Legendary comedian, writer, producer, director, and actor Carl Reiner, who rose to fame in the 1950s as part of Sid Ceasar’s legendary comedy show and went on to create television shows and direct movies, has died at the age of 98.Reiner’s assistant, Judy Nagy confirmed that Reiner died of natural causes Monday at his home in Beverly Hills.  Reiner was active well into his 90s and was known for saying he got up every morning and checked the obituaries. “If you are not in them, you eat breakfast,” he would say.  IN 2017, he was featured in a documentary on HBO of the same name that looked at himself and other aging entertainers.He was active on his Twitter account, where he was a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump. His last tweet came just hours before he passed.Born and raised in New York City, Reiner first came to be known as a writer and cast member on Sid Ceasar’s “Your Show of Shows” in the 1950s. It was there he met is lifelong friend and comedy partner comedian, writer and film producer Mel Brooks. The two went on to perform “The 2000 year Old Man” together, first in the …

Baseball fans may soon be able to watch games at stadiums in South Korea. But they’ll have to do it without beer, food, or their friends sitting next to them. The measures are part of a new coronavirus quarantine manual released Tuesday by the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).  Since early May, the KBO has played games inside empty stadiums. A limited number of fans will be able to attend starting in July, but with strict social distancing and other measures in place.  Spectators will have their temperatures checked upon entrance, will be required to wear face masks for the duration of the approximately three-hour games, and must sit at least one seat apart from each other.  Only non-alcoholic beverages will be allowed. Food will be sold in concourse concession stands, but not permitted in seating areas.  Perhaps the most dramatic change: shouting, singing, and cheering will be discouraged in an attempt to prevent physical contact and airborne respiratory droplets – the main mode of coronavirus transmission.  It is a strong contrast from the typical fan experience at Korean baseball games, which are usually filled with noisy, high-intensity cheers and corresponding dance moves – customs that for some fans are just as important as the on-field action.  In a statement, the KBO …

Beyoncé used her platform Sunday while accepting the BET humanitarian award to relay a direct appeal to viewers: Go vote.  “Your voices are being heard and you’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain,” said the superstar singer at the BET Awards, which celebrated its 20 years of highlighting excellence in Black-led entertainment. But the ceremony, filmed virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, kept much of its focus on topics such as systematic racism and equal rights. Beyoncé was honored for her philanthropic work and relief efforts during the COVID-19 crisis. She said voting in the upcoming election was the way to end a “racist and unequal system” in America. “I’m encouraging you to take action,” she said following an introduction by former first lady Michelle Obama.  The singer dedicated her award to the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraged activists to continue to push forward.  “We have to vote like our lives depend on it, because it does,” she said. Here are some additional highlights from the three-hour show broadcast on CBS, BET and BET Her.  DaBaby’s message Rapper DaBaby lay on the pavement while an actor playing a police officer pressed his knee on the rapper’s neck. FILE – DaBaby arrives …

Performing as a police officer pressed his knee on his neck, replicating the last moments of George Floyd’s life, multi-platinum rapper DaBaby rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song “Rockstar” at the BET Awards. Sunday’s show, a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic, featured a number of highly produced, well-crafted and pre-taped performances. DaBaby’s clip, featuring Roddy Ricch, also featured images from protests, a reflection of the current world in the wake of Floyd’s death and the death of others, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. The BET Awards, celebrating its 20th anniversary, kicked off Sunday with a performance featuring Black artists rapping and singing anthems about the Black experience and fighting for equal rights. The 12-year-old sensation Keedron Bryant, who turned heads on social media with his passionate performance about being a young Black man in today’s world, started the show with an a cappella performance of his poignant song “I Just Wanna Live,” which earned him a record deal. That was followed by an all-star performance of Public Enemy’s 1989 anthem “Fight the Power,” featuring Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody and YG adding new lyrics to the song, even namedropping Taylor and others. Chuck D kicked off the performance, replacing the year 1989 with 2020. “Fight the Power” topped …

