The playwright who inspired the Oscar-nominated movie “Moonlight” has won a prize from PEN America, the literary and human rights organization. Tarell Alvin McCraney received an award for best mid-career playwright, PEN announced Wednesday. McCraney’s “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” is the basis for the acclaimed movie drama, …
your ad hereHollywood Actor Jamie Foxx Target of Racial Slur in Croatia
Croatian police have filed disorderly conduct charges against two people who allegedly used a racial slur to insult Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx in a restaurant. Police said they acted after receiving reports Sunday of “particularly arrogant and rude” insults made against restaurant guests, including “one of the guests on racial …
your ad hereSchool District Teams With Sandy Hook Mom to Teach Empathy
Nelba Marquez-Greene believes the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which killed her 6-year-old daughter, could have been avoided if more had been done years earlier to address the social isolation and mental health problems of the shooter, Adam Lanza. To help other vulnerable youths, Marquez-Greene, a family therapist, is working …
your ad hereLindsay Lohan Says She Was Profiled While Wearing a Headscarf
Lindsay Lohan claims she was “racially profiled” while wearing a headscarf at London’s Heathrow Airport. The actress told a British talk show that she was stopped while traveling to New York. She said an airport worker “opened my passport and saw ‘Lindsay Lohan’ and started immediately apologizing, but …
your ad hereGroups, Individuals Helping White Extremists Shed hate
The Celtic cross tattoo on Shannon Martinez’s leg gives away her past. A victim of sexual assault at age 14 and never quite able to meet her parents’ expectations, Martinez sought out other angry teens. By 16, she was a skinhead spouting white supremacist rhetoric, giving stiff-armed Nazi salutes and …
your ad hereVenezuelan Art Promoter, Journalist Sofia Imber Dies at 92
Sofia Imber, who turned a garage into the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art and became one of Venezuela’s most influential women journalists, died Monday in the capital. She was 92. The former director of what was once among Latin America’s most important art galleries succumbed to complications due to old …
your ad hereVatican, Rome’s Jews to Hold Unprecedented Joint Art Exhibit
The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish Museum have announced an unprecedented event — a joint exhibit focusing on the menorah, the candelabra that is the ancient symbol of Judaism. The exhibit will open May 15 and run through July 23, and will be simultaneously held in St. Peter’s Square and in …
your ad here3 Men Convicted in $110 million Paris Modern Art Heist
An agile thief nicknamed “Spiderman,” an antiques dealer and an art expert were sentenced to prison Monday and ordered to pay Paris for stealing five masterpieces from the city’s Modern Art Museum worth 104 million euros ($110 million.) The paintings — by Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Braque and Fernand Leger — …
your ad hereActress Abducted, Raped in Car in South India, Police Say
The alleged abduction and rape of a well-known actress in the southern Indian state of Kerala sparked outrage among activists who say the case highlights the dangers faced by all women in India and a lack of justice for victims of sexual violence. In a statement to the police, the …
your ad hereAttenborough, 90, to Present BBC ‘Blue Planet’ Sequel
Britain’s most revered TV naturalist David Attenborough, 90, is returning to present a sequel to “The Blue Planet” documentary series, 16 years after the original illuminated the depths of the world’s oceans. “Blue Planet II” will air later this year on the BBC, and follows the 2001 series which vividly …
your ad herePolitical Statements, Big and Small, at New York Fashion Week
During the most recent New York Fashion Week, several designers took the opportunity to make political statements with their clothing. Others, like Indonesian designer Anniesa Hasibuan, found that remaining true to her roots was a statement in and of itself. Tina Trinh reports from New York. …
your ad hereDry Tortugas National Park Features Sand, Sea, Turtles
Dry Tortugas is a chain of small islands about 113 kilometers (70 miles) west of Key West, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. To get there, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer took a sea plane from the southernmost city in the continental United States. Dry Tortugas National Park Part of …
