Wednesday 28 March 2012

Brad Paisley endows scholarship at Belmont Univ.

Brad Paisley's country music career started in earnest at Belmont University. He's taking steps to make sure someone else gets the same chance.

Celeb birthdays for the week of April 1-7

April 1: Actress Debbie Reynolds is 80. Country singer Jim Ed Brown is 78. Actress Ali MacGraw is 74. Singer Rudolph Isley (Isley Brothers) is 73. Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is 64. Keyboardist Billy Currie of Ultravox is 62. Actress Annette O'Toole ("Smallville") is 60. Country singer Woody Lee is 44. Rapper-actor Method Man is 41. Filmmakers Albert and Allen Hughes ("Menace II Society," ''Dead Presidents") are 40. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is 39. Actor Sam Huntington ("Superman Returns," ''Jungle 2 Jungle") is 30. Actor Matt Lanter ("90210) is 29.

'Idol' runner-up Archuleta to start Mormon mission

"American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta has posted a farewell YouTube video to fans as he prepares for a two-year Mormon mission in South America.

'Funky Winkerbean' artists donate mural to Kent St

The men behind the "Funky Winkerbean" comic strip celebrated its 40th anniversary by donating a 96-foot mural for a new student lounge at their alma mater, Kent State University.

Spike Lee apologizes for retweeting wrong address

Spike Lee has apologized to a Florida couple who say they were forced to leave their home when a Twitter posting that the director helped spread listed their address as that of a man who shot an unarmed teenager.

Testone, Ledet take on Zeppelin, Mariah on 'Idol'

FILE - In this image March 22, 2012 file photo originally released by Fox, the remaining nine contestants on the singing competition series Elise Testone and Joshua Ledet successfully channeled icons of the opposite sex on "American Idol."


Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs dies at 88 in Tenn.

FILE - In this June 10, 2005 file photo, Earl Scruggs, performs at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. Scruggs' son Gary said his father passed away Wednesday morning, March 28, 2012 at a Nashville, Tenn., hospital of natural causes. He was 88. (AP Photo/Eric Parsons, File)It is impossible to overstate the importance of Earl Scruggs to American music. A pioneering banjo player who helped create modern country music, his sound is instantly recognizable and as intrinsically wrapped in the tapestry of the genre as Johnny Cash's baritone or Hank Williams' heartbreak.


Feminist poet and essayist Adrienne Rich dies

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2006 file photo, poet Adrienne Rich addresses dinner guests after receiving the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the 2006 National Book Awards sponsored by The National Book Foundation in New York. Rich, whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82. Rich, who had lived in Santa Cruz since the 1980s, died Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at her home. Her son, Pablo Conrad, says she died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, file)Adrienne Rich, a fiercely gifted, award-winning poet whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82.


Review: Mythic mayhem resumes in 'Titans'

In this film image released by Warner Bros., Sam worthington portrays Perseus in a scene from There aren't many pleasures in "Wrath of the Titans," the 3-D sequel to the 2010 "Clash of the Titans" remake. But surely one is seeing Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson bounding around together as brothers, the gods Hades and Zeus.


PBS' 'Masterpiece' gets $1 million gift from donor

In this image released by PBS, from left, Elizabeth McGovern as Lady Cora, Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham, Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary are shown in a scene from the second season of Even the landed gentry of "Downtown Abbey" would be impressed: A philanthropist is giving $1 million to PBS' "Masterpiece," U.S. home of the British upstairs-downstairs drama series.


Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs dies at age 88

FILE - In this June 10, 2005 file photo, Earl Scruggs, performs at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. Scruggs' son Gary said his father passed away Wednesday morning, March 28, 2012 at a Nashville, Tenn., hospital of natural causes. He was 88. (AP Photo/Eric Parsons, File)Bluegrass legend and banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs, who helped profoundly change country music with Bill Monroe in the 1940s and later with guitarist Lester Flatt, has died. He was 88.