In the latest move to change place names in light of U.S. racial history, leaders of Orange County’s Democratic Party are pushing to drop film legend John Wayne’s name, statue and other likenesses from the county’s airport because of his racist and bigoted comments.The Los Angeles Times reported  that earlier this week, officials passed an emergency resolution condemning Wayne’s “racist and bigoted statements” made in a 1971 interview and are calling on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to drop his name, statue and other likenesses from the international airport.The resolution asked the board “to restore its original name: Orange County Airport.”“There have been past efforts to get this done and now we’re putting our name and our backing into this to make sure there is a name change,” said Ada Briceno, chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County.According to those who crafted the resolution, the effort to oust Wayne, a longtime resident of Orange County who died in 1979, is part of “a national movement to remove white supremacist symbols and names (that are) reshaping American institutions, monuments, businesses, nonprofits, sports leagues and teams.”In a 1971 Playboy magazine interview, Wayne makes bigoted statements against Black people, Native Americans …

“The Simpsons” will no longer use white actors to dub ethnic minority characters, the producers of the long-running animated series announced Friday.The decision includes a recurring character from the series, launched in 1989 — Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, a grocer of Indian origin voiced in the American version of the show by white actor Hank Azaria.The character has long been seen as problematic and conveying racist stereotypes. Last January Azaria announced that, in agreement with producers, he was abandoning the role.”Moving forward, THE SIMPSONS will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters,” Fox Studios said in a statement to AFP.The change will also affect the character of Dr. Hibbert, a Black man dubbed by the white actor Harry Shearer who also lends his voice to many other characters on the series — from Homer Simpson’s boss Mr. Burns to the chirpy neighbor Ned Flanders.The announcement came as Mike Henry, the white actor who voices the Black character of Cleveland Brown in “Family Guy,” another animated series produced by Fox, announced on Twitter that he was giving up the role.”It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. I love this character, but persons of color should play …

A Moscow court on Friday convicted acclaimed Russian theater and film director Kirill Serebrennikov of fraud, in a long-running case that critics have slammed as fabricated.The judge ruled that Serebrennikov, 50, and two co-defendants were guilty of misappropriating 129 million rubles ($2 million) of state funds that financed a theatrical project.”Serebrennikov, [Yury] Itin and [Konstantin] Malobrodsky carried out actions directed at personal enrichment” and acted as a group to mislead employees of the culture ministry, Judge Olesya Mendeleyeva said, according to an AFP correspondent in the court.A fourth defendant in the case, Sofia Apfelbaum, was “unaware” of the fraud, the judge said.The prosecution earlier this week asked the court to give Serebrennikov a six-year prison sentence, but the judge can take a long time to reach sentencing.Serebrennikov, who heads one of Moscow’s top theater venues, the Gogol Center, was arrested in 2017 and the case against him nearly fell apart last year when a judge handed it back to the prosecution because of “inconsistencies.”It restarted with a new judge, and the amount of the alleged fraud was revised from 133 million rubles to 129 million rubles.The judge on Friday backed claims by the prosecution that Serebrennikov orchestrated theft of state …

The rap superstar will design adult and kids’ clothing that will be sold at Gap’s stores next year. Yeezy is best known for pricey sneakers that sell out online quickly. But Yeezy footwear, made with sneaker company Adidas, won’t be sold at Gap stores.San Francisco-based Gap Inc., whose sales are dwindling, hopes the deal will keep it relevant with shoppers. For Yeezy, being in more than 1,100 stores worldwide could get the brand in front of more people.On Friday, West tweeted a photo of what the collaboration might look like: bright colored hoodies, jackets and T-shirts. Shares of the retailer soared nearly 30%.West has a history with Gap. He worked at one of its stores in Chicago as a teenager. And he told Vanity Fair magazine back in 2015 that he wanted to be creative director of the brand.  As part of the deal announced Friday, Yeezy will receive royalties and possibly Gap stock if the line sells well. …

When country singer Rissi Palmer was working on her debut album, she wanted a song like Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman,” a song that would introduce her and tell her story to fans.  On her 2007 debut single, “Country Girl,” she celebrated her country roots while explaining that she didn’t have to look or talk a certain way to call herself a country girl.  “I said that I am not white in the first verse, and the label was like, ‘No, no, no,’” said Palmer, who then rewrote the lyrics to make it feel more universal. “It was very intentional when I wrote that song to talk about all the women, or all the people, that might not necessarily fit in the box, but are still of the same mindset.”The country music industry has long been hesitant to address its long and complicated history with race, but the death of George Floyd in police custody and the protests it sparked in the U.S. and around the world became a sound too loud for the genre to ignore.Over the past weeks, country artists, labels and country music organizations posted about Black Lives Matter on social media, participated in the industry wide Blackout …

