Most Americans think refusing to stand for the national anthem is disrespectful to the country, the military and the American flag. But most also disapprove of President Donald Trump’s calling for National Football League players to be fired for refusing to stand. The NFL protests began last season with quarterback …

One of the oldest-known examples of a Native American birch-bark canoe is on display at a museum in Maine, where indigenous tribes have used them for thousands of years.   The canoe put on display on Thursday dates to the mid-1700s, members of the Pejepscot Historical Society said. It’s an …

British author Kazuo Ishiguro has been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. The prize committee in Sweden says Ishiguro, through his novels, has “uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.” The committee said the 62-year-old author was born in Nagasaki, Japan.  He moved to …

Red carpets are being unrolled as the British capital prepares to play host to some of international cinema’s big names for the 12 days of the London Film Festival. The opening night gala is the European premiere of “Breathe,” the directorial debut of Andy Serkis, who came to fame as …

Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” takes place in a blindingly purple low-budget motel named the Magic Castle, just down Route 192 from Disney’s Magic Kingdom. For the children of single parents who live there, the Kissimmee, Florida, motel is a playground — even if they’re living in poverty.   “The …

The long-awaited sequel to the cult classic “Blade Runner,” a 1982 sci-fi thriller, finally hits movie theaters on Friday. But there is not much that stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling can say about “Blade Runner 2049,” for fear of revealing major plot spoilers. Ford, who reprises his role as …

Country star Jason Aldean said Tuesday that he would cancel three shows this week to honor victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in which a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a Las Vegas music festival during the singer’s Sunday show. Aldean canceled stops in …

After visiting the diverse landscapes of Dinosaur National Monument once, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer knew he had to come back. In addition to the site’s ancient land formations and dinosaur fossils, the massive park — which spreads across the states of Utah and Colorado — is also home to …

Country star Jason Aldean says he’s praying for the victims of the Las Vegas shootings, saying his “heart aches” and issuing a rallying cry for Americans to come together. The singer writes something has “changed” in the world, making it “the kind of place I am afraid to raise my …

An American television channel plans to air a film about Oscar Pistorius and how he murdered girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, drawing criticism from the family of the former South African track star.   Lifetime says “Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer,” which is to premiere on Nov. 11, is told from “the …

When Alfred Nobel established the literature prize in his name, he perhaps could have benefited from an editor. The terms of his will leave the prize’s exact intentions tantalizingly vague – making the literature award one of the most debated and entertaining of the Nobel Prizes. The Swedish industrialist said …

After visiting the diverse landscapes of Dinosaur National Monument once, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer knew he had to come back. In addition to the site’s ancient land formations and dinosaur fossils, the massive park — which stretches across two states — is also home to a river canyon made …

American rap artist Macklemore will perform a gay anthem at a rugby league final in Sydney on Sunday, thanks to the sport’s officials rejecting pressure from opponents of same-sex marriage as Australia votes on liberalizing its marriage laws. Macklemore will perform the hit song Same Love before more than 80,000 fans …

The Invictus Games for wounded veterans came to a close Saturday with a rousing ceremony featuring stars such as Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams, though some of the attention focused on Britain’s Prince Harry and his girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle.  The prince, a veteran of service in Afghanistan, created …

Monty Hall, the genial TV game show host whose long-running “Let’s Make a Deal” traded on love of money and merchandise and the mystery of which door had the car behind it, has died. He was 96.    Hall, who had been in poor health, died Saturday morning of heart …

Two films on our radar this week are Stephen Frears’ heartwarming drama “Victoria & Abdul” and Doug Liman’s “American Made.” Both features offer intelligent, entertaining stories and a superb cast. VOA’s Penelope Poulou takes a look. …

Two films on our radar this week are Stephen Frears’ heartwarming drama Victoria & Abdul about the deep friendship between Queen Victoria and her Indian servant Abdul Karim between 1887 and 1901, and Doug Liman’s American Made about Barry Seal, a 1970s audacious American pilot, who, during the Nicaraguan Crisis …

We’re liberating the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending September 30, 2017. Last week featured a rare treat: a Hot Shot Debut single in the Top Five. We’re happy to announce that this week, history repeats itself. Number 5: Sam …

Emmy-winning comedic actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus said Thursday that she was battling breast cancer, and she highlighted the case for universal health care in the United States. Louis-Dreyfus, 56, who plays foul-mouthed fictitious former U.S. President Selina Meyer on HBO’s Veep, said, “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m …

Oppressor or liberator? Feminist in a silk robe, or pipe-smoking exploiter? Opinions were flying a day after Hugh Hefner’s death over just what he did — and didn’t do — for women. On one side, there were those who saw Hefner’s dressing women in bunny costumes with cottontails on their …

Hugh Hefner, the publisher of Playboy Magazine has died at the age of 91. Famous for his smoking jacket, his magazine and his lifestyle Hefner singlehandedly changed the publishing industry, and maybe the world. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

You have seen his “Sunflowers” in a museum, sung along with Don McLean to “Vincent (Starry Starry Night)” and gawped at the tens of million of dollars his works have fetched at auction. But you have never seen Vincent Van Gogh’s art quite like it is shown in the film …

Playboy founder Hugh M. Hefner, the pipe-smoking hedonist who revved up the sexual revolution in the 1950s and built a multimedia empire of clubs, mansions, movies and television, symbolized by bow-tied women in bunny costumes, has died at age 91.  Hefner died of natural causes at his home surrounded by …

Steven Spielberg has directed dozens of award-winning movies in a 40-year career, but when it came to turning the cameras on himself he found the attention pretty uncomfortable. The double Oscar winner, who has directed films like “Schindler’s List,” “Jaws” and “Saving Private Ryan,” is the subject of a documentary …

Clad in a sparkling ball gown and tuxedo, the stars of the latest film to premiere in London’s Leicester Square walked the red carpet in a rather unusual manner – on four legs. The stars in question were a group of sheep who feature in a new eight-hour, dialogue-free film …