Aerosmith promises new album in 3 months

Steven Tyler, from left, Joey Kramer, Joe Perry, and Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, pose for pictures at the Aerosmith news conference announcing the 2012 Global Warming Tour, Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at The Grove, in Los Angeles. The Global Warming Tour will play 18 markets beginning on June 16, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Katy Winn)Aerosmith has reunited with longtime producer Jack Douglas and the band says it will release a new album in three months.


Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli file for divorce

FILE - In this June 24, 2010 file photo, actress Jennie Garth, left, and her husband actor Peter Facinelli arrive at the premiere of Court records show Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli have each filed divorce petitions in Los Angeles.


Adrienne Rich, feminist poet and essayist, dies

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2006 file photo, poet Adrienne Rich addresses dinner guests after receiving the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the 2006 National Book Awards sponsored by The National Book Foundation in New York. Rich, whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82. Rich, who had lived in Santa Cruz since the 1980s, died Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at her home. Her son, Pablo Conrad, says she died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, file)Poet Adrienne Rich, whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82.


Hemingway shows soft side in newly public letters

This photo released by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, shows a portion of an Aug. 6, 1953, letter handwritten by Ernest Hemingway to his Italian friend Gianfranco Ivancich. He signed it, Ernest Hemingway shows a tenderness that wasn't part of his usual macho persona in a dozen unpublished letters that became publicly available Wednesday in a collection of the author's papers at the Kennedy presidential library.


Survivor of North Korean labor camp tells story

In this book cover image released by Viking, "Escape From Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West" (Viking), by Blaine Harden: Hitler's death camps, Stalin's gulag and Pol Pot's killing fields are now the stuff of history, but the unspeakable horrors they evoke still endure in the labor camps of North Korea.


Drunken Driving charge for Bobby Brown

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2012 file photo, singer Bobby Brown, former husband of the late Whitney Houston performs with New Edition at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Brown was arrested Monday, March 26, 2012, after failing a field sobriety test. He was initially pulled over after a California Highway Patrol officer saw him talking on his cell phone without a hands-free unit. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin, file)Bobby Brown was charged Wednesday with drunken driving, two days after his afternoon arrest in suburban Los Angeles.


Bobby Brown charged with DUI in Los Angeles

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2012 file photo, singer Bobby Brown, former husband of the late Whitney Houston performs with New Edition at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Brown was arrested Monday, March 26, 2012, after failing a field sobriety test. He was initially pulled over after a California Highway Patrol officer saw him talking on his cell phone without a hands-free unit. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin, file)Bobby Brown was charged Wednesday with three misdemeanor charges including drunken driving, two days after his afternoon arrest in suburban Los Angeles.


LA prosecutors charge Bobby Brown with DUI

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2012 file photo, singer Bobby Brown, former husband of the late Whitney Houston performs with New Edition at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Brown was arrested Monday, March 26, 2012, after failing a field sobriety test. He was initially pulled over after a California Highway Patrol officer saw him talking on his cell phone without a hands-free unit. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin, file)Prosecutors have charged Bobby Brown with drunken driving.


'The Avengers' to close Tribeca Film Festival

In this film image released by Disney, Chris Evans, portraying Captain America, left, and Robert Downey Jr., portraying Tony Stark, are shown in a scene from The superhero bonanza "The Avengers" will close the 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival.


The real da Vinci code: Louvre unlocks last work

A man views the painting An intense and controversial restoration of the last great work by Leonardo da Vinci goes before the public Thursday at the Louvre Museum, revealing "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne" in the full panoply of hues and detail painted by the Renaissance master 500 years ago.


Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum reopens in September

The director of Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum says the famed site of modern and contemporary art will reopen to the public in its permanent location on Museum Square on Sept. 23.

India launches first Bollywood 'walk of fame'

India's Often accused of ripping off plot lines from Hollywood, it was perhaps only a matter of time before India's Bollywood launched its own "Walk of Fame" in the style of Los Angeles' iconic boulevard.


