AP National Entertainment News

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the fight for the U.S. House, Democrats are hoping pop rock star power will help oust a long-serving Republican east of Los Angeles as the party looks to regain control of the chamber and slow President Donald Trump’s agenda. Tim Myers, a Grammy-nominated

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner said Wednesday. The office said in a statement that it amended the cause and manner of death for the 39-year-old New York City native following a review of laboratory test results. Trachtenberg, who was known

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Attorneys for hip-hop producer Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a federal judge in New York on Wednesday to delay his May 5 sex-trafficking trial by two months so they can better prepare a defense. The lawyers said in a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian that prosecutors have

by GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Afrobeats may be the hot sound of the moment, but Davido remembers a very recent past when music from Africa wasn’t embraced globally, amid a perception the continent was one of only destitute poverty and primitive lands. “I remember when Africans used to lie that

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze will host the 77th Emmy Awards, CBS announced Wednesday. One of the most popular stand-ups currently working, Bargatze will emcee the Sept. 14 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. While the Oscars have found success with Conan O’Brien, set to return in 2026, and the

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The filmmaker Andrew Ahn grew up in what he calls “a Blockbuster Video family.” They would rent three or four movies every weekend. When Ahn was 8, his mom rented the VHS for Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet.” “She was like, ‘It’s this Asian movie

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers asked a judge on Wednesday to allow the ailing ex-studio boss to spend his nights at a New York City hospital instead of jail for the duration of his #MeToo rape retrial. Weinstein’s lawyers made the request as jury selection resumed for

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The 2025 Tribeca Festival will feature a medley of music stars, including Billy Joel, Miley Cyrus and Eddie Vedder, in its 24th edition. The annual New York festival, which in 2022 dropped “Film” from its name, unveiled the lineup Wednesday. The festival, which runs June

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Ryan Coogler was the one who convinced Michael B. Jordan he could be a movie star. That was 13 years ago on “Fruitvale Station,” Jordan’s first time leading a feature film and Coogler’s first time making one. And it was the start of an enviably rich creative collaboration that

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer The Associated Press says that a new White House media policy violates a court order by giving the administration sole discretion over who gets to question President Donald Trump, and the news agency asked a federal judge on Wednesday to enforce that order. The swift move was in response

The Associated Press Authorities in northern New Mexico released police body camera video and other public records Tuesday in the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The two were found dead Feb. 26 in their Santa Fe home. Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease

The Associated Press Authorities in northern New Mexico released police body camera footage and other public records Tuesday in the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The two were found dead Feb. 26 in their Santa Fe home. Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease

By BETH HARRIS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wink Martindale, the genial host of such hit game shows as “Gambit” and “Tic-Tac-Dough” who also did one of the first recorded television interviews with a young Elvis Presley, has died. He was 91. Martindale died Tuesday at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, according to

By SAM METZ Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — American artist Kehinde Wiley unveiled a series of large-format portraits of African leaders in Morocco on Tuesday, building on his now famous 2018 portrait of former U.S. President Barack Obama sitting casually amid a wild cascade of leaves and flowers. His exhibition, entitled “A Maze of

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday released a trove of records related to the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, including a lengthy investigation report detailing some of the last emails, phone calls and internet searches by Hackman’s wife indicating that she had been scouring for information

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — One of the more puzzling live albums of all time came out in 2000. It featured songs from a two-night stand with The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin icon Jimmy Page. But fans hoping to hear “Hard to Handle” or “She Talks to Angels” were

PARIS (AP) — Kim Kardashian will testify in person at an upcoming trial over a 2016 heist in Paris in which armed robbers allegedly tied her up and locked her in a bathroom while they stole millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry, her lawyer said Tuesday. Ten suspects accused of armed robbery, kidnapping or other

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Ryan Coogler only makes personal movies. “Fruitvale Station” was set in his hometown of Oakland, California, and explored the last day of Oscar Grant. “Creed” was dreamed up for his father, who loved “Rocky” unabashedly. And “Black Panther” let him grapple with the idea of what it means to

By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — As jury selection began Tuesday in Harvey Weinstein’s New York City rape retrial, some prospective jurors made clear they couldn’t be fair in judging the one-time Hollywood mogul-turned-#MeToo pariah. Mark Axelowitz, an actor who plays a Manhattan prosecutor in the new Robert

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas rapper who performed as Tay-K and was best known for his 2017 single “The Race” was convicted of murder for a second time after a jury found him guilty of fatally shooting a San Antonio man. Taymor McIntyre faces up to life in prison with the possibility of parole

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Five years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and hauled to jail in handcuffs, the former movie mogul returns to a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday for a new trial covering the very same allegations — plus one that hasn’t been tried before. It isn’t double

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal prosecutor in New York said Monday that lawyers for music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs are looking for reasons to delay a sex trafficking trial slated to start in three weeks. The latest version of the indictment against Combs, 55, added two new charges this

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer Despite a court order, a reporter and photographer from The Associated Press were barred from an Oval Office news conference on Monday with President Donald Trump and his counterpart from El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. Last week’s federal court decision forbidding the Trump administration from punishing the AP for refusing

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King. It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before — or lucky and well-connected — can

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Leslie Odom Jr., one of the original cast members of the mega-hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” is coming back for another shot, a role he says “gave me life.” Odom, who played Aaron Burr opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Alexander Hamilton, will return to his Tony Award-winning role

By FRANKLIN BRICEÑO and CIARÁN GILES Associated Press LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel literature laureate and a giant of Latin American letters, died Sunday. He was 89. He was a prolific author and essayist with such celebrated novels as “The Time of the Hero” (La Ciudad y los Perros) and

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After just two weeks in theaters, “A Minecraft Movie” is already the highest grossing Hollywood release of 2025. The Warner Bros. videogame adaptation followed up its blockbuster opening with a second weekend of $80.6 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it’s

By SAM MAGDY and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The head of a U.S.-funded Arabic-language television and online news outlet that claims a 30 million-strong audience in the Middle East and North Africa terminated most staff and curtailed TV programming Saturday, accusing the Trump administration and Elon Musk of having “irresponsibly and unlawfully”

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs are urging a judge to let prospective jurors at the hip-hop mogul’s upcoming sex trafficking trial be questioned about their views regarding sex, drugs and violence. The lawyers raised the subject as they submitted a proposed questionnaire to be filled out

By FRANCESCO SPORTELLI Associated Press NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Hundreds of once-missing artifacts, hunted down over decades by a special police unit, have been unveiled for the first time in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, in southern Italy. In its vaults, the museum preserves 15,000 artifacts seized or confiscated from the black market over