We’re lining up the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart for the week ending April 22, 2017. It’s one thing when a song enters the Top Five, but quite another when it debuts in the Top Five. That’s what we’re looking at this week. …

The Mississippi Delta has no shortage of museums, historic attractions and clubs devoted to the blues. But visitors will find the region has many other stories to tell, from the cotton plantations where African-American families worked and lived in desperate poverty to culinary traditions that reflect a surprising ethnic diversity. …

Fox News Channel has thrived despite losing founding leader Roger Ailes and next-generation star Megyn Kelly within the past nine months. Wednesday’s firing of defining personality Bill O’Reilly will be its toughest test yet. Fox moved quickly to install a new lineup after announcing O’Reilly’s exit because of several harassment …

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James were among seven sports figures named to Time Magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential people, which was announced Thursday. While Brady and James have ample championships on their resume, polarizing NFL free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick also …

Oprah Winfrey doesn’t scare easy and she wasn’t frightened here. “But I was unsure and uncertain of myself going into this role,” she says. “I did not want to do it. I never truly expected to do it. I had other people in mind to do it.” Instead, it’s Winfrey …

There’s another kerfuffle about crowd size surrounding the president. On Wednesday, the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots visited the White House to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. As is the tradition, there were plenty of photo opps, including a group photo. The New York Times then tweeted the group shot …

Cuban farmer Pascual Ferrel says his favorite fighting cock’s prowess was “off the charts,” so after it died of illness he had the black and red rooster preserved and displays it on his mantelpiece beside a television. “He fought six times and was invincible,” the 64-year old recalled fondly, talking …

Zimbabwean boys as young as 10 hurry every weekend to a boxing ring whose nickname, Wafa Wafa, in the local Shona language suggests that whoever enters will be lucky to come out alive.   No one has died in the ring, let alone suffered serious injury. But the exchanges can …

A federal judge has blocked a sound engineer from releasing unpublished music by Prince after the late superstar’s estate objected.   George Ian Boxill worked with Prince on five tracks in 2006, and made at least one recording — called “Deliverance” —  available Wednesday for online sales. Prince’s estate and Paisley …

After fighting between armed Christian and Muslim groups displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the Central African Republic in 2013 and 2014, five Christian and Muslim youths returned to their homeland late last year and brought back with them something new to the country – capoeira, a Brazilian martial …

Egypt has unveiled a massive granite statue of Ramses II, the most powerful and celebrated of the ancient Pharaohs, after completing its restoration. Standing 11 meters (36 feet) tall and weighing 75 tons, the statue was presented in a floodlit ceremony at the Luxor Temple on the banks of the …

The Museum of the American Revolution has opened its doors in Philadelphia, with fife and drum music, colorful colonial re-enactors and the blessing of former Vice President Joe Biden.   Wednesday’s grand opening festivities traversed three spots in historic Philadelphia, starting at the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. …

Julia Roberts was named People magazine’s world’s most beautiful woman for a record 5th time on Wednesday, but the actress said she thought her best years were yet to come. Roberts, 49, was first given the annual honor in 1991, a year after she skyrocketed to fame in the romantic …

Plans to release new music by Prince on Friday’s one-year anniversary of the singer’s death have been hit with a lawsuit claiming the works were stolen by his former sound engineer. The six-song EP “Deliverance,” was due to go on sale on Friday and would mark the first in a …

Twenty-First Century Fox has decided to part ways with star cable news host Bill O’Reilly following allegations of sexual harassment, the company said Wednesday. “After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox …

Salif Keita, star of African music, was in concert in the Washington area recently. He was born an albino, with skin that has no pigmentation, along with other ailments. And, like many in Africa, he suffered discrimination because of it. VOA’s Arzouma Kompaore talked to the Malian superstar. …

The Iraqis guarding Baghdad’s many checkpoints, on the lookout for car bombs and convoys, don’t know what to make of Ali al-Moussawi when he pulls up in a truck displaying shelves of glossy books. The mobile bookstore is the latest in a series of efforts by the 25-year-old to share …

Archeologists in Egypt have made a major discovery of statues, coffins and several mummies in a 3,500-year-old tomb. According to the Antiquities Ministry, the tomb, which is on the west bank of the Nile near Luxor, was believed to have been built between 1,500 and 1,000 B.C., likely for a …

Monday marked the 121st running of the annual Boston Marathon. But wounds stemming from the 2013 bombings are still open. Four years after the event, Rebekah Gregory, who lost a leg in the attack, is back in the city to launch her memoir. It’s called Taking My Life Back. …

Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya won the 121st Boston Marathon on Monday, leading a sweep for his nation of the men’s and women’s divisions. Kirui pulled away from three-time U.S. Olympian Galen Rupp with 2 miles (3 kilometers) to go in the 26.2-mile (42 km) run to take the title in …

An art exhibition in New York highlights undocumented immigrants and the items they left behind while crossing hostile desert territory from Mexico into the United States. The show, called State of Exception, stems from the University of Michigan’s Undocumented Migration Project, and it uses only discarded objects. Celia Mendoza reports …

After a turbulent U.S. presidential election and a rollercoaster start to President Donald Trump’s administration, this year’s Tribeca film festival will come with a statement. Environmental, political and social issues all feature strongly in the 200-strong selection of feature films, documentaries, television shows and immersive installations on offer during the …

Lady Gaga will make history when she performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival this weekend, marking a decade since a solo woman has been billed as a headliner on the prestigious musical stage.   Beyonce had been slated to headline the festival in Indio, California, but backed …

Julian Lennon is looking to nurture a new generation’s commitment to the environment, with a little help from a white feather.   The firstborn son of the late John Lennon has co-authored “Touch the Earth,” a picture book for kids as young as 3 about the world’s water problems, from …

Russia’s leading state broadcaster has announced plans to boycott the Eurovision 2017 song contest after the host country, Ukraine, barred Russia’s contestant, wheelchair-bound singer Yulia Samoylova, from entering the country. Kyiv’s decision in late March to ban the 28-year-old Russian paraplegic vocalist stemmed from her June 2015 performance in Crimea, …