'Spotlight' and 'An Inconvenient Truth' participant studio to close after 20 years
Participant, the activist film and television studio that has funded Oscar winners and socially conscious documentaries, is closing after 20 years. Billionaire Jeff Skoll told employees in a memo shared with The Associated Press on Tuesday that he would scale back the company's operations. Since Skoll founded his company in 2004, Participant has released 135 of his films, 50 of which are documentaries, many of which relate to awareness campaigns. That's what I did. Their films include Best Picture for “Spotlight'' and “Green Book,'' Best Documentary for “An Inconvenient Truth'' and “American Factory,'' and Best International Feature for “Roma.'' It has won 21 Academy Awards.
Caitlin Clark fever is spreading. Indiana is all in on the excitement, too.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — She cemented her status as a college basketball legend. Now, Caitlin Clark will be heading to the WNBA after being drafted by the Indiana Fever on Monday night. Basketball-loving fans in the state are looking forward to her debut. Thousands of people gathered inside the team's arena on Monday night and flocked to the team store on Tuesday to buy gear for next season. With ticket prices and sales already soaring, Clark's arrival is expected to usher in a new era of professional sports and business in downtown Indianapolis. The team's first home game of the regular season is May 16 against the New York Liberty.
Travis Kelsey named host of 'Are You Smarter than a Celebrity?' for Prime Video
Travis Kelce is building his resume away from the football field. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end has been named host of “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” The streaming service Prime Video was announced on Tuesday. It's a twist on “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” Filming for the 20-episode season has already been completed. On Kelsey's show, adult contestants must answer his 11 questions at a fifth grade level. You can also get help from celebrity classrooms. The last question in the 6th grade curriculum is worth $100,000 to him. Mr. Kelce said in his statement that he is excited about this opportunity.
ABBA, Blondie and Notorious BIG added to National Recording Registry
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Albums by ABBA, Blondie and Notorious BIG will be added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Of the 25 titles announced on Tuesday, ABBA's 1976 album Arrival was selected for preservation as “sounds that define this country's history and culture,” as was Blondie's 1978 album. The same goes for “Parallel Lines'' and Notorious. BIG's 1994 “Ready to Die.” Albums by the Cars, Chicks and Green Day are also on the list, as well as Gene Autry's 1949 rendition of “The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and signature songs by Johnny Mathis and Bill Withers.
Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange, built in the 1600s, is destroyed by fire and its dragontail spire collapses
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A fire has broken out in one of Copenhagen's oldest buildings, bringing down the iconic dragontail spire of the Old Stock Exchange. Passersby rushed to help emergency services rescue priceless paintings and other valuables from the burning 17th-century building. Denmark's culture minister said he was moved to see so many people supporting him. The fire started in the copper roof of the former stock exchange, but police said it was too early to determine the cause. Denmark's prime minister said it was painful to see “irreplaceable cultural heritage” and “a piece of Denmark's history” burn.
Winston Churchill's painting painted by an artist he dislikes goes up for auction
LONDON (AP) — A portrait of Winston Churchill by an artist hated by British leaders is going up for auction. The painting, by modernist artist Graham Sutherland, was painted in preparation for a large portrait later destroyed by Churchill's family. This episode was told in the television series “The Crown”. The surviving oil on canvas study depicts Churchill's head in profile against a dark background. The painting is scheduled to sell for between £500,000 and £800,000 ($622,000 to $995,000) at Sotheby's in London on June 6. Sotheby's exhibited the painting to the public at Churchill's birthplace in rural England.
Ohio River near Pittsburgh reopens to marine traffic after sunken barge found
The U.S. Coast Guard has reopened the Ohio River in Pittsburgh to marine traffic, nearly four days after 26 barges became dislodged and adrift in floodwaters. The coast guard has banned boats from an area of the river north of the city after dozens of barges broke loose from their moorings late Friday, crashing into a bridge and two marinas. One of the barges sank and was spotted by sonar on Tuesday. Campbell Transportation Company, which operated the barge, began work to salvage the other barges. There were no injuries.
West Virginia's transgender sports ban discriminates against teenage athletes, appeals court says
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A federal appeals court has ruled that West Virginia's transgender sports ban violates the rights of teenage athletes. A 2-1 decision issued Tuesday by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said the law does not apply to Becky Pepper Jackson. She was taking puberty-blocking drugs and had publicly identified herself as a girl since she was in third grade. Judge Toby Hatens wrote that giving her the “choice” of not participating in the sport or only joining the men's team was “not at all a realistic option”. The American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter, and LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in 2021.
London court rules against Muslim girl who asked to pray at school known for strict rules
LONDON (AP) — A Muslim student who wanted to pray during his lunch break has lost a legal battle with a strict London school that banned prayer on campus. A High Court judge said Tuesday that the girls had accepted religious restrictions when they enrolled. The dispute arose over rules Michaela Community School introduced last year after a small group of students began praying in the schoolyard, sparking a division within the school that spread to the community and led to bomb threats. Ta.
Salman Rushdie's 'Knife' is unflinching about his brutal stabbings and the creepiness of its vitality
NEW YORK (AP) — Salman Rushdie's first book since the stabbing that left him thinking he might end his life in 2022 exposes the violence to which he has been subjected, and his continued will to live as a hero. It is also a target. At just over 200 pages, The Knife is a short work in the canon of Rushdie, one of the most energetic and expansive of modern novelists. “Knife'' is also his first memoir since his 2012 publication “Joseph Anton,'' which looks back at the fatwa, the death sentence issued more than 20 years ago by Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini over allegations of blasphemy in a novel. devil's poem ”
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