Arts & Entertainment – Winnipeg Free Press

FILE - People use their phones while they gather in a metro station during an air raid alarm, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. When air raid alarms sound in Ukraine, they also trigger a downloadable app that has been voiced by “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill. With his gravely but also calming baritone, he urges people to take cover. He also tells them when the danger has passed, signing off with “May the Force be with you.” In an interview with The Associated Press, the actor said he’s admiring Ukraine's resilience from afar in California. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Feel the Force: Hamill carries ‘Star Wars’ voice to Ukraine

John Leicester, The Associated Press 5 minute read 1:32 AM CDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — “Attention. Air raid alert,” the voice says with a Jedi knight’s gravitas. “Proceed to the nearest shelter.”

It's a surreal moment in an already surreal war: the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars,” urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine.

The intrusion of Hollywood science-fiction fantasy into the grim daily realities of war in Ukraine is a consequence of Hamill's decision to lend his famous voice to “Air Alert” — a downloadable app linked to Ukraine's air defense system. When air raid sirens start howling, the app also warns Ukrainians that Russian missiles, bombs and deadly exploding drones may be incoming.

“Don’t be careless," Hamill’s voice advises. “Your overconfidence is your weakness.”

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Report: Queen Elizabeth II asked Germany for pricey horses

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Report: Queen Elizabeth II asked Germany for pricey horses

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 12:46 PM CDT

BERLIN (AP) — Two horses fit for a queen, please.

That's what Britain's Queen Elizabeth II had asked for as a gift during her state visit to Germany in 1978, weekly Der Spiegel reported Monday.

The expensive present raised eyebrows among German bureaucrats at the time, who noted that the Holsteiner and the gray Elizabeth requested cost more than any other offering made to a visiting head of state since the end of World War II.

Nevertheless, Germany's then-President Walter Scheel approved the gift in the interests of good bilateral relations, Der Spiegel reported citing previously confidential archive papers.

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Updated: Yesterday at 12:46 PM CDT

FILE - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and West German President Walter Scheel inspect honor guards of the West German army in Bonn on May 22, 1978, when Queen Elizabeth arrived for a five-day state visit to West Germany. One would like two horses. That, in effect, was the gift requested by Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit to Germany in 1978, weekly Der Spiegel reported Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo, File)

'Ducks' offers insight into Alberta's oilsands

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

'Ducks' offers insight into Alberta's oilsands

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 12:01 PM CDT

When Kate Beaton migrated west to work in Alberta's oilsands, she didn't know what to expect — other than a job that would allow her to pay down her student loans.

Those making the move now, some 15-plus years after the comics artist worked in Fort McMurray, have more information about the industry thanks to social media, she said.

"If you don't have a personal connection to the actual area, the location, or the workforce, or the people that travel back and forth and work there, then it's harder to have an understanding of day-to-day life there," Beaton said in a phone interview from her home in Cape Breton.

With "Ducks," Beaton's graphic memoir that's now competing in Canada Reads, she sought to show people what the experience can really be like.

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Updated: Yesterday at 12:01 PM CDT

Rhodes ready to take his place in WrestleMania spotlight

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Rhodes ready to take his place in WrestleMania spotlight

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 4:07 AM CDT

World Wrestling Entertainment’s prodigal son could become its undisputed champion on April 2.

Cody Rhodes will face Roman Reigns in the main event of this year’s WrestleMania looking to write the final chapter of a story that began seven years ago when he left the company. When Rhodes departed in 2016, he was mired in playing different characters with no hopes of being a top-card wrestler.

He spent the time on the independent circle, including Ring of Honor, before becoming one of the significant figures in the formation of All Elite Wrestling, which has become the biggest competitor to WWE since WCW in the late ’90s.

