NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For a 3 1/2-year-old, Elmo sure has sung a lot on “Sesame Street” with some of the best musicians in the world. But it wasn’t until Thursday that the friendly red monster made his Grand Ole Opry debut, a country music rite of passage. The squeaky voiced singer’s roots in the genre…
LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — LL Cool J has snagged wins, co-hosted and performed atop the MTV Video Music Awards stage. Now, the Grammy-winning rapper-actor-author is going solo to host the 2025 awards ceremony. He’s retaking the stage, this time without Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow, with whom he co-hosted in 2022, the…
VEGA BAJA, Puerto Rico — Tourists slipped into borrowed red polyester vests from the Puerto Rico supermarket where Bad Bunny once worked, grinning as they posed for photographs in the superstar’s old uniform. They listened intently as his former boss recalled how he loved classic salsa songs. “He always liked going to the parking lot…
Since 2021, the USA Network had stacked its lineup with reality shows and sports, entirely forgoing original, scripted programming. Fans of “Suits”, “White Collar” and “Monk” were left with only memories of those shows’ case-of-the-week storytelling. But on Friday, the network returns to scripted TV with the legal thriller “The Rainmaker.” If the title sounds…
NEW YORK — When the musical “Mamma Mia!” said goodbye to Broadway a decade ago, there were tears and hugs and tons of applause. In the audience of its last show, one woman wasn’t entirely buying it. “I felt then that it wasn’t goodbye forever. I felt we’d be back one day,” says producer Judy…
NEW YORK — Bringing football fans, Brazil and Karol G together for a one-night experience? That’s a winning formula. The Grammy award-winning musician will headline a halftime show during YouTube’s first exclusive NFL broadcast next month, which will stream live from Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil on Sept. 5. That’s the NFL week 1…
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. Trump takes issue with two comments Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with British journalist Andrew Callaghan. He alleged that Epstein…
Venus Williams has a new Barbie, this one part of the dollmaker’s Inspiring Women collection. Williams’ doll, to be released Friday, will celebrate the tennis great and pay equity champion with a doll wearing the uniform she wore while winning Wimbledon in 2007. Williams’ win for the fifth of her seven grand slam titles was…
Billy Joel’s beloved motorcycle shop on Long Island, New York, is closing down after nearly 15 years of offering fans a free peek at his personal collection of dozens of bikes. The music icon will be shuttering 20th Century Cycles in Oyster Bay in late September and auctioning off his collection later this year because…
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein faces sentencing and a possible retrial in his New York City sex crimes case, but when they’ll happen — and whether he’ll be back in front of another jury — is still up in the air. Manhattan Judge Curtis Farber said Wednesday he could sentence Weinstein…
