Bette Midler, Cate Blanchett and Sally Field received best actress nominations in Broadway’s Tony Awards on Tuesday, while “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” scored a leading 12 nominations including the top prize, best musical. Close behind was the hit revival of “Hello, Dolly!” which took 10 nominations, …

Singer Janet Jackson has announced she is going back on tour later this year, returning to the stage in the United States and Canada after taking time off to give birth to her first child. In a video message to fans, the pop star also referred to media reports that …

  Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit Chicago for a community meeting to discuss their planned library and museum. The Obama Foundation announced Monday the Obamas will host a round table discussion Wednesday to “update the community” on the progress of the Obama Presidential Center …

The color red made a dramatic show Monday night in the grand parade of fashion at the Met Gala, including co-chair Katy Perry’s look, as did glittery gold and blue feathers on the back of Blake Lively. But many of the evening’s highlights were courtesy of luminaries who channeled honoree …

The color red made a dramatic show Monday night in the grand parade of fashion at the Met Gala, including co-chair Katy Perry’s look, as did glittery gold and blue feathers on the back of Blake Lively. But many of the evening’s highlights were courtesy of luminaries who channeled honoree …

A tentative deal was reached between screenwriters and producers Tuesday, averting a strike that could have crippled TV and film production and inflicted harm on the wider California economy.   The three-year agreement, which requires ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America, was confirmed by the guild and …

If you’re someone who likes a lot of guidance and explanation at the museum, you might want to dramatically recalibrate your expectations before heading into “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between,” the lavishly presented new show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Arriving in a brilliant …

Showtime cable network is presenting four hours of director Oliver Stone interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin on four consecutive nights in June. The network announced Monday that “The Putin Interviews” will air first on June 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern, with three additional hour-long installments on the following nights. Showtime …

The new federal spending bill would spare – and even slightly increase – funding for three arts-related agencies that President Donald Trump had proposed eliminating: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.   The agreement announced Monday calls for the …

The contract for television and film writers is nearing expiration and a costly strike looms that could send some popular televisions shows into reruns. The writers contract expires at 12:01 a.m. PDT Tuesday and picketing could begin that morning. Representatives for the writers and producers are engaged in a media …

It’s nearly party time for Britain’s Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her 2nd birthday on Tuesday. Her parents marked the occasion Monday by distributing a snapshot of Charlotte taken by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. Here are five things to know about the family as the landmark nears: Why haven’t …

John Legend is expected on a Massachusetts college campus this week to receive a social justice award.   The singer-songwriter becomes the first recipient of the Salem Advocate for Social Justice award when he accepts the honor Tuesday at Salem State University.   Legend is to perform and also discuss …

An English policeman wearing a gorilla costume while crawling the London Marathon has finally finished the race, almost a week after starting.   Metropolitan Police officer Tom Harrison, who goes by the name “Mr. Gorilla,” raised a reported 26,000 pounds ($33,650) for the Gorilla Organization, which is dedicated to conserving …

April 30 is International Jazz Day, with events and concerts being held throughout the world. It also marks the end of Jazz Appreciation Month in the United States. Sponsored by the National Museum of American History, it’s designed to stimulate and encourage people to participate, study and listen to a …

An award-winning Iranian filmmaker imprisoned over his work has been released after serving about five months of his yearlong sentence, though he doesn’t know whether he’ll make movies again in the Islamic Republic.   Keywan Karimi told The Associated Press on Sunday that he credited international pressure for his early …

Al Pacino was considered too short, Marlon Brando was required to do a screen test, and director Francis Ford Coppola was almost fired. The director and cast of The Godfather reminisced Saturday in a 45th anniversary reunion in New York about the trials, perseverance and inspiration that resulted in the …

The White House press corps gathered Saturday for its annual black-tie dinner, a toned-down affair this year after Donald Trump snubbed the event, becoming the first incumbent U.S. president to bow out in 36 years. Without Trump, who scheduled a rally instead to mark his 100th day in office, the …

Washington’s once-glitzy “nerd prom” was briefly upstaged Saturday as comedians and Hollywood stars gathered for jokes and jests about President Donald Trump for a tongue-in-cheek event to counter the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Late-night TV star Samantha Bee pulled in celebrities for the first “Not the White House Correspondents’ …

If you’ve been walking through downtown Nairobi lately, you may have seen Moses Odhiambo. The 29-year-old self-taught saxophonist has been drawing crowds and inspiring a love of music in young people who, like himself, are growing up on the streets. Moses Odhiambo plays his saxophone amid the usual buzz of evening …

San Antonio, Texas, is home to the greatest concentration of Catholic missions in North America, including The Alamo, the state’s first mission dating to 1718. The most visited historic landmark in Texas was also a fort and the site of a battle that played a pivotal role in the state’s …

A hacker claims to have stolen the upcoming season of Netflix’s hit series “Orange Is The New Black,” and is demanding that the video streaming service pay an unspecified ransom to prevent all the new episodes from being prematurely released online.   The hacker, operating under the name The Dark …

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The sprawling American investigation of bribery and corruption in international soccer has reached into Asia and claimed the first guilty plea from a senior official in the new FIFA leadership. A member of the FIFA Audit and Compliance Committee, Richard Lai of Guam, was provisionally suspended Friday by the FIFA …

Films focusing on America’s broken education system, the power of independent journalism, and the Syrian refugee crisis are just some of the highlights of this year’s Filmfest DC.  For more than 30 years, the annual event has been showcasing thought-provoking movies from around the world to a discerning audience in …

For over 30 years, Filmfest DC has been bringing thought-provoking movies from all over the world to a discerning audience in the U.S. capital, promoting discussion and debate. This spring, the festival is celebrating its 31st anniversary with 80 selected films. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more. …