Rhodes came back to a hero's welcome at last year’s WrestleMania. A torn pectoral muscle last June put a slight roadblock to the comeback, but Rhodes returned in late January and won the Royal Rumble. That set up his match with Reigns, who will put his 946-day championship reign on the line April 2 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

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Yesterday at 4:07 AM CDT

Cody Rhodes, left, and Roman Reigns meet in the center of the ring during an episode of WWE Smackdown on March 3, 2023, in Washington. Rhodes and Reigns will be in the main event of WrestleMania 39 on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. (WWE via AP)

Review: ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ puts the funny in fantasy

Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Review: ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ puts the funny in fantasy

Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:47 PM CDT

“You’re not a lot of fun, are you,” notes barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) to brave fighter Xenk (Regé-Jean Page) in the new “Dungeons & Dragons” film, making two jokes at once.

The first is that Xenk, a paladin (or holy knight) in “D&D” lingo, is everything BUT fun — gorgeous, noble, heroic, smart, and did we mention gorgeous? He’s just REALLY not fun, or funny. He’s so not funny, it’s hilarious.

The second, broader joke is that “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” hotly awaited by devotees of the decades-old role-playing game, makes darned sure to be fun, and funny — enough to laugh at itself. And that's the thing that makes it work.

At least, for a newbie like me. I’ve never played the game, I confess. But this is a movie, not a game, and I’m here to tell you how it works for over two hours at the multiplex. Which is to say, surprisingly, sometimes delightfully well — even if you have no clue what a paladin or Red Wizard or Harper is, or if the term “Dungeon Master” sends your mind straight to “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

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Yesterday at 6:47 PM CDT

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Sophia Lillis, from left, Justice Smith and Michelle Rodriguez in a scene from

New York to pay $5.5M to man exonerated in Sebold rape case

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

New York to pay $5.5M to man exonerated in Sebold rape case

The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:00 PM CDT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A man who spent 16 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of raping writer Alice Sebold when she was a Syracuse University student has settled a lawsuit against New York state for $5.5 million, his lawyers said Monday.

The settlement comes after Anthony Broadwater's conviction for raping Sebold in 1981 was overturned in 2021. It was signed last week by lawyers for Broadwater and New York Attorney General Letitia James, David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys, said.

Broadwater, 62, said in a statement relayed by Hammond, "I appreciate what Attorney General James has done, and I hope and pray that others in my situation can achieve the same measure of justice. We all suffer from destroyed lives.”

“Obviously no amount of money can erase the injustices Mr. Broadwater suffered, but the settlement now officially acknowledges them,” Sebold said in a statement released through a spokesperson.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:00 PM CDT

FILE - Anthony Broadwater, center, gazes upward, Nov. 22, 2021, in Syracuse, N.Y., after Judge Gordon Cuffy overturned the 40-year-old rape conviction that wrongfully put him in state prison for Alice Sebold's rape. Broadwater, who spent 16 years in prison, has settled a lawsuit against New York state for $5.5 million, his lawyers said Monday, March 27, 2023. (Katrina Tulloch/The Post-Standard via AP, File)

Brunson, Shannon, de Armas will host ‘Saturday Night Live’

The Associated Press 1 minute read Preview

Brunson, Shannon, de Armas will host ‘Saturday Night Live’

The Associated Press 1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:39 PM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Two first-time hosts — Quinta Brunson and Ana de Armas — will make their “Saturday Night Live” debuts in April.

Brunson, creator and star of ABC's “Abbott Elementary” comedy, will be host of this Saturday's show, NBC announced on Monday. Lil Yachty, whose latest disc debuted at the top of Billboard's rock and alternative charts, is the musical guest.

Molly Shannon returns to “SNL” to host on April 8. Shannon, one of the show's cast members from 1995 to 2001, has been host one time before. Jonas Brothers, who have a new album due in May, will be the show's musical guest for the third time.

De Armas, who earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde,” is the scheduled host for April 15. She's got an upcoming show, “Ghosted,” rolling out on Apple TV+ later in April.

