Category Archives: Entertainment News

It’s not a reprint. Why Sacred Harp singers are revamping an iconic pre-Civil War hymnal

It’s not a reprint. Why Sacred Harp singers are revamping an iconic pre-Civil War hymnal

BREMEN, Ga. (AP) — A new edition of “The Sacred Harp,” a Christian hymnal first published in 1844, is being released this year. It helps carry on the more than 180-year-old American folk singing tradition that is as much about the community as it is the music. The shape-note songbook with music notes that look like triangles, ovals, squares and diamonds is core to the a cappella group singing practice. Over time, groups of Sacred Harp singers have periodically worked together to revise the songbook, preserving its history and breathing new life into it. The book is precious to its singers. The nine-member revision committee working on the new book feels a tremendous responsibility to get it right.… Continue Reading

Judge quickly rejects mistrial request at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

Judge quickly rejects mistrial request at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has immediately rejected a defense request for a mistrial at the sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. This was the first such request at Combs’ trial, which is in its third week of testimony in Manhattan. A defense lawyer said Wednesday that prosecutors posed questions to a Los Angeles Fire Department investigator which could imply to the jury that Combs interfered in the probe of another rapper’s firebombed luxury car. After a break, the judge instructed the jury to disregard questions related to destroyed fingerprint cards. Combs has pleaded not guilty to leading a racketeering conspiracy that relied on fear and violence to get what he wanted.… Continue Reading

NPR sues Trump administration over executive order to cut federal funding to public media

NPR sues Trump administration over executive order to cut federal funding to public media

NEW YORK (AP) — National Public Radio and three local stations are suing President Donald Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organization is illegal. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington by NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc. It argues that Trump’s executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment. Trump issued the executive order earlier this month that instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations.… Continue Reading

‘Duck Dynasty’ patriarch and conservative cultural icon Phil Robertson dies

‘Duck Dynasty’ patriarch and conservative cultural icon Phil Robertson dies

WEST MONROE, La. (AP) — Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” has died. He was 79. Robertson’s daughter-in-law announced his death Sunday on Facebook. They said in December he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Robertson turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman’s paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative cultural phenomenon. “Duck Dynasty” followed Robertson, his brother and his sons in a reality show presented like a sitcom. They were immediately recognizable by their long beards and their conservative, Christian and family-oriented beliefs.… Continue Reading

King Charles to outline Canada’s priorities in Parliament amid Trump annexation threat

King Charles to outline Canada’s priorities in Parliament amid Trump annexation threat

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — King Charles III will outline new Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government priorities in a speech in Parliament in what’s viewed as a show of support in the face of annexation threats by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump’s repeated suggestion that the U.S. annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Carney to invite Charles to give the speech Tuesday from the throne. The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. Carney says the visit speaks to the “vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity.”… Continue Reading

Rapper Kid Cudi to testify at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial this week

Rapper Kid Cudi to testify at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial this week

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is expected to testify at the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial on Thursday. He’ll tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs’ ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. Cassie testified last week that Combs was enraged when she left him for a period of time in 2011 and began dating Cudi. Prosecutors say Combs was so upset that he arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that he oversaw a racketeering enterprise that controlled Cassie and others through threats and violence. His lawyers say the evidence doesn’t amount to a criminal racket or sex trafficking.… Continue Reading

George Wendt, who played beloved barfly Norm on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76

George Wendt, who played beloved barfly Norm on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76

NEW YORK (AP) — George Wendt, an actor with an Everyman charm who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy “Cheers,” has died. He was 76. Wendt in later life crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in “Art,” “Hairspray” and “Elf.” Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV, it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on “Cheers” that he was most associated, earning six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984-89. The series was centered on lovable losers in a Boston bar and starred Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson.… Continue Reading

Cassie testimony against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ends after she spent days describing abuse

Cassie testimony against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ends after she spent days describing abuse

NEW YORK (AP) — R&B singer Cassie has finished testifying at her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial. She spent four emotional days on the witness stand during which she was questioned about the deepest, most disturbing secrets of her sex life and described being beaten and raped by a man she once loved. When Judge Arun Subramanian told her she could leave Friday, Cassie glanced once toward the jury but never looked in Combs’ direction as she walked out of the courtroom for the final time. Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other charges. He denies allegations that he exploited his status as a music executive and businessman to force women into group sex.… Continue Reading

Cassie testifies that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs raped her and threatened to release sex videos

Cassie testifies that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs raped her and threatened to release sex videos

NEW YORK (AP) — The R&B singer Cassie has testified that her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ raped her in 2018 and kept control over her life by threatening to release recordings of her with male sex workers during encounters he arranged. Cassie testified for a second day at Combs’ sex trafficking trial. Combs is accused of exploiting his status as a powerful music executive to coerce women including Cassie into drugged-up sexual encounters he watched. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say all sexual acts were consensual. The 55-year-old Combs faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.… Continue Reading

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