Country music trio The Dixie Chicks are now just The Chicks, joining other artists and companies who have recently altered their brands to discard names that connote racism or slavery.  The Chicks’ release of a new protest song Thursday came with new social media handles, a new website address and a new cover for an upcoming album. “We want to meet this moment,” members Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer said in a joint statement on their website, the only comment on the name change thus far. The Grammy-winning group has performed under its previous moniker since its start in 1989. Dixie and Dixieland are nicknames for the U.S. South, and may have come from the Mason-Dixon line, once considered the line between “free” Northern states and “slave” Southern states. The name change came just a week after writer Jeremy Helligar challenged The Chicks’ former name in a Variety magazine Op-Ed. “For many Black people, (Dixie) conjures a time and a place of bondage,” Helligar said. The Chicks are releasing their first album in 14 years next month, “Gaslighter.” The music video for new protest song “March March” uses footage from Black Lives Matter protests and features the names of prominent victims of racism …

A New York City judge on Thursday dismissed a claim by Donald Trump’s brother that sought to halt the publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece, saying the court lacked jurisdiction in the case.  Surrogates Court Judge Peter Kelly said the claims were not appropriate for his court, where disputes over estate matters are settled.  The motion filed earlier this week sought an injunction to prevent Mary Trump and the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, from releasing it, as scheduled, in July. Mary Trump is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., the president’s elder brother, who died in 1981. An online description of her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” says it reveals “a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse.” Robert Trump’s lawyers filed court papers arguing that Mary Trump and others had signed a settlement agreement that would prohibit her from writing the book. The settlement decades ago included a confidentially clause explicitly saying they would not “publish any account concerning the litigation or their relationship,” unless they all agreed.  The agreement related to the will of Donald Trump’s father, New York real …

The Eiffel Tower, one of France’s most iconic landmarks, reopened for the first time on Thursday after it was forced to close its doors for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.France was hit badly by the virus, recording 29,731 deaths and 161,348 confirmed cases as President Macron faced heavy criticism regarding his government’s management of the outbreak. Reinstating access to the famed site is yet another sign of Europe’s slow recovery as the continent struggles to balance restarting the economy with public safety concerns.Many countries have expressed cautious optimism about the summer tourist season, hoping that social distancing measures and coronavirus tracing apps will encourage people to travel responsibly.A visitor looks at the view from the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, June 25, 2020.The Eiffel Tower is one of the few Parisian sites permitting visitors. Other tourist attractions, such as the Louvre museum, will remain closed until July 6. To protect visitors, elevators to the tower’s three observation decks scaling 324-meters are closed, and only two of the three decks are open. The remaining deck, as well as the elevators, are expected to open in later summer months.Visitors are free to climb 674 steps to the 2nd floor, according to the Eiffel Tower’s …

Back in March, filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz gathered their artist friends and a few journalists at Manhattan’s members-only social club, Soho House, for a screening of their first feature-length project, “Antebellum.”They wanted a constructively critical reaction ahead of the planned spring release of the film — a psychological thriller about a Black woman who finds herself trapped in a pre-abolition past that isn’t at all the past. Bush, who is Black, and Renz, who is white, hoped the project would contribute to a national reckoning over the legacy of slavery and white supremacy in the U.S.”To witness how truly moved they were by the film, some even to tears, was the very first time we realized the potential impact ‘Antebellum’ will have on society and the long-deferred conversations that need to be had on race in America,” said the filmmakers, who wrote, directed and produced the project.Then, the coronavirus pandemic exploded internationally.  Once the virus seized up the economy, forcing the closure of movie theaters and all but pushing Hollywood film studios into a mad dash to salvage elaborate release plans, Bush and Renz pulled their film. They said they didn’t want what was intended to be a …