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Updated: Yesterday at 1:39 PM CDT

Quinta Brunson appears at Time's second annual Women of the Year Gala in Los Angeles on March 8, 2023, left, Molly Shannon appears at a special screening of

Review: Vietnam vets try to help nation they once attacked

Jeff Rowe, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Review: Vietnam vets try to help nation they once attacked

Jeff Rowe, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:51 PM CDT

“The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace and Redemption in Vietnam,” by George Black (Knopf)

In the U.S., we’ve mostly moved on from our military engagements in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the American way — not dwelling on our mistakes or engaging in a national discussion about what went wrong.

And atonement? We don’t do that.

But two American Vietnam vets thought differently and became our national conscience, our moral center and our agents of redemption in dealing with the fearsome toll that herbicide spraying and unexploded bombs inflicted on tens of thousands of Vietnamese.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:51 PM CDT

This cover image released by Knopf shows

BET co-founder, sports exec Sheila Johnson to publish memoir

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

BET co-founder, sports exec Sheila Johnson to publish memoir

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 11:10 AM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The philanthropist, sports franchise executive and co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, Sheila Johnson, has a memoir scheduled for September. “Walk Through Fire” will document her rise from suburban Chicago to becoming a pioneering billionaire as a Black woman, and how she endured her troubled marriage to fellow BET founder Robert L. Johnson.

“After so many years, I’m thrilled to finally tell my story,” Johnson said in a statement issued Monday by her publisher, Simon & Schuster. “I hope that by sharing my own experiences, I can help others going through the kinds of obstacles I faced in my life and career.”

In 1980, Johnson and her former husband started BET, the groundbreaking cable channel sold 20 years later to Viacom. Among numerous other achievements, she has had partial ownership of three sports teams — the NHL's Washington Capitals, the NBA's Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association and the WNBA's Washington Mystics — and is a global ambassador for the humanitarian agency CARE.

Her 33-year marriage to Robert L. Johnson ended in 2002, and their divorce helped lead to her current marriage. The judge presiding over their case, William T. Newman, turned out to be an old acquaintance who, years earlier, had appeared in a play with her. Johnson and Newman have been married since 2005.

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Yesterday at 11:10 AM CDT

FILE - Philanthropist, sports franchise executive and co-founder of Black Entertainment Television Sheila Johnson appears the 2013 Women's Media Awards in New York on Oct. 8, 2013. Johnson's upcoming memoir. “Walk Through Fire” will document her rise from a middle class family in Illinois to becoming a pioneering Black woman billionaire, and how she endured her troubled marriage to fellow BET founder Robert L. Johnson. The book is scheduled for release in September. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Review: Prohibition-era tale ‘Hang the Moon’ goes down easy

Rob Merrill, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Review: Prohibition-era tale ‘Hang the Moon’ goes down easy

Rob Merrill, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:47 AM CDT

“Hang the Moon” by Jeannette Walls (Scribner)

Jeannette Walls burst on the scene with her intensely personal memoir “The Glass Castle” in 2005. That book spent more than eight years on the hardcover and paperback bestseller lists and eventually became a 2017 movie starring Brie Larson, Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson.

This book, while fiction, borrows heavily from the histories of real people and events who lived during the Prohibition era in Virginia. The narrator, Sallie Kincaid, is the daughter of the most prosperous man in Claiborne County, who everyone calls “Duke.” The heart of the story picks up with Sallie at almost age 18, when she moves back to the family estate after a decade in exile living with her poor aunt “in the hollows” of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her memories of the Duke are almost entirely positive, but the events of the novel quickly challenge that as the plot speeds along at a breakneck pace.