Altuzarra sees star rising _ with a few boosts

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2012 file photo, designer Joseph Altuzarra greets the audience after his Altuzarra Fall 2012 collection is shown during Fashion Week in New York. Altuzarra says fashion has been a part of his life as long as he can remember, since boyhood in Paris. It started through a passion for drawing, which eventually became mostly fashion drawing. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, file)Joseph Altuzarra is riding the juggernaut that often lands him in conversations about the country's most promising and influential fashion designers.


'The Killing,' tense and gripping, back for year 2

This image provided by AMC shows Mireille Enos, left, and Joel Kinnaman in a scene from season two of When "The Killing" returns for its second season on Sunday, it will arrive with just a fraction of the hoopla and hysteria that greeted another AMC show, "Mad Men," the week before.


Rihanna avoids questions about Ashton Kutcher

Rihanna poses for photographers in front of a London skyline atop a central London hotel during a photocall for the film 'Battleship', Wednesday, March 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)Rihanna isn't being drawn into questions about her relationship with Ashton Kutcher.


Greek police recover ancient statue from goat pen

A 2,500-year-old statue of a young woman that was illegally excavated and hidden in a goat-pen near Athens is seen in this undated police handout photo released on Wednesday, March 28, 2012. Officers arrested the goatherder and another man who were allegedly trying to sell the work for half a million euros ($667,000). A police statement said the marble statue dates to about 520 B.C. and belongs to the kore type. It is largely intact, lacking the left forearm and plinth. (AP Photo/Greek Police handout)Greek police recovered an ancient statue that was illegally excavated and hidden in a goat pen near Athens, and arrested the goat herder and another man who were allegedly trying to sell the work for €500,000 ($667,000).


Greek police recovers ancient statue from goat-pen

A 2,500-year-old statue of a young woman that was illegally excavated and hidden in a goat-pen near Athens is seen in this undated police handout photo released on Wednesday, March 28, 2012. Officers arrested the goatherder and another man who were allegedly trying to sell the work for half a million euros ($667,000). A police statement said the marble statue dates to about 520 B.C. and belongs to the kore type. It is largely intact, lacking the left forearm and plinth. (AP Photo/Greek Police handout)Greek police recovered an ancient statue that was illegally excavated and hidden in a goat pen near Athens, and arrested the goat herder and another man who were allegedly trying to sell the work for €500,000 ($667,000).


Cameron pilots plans for 3-D film about ocean dive

Director James Cameron is photographed during a portrait session at a central London hotel following the 'Titanic 3D' UK film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, West London, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. The re-launch of the Titanic 3D version comes 15 years after the film was a huge box office hit. The film director also recently completed a record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, plunging 35756 feet to the depths of the ocean, spending 3 hours on the sea floor in a specially designed submarine. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)James Cameron will be one of the stars of his next big-screen adventure, a chronicle of the expedition on which he has made record-setting ocean dives.


Madonna's promises in Malawi turn sour

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2009 file photo, US pop star Madonna attends the ground breaking ceremony for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls in Lilongwe, Malawi. In 2009, George Chaponda, the education minister, helped Madonna break ground for a $15 million academy for girls. Early 2012, Madonna's Raising Malawi foundation announced that instead of building the multimillion-dollar academy, it is providing $300,000 to the non-governmental organization buildOn, which has years of experience in Malawi, to develop 10 schools. They'll serve about 1,000 boys and girls in the southern African nation of 15 million that is among the poorest in the world. (AP Photo/file/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)Celebrity promises have turned to disappointment, finger-pointing and lawsuits in Malawi, an impoverished and troubled southern African country where Madonna has drastically scaled back charity efforts.


Lady Antebellum to play for tornado-hit Ind. town

The country music trio Lady Antebellum will put on a benefit concert for a tornado-wrecked southern Indiana town after holding a prom event for the town's high school juniors and seniors.

