Lionel Messi and his childhood sweetheart married Friday night at a ceremony in his Argentine hometown attended by some of the biggest names in soccer. About 250 guests attended the marriage of Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel. They included Messi’s Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gerard …

Pop music icon Beyonce is throwing her superstar power behind a new effort to bring safe, clean water to children in Burundi in a partnership with UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency said Friday. Plans call for the project, BEYGOOD4BURUNDI, to help build wells and improve hygiene education and water and …

A prospect with a 94 mph fastball gets a lot of attention, no matter where he is pitching — even when that prospect is a diminutive 16-year-old from a country with little baseball tradition. Eric Pardinho’s blazing fastball has brought scouts to this city 50 miles west of Sao Paulo …

Tennis star Venus Williams is being sued by the family of a man who died in a car crash in which she was involved. Court officials in Palm Beach County, Florida, confirmed that the family of Jerome Barson, 78, filed the lawsuit against Williams on Friday. A police report released …

Paul McCartney has reached a confidential settlement of his lawsuit against Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC in which he sought to reclaim copyrights to songs by the Beatles. The accord disclosed Thursday in filings with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ends McCartney’s pre-emptive effort to ensure that the copyrights, once …

Prumsodun Ok, a Cambodian-American born to refugee parents, knew he wanted to be an “apsara” dancer from the age of 4, when he was entranced by a performance captured on one of his family’s home movies. No matter that the dance dated back to the seventh century, or that traditionally …

In the verdant rainforests of Hawaii, Jack Black, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan simulated dodging rampaging rhinos and hungry hippos as they filmed the long-anticipated sequel to the Robin Williams 1995 adventure film Jumanji. The first trailer for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, released Thursday, shows …

Fans were crawling up the walls with excitement as the stars of Spider-Man: Homecoming swung into the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films, which have dominated the global box office for years. British actor Tom Holland, who plays the web-slinging hero, showed up at Wednesday’s premiere accompanied by an …

Whether it’s at a bar or baseball park, Lady Gaga says she’s going to give every performance her all. The singer will launch a summer tour with stops at arenas and stadiums across the globe, and she’s also returning to the Dive Bar Tour with Bud Light to perform a …

The state of Idaho is famous for its potatoes. But it’s also known as a haven for rock-climbers, who come from all over the world to the City of Rocks National Reserve. Granite City Granite spires, ranging from 10 to almost 200 meters high, tower over a vast expanse of …

A little bit of Motown nostalgia will fill the Superdome when “The Boss” herself performs for the first time at the annual Essence Festival in New Orleans.   Diana Ross headlines Friday’s opening night of concerts inside the Superdome. The event runs through Sunday.   Music fans are gearing up …

Olov Burman co-founded an animation studio in Sweden, where he produces commercials and short films, but now he is in Los Angeles, pursuing his Hollywood dream in a shared workspace. Burman is honing his skills in penning feature-length screenplays, with help from other writers in a working space called The …

Some people come to Los Angeles to pursue their dream of becoming screenwriters or novelists. Others who come are established in their craft and have published books or seen their screenplays adapted for the movies. Correspondent Mike O’Sullivan visited a place where writers work to see what motivates them to …

Beside a quiet stream on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, a 19th century brick house that once served as a way station on the Underground Railroad can bring present-day visitors to tears as they gaze at the path where escaped slaves made their way to freedom.   The Jacob and Hannah Leverton …

Halle Berry, the only black woman to ever win a best actress Oscar, said her 2002 win turned out to be meaningless, and Fast and Furious star Michelle Rodriguez warned she might quit the action movie franchise unless filmmakers “show some love for women.” Their comments proved a reality check …

The writer who created the beloved children’s character Paddington Bear has died. Michael Bond was 91. His publisher said he died Tuesday after a brief illness. There are few children who do not recognize and love Paddington and his trademark rain hat and coat and suitcase. Bond created Paddington in …

A new exhibition will examine the overlapping worlds of two figures bound together by history on different sides of the Atlantic — King George III and President George Washington. Britain’s Royal Archives and the U.S. Library of Congress said on Wednesday that a new “Two Georges” exhibit, to be first …

The Force was with George Lucas on Tuesday as the Los Angeles City Council moved with lightsaber speed to clear the way for a $1.5 billion Museum of Narrative Art the Star Wars creator plans to build down the road from his alma mater. After hearing from Lucas himself, the …

In a frank and heartfelt speech, U2 bassist Adam Clayton thanked his bandmates of four decades for their support during his treatment and recovery for alcohol abuse years ago, and then joined them for a rollicking rendition of a few hits. “We have a pact with each other,” said Clayton, …

Each spring and summer, a Vermont bog yields a rare spectacle — hundreds of wild orchids in bloom, drawing visitors from around the country.   The bulbous pink and white showy lady’s slippers (Cypripedium reginae) are on full display among the ferns, bushes and chirping birds at Eshqua Bog in …

A hand-drawn map that shows Walt Disney’s original ideas for Disneyland has sold at auction for $708,000.   The founder of Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles says a private collector cast the winning bid Sunday. Mike Van Eaton says it is the most expensive Disneyland map ever sold.   …

Twenty years to the day after the first book in the Harry Potter series was published, fans gathered online and in the real world to express their enduring love for J.K. Rowling’s magical creation. Since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came out in 1997, with a first print run …

After leaving the enchanting landscape of New Mexico, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer headed north into the state of Colorado, where he found more natural and manmade wonders. Cliff Dwellings ‘on steroids’ His first stop was Mesa Verde National Park in the southwestern part of the state, which protects nearly …

After leaving the enchanting landscape of New Mexico, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer headed north into the state of Colorado, where he found more natural and manmade wonders. His first stop was Mesa Verde National Park in the southwestern part of the state, home to the largest and best-known cliff …

This week, people took to the streets in nations around the world to celebrate gay pride, and to protest threats to LGBT rights. …