Before you know it the Duke is dead and Sallie stands to inherit the family business, which she’s long believed to be “diversified holdings” anchored by ownership of Caywood, Virginia’s general store. Turns out the real family money is in bootlegging, as Kincaid’s men buy illegal alcohol from family stills across the county and deliver it at a premium to desperate and thirsty customers as far away as Richmond and Roanoke. By novel’s end Sallie has a nickname, the Queen of the Kincaid Rumrunners, and her family relationships are almost entirely reconfigured.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:47 AM CDT

This cover image released by Scribner shows

Louvre staff block entrances as part of pension protest

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Louvre staff block entrances as part of pension protest

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:36 AM CDT

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed to the public on Monday when its workers took part in the wave of French protest strikes against the government's unpopular pension reform plans.

Dozens of Louvre employees blocked the entrance, prompting the museum to announce it would be temporarily closed.

The demonstrators toted banners and flags in front of the Louvre's famed pyramid, where President Emmanuel Macron had celebrated his presidential victory in 2017. They demanded the repeal of the new pension law that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The showbusiness, broadcasting and culture branch of the CGT union tweeted an image of the Mona Lisa with an aged and wrinkled face, with the words: “64 it’s a No!”

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:36 AM CDT

Visitors wait as workers of the culture industry demonstrate outside the Louvre museum Monday, March 27, 2023 in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by sending his already unpopular plan to raise the retirement age by two years, from 62 to 64, through parliament without a vote. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Gwyneth Paltrow’s experts to testify in Utah ski crash case

Sam Metz, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Gwyneth Paltrow’s experts to testify in Utah ski crash case

Sam Metz, The Associated Press 4 minute read 12:05 AM CDT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow's attorneys are expected to call a series of experts and read depositions from her two teenage children on Tuesday in the first full day of the movie star 's trial that they have to call witnesses to make their case.

Due to the trial's judge-imposed eight-day clock, Paltrow’s defense team is expected to face tough time management decisions much like Sanderson’s did throughout last week as they attempt to juggle family members, ski instructors and experts in skiing and brain science.

Paltrow is in court fighting a lawsuit from Terry Sanderson, the 76-year-old retired optometrist suing her for more than $300,000 over a 2016 ski collision that he says left him with broken ribs and years of lasting concussion symptoms. The actor and Goop founder-CEO has denied Sanderson's claims that she crashed into him, countersuing for $1 and contending that he, in fact, skied into her.

Her defense attorneys will likely use their witnesses to continue making their two central, yet separate, arguments to the eight-member jury: That Paltrow did not ski into Sanderson and that he and his lawyers have exagerrated the extent of his injuries. As they cross-examined witnesses testifying on Sanderson's behalf last week, they connected the two claims by raising questions about Sanderson's motivations, painting him as an “obsessed” man trying to exploit Paltrow's wealth and celebrity.

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12:05 AM CDT

Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court during an objection by her attorney during her trial, Monday, March 27, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Judge: District attorney can’t be co-counsel in Baldwin case

Morgan Lee, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Judge: District attorney can’t be co-counsel in Baldwin case

Morgan Lee, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:27 PM CDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge said Santa Fe's district attorney shouldn't serve as co-counsel in the manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer during a 2021 movie rehearsal. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Monday said the district attorney should either lead the case on her own or turn it over entirely to another prosecutor.

Baldwin and movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and fines.

Hutchins died shortly after being wounded Oct. 21, 2021, during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza, on the set of the Western movie “Rust.”

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies is regrouping after the resignation of special prosecutor Andrea Reeb in the wake of missteps in the filing of initial charges against Baldwin and objections that Reeb's role as a state legislator created conflicting responsibilities.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:27 PM CDT

FILE - In this image from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators following a fatal shooting on a movie set in Santa Fe, N.M. No one is objecting to a settlement agreement to resolve allegations of workplace safety violations in the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of a Western movie. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

Wisconsin school bans Miley, Dolly duet from class concert

Harm Venhuizen, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Wisconsin school bans Miley, Dolly duet from class concert

Harm Venhuizen, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:45 PM CDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school stopped a first-grade class from performing a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet promoting LGBTQ acceptance because the song "could be perceived as controversial."

Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha had prepared a rendition of “Rainbowland" for their spring concert, but school officials struck the song from the lineup last week. Parents in the district say the decision was made because the song encourages LGBTQ acceptance and references rainbows.

Superintendent James Sebert, who did not immediately return a call on Monday, confirmed to Fox6 that administrators had removed “Rainbowland” from the first-grade concert because it might not be “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students." He also cited a school board policy against raising controversial issues in classrooms.

Sebert has previously prohibited rainbows and pride flags from being displayed in Waukesha classrooms and suspended the school district’s equity and diversity work in 2021.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:45 PM CDT

FILE - Dolly Parton, left, and Miley Cyrus perform

$50K photo prize finalists from Vancouver, Toronto

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

$50K photo prize finalists from Vancouver, Toronto

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:10 PM CDT

TORONTO - Multidisciplinary artists from Vancouver and Toronto are in the running for the $50,000 Scotiabank Photography Award.

Prize organizers have announced a short list including Ken Lum of Vancouver and Sandra Brewster and Chris Curreri, both of Toronto.

The three finalists each get a $10,000 cash prize. The winner will be announced May 4.

In addition to $50,000, the winner gets a solo exhibition at the 2024 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival and a book of their work distributed worldwide by art book publisher Steidl.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:10 PM CDT

A composite image of three handout images show, from left to right: Chris Curreri, of Toronto, in an undated handout photo; Sandra Brewster at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, in Toronto, in a Saturday, Aug. 21, 2019, handout photo; Ken Lum, of Vancouver, in an undated handout photo. The three are in the running for the $50,000 Scotiabank Photography Award. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Scotiabank Photography Award, Kourosh Keshiri, Jalani Morgan, Ken Lum, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Taron Egerton slots Tetris story into place in new biopic

Sian Watson, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Taron Egerton slots Tetris story into place in new biopic

Sian Watson, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:54 AM CDT

The origin story of the iconic computer game “Tetris” is more thrilling than you may think.

It involves border crossing, authority dodging, underhand deals, putting your house on the line and — finally — trying to secure the rights for the game from behind the Iron Curtain. And now it's a film, releasing March 31, on Apple TV+.

After playing an early version of Tetris, game designer Henk Rogers (played by Taron Egerton) travels to the Soviet Union in 1988 to meet Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov (played by Nikita Efremov), hoping to secure worldwide distribution rights to the game. Rogers was driven by his love of Tetris and his eagerness for the world to experience it, but the transaction was not smooth.

Egerton says he doesn’t have the tenacity of Rogers, who potentially put his life on the line for the sake of the game.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:54 AM CDT

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Togo Igawa, from left, Nino Furuhata and Taron Egerton in a scene from

Fleming stars as `Nixon in China’ arrives at Paris Opera

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Fleming stars as `Nixon in China’ arrives at Paris Opera

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:50 PM CDT

PARIS (AP) — After spending decades portraying generals' wives, a countess and a courtesan, Renée Fleming walked gingerly onto the stage of the Bastille Opera in a blond wig, red coat and black gloves to depict Pat Nixon, former first lady of the United States.

John Adams’ “Nixon in China,” a 1987 work among the most acclaimed American operas, received its Paris Opera premiere on Saturday night to eight minutes of applause following a revelatory production by Argentine director Valentina Carrasco that replaced literalism with metaphor. The lasting images were of a dark American eagle pitted against a bright red Chinese dragon and of ping-pong tables symbolizing both diplomacy and the quest for superiority.

“You really have to be in your mid-60s to even remember this other than as it’s something that you learn about in school,” said Fleming, a 64-year-old soprano who bid farewell to the standard repertory six years ago. “I’m sorry, but in the context of what’s going on now, Watergate doesn’t seem quite as horrific as it did at the time.”

