Laurie Metcalf Gets her First Oscars Shot With ‘Lady Bird’
Laurie Metcalf has won three Emmys and a Tony Award in her nearly 40-year year career, but the veteran stage and screen actress still feels uncomfortable in front of a
Read MoreAuthor: Svitart
Chilled Music: Performer Makes Instruments Out of Ice
While most musicians seek to avoid a frosty reception at concerts, for Norwegian composer and performer Terje Isungset a chilly feeling is nothing to fear: he performs with instruments he
Read MoreWhen It Comes to Holiday Cards, Which Celebs Do It Right?
The Associated Press recently caught up with a few celebrities and asked them about their favorite holiday cards from fellow notables. Hugh Jackman of The Greatest Showman wouldn’t name any
Read MoreLos Angeles Muralist Aims to Make a Big Mark
Brushstroke by brushstroke, muralist Robert Vargas is telling the story of this changing metropolis, using the facade of a 14-story downtown apartment building as his canvas. Vargas suggests the massive
Read MoreLady Gaga Achieves ‘Dream’ with Las Vegas Residency
Pop star Lady Gaga is swapping touring for a two-year stint in Las Vegas, joining the likes of music divas Celine Dion, Britney Spears and Shania Twain who have recently
Read MorePostcards of DC Daily Life from a Mexican Immigrant
Artist Carlos Carmonamedina is curious about his surroundings. Since growing up in Mexico, traveling around to Europe for school, he’s always seen the cultures in a city’s periphery. When he
Read MorePostcards of DC Daily Life by a Mexican Immigrant
In the two years since he came to Washington, D.C., Carlos Carmonamedina has created almost 100 postcards of everyday scenes in the nation’s capital. Many have DC landmarks in the
Read MoreSalt Lake City Targets Bid for 2030 Winter Olympics
Utah officials studying the possibility of Salt Lake City making a bid to host another Winter Olympics said Monday they would rather host the games in 2030, but could be
Read MoreJazz Superstar Keely Smith Dies at 89
Jazz superstar Keely Smith, best known for her immortal duets with her late husband Louis Prima, has died of heart failure at 89. Smith began her professional career her hometown
Read MoreEgypt Reopens Ancient Library at St. Catherine Monastery
Egypt reopened on Saturday an ancient library that holds thousands of centuries-old religious and historical manuscripts at the famed St. Catherine Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in South Sinai.
Read MoreHollywood, Business Team Up to Combat Harassment, Advance Equality
Top entertainment and business executives have agreed to found and fund a Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace. The new group was established at a meeting
Read MoreAmericans Get Creative With Holiday Decorations
The biggest holiday of the season is in full swing, and holiday decor provides an important background for all the festivities. Cities, public buildings and most private homes are made
Read MoreA Winter Wonderland Made of 2 Million Pounds of Ice
It’s a winter wonderland near Washington this holiday season, as it has been for nine years. It’s an exhibit called ICE!, and to it took more than 2 million pounds
Read MoreGraduation Ceremony for US Park Police Officers on Horseback
It’s one of the country’s first branches of law enforcement. Founded in 1791 by George Washington, the U.S. Park Police oversee all federal parks, but only a few officers get
Read MoreSinger Inspires Peace and Unity Among Young Audiences
They say young children are like sponges. They soak up information from all around them unconsciously, and build on that core foundation for the rest of their lives. Baba Ras
Read MoreWalmart, Book Distributor Suspend Ties with Tavis Smiley
Walmart and a book distributor distanced themselves from Tavis Smiley on Thursday after PBS said an investigation found “troubling allegations” of sexual misconduct by the radio and TV host. The
Read MoreRetiring ‘New York Times’ Publisher to Be Replaced by His Son
The publisher of The New York Times Co. is stepping down after 25 years and will be succeeded by his 37-year-old son, the Times announced Thursday. Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr.
Read MoreIndia Orders Movie Moguls to Avoid the Weinstein Effect
India has issued a rare diktat to its powerful movie moguls, reminding Bollywood to keep women safe from the sort of sex abuse allegations poisoning the U.S. film industry. India’s
Read MoreDisney to Buy Fox Film, TV Businesses for $52 Billion
Walt Disney Co on Thursday agreed to buy film, TV and international assets from Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc for $52.4 billion as Disney seeks greater scale to tackle
Read MoreHomes Go All Out with Christmas Light Displays
Christmas is not Christmas, for some people, unless there are colorful lights and decorations. Some homes have spectacular outdoor displays. VOA’s Deborah Block takes us to Alexandria, Virginia, to show
Read MoreUltra-rare Prince Vinyl ‘Black Album’ Resurfaces
One of the world’s rarest records has resurfaced — several vinyl copies of Prince’s “Black Album,” which the eccentric pop legend had demanded destroyed 30 years ago. Recordmecca, a collector’s
Read MoreGlacier National Park Offers More Than Glaciers
There was a time — in this northwest corner of Montana — when glaciers ruled the land. Crown of the Continent The abundance of the massive rivers of ice —
Read MoreA Landscape Carved in the Last Ice Age
How many places are there in the U.S. where visitors get to see nature in all its abundance within a single setting? National parks traveler Mikah Meyer thinks Glacier National
Read More‘A Fantastic Woman’ Director Celebrates Golden Globe Nod
Director Sebastian Lelio feels that A Fantastic Woman has gone beyond the cinematic experience with its social message, to a great extent thanks to the performance of its star, Daniela Vega.