your ad hereTop 5 Songs for Week Ending Feb. 18
This is the Top Five Countdown! We’re rewarding the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending February 18, 2017. Welcome to our post-Grammy countdown, which sees “nearly” all the artists participating in the big weekend. Number 5: The Chainsmokers Featuring …
your ad hereA Visit to the Island of the Turtles
National parks traveler Mikah Meyer continued his journey in the southeastern state of Florida with a visit to Dry Tortugas — a chain of small islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The remote Dry Tortugas National Park is home to beautiful coral reefs, a vast assortment of bird and marine …
your ad hereOscar-Nominated Documentaries Highlight Refugee Crisis
Two documentaries on the plight of refugees off the Italian coast and the Greek coast have received Oscar nominations this year. “Fire at Sea,” by Gianfranco Rossi has been selected in the Feature Documentary category and “4.1 Miles” by Daphne Matziaraki has been nominated in the Short Documentary category. VOA’s …
your ad hereLego Builds Giant Brick House in its Hometown
Danish toymaker Lego is building a playhouse in its hometown designed to look like 21 giant versions of its bricks stacked on top of each other, the company said on Thursday. The Lego House is due to open in September near the company’s headquarters in Billund, Denmark. “Lego House will …
your ad herePink Floyd’s Waters, Mason Hope to Delight Fans, Honor Crews in Exhibit
Pink Floyd co-founders Roger Waters and Nick Mason hope an exhibition in May documenting the rock band’s 50 years in music will give fans a sense of their live work as well as honor those who helped fulfill their artistic vision. “The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains” opens at …
your ad hereFans Call Shots in Futuristic Football League
The Salt Lake Screaming Eagles take flight on Thursday as the normally low- profile Indoor Football League offers a glimpse into the future of interactive sports. The expansion team’s site, coach, logo, mascot, cheerleaders and players have already been chosen by fans, who will use an app to pick the …
your ad hereKeith Urban Leads Academy of Country Music Nominations
Keith Urban’s boundary-pushing album “Ripcord” has spawned several top country singles and led him to pick up seven nominations including entertainer of the year and album of the year at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards. Lady Antebellum announced the nominations Thursday on “CBS This Morning” for the awards …
your ad hereIn Exile, Bangladeshi Activist Writes, Dreams of Home
WATCH: People in America: Meet Tuhin Das — Poet, Activist and Writer in Exile …
your ad hereSouth African Duo Aims to be First to Row Across Southern Atlantic
Two South African rowers pushed off from the coast of Cape Town earlier in February and began what they hope will be a record-breaking journey to Rio de Janeiro. If they succeed, they will be the first to row across the southern Atlantic. Their goal in undertaking such a voyage: …
your ad hereIran Defeats US Navy in Defiant Animated Film
A full-length animated film depicting an armed confrontation between Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the U.S. Navy is soon to open in Iranian cinemas, amid rising tensions over President Donald Trump’s hardening rhetoric against Tehran. The director of the Battle of Persian Gulf II, Farhad Azima, said that it was a …
your ad hereContemporary Art Brings Life to Cairo’s City of the Dead
On a winding road leading into Cairo’s City of the Dead, a cartoon mouse with round ears and green eyes adorns the shop fronts and walls of the mausoleums where thousands of Egyptians live among the gravestones. The path leads to a 15th-century complex built by Mameluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbey, …
your ad hereThey Might Be Giants: Life With Westminster’s Big Dog Breeds
They’re pets that need a few accommodations, like a minivan with the seats pulled out, a bed that can approach the size of a twin mattress and a household that doesn’t mind when an animal that weighs in triple digits wants to “share” the sofa. But owners of some of …
your ad hereValentine’s Day Has Murky Origins, Some Fans and Some Enemies
Barack and Michelle Obama, the former U.S. president and first lady, on Tuesday tweeted Valentine’s Day greetings to each other. A C-Span reporter tweeted a picture of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at an upscale grocery store buying a Valentine’s Day bouquet for his wife, Karen. Later, Pence tweeted at …
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