Thomas Hampson, a 67-year-old American baritone, starred as President Richard Nixon, complete with hunched shoulders and a sweaty face he repeatedly dabbed with a white handkerchief. Hampson broke out Nixon’s stiff V-for-victory motion with arms outstretched during curtain calls.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:50 PM CDT

Singer Renée Fleming appears at the 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors gala in Washington on Dec. 5, 2021, left, and first lady Pat Nixon appears in Camp Springs, Md. after her trip to China with President Richard Nixon on Feb. 28, 1972. Fleming is portraying Nixon in a production of John Adams'

Whitney Houston’s family wants to highlight her gospel roots

Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Whitney Houston’s family wants to highlight her gospel roots

Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:35 AM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston’s brother remembers when his young sister listened to their mother during gospel rehearsals before she mimicked every tune that was sung.

As Houston rose to pop superstardom, her exceptionally talented vocals were rooted in gospel music. And now, her family — led by her sister-in-law Pat and brother Gary Houston — wants the foundation of her musical legacy to continue to live on through her new posthumous gospel album and documentary under the same name, “ I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston. ”

“Gospel was in her heart,” said Gary Houston, who recalled his sister around the age of 5 wearing their mother Cissy Houston’s wig and high heels while using a broom as a microphone. “We woke up to and went to sleep to gospel. She would sing exactly what she heard my mother and her siblings. No secular music. It was all gospel.”

Pat Houston, the executor of Whitney Houston’s estate, said she’s excited for listeners to hear the six-time Grammy-winner’s message of hope and faith and the influential mark gospel music had on her life and career through both projects, which both were released Friday last week. The documentary, hosted by CeCe Winans, aired on UPtv and AspireTV and will be available on DVD.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:35 AM CDT

FILE - Singer Whitney Houston performs at the pre-Grammy gala & salute to industry icons with Clive Davis honoring David Geffen in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2011. A new posthumous gospel album “I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston” was released on March 24. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 2-8

The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 2-8

The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 8:08 AM CDT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 2-8:

April 2: Actor Linda Hunt is 78. Actor Sam Anderson (“Lost,” ″ER,” ″Perfect Strangers”) is 76. Singer Emmylou Harris is 76. Actor Pamela Reed is 74. Drummer Dave Robinson of The Cars is 74. Country singer Buddy Jewell is 62. Actor Christopher Meloni (“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 62. Singer Keren Woodward of Bananarama is 62. Country singer Billy Dean is 61. Actor Clark Gregg (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” ″The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 61. Actor Jana Marie Hupp (“Ed”) is 59. Guitarist Greg Camp (Smash Mouth) is 56. Guitarist Tony Fredianelli (Third Eye Blind) is 54. Actor Roselyn Sanchez (TV’s “Grand Hotel,” ″Without a Trace”) is 50. Actor Pedro Pascal (“Game of Thrones”) is 48. Actor Adam Rodriguez (“Criminal Minds,” ″CSI: Miami”) is 48. Actor Michael Fassbender (“Shame,” ″Inglourious Basterds”) is 46. Keyboardist Jesse Carmichael of Maroon 5 is 44. Actor Bethany Joy Lenz (formerly Galeotti) (“One Tree Hill”) is 42. Singer Lee Dewyze (“American Idol”) is 37. Country singer Chris Janson is 37. Actor Drew Van Acker (“Training Day,” ″Pretty Little Liars”) is 37. Actor Jesse Plemons (TV’s “Fargo,” ″Breaking Bad”) is 35.

April 3: Actor Eric Braeden (“The Young and the Restless”) is 82. Actor Marsha Mason is 81. Singer Wayne Newton is 81. Singer Tony Orlando is 79. Singer Richard Thompson is 74. Bassist Curtis Stone of Highway 101 is 73. Guitarist Mick Mars of Motley Crue is 67. Actor Alec Baldwin is 65. Actor David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) is 64. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 62. Singer-guitarist Mike Ness of Social Distortion is 61. Singer Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) is 55. Actor Jennie Garth (“Beverly Hills 90210″) is 51. Actor Adam Scott (“Severance,” “Parks and Recreation”) is 50. Guitarist Drew Shirley of Switchfoot is 49. Actor Matthew Goode (“Downton Abbey,” ″The Good Wife”) is 45. Actor Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) is 41. Singer Leona Lewis is 38. Actor Amanda Bynes is 37. Actor Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) is 36. Actor Hayley Kiyoko (“CSI: Cyber”) is 32. Bassist Sam Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet is 24.

