Worldwide movie ticket sales increased by 1 percent to a record $38.6 billion in 2016 as theaters in the United States and Canada rung up higher sales and overseas returns were flat, according to industry statistics released on Wednesday. Movie theaters have been competing with an explosion of digital entertainment …

It was 50 years ago today — almost — that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. The English city of Liverpool is getting set to celebrate the half-centenary of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” one of the most influential albums by local heroes The Beatles. The city announced …

A travel company is offering a chance for well heeled travelers to dive the wreck of the RMS Titanic. Beginning in May of next year, Blue Marble Private says it will offer a chance for nine travelers to dive some 4,000 meters below the surface of the ocean to see …

An Australian couple with roots in Alaska has bought more than two dozen radio stations in three states, marking the first time federal regulators have allowed full foreign ownership of U.S. radio stations. The Federal Communications Commission recently approved a request by Richard and Sharon Burns through their company Frontier …

Chuck Barris, whose game show empire included The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and that infamous factory of cheese, The Gong Show, died at 87. Barris died of natural causes Tuesday afternoon at his home in Palisades, New York, according to publicist Paul Shefrin, who announced the death on behalf …

Paul McCartney’s “Flowers in the Dirt” box is as much an archeology project as a reissue, in which listeners can discover the bones of a landmark album that could have been made but wasn’t.   Two of the reissue’s three audio discs are devoted to McCartney’s songwriting collaboration with Elvis …

A barber-turned-rapper has been crowned the winner of an Afghan talent show that offered its audience some relief from daily stories of insurgents and suicide bombs. Sayed Jamal Mubarez, from Afghanistan’s long-marginalized Hazara ethnic minority, won viewers over with lyrics capturing both the hope and despair of young people living …

The friendly Labrador retriever has retained its long-held title as the most popular dog breed in the United States, while the fearless Rottweiler has climbed to its highest ranking in 20 years. The nation’s most sought after dogs of 2016 were unveiled in New York City on Tuesday by the …

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department apologized on Tuesday for briefly detaining Grammy-winning hip hop artist Wyclef Jean in handcuffs during a robbery investigation, after Jean said he was “treated like a criminal” by law enforcement officers. The sheriff’s department released a statement describing its investigation in the early hours of …

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam welcomed home two paintings by the Dutch master Tuesday, more than 14 years after they were ripped off the museum’s wall in a nighttime heist. “They’re back,” said museum director Axel Rueger. He called their return one of the “most special days in the …

Japan’s cherry blossom season kicked off on Tuesday, when the Japanese Meteorological Agency confirmed the flowers were in bloom in Tokyo.       Despite the drizzling rain, agency officials counted more than five flowers blooming on a sample tree at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, and confirmed that the cherry blossom could therefore …

Actor George Clooney has startled an 87-year-old fan in Britain by showing up at her assisted living facility with flowers and a card to wish her a happy birthday.   The 55-year-old popped in for a chat and a picture with admirer Pat Adams on Sunday at the Sunrise of …

Norway displaced Denmark as the world’s happiest country in a new report released on Monday that called on nations to build social trust and equality to improve the well-being of their citizens. The Nordic nations are the most content, according to the World Happiness Report 2017 produced by the Sustainable …

Robots are becoming commonplace in many areas of society — from manufacturing to medicine to our homes. But now, a robot has taken to the stage, in a British play called Spillikin, where a humanoid robot plays the male companion of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.  The “Robothespian,” as the …

Robots are becoming commonplace in many areas of society — from manufacturing to medicine to our homes. Now, a robot has taken to the stage, in a British play called “Spillikin.” A humanoid robot plays the male companion of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more …

Folks on Sesame Street have a way of making everyone feel accepted. That certainly goes for Julia, a Muppet youngster with blazing red hair, bright green eyes — and autism. Rather than being treated like an outsider, which too often is the plight of kids on the spectrum, Julia is …

The eastern U.S. city of Philadelphia has canceled this year’s celebration of Cinco de Mayo, an event that attracts as many as 15,000 people. Edgar Ramirez, one of the event’s organizers, said the unanimous decision by the planners was “sad,” but it was the “responsible” thing to do because of …

There’s a bromance brewing between actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds.    The Hollywood stars say they hit it off so well during the filming of their new sci-fi thriller called Life that a genuine friendship has blossomed. The movie, about a team of scientists aboard the International Space Station who …

Musicians have been paying tribute to American rock n’ roll icon Chuck Berry, who died Saturday at the age of 90. In a series of tweets, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger thanked Berry for “all the inspirational music he gave to us.”   Legendary American singer Bruce Springstein said Berry …

Police in St. Louis, Missouri, say rock ‘n’ roll legend Chuck Berry has died at age 90. Berry was an American music legend, a pioneer of the rock ‘n’ roll style, which blended rhythm and blues with pop music in a blend that became synonymous with the developing culture of  …

Mention New Orleans and most people will immediately associate it with jazz, a genre of music that originated among African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And that distinctly American music can be heard everywhere throughout the famed city – and in most other areas of the …

Depeche Mode’s new album kicks off with a dire warning that we’re going backward as a society. Things go quickly downhill from there.   “Spirit” then tells us we’ve been lied to and advocates revolution, convicts everyone of treason and urges selfish scum to turn their guns on themselves – …

War-torn Iraq may never recover unless the Western world learns to connect and identify with the people of the Middle Eastern nation, a Kurdish-Norwegian filmmaker said on Friday. His documentary film “Nowhere to Hide” could help Westerners to understand and empathize with the suffering of Iraqi families, Zaradasht Ahmed told …

A vast collection of rare Beatles vinyl records, photos and other  paraphernalia will go on auction in Paris on Saturday. Beatles aficionado Jacques Volcouve began his collection in 1967 with the album “A Hard Day’s Night.” Decades later, it has grown to include nearly 15,000 records and more besides. “Starting …

About two years ago, blues-folk artist Alice Phoebe Lou gave a performance in a park in Berlin, looking for donations as a street entertainer. A listener invited her to perform at a function. Her career has since taken off. Last year, she released her debut record, and on Wednesday she …