Ramadan is Islam’s holy month. It is a time of reflection honoring the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. It is also a month of fasting during which able-bodied Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, which poses unique challenges for professional athletes. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi …

Carrie Fisher’s autopsy report shows the actress had cocaine in her system when she fell ill on a plane last year, but investigators could not determine what impact the cocaine and other drugs found in her system had on her death.   The report released Monday states Fisher may have …

Little-known American golfer Brooks Koepka won the 117th U.S. Open championship Sunday for his first major title at the age of 27. He’d only won one previous tournament on the PGA Tour. Koepka tied for the best score in relation to par in the history of the U.S. Open with …

Hundreds of thousands of people are gathering in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo for one of the world’s largest gay pride parades.   The revelers have packed the city’s Paulista Avenue before Sunday’s parade. Some are helping hold up a gigantic rainbow-colored flag symbolizing LGBT rights.   Organizers say …

U.S. singer Beyonce has given birth to twins in Los Angeles, several celebrity news websites reported Saturday, citing unidentified sources. Beyonce, 35, and rapper and music producer Jay Z, also have a 5-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy. E! News, citing multiple unidentified sources, reported the birth and that Jay Z and …

Stephen Furst, who played naive fraternity pledge Flounder in the hit movie Animal House, has died of complications from diabetes, his family said Saturday. Furst was 63. Furst died Friday at his home in Moorpark, California, north of Los Angeles, said his son, Nathan Furst. Furst played Kent “Flounder” Dorfman …

A United States judge has declared a mistrial in the sexual assault trial of celebrity comedian Bill Cosby after jurors could not reach a unanimous decision about Cosby’s guilt. The jury deadlocked after more than 50 hours of deliberation in Norristown, Pennsylvania, over charges that he drugged and then molested …

A United States judge has declared a mistrial in the sexual assault trial of celebrity comedian Bill Cosby after jurors could not reach a unanimous decision about Cosby’s guilt. The jury deadlocked after more than 50 hours of deliberation in Norristown, Pennsylvania, over charges that he drugged and then molested …

John Avildsen, the director of two iconic films, Rocky and The Karate Kid, has died. Avildsen, who was 81, died Friday in Los Angeles from pancreatic cancer, his family said. The Rocky movies Avildsen told the Baltimore Sun newspaper last year that at first he had no interest in directing Rocky, a movie, …

Jurors are still unable to reach a verdict in the trial of comedian Bill Cosby, who is charged with three counts of sexual assault. The trial near Philadelphia entered its fifth day of deliberations Friday, and the judge rejected calls by the defense for a mistrial. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports …

Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, coroner’s officials said Friday. Among the factors that contributed to Fisher’s death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroner’s …

McDonald’s Corp ended its 41-year-old sponsorship of the Olympic Games three years early, the International Olympic Committee said Friday, reflecting the U.S. fast-food giant’s focus on its core business as well as rising Olympics sponsorship costs and declining TV ratings. McDonald’s deal would have run through the Tokyo Olympics in …

We’re blasting off with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending June 17, 2017. We’re running out of clever ways to say “nothing changes this week,” so we’ll just come out and say it: nothing changes this week. Number 5: …

Jurors in the sexual assault trial of celebrity comedian Bill Cosby have entered their fifth day of deliberation over charges that he drugged and then molested a woman in 2004. On Thursday, jurors told a judge they were deadlocked and could not come to a unanimous decision on Cosby’s guilt …

In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine deemed it the “greatest song of all time,” cementing singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s status as perhaps the most influential musician in American history. “Like a Rolling Stone,” recorded 52 years ago on June 16, 1965, was considered the “moment” when rock music took the spotlight from …

The greatest human swimmer of all time, Olympian Michael Phelps, is diving into his next competition – when he takes on the world’s greatest swimmer in a “race” during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel next month. Shark Week is a popular event during which the American cable channel airs …

Jay Z, whose wife Beyonce is expecting twins soon, was absent from the 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame, where he was inducted by a longtime fan: former U.S. President Barack Obama.   Obama, appearing in a taped video, told the audience Thursday that he’s been listening to Jay Z since …

At one of the most treacherous and least restored stretches of China’s Great Wall, a line of pack mules halted upon emerging from the gloom of a dense forest draped in mist and dew. Laden with 150 kg (330 pounds) of bricks each, the seven animals finally began moving in …

Strolling through a tranquil landscape of lush meadows and meandering streams in northern New Mexico, it was hard for national parks traveler Mikah Meyer to imagine that this area was once rocked by a violent force of nature. 1.25 million years ago, a supervolcano blew its top, creating a 21-kilometer …

Russia’s hosting of FIFA’s (International Federation of Association Football) Confederations Cup from June 17 to July 2 and the World Cup championship in 2018 is reigniting hopes in the country for football (soccer). The last time Russia made the world’s top four was in 1966 when it was part of …

Russia’s role as host of FIFA’s (International Federation of Association Footballs’) Confederations Cup from June 17 to July 2 and the World Cup championship in 2018 is reigniting hopes for Russian football (soccer). The last time Russia made the world’s top four was 1966, when it was part of the …

An eye-catching Los Angeles hot dog stand designed in the 1940s to look like a giant wiener on a bun has found a home a decade after closing.   The Tail o’ the Pup, which fed working people and Hollywood stars for 60 years, will be moved Thursday for permanent …

The cost of last year’s Rio Olympics has risen to 43.3 billion reais ($13.2 billion), around 14.5 billion reais more than originally planned, according to figures published by the federal agency for Olympic legacy (AGLO) on Wednesday. The original budget when Brazil won the right to host the Games in …

They’re homeless, but a group of men and women from Texas has made it to Carnegie Hall. The storied New York City concert hall is the venue Wednesday evening for a performance by the Dallas Street Choir, all singers recruited from urban streets and homeless shelters that has been performing …

They pollute the roads and chug along at a snail’s pace, but to their Pakistani owners the rickety trucks are moving pieces of art, commanding attention with garish portraits of flowers, Islamic art and snow-capped Himalayan peaks. South Asian “truck art” has become a global phenomenon, inspiring gallery exhibitions abroad …