April 4: Actor Craig T. Nelson is 79. Actor Christine Lahti (“Chicago Hope”) is 73. Singer Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers is 72. Actor Mary-Margaret Humes (“Dawson’s Creek,” ″History of the World Part 1″) is 69. Writer-producer David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” ″The Practice”) is 67. Actor Constance Shulman (“Orange Is The New Black”) is 65. Actor Hugo Weaving (“The Matrix,” ″Lord of the Rings”) is 63. Bassist Craig Adams (The Cult) is 61. Talk show host Graham Norton is 60. Comedian David Cross (“Arrested Development,” ″Mr. Show”) is 59. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 58. Actor Nancy McKeon is 57. Country singer Clay Davidson is 52. Singer Josh Todd of Buckcherry is 52. Singer Jill Scott is 51. Bassist Magnus Sveningsson of The Cardigans is 51. Magician David Blaine is 50. Singer Kelly Price is 50. Singer Andre Dalyrimple of Soul for Real is 49. Guitarist Josh McSwain of Parmalee is 48. Actor James Roday (“A Million Little Things,” “Psych”) is 47. Actor Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face,” “Orange Is the New Black”) is 44. Actor-comedian Eric Andre (“The Eric Andre Show”) is 40. Actor Amanda Righetti (“The Mentalist”) is 40. Actor-singer Jamie Lynn Spears (“Zoey 101″) is 32. Actor Daniela Bobadilla (“The Middle,” “Anger Management”) is 30. Singer Austin Mahone is 27.

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Yesterday at 8:08 AM CDT

Zach Braff attends a special screening of

Gwyneth Paltrow accuser calls Utah ski crash ‘serious smack’

Sam Metz, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Gwyneth Paltrow accuser calls Utah ski crash ‘serious smack’

Sam Metz, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:29 PM CDT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 skiing collision at an upscale Utah resort told a jury Monday that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer crashed into him from behind and sent him “absolutely flying.”

“All I saw was a whole lot of snow. And I didn’t see the sky, but I was flying,” said Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist, calling the impact “a serious smack.”

That’s the opposite of what Paltrow testified, and the jury has heard dueling narratives as the trial enters its second week. Paltrow said Sanderson was uphill and hit her from behind. He's suing her for more than $300,000, claiming she skied recklessly and that he has permanent brain damage from the crash that altered his personality.

On the stand Friday, Paltrow said Sanderson knocked into her gently from behind but that the collision escalated as the two skidded down the beginner slope. She said his skis veered between her legs, causing her to briefly panic as she heard a man groaning behind her. Paltrow was present in court Monday.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:29 PM CDT

Gwyneth Paltrow testifies during her trial, Friday, March 24, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Army pulls recruiting ads after Jonathan Majors’ arrest

Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Army pulls recruiting ads after Jonathan Majors’ arrest

Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — The arrest of actor Jonathan Majors has upended the Army’s newly launched advertising campaign that was aimed at reviving the service’s struggling recruiting numbers.

Majors, who authorities said was arrested Saturday in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment, was the narrator of two ads at the heart of a broader media campaign that kicked off at the start of the NCAA's March Madness college basketball tournament.

Army leaders were hopeful that the popularity of the star of the recently released “Creed III” and “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” would help them reach the youth audience.

In a statement Sunday, the Army’s Enterprise Marketing Office said that the Army was aware of Majors’ arrest and was "deeply concerned by the allegations.” It added that while Majors “is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete.”

