. The “roaring game,” with its origins in the frozen ponds and mists of medieval Scotland, is now popping …

No assistants. No wardrobe or make up people. No lighting technicians. That’s how Afshin Shahidi spent his most cherished moments with Prince over nearly a decade as his go-to photographer, and he included many of their more intimate encounters among 250 photos in his recent book, Prince: A Private View. …

British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor donated $1 million Wednesday to five charities working with refugees worldwide, in a bid to alleviate a record-breaking global displacement crisis. Kapoor, who was born to an Indian father and Iraqi Jewish mother, won the Genesis Prize — dubbed the Jewish Nobel — last year for his …

Next month’s Winter Olympics is the immediate focus for Sweden but the country is already training its next generation of winter sports athletes in special high school programs that combine sports and education for ambitious teenagers. At the Jamtlands Gymnaisum high school in Ostersund, some 550 kilometers (340 miles )north …

A growing number of actors are distancing themselves from Woody Allen and his next film, heightening questions about the future of the prolific 82-year-old filmmaker in a Hollywood newly sensitive to allegations of sexual misconduct. Timothee Chalamet on Tuesday said he will donate his salary for an upcoming Woody Allen …

The widow of Glenn Frey on Tuesday filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan over its treatment of the former co-lead singer and guitarist for The Eagles before he died in January 2016 at age 67. Cindy Frey accused the hospital and gastroenterologist Steven Itzkowitz of …

Mila Kunis, who made her mark on two long-running television comedies and earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work on the big screen, was named Woman of the Year on Tuesday by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Kunis is being honored by the nation’s oldest collegiate theatrical organization because …

Wheeler Stone, known as Doc, can spend hours working in his studio without getting tired or bored. He’s creating leather costumes and accessories for people who love to dress up as fictional characters from movies. He’s also designing and making various leather products for everyday life. To him, leather-working is more …

A 16th century book that belonged to Prague’s Jewish community before World War II and surfaced at a New York City auction last year was brought back to the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Titled “Mikne Avram — Peculium Abrae,” the recovered volume is a grammar book published in both Hebrew …

Milan has long been the world’s ready-to-wear fashion leader. Now, dogs are getting in on the city’s sartorial scene with a new line of haute couture for canines. Dog-a-Porter, by the Milan brand Temellini, offers clothing custom-fit for different breeds, ranging from the tiny Chihuahua to the stately greyhound. The …

Russia’s going crazy for the Olympics. The 1972 Olympics. Even as the Russian team faces up to being barred from next month’s Winter Games for doping offenses, audiences are flocking to see a movie about Soviet glory on the Olympic basketball court 46 years ago. “Going Vertical” tells the story …

Lebanon’s censorship authorities are recommending a ban on Steven Spielberg’s newspaper drama “The Post” ahead of its planned opening this week in movie theaters in Beirut.   The recommendation still needs to be signed by Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk to enter into effect but that is considered a formality that’s …

Simone Biles watched as her friends and former Olympic teammates came forward to detail abuse at the hands of a now-imprisoned former USA Gymnastics team doctor. Drawing in part from their strength, the four-time gold medalist acknowledged Monday she is among the athletes who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar. …

In Frederick, Maryland, Wheeler Stone, who is known by Doc Stone, is living his dream. He’s creating leather costumes and accessories for people who love to dress up as fictional characters from movies. He’s also designing and making various leather products for everyday life. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, thanks …

20-kilogram ((19.96kg)) granite stones shuffled across ice and aimed for a bull’s-eye. That’s the basic gist of the team sport of curling. A privately owned island off the coast of Scotland is birthplace to every curling stone to be used at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea Feb.9th – …

Edwin Hawkins, the gospel star best known for the crossover hit “Oh Happy Day” and as a major force for contemporary inspirational music, died Monday at age 74.   Hawkins died at his home in Pleasanton, California. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, publicist Bill Carpenter told The Associated …

A stop at the towering stone faces on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota marked the halfway point of Mikah Meyer’s quest to visit all 417 National Park sites. He was impressed with the carving by Gutzon Borglum and his son — but he was awed by what nature had carved …

There are plenty of reasons why the sport of bobsleigh is sometimes referred to as Formula One on ice but few as obvious as Italy’s World Cup sleds. Resplendent in Ferrari red, and with a set of team sponsor Pirelli’s P-Zero tires painted on the sides, they are even liveried …

Actress Catherine Deneuve apologized to victims of sexual assault who were offended by a column denouncing “puritanism” she signed following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, but maintained her reservations about the #MeToo campaign. Deneuve and 99 other French women signed a column in Le Monde last week saying the campaign, which …

North Korea will send a 140-member orchestra to perform during the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, a move seen by the South’s government as a conciliatory gesture following months of nuclear tensions. South Korean officials say the decision was made during a meeting between delegations from the two …

Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of Irish rock group The Cranberries, has died at the age of 46. Her publicist says O’Riordan died suddenly while in London for a recording session.  No cause of death was given. “Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy …

After making a strong statement in black dresses at the Golden Globes to protest sexual harassment, actresses brought a burst of color back to the red carpet last week but said the message of the Time’s Up campaign will continue throughout Hollywood’s awards season. From white gowns on Angelina Jolie …

Comedian Aziz Ansari has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct by a woman he dated last year. Ansari said in a statement Sunday that he apologized last year when she told him about her discomfort during a sexual encounter in his apartment he said he believed to be consensual. The …

A new biography of French first lady Brigitte Macron says her husband penned a racy novel inspired by their early romance, when he was still a teenager and she his married drama teacher. President Emmanuel Macron, who turned 40 last month, fell for Brigitte during rehearsals for a school play …