3 mins read

Senate blocks extending key surveillance program following backlash over Trump pick to lead intel

WASHINGTON | The Senate blocked an extension early Friday of a key surveillance program used by U.S. intelligence agencies as concerns mounted over President Donald Trump’s selection of federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as director of national intelligence. Some Republicans joined Democrats in the 47-52 vote against a a procedural motion that […]

2 mins read

Meckler, Madrigal each have 4 hits in the Angels’ 11-4 win over the Rockies

ANAHEIM, Calif. | Wade Meckler and Nick Madrigal each had four of Los Angeles’ 16 hits, Walbert Ureña pitched six solid innings and the Angels beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Wednesday night. Meckler is batting .389 (14 for 36) with two homers and 10 RBIs since he was recalled from Double-A on May 22. […]

7 mins read

A new kind of date makes personal to-do lists a reason to get together with friends

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. | Life tasks like paying bills, canceling subscriptions and answering overdue emails are becoming a reason to socialize for friends, couples, roommates and other people who get together for what’s known as “admin dates.” The low-pressure gatherings taking place in coffee shops, accommodating bars and private homes are intended to turn tedious and […]

7 mins read

Movie Review: Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas hit the right notes in ‘Power Ballad’

Let’s just say that the wedding band has never occupied the most exalted rung of the ladder in music. Playing “September” and “Celebration” is often what’s most required. As one member of the Bride and the Groove, the band at the center of John Carney’s new film, puts it: They’re not rock stars. They’re human […]

4 mins read

What to know about the growing opposition to Trump family-linked resort in Albania

TIRANA, Albania | A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, is facing growing resistance from protesters in Albania. Police fired water cannon and clashed with protesters on Wednesday in the latest demonstration in the capital, Tirana. The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would […]

3 mins read

A garbage crisis engulfs Havana as fuel shortages stall trash pickup

HAVANA | On a recent afternoon in Cuba, the temperature climbed and anxiety grew among the residents of a Havana street. Their focus was an improvised dump site on the sidewalk with rotting food scraps, torn bags, cardboard and rubble. Swarms of flies and stray cats gathered around the trash whose stench wafted on the […]

4 mins read

Shia LaBeouf gets probation after pleading guilty to punching bargoers during Mardi Gras

NEW ORLEANS | Actor Shia LaBeouf was sentenced to probation Wednesday after pleading guilty to punching three people outside a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras. LaBeouf must attend an alcohol treatment program under the sentence handed down by an Orleans Parish judge, according to Sarah Chervinsky, an attorney for the actor. LeBeouf, most widely […]

5 mins read

Movie Review: ‘Scary Movie 6’ brings back the Wayans and the Core Four for a rapid-fire horror spoof

The knife-wielding serial killer known as Ghostface unwisely tries to stab Teyana Taylor in the opening scene of “Scary Movie” and it goes rather poorly. The dagger the psycho plunges into the famously fit actor’s abdomen bounces off, horribly bent. “I’m Teyana Taylor,” she announces. “My abs have abs.” Ghostface accepts the loss but then […]

2 mins read

Wim Wenders pulls 1975 film over nude scene with then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski

German filmmaker Wim Wenders on Wednesday said he has pulled his 1975 movie “The Wrong Move” over a nude scene featuring a then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski. Kinski, now 65, has urged Wenders to reedit the film. Last month, she told the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung: “That was my first film, he was my first director and […]

9 mins read

Steven Spielberg on his faith in alien life, the future of the movies and the power of empathy

NEW YORK | A moment early on in “Disclosure Day” will instinctively feel familiar to anyone who grew up with Steven Spielberg films. A TV weather report predicts hail. The camera pans downward, from television set to kitchen table. Plinking sounds begin. Cereal falls into a bowl. “Those were Froot Loops,” Spielberg says, smiling. “My […]