Disney is postponing the mid-July reopening of its Southern California theme parks until it receives guidelines from the state, the company announced Wednesday. Disney had hoped to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim on July 17 after a four-month closure due to the coronavirus. But the state has indicated it won’t issue guidelines until after July 4, the company said. “Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials,” Disney said in a statement. The company didn’t provide a new reopening date. The parks closed on March 14 and the reopening requires government approval. Gov. Gavin Newsom “appreciates Disney’s responsiveness to his concerns about reopening amid the recent increases in COVID-19 infections across many Southern California counties,” Newsom spokesman Nathan Click said. “The governor, the state and our public health experts continue to be in contact with the company and their workers — as well as other theme parks in the state — as we track and combat the spread of the virus.” Disney also …

Recent research finds that women are more likely than men to produce trustworthy news reports on the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Factual, a technology company in San Mateo, California, that measures the credibility of hundreds of news outlets.Phillip Meylan, a political analyst at The Factual, said he began crunching data on coronavirus reporting early in the pandemic and started to notice that many of the top-rated articles had been written by women.“Why are eight of them female out of 10? And so if you see that once, it’s kind of incidental. You think, okay, well, that, you know, it’s just random. It’s what I chose. But we saw it over and over and over again,” he told VOA.So he started to look at the data FILE – Marine One arrives on the White House South Lawn as CBS journalist Paula Reid and others prepare for President Donald Trump to board the presidential helicopter, May 14, 2020, in Washington.The Factual uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to determine credibility, based on the publication’s history of trustworthiness, the author’s work, the sources used and the tone of the story. Anything with a rating of 75 percent or above is considered very credible.“What …

Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia. The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia. His wife also tested positive. “The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena’s, while the results of our children are negative,” Djokovic said in a statement. Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic. Viktor Troicki said Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said Sunday he tested positive. Borna Coric played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar and said Monday he has also tested positive. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country. “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said. “Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.” Djokovic, who has previously said he was against …

The coronavirus pandemic has some world athletes struggling to stay sharp for next year’s Tokyo Olympics after training facilities were shut down and competitions cancelled.  Ugandan runner Halima Nakaayi, the gold medalist in the 800 meters at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, is doing her best to prepare under the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.  Halima Athumani reports from Kampala.   VIDEOGRAPHER: Francis MukasaPRODUCER: Rod James …

U.S. Major League Baseball announced Monday that it will proceed with a coronavirus-shortened season this year after the players’ union rejected a negotiated deal over a similar abbreviated season. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said team owners have approved a plan that includes a 60-game season that will begin in late July under the terms of an agreement reached with the MLB Players Association back on March 26. Manfred said the players’ union must inform by Tuesday afternoon that its members can report to their home ballparks by July 1 for at least three weeks of pre-season training, and whether they agree on an operating manual setting out a set of health and safety protocols. All games will be played without fans present in the stadium.  The deal rejected by the MLB Players Association included expanding the number of playoff teams from 10 to 16, establishing a $25 million postseason players pool, forgiving $33 million in salary advances and the chance to 104 percent of their prorated salaries.   Baseball’s traditional pre-season spring training period was abruptly cut short in mid-March as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States, and eventually shut down all professional, collegiate and secondary school athletic events. But the virus …

A day after a noose was found in the team garage of African-American race car driver Bubba Wallace, his fellow drivers staged a moving show of support for him Monday. Shortly before the start of a NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) race at Talladega Superspeedway in the southern state of Alabama, several drivers pushed Wallace’s number 43 car to the front of pit row, followed by a long procession of other drivers and members of their pit crews.  The procession moved past an area on the infield grass with the phrase “#IStandWithBubba” painted on it.   An emotional Wallace partially emerged from the car after it came to a stop and broke down in tears. Legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty, who made the number 43 car a cultural icon and is co-owner of Wallace’s team, walked up to Wallace and put his hands on his shoulders.   Wallace is the lone African American driver in NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series.  He drew widespread support earlier this month when he successfully urged NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at its races in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis last month. The flag, which …

