As a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, Rhiannon Giddens crosses musical divides.   Trained as an opera singer, she also plays a mean country fiddle. Folk, bluegrass, gospel and Irish ballads are all within her reach and she’s even won a Grammy with the black string band Carolina Chocolate Drops. Now …

Despite the recent terror attack in New York City, the TCS New York City Marathon will go on as planned Sunday. The largest in the world by its number of participants, the race brings running enthusiasts from all over the globe to New York City. More than 50,000 runners and …

The city of Houston turned to the Astros for a boost in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the team delivered in spades in a magical run to win their first World Series title nine weeks later. When the Astros beat the Los Angles Dodgers 5-1 in the decisive game …

Lego is having a sleepover at its newly-opened Lego House in Denmark. The Danish toy company has teamed up with Airbnb to allow one family to stay the night at its new attraction — a 12,000 square-meter (129,167 square-foot) building filled with 25 million colorful plastic bricks. There’s a parents’ …

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is seeking unspecified treatment, according to his representatives, following allegations of sexual misconduct that have forced a halt in production of his Netflix show “House of Cards” and a social media backlash. “Kevin Spacey is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment,” his representatives …

What did Americans think about the presidential election on November 8 last year? In the documentary “11/8/16,” executive producer Jeff Deutchman follows 16 Americans from all walks of life throughout that day. The result is an eye-opening documentary about the political and cultural divide that continues to polarize Americans. The …

After years of public controversy and debate, work is finally set to begin on a massive memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower. A groundbreaking ceremony Thursday marked the start of the project, which has been plagued for years by a bitter fight over the memorial’s design and aesthetics. Speakers at the …

A small city in the American Midwest is home to immigrants and refugees from 40 nations — and a blossoming ethnic restaurant scene. As VOA’s June Soh reports, Columbus, Ohio’s taste buds and economy are both benefiting. …

The upcoming New York City Marathon attracts runners from all over the globe, many of them women. What began in 1970 with one female runner has since grown into more than 21,000 female finishers. No female New York City resident has ever won, but in the Bronx, Buzunesh Deba has …

Museums of fine art in Bern, Switzerland, and Bonn, Germany, have put on display hundreds of paintings and drawings, including works by Picasso, Matisse and Chagall, collected by German art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt. Some of the works were looted from Jewish homes, others were acquired after Nazi authorities had them …

Houston needed seven games to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, and rode George Springer’s home run streak to the franchise’s first championship With a World Series title at stake Wednesday night, the Houston Astros jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers and held on to …

U.S. officials said Wednesday that they have proposed ending the Obama administration’s ban on new uranium mining leases on public land outside Grand Canyon National Park. The Forest Service proposed the change in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order for federal agencies to eliminate restrictions on energy production. The …

Los Angeles is preparing to stage the 2028 Olympic Games, and hopes to avoid the high costs that have hurt other host cities in recent years. In some cases, financial worries prompted other cities to drop their bid to host Olympic games. But organizers in Los Angeles are applying lessons …

In a vast, subterranean space in New York City, three flights down from the largest sound stage east of Hollywood, 80,000 costumes await their return to the limelight. This is the TDF Costume Collection, run by the not-for-profit Theater Development Fund. The clothing and accessories have been donated from Broadway, …

The head organizer of the 2010 World Cup has denied raping a singer and former South African ruling party lawmaker 24 years ago. Danny Jordaan, the head of South African soccer, released a statement through his lawyer to deny the allegations made by Jennifer Ferguson, who said in a series …

The steakhouse at Harrah’s New Orleans Casino is now called BH Steak _ instead of Besh Steak. The change, reported by New Orleans media, comes a week after the casino broke ties with celebrity chef John Besh. The action followed an investigative story by NOLA.comThe Times-Picayune about allegations of sexual …

The Olympic flame begins a long cross-country journey through South Korea Wednesday that marks the official countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. A plane carrying the iconic Olympic flame landed in Incheon International Airport earlier in the day after a flight from Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the …

Actress Dakota Fanning has told reporters that although she hasn’t experienced the sort of sexual assault that has turned Hollywood on its head, it’s “important to talk about these issues, for women to stand up for themselves.”   Fanning, 23, spoke Tuesday at the Rome Film Festival, where she was …

The suspension of filming on House of Cards Tuesday in response to allegations that star Kevin Spacey made sexual advances on a teen boy is a rare move in an industry that puts commerce first. Shows are infrequently derailed by concerns other than their ratings performance, said TV historian and …

The southern African country of Malawi may not be what comes to mind when you think of kung fu movies. But four young acrobats in its capital, Lilongwe, are out to change that. The trailer for their first locally produced action flick, The Town Monger, has been generating buzz online …

British media are reporting that police have widened their investigation into sexual assault claims against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.   Citing unidentified sources, the Independent newspaper, Press Association and Sky News say London’s Metropolitan Police are now investigating allegations by seven women over incidents that reportedly took place from …

Michael Jackson died eight years ago, but he’s still generating millions of dollars. Jackson is atop the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities for the fifth straight year, with $75 million. Forbes says Jackson’s earnings are boosted by a new greatest hits album, a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show …

It’s been one epic year for women, a notion definitely not lost on Glamour magazine as it named U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, 27 key facilitators of the Women’s March on Washington and astronaut Peggy Whitson among its women of the year from the worlds of politics, entertainment, fashion, business and …

Actor Kevin Spacey said Sunday he is “beyond horrified” by allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy decades ago. The two-time Oscar winner posted on Twitter that he doesn’t remember the encounter. “But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology …

Despite a national fascination with everything new and shiny, there is a portion of America that is focused on the old and quirky. They can find what they’re looking for at antique shops, where treasures from someone’s attic share space with memorabilia from long-forgotten celebrations. Barry Richards takes us antiquing …