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Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

FILE - Jonathan Majors arrives at the American Black Film Festival Honors on March 5, 2023, at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. Majors was arrested Saturday, March 25, in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment after a domestic dispute, authorities said. Representatives for Majors said in a statement to The Associated Press that

Is the David porn? Come see, Italians tell Florida parents

Nicole Winfield And Terry Spencer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Is the David porn? Come see, Italians tell Florida parents

Nicole Winfield And Terry Spencer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

ROME (AP) — The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the David on Sunday invited parents and students from a Florida charter school to visit after complaints about a lesson featuring the statue forced the principal to resign.

Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for the principal to visit so he can personally honor her. Confusing art with pornography was “ridiculous,” Nardella said.

The board of the Tallahassee Classical School pressured Principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign last week after an image of the David was shown to a sixth-grade art class. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about “controversial” topics being taught.

The incredulous Italian response highlighted how the U.S. culture wars are often perceived in Europe, where despite a rise in right-wing sentiment and governance, the Renaissance and its masterpieces, even its naked ones, are generally free of controversy. Sunday's front page of the Italian daily publication Corriere della Sera featured a cartoon by its leading satirist depicting David with his genitals covered by an image of Uncle Sam and the word “Shame.”

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Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

FILE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi speak during a press conference in front of Michelangelo's

Adele extends Las Vegas residency, plans concert film

The Associated Press 1 minute read Preview

Adele extends Las Vegas residency, plans concert film

The Associated Press 1 minute read Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Adele announced Sunday that she’s extending her Las Vegas residency with 34 more dates between June and November and also plans to release a concert film.

Saturday night’s show was the last performance in the British singer's original “Weekends With Adele” series that covered 34 dates since last November on the Las Vegas Strip.

Her representatives said Adele’s shows will resume at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on June 16 and run through Nov. 4.

The June performances will be recorded and released as a concert special.

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Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

FILE - Adele appears at the Brit Awards 2022 in London on Feb. 8, 2022. Adele has announced that she’s extending her Las Vegas residency with 34 more dates between June and November and also plans to release a concert film. Saturday night’s show was the last performance in the British singer's original “Weekends With Adele” series that covered 34 dates since last November on the Las Vegas Strip. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ comes out blazing with $73.5M

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ comes out blazing with $73.5M

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the fourth installment in the Keanu Reeves assassin series, debuted with a franchise-best $73.5 million at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Lionsgate film, starring Reeves as the reluctant-but-not-that-reluctant killer John Wick, exceeded both expectations and previous opening weekends in the R-rated franchise. Since first launching in 2014 with “John Wick” ($14 million on its opening weekend), the Chad Stahelski-directed series has steadily grown as a ticket-seller with each sequel. The 2017 follow-up opened with $30.4 million, and the 2019 third chapter, “Parabellum,” debuted with $56.8 million.

But “Chapter 4,” running two hours and 49 minutes and costing at least $100 million to produce, is the biggest film yet in the once-lean action series. Critics also said it was a franchise high point, scoring 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, which drew a 69% male audience, added $64 million overseas. It's Lionsgate's biggest success of the pandemic era.

"When you make a fourth in an action franchise, you have to expect it to go down. That is the nature of these franchises," said Joe Drake, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. “But we kept seeing signals and it was wonderful to see the movie they delivered. We saw the audience wanting more."

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Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

Jonathan Majors arrested on assault charge in New York

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Jonathan Majors arrested on assault charge in New York

The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — The actor Jonathan Majors was arrested Saturday in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment, authorities said. On Sunday, an attorney for Majors said there's evidence that he is “entirely innocent."

New York City police said that Majors, star of the recently released “Creed III" and “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” was involved in a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman. Police responded around 11 a.m. Saturday to a 911 call inside an apartment in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea.

“The victim informed police she was assaulted," a spokesperson for the NYPD said in a statement. "Officers placed the 33-year-old male into custody without incident. The victim sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition.”

A representative for Majors denied any wrongdoing by the actor.

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Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

March 28, 2023