Cate Blanchett takes first steps on Paris stage

Cate Blanchett plays Lotte in Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett takes her first steps on the Paris stage on Thursday, playing a lonesome woman in the lead role of the surreal 1970s play "Big and Small".


India gets first Bollywood 'walk of fame'

Kareena Kapoor will be the main guest at the launch of India's Often accused of ripping off plot lines from Hollywood, it was perhaps only a matter of time before India's Bollywood launched its own "Walk of Fame" in the style of Los Angeles' iconic boulevard.


Hit song carries Eli Young Band to ACMs, beyond

FILE - In this June 12, 2011, file photo, Eli Young Band performs during the CMA Fan Fest in Nashville, Tenn. Count the guys in Rascal Flatts among the fans of “Crazy Girl,” the song that took the Eli Young Band to the top of the country songs chart and earned the Texas quartet three nominations at the Academy of Country Music on Sunday. The veteran trio has tapped the new act for its “American Band” tour later this year and guitarist Joe Don Rooney recently raved of lead singer Mike Eli’s performance on the song. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)Count the guys in Rascal Flatts among the fans of "Crazy Girl," the song that took the Eli Young Band to the top of the country songs chart and earned the Texas quartet three nominations at the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday.


Lucky students get field trips to 'Hunger Games'

In this image released by Lionsgate, Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss Everdeen, left, and Liam Hemsworth portrays Gale Hawthorne in a scene from For some school kids around the country, the odds have been ever (and awesomely!) in their favor as they've scored the ultimate field trip â€" an outing to "The Hunger Games."


Frank Langella dishes about the famous in memoir

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2008 file photo, Actor Frank Langella poses for a portrait at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York. Langella's memoir, The phone at Frank Langella's home rings and rings, unanswered. The very private three-time Tony Award winner apparently is not willing to answer questions about his debut book.


Dr. Marty Becker̢۪s New Pet Products Roundup

The annual Global Pet Expo is the nation’s largest pet industry trade show, filling the equivalent of over 13 football fields with the newest, coolest and wackiest pet products coming to the market. Veterinarian Marty Becker covered every inch of the 2012 Expo, held earlier...

AP Review: 'Regrets' is quietly effective drama

This undated publicity photo provided by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows from left to right: Brian Hutchison, Ansel Elgort, Richard Topol and Lucas Caleb Rooney, in a scene from ‘Regrets,’ currently performing off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center - Stage 1 in New York. (AP Photo Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Carol Rosegg)There was an unhappy time in America when ratting out your friends for entertaining socialist ideas was considered by some in the government to be patriotic.


Summaya Darr

 

AP Interview: Mezzo says opera tough business

Vesselina Kasarova's repertoire ranges from Donizetti to Wagner. Critics rave over her voice and her character depictions are the gold standard for young singers aspiring to opera stardom.

DewDrops Couture by Parkha Khan

 

Review: Madonna still brings heat, beats on 'MDNA'

Madonna, "MDNA" (Interscope Records/Live Nation)

Lorax statue taken from home of Dr. Seuss's widow

They took the Lorax, made of bronze, the thieves they came, and now he's gone.

Nielsen's top programs for March 19-25

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for March 19-25. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.

'The Voice' a positive for NBC in ratings

Of the three competition shows that dominate prime-time television, only NBC's "The Voice" is on the ascent.

Mahnoush

Mahnoush was first launched in 2010 by CEO and head designer Arjumand Amin whose interest in print making spurred her passion for design.

Early ads pulled for 'Neighborhood Watch' film

Twentieth Century Fox has pulled early promotional materials for its comedy "Neighborhood Watch" in light of the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Landmark Amsterdam museums get 21st-century facelifts

Amsterdam's landmark museums are getting facelifts to catapult them from their dusty pasts into the 21st centuryA virtual adventure at sea with storms and battles, a new "jewel box" for Asian art and a high-tech building shaped like a bathtub: Amsterdam's landmark museums are getting facelifts to catapult them from their dusty pasts into the 21st century.