Read MoreA Breakthrough Year for Brooklynn Prince of ‘The Florida Project’
Seven-year-old Brooklynn Prince is sitting in a darkened TV studio with lights, cameras and control panels all around her. “Mission to Mars, mission to Mars,” she says. “This is Apollo.”
Read More‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Mostly Finds Its Force With Critics
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” won warm reviews from most critics on Tuesday, a day before the latest installment in the sci-fi saga begins hitting movie theaters worldwide in what
Read MoreLanguage of ‘First They Killed My Father’ Resonates With Cambodian-Americans
Propelled by the power of hearing their stories in their own language, some Cambodian American audience members fled in tears from a screening of First They Killed My Father, the Angelina
Read MoreFemale Directors Snubbed, Plummer Surprises at Golden Globe Nominations
Women were shut out of the directors race at the 2018 Golden Globe nominations Monday, while Ridley Scott’s scramble to reshoot All the Money in the World led to a
Read MoreMary Blige, Mariah Carey, Nick Jonas Get Golden Globe Nods
Mary J. Blige is dancing into the Golden Globe Awards as a double nominee — for her acting and songwriting — while Mariah Carey, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Nick Jonas
Read MoreFantasy Romance ‘Shape of Water’ Leads 2018 Golden Globe Nods
Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy romance “The Shape of Water” led the nominations for the 2018 Golden Globes on Monday, landing seven nods, including for best drama film, director
Read MoreSaudi Arabia to Allow Movie Theaters After Decades of Ban
Saudi Arabia announced on Monday it will allow movie theaters to open in the conservative kingdom next year, for the first time in more than 35 years, in the latest
Read MoreWavering US Olympic Commitment Worries South Korea
Mixed messages from the United States and concerns of a North Korean provocation could undermine South Korea’s plans to use the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics to further peace and reconciliation
Read MoreAboriginal Masterpiece in Australia to Raise Money For Kidney Patients
A rare painting by Albert Namatjira, one of Australia’s most iconic Aboriginal artists, is to be sold to raise money for kidney patients in remote parts of central Australia. Indigenous
Read MoreWilliam and Harry Choose Sculptor for Diana Statue
A sculptor who produced the image of Queen Elizabeth used on Britain’s coins has been chosen to create a new statue of Princess Diana, the office of Princes William and
Read MoreArches National Park in Utah Attracts More Than a Million Visitors a Year
If God were a stonemason … Utah’s Arches National Park would be the back room of his workshop. The Arches National Park, established almost a century ago, is now one
Read MoreLaw to Bring Down Mob Now Used Against Weinstein
The federal anti-racketeering law has been used since the late 1970s to bring down mob bosses. Could it be used to prosecute Harvey Weinstein? Lawyers for six actresses who say
Read MoreProvocative Exhibition Looks at Artists’ Response to Post-9/11 ‘Age of Terror’
A new exhibition aims to show how the art world has responded to the global changes since the terror attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Age of
Read MoreWashington’s Annual Downtown Holiday Market Is Open for Business
Washington’s annual Downtown Holiday Market is open for business. For the last 13 years, this unique seasonal market has provided shopping and entertainment from just after Thanksgving until right before
Read MoreAt Yayoi Kusama Show, a Long Wait to Experience Infinity
If you want to experience infinity, you’re going to have to wait a long time. On a recent Saturday, the line to see Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s new Infinity
Read MoreUS Catholics Pursuing Sainthood for Native American Visionary Nicholas Black Elk
Last month, U.S. Catholic bishops voted unanimously to pursue sainthood for Oglala Lakota healer and visionary Nicholas Black Elk, who is credited with bringing hundreds of Native Americans to the
Read MoreTop US Congressman to Boycott Opening of Civil Rights Museum
U.S. Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, is one of the country’s best known living icons of the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. But Lewis said Thursday he
Read MoreWith ‘On Air,’ Rolling Stones Look to Past Radio Recordings
The Rolling Stones have released an album of rarely heard radio recordings, but Keith Richards admits with a laugh: “I barely remember some of them.” “The Rolling Stones — On
Read MoreRowling ‘Genuinely Happy’ Johnny Depp in Next ‘Fantastic Beasts’
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling on Thursday defended the decision to cast Johnny Depp in the next Fantastic Beasts movie after a backlash from fans unhappy about the circumstances of the actor’s
Read MoreOscars Organization Adopts Code of Conduct After Weinstein Expulsion
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science announced Wednesday that it has adopted its first code of conduct for its 8,427 members. Film academy chief executive Dawn Hudson introduced
Read MoreShame Mingles With Self-congratulation in Oscar Season
In nearly every major Academy Awards category this year there’s some trace of the sexual misconduct allegations that have swept through the movie industry. Best supporting actor? That’s where
Read MoreNew Jimi Hendrix Album With Unreleased Songs Coming in March
Unreleased songs recorded by Jimi Hendrix between 1968 and 1970 will be released next year. Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings announced Wednesday that they will release Hendrix’s “Both Sides
Read More