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'

Elise Testone and Joshua Ledet successfully channeled icons of the opposite sex on "American Idol."

Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs dies at 88 in Tenn.

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

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'

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

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

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

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

Court records show Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli have each filed divorce petitions in Los Angeles.

Adrienne Rich, feminist poet and essayist, dies

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

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

"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

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

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

Prosecutors have charged Bobby Brown with drunken driving.

'The Avengers' to close Tribeca Film Festival

The superhero bonanza "The Avengers" will close the 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival.

The real da Vinci code: Louvre unlocks last work

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'

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

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

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 isn't being drawn into questions about her relationship with Ashton Kutcher.

Greek police recover ancient statue from goat pen

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

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

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

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

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'

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

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'

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

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 Becker’s 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

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

A 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.