Outdoor clothing giant Patagonia announced it would pause all advertisements on Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram for at least the month of July, joining a growing ad boycott led by civil rights organizations. “For too long, Facebook has failed to take sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform,” said a FILE – Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, October 23, 2019.While Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that the posts did not violate the social media giant’s rules against inciting violence, civil rights activists say the controversy is emblematic of how Facebook provides a platform for racist rhetoric.  Now, the company is facing widespread backlash, including from its own employees. Some have spoken out against company policy online, staged a virtual walkout and even resigned.  Facebook has come under fire in the past for failing to curb online abuse and election disinformation, and to protect user data. Civil rights groups including Color of Change, the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League launched the “Stop hate for profit” campaign on June 17, asking advertisers to pause promotions on all Facebook-owned platforms through the month of July. The boycott stems from a …

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that because of the coronavirus only “very limited numbers” of people will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage that traditionally draws around 2 million people from around the world.  The kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj said only people of various nationalities already residing in the country would be allowed to perform the large pilgrimage, which is set to begin this year at the end of July. The government did not specify how many people would be permitted to take part.  Saudi Arabia said its decision to drastically limit the number of pilgrims was made due to the lack of an available vaccine for the virus or a cure for those infected, as well as the risks associated with large gatherings of people. “This decision was taken to ensure hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective,” the government statement said.  The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, who recover within a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness or death, particularly in older patients or those with underlying health problems. All able-bodied Muslims are required to perform the hajj pilgrimage once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage centers around five …

The Golden Globes on Monday postponed its 2021 ceremony for film and television, after a two-month delay to the Oscars, in Hollywood’s latest awards calendar shuffle caused by the coronavirus epidemic. The Golden Globes ceremony, which kicks off Hollywood’s awards season, will take place on Feb. 28 instead of its usual slot on the first Sunday in January, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which hands out the trophies, said in a statement. Last week the Oscars, the highest honors in the film industry, were postponed to April 25 from Feb 28. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said the delay would allow filmmakers more time to finish their movies after production was shut down worldwide in mid-March and movie theaters were closed. The HFPA said it would give details on a new date for Golden Globe nominations and eligibility criteria in the coming weeks. The Golden Globes, handed out at a boozy dinner in Beverly Hills, will be hosted by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Other award shows, including Britain’s BAFTA event, have also shifted their dates for 2021 to fall closer to the Oscars. Hollywood movies and TV shows were given the green light two weeks ago to resume production in …

When luxury fashion lined up social media posts to show solidarity with Black Lives Matters protests, brands got a whole lot of blowback.Transgender model and actress Munroe Bergdorf jumped on L’Oreal’s #BlackoutTuesday posts to accuse the beauty brand of hypocrisy for having fired her three years ago when she complained about racism in strong language. U.S. actor Tommy Dorfman, who appears in a recent campaign for Salvatore Ferragamo, called out the Italian luxury brand for what he called a “homophobic and racist work environment.”And ordinary Instagram followers piled on, challenging fashion houses to do more than post a black square on their virtual real estate, to instead make runways, magazine covers, boardrooms and creative studios living showcases of diversity.Global fashion brands have faced racial backlashes in the past, notably in the wake of scandals like the Gucci knitwear recalling blackface, Prada’s Little Black Sambo bag charm and Dolce&Gabbana’s anti-Asian comments.The U.S protests against systemic racism, which are spreading around the globe, are also putting the spotlight on the fashion world in its role as a cultural beacon, and emboldening insiders — some with lucrative deals that often assume their discretion — to speak up.”People have the fire under their bottoms,” …

Ratcheting up fresh pressure, Greece has blasted the British Museum for exhibiting the Parthenon marbles, calling the collection “stolen” treasures and demanding the masterpieces be returned to Athens. The call comes as Greece celebrates the 11th anniversary of the New Acropolis Museum, a four-story, state of the art edifice built to house the ancient treasures and weaken Britain’s claim that it is best able to look after the 2,500-year-old masterpieces.    “Since September 2003 when construction work for the Acropolis Museum began, Greece has systematically demanded the return of the sculptures on display in the British Museum because they are the product of theft,” the country’s culture minister Lina Mendoni said. “The current Greek government – like any Greek government – is not going to stop claiming the stolen sculptures which the British Museum, contrary to any moral principle, continues to hold illegally,” she told the Athens daily Ta Nea.    Depicting figures of ancient Greek mythology, the 75-meter frieze and its 17 statues were sawed off the Parthenon temple and shipped to London by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, during his tenure as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.    Bankrupted by the venture, the British aristocrat sold them to the British Museum in 1816, where they became a …