Entertainment
Latest stories
2023 (Taylor's Version): The year in pop culture

In weather terminology, they call it "rapid intensification" — the process by which a storm strengthens dramatically in a short period.

In pop culture terminology, they call it Taylor Swift.

W140 Full Story
Swan song or not, Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' is a master surveying his empire

When Hayao Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, the filmmaker Guillermo del Toro said in his introductory remarks: "We are privileged enough to be living in a time where Mozart is composing symphonies."

You might be tempted to call that hyperbole, but — this being Miyazaki, the legendary anime filmmaker of "Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service" — it's closer to fact. The occurrence of a new film from Miyazaki deserves to be treated like the coming of a seldom-seen comet or something rarer still, like a winning New York Jets season.

W140 Full Story
Prince Harry challenges decision to strip him of security in Britain after he moved to US

A lawyer for Prince Harry on Tuesday challenged the British government's decision to strip him of his security detail after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the United States.

The Duke of Sussex has claimed that his safety is jeopardized in part because of hostility toward him and his family on social media and a relentless press that hounds him.

W140 Full Story
The year in review: Influential people who died in 2023

From a hot dog vendor to head of the formidable mercenary army Wagner Group, his rise through Russian society could easily be described as meteoric. But it all came to a sudden end when the plane carrying him and others mysteriously exploded.

W140 Full Story
In concert film 'Renaissance,' Beyoncé offers glimpse into personal life during world tour

In Beyoncé's concert film, she described her recent Renaissance World Tour as being run like a machine: From lighting to set design, the superstar singer had a hand in everything production-related to ensure her stadium tour exceeded expectations after four years of preparation.

As a perfectionist, Beyoncé was tirelessly determined — working almost 50 days straight — to create an epic concert experience. This comes clear in her movie "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," which chronicles the massive tour in support of her seventh studio album. The film — written, directed and produced by Beyoncé — perfectly captures her dazzling performances for the big screen and somewhat unveils intimate behind-the-scenes footage from a normally private singer, who has rarely done interviews in the past decade.

W140 Full Story
'Killers of the Flower Moon' named best film of 2023 by New York film critics

Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" has been named the best film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle.

It's the third time that Scorsese has been given the best film award from his hometown's critics, who named 1990's "GoodFellas" their top movie, as well as 2019's "The Irishman." On Thursday, the group also awarded Lily Gladstone, who stars alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in "Killers of the Flower Moon," best actress.

W140 Full Story
Taylor Swift is Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2023

It's her, hi — Taylor Swift is Spotify's 2023 most-played artist.

According to Spotify Wrapped, Swift was 2023's most-streamed artist globally, raking in more than 26.1 billion streams since January 1. That means the pop powerhouse has dethroned Puerto Rican reggaetón star Bad Bunny, who held the coveted title for three years in a row beginning in 2020.

W140 Full Story
Heavy winds knock over Christmas tree in front of White House

The National Christmas Tree in front of the White House fell down Tuesday afternoon amid high winter winds.

The tree, a 40-foot Norway spruce from West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, had been planted just two weeks ago on the White House Ellipse, an area known as President's Park. According to the National Park Service, it fell over around 1 p.m. Tuesday amid heavy wind gusts that reached as high at 46 mph at nearby Reagan National Airport.

W140 Full Story
Jimmy Carter set to lead presidents, first ladies in mourning and celebrating Rosalynn Carter

Rosalynn Carter will be memorialized Tuesday with classical music and beloved hymns, some of her favorite Biblical passages, and a rare gathering of all living U.S. first ladies and multiple presidents, including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter.

The tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters' native Sumter County and continued in Atlanta as she lay in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Center.

W140 Full Story
Miss Universe winner exposes deep political divide in Nicaragua

Nicaragua's increasingly isolated and repressive government thought it had scored a rare public relations victory last week when Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition.

But the "legitimate joy and pride" President Daniel Ortega's government expressed in a statement Sunday after the win quickly turned to angry condemnation, after it emerged that Palacios graduated from a college that was the center of 2018 protests against the regime — and apparently participated in the marches.

W140 Full Story