A federal judge on Thursday handed singer R. Kelly a 20-year prison sentence for his convictions of child pornography and the enticement of minors for sex but said he will serve nearly all of the sentence simultaneously with a 30-year sentence imposed last year on racketeering charges.  U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber also ordered that Kelly serve one year in prison following his New York sentence.  The central question going into the sentencing in Kelly’s hometown of Chicago was whether Leinenweber would order that the 56-year-old serve the sentence simultaneously with or only after he completes the New York term for 2021 racketeering and sex trafficking convictions. The latter would have been tantamount to a life sentence.  Prosecutors had acknowledged that a lengthy term served only after the New York sentence could have erased any chance of Kelly ever getting out of prison alive. It’s what they asked for, arguing his crimes against children and lack of remorse justified it.  With Thursday’s sentence, though, Kelly will serve no more than 31 years. That means he will be eligible for release at around age 80, providing him some hope of one day leaving prison alive.  Leinenweber said at the outset of …

The man who shot dead Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle on a Los Angeles street in 2019 was jailed for at least 60 years Wednesday. Eric Holder had not denied killing Hussle — a fast-rising star whose death sent shockwaves through the music world — but his lawyers argued it was an impulsive crime that took place in the “heat of passion.” But a jury last year found Holder had acted with premeditation as he fired at Hussle at least 10 times following a dispute between the two men over claims the assailant was “snitching” to the police. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke sentenced Holder to a minimum of 25 years for the killing, with an additional 25 years because a gun was used in the crime. Holder was given another 10 years for shooting and wounding two other men who were nearby. The violent killing of Hussle, a former gang member, in front of a clothing store he owned triggered widespread grief in his native Los Angeles and among his superstar peers, who hailed his musical talents and community activism. Raised in the city’s Crenshaw district, Hussle, who was 33 when he died, had transformed the …

Two 16th-century sculptures, jewels of French Renaissance art, have been on display since 1908 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. But thanks to modern technology and an unusual agreement, precise 3D copies will be made and installed in the French castle where the originals long resided. The facsimiles plan is the fruit of a rare partnership between the Met, as the New York museum is known, and the Dordogne department in southwestern France. The statues, both from the early 1500s and by an anonymous sculptor, represent Biblical scenes entitled “Entombment of Christ” and “Pieta With Donors.” A tourism promotion agency in the Dordogne, Semitour, will be working with the Atelier of Fac-Similes Perigord (AFSP) to make the replicas over the coming months. For nearly 400 years, the originals graced the chapel of the Biron chateau in the Dordogne. Built on a strategic promontory, the sprawling fortress comprises buildings from different eras, including a dungeon dating to the 12th century. Damaged and rebuilt repeatedly through the centuries, the chateau has belonged since 1978 to the Dordogne department, which declared it a historic monument, Dordogne president Germinal Peiro said during a visit to the Met. Digital copy The technology to be …

Antiwar German movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” won seven prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, building the somber drama’s momentum as awards season rolls toward its climax at next month’s Oscars.  Irish tragicomedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” and rock biopic “Elvis” took four prizes each.  “All Quiet,” a visceral depiction of life and death in the World War I trenches, based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel, won Edward Berger the best director award. Its other trophies included adapted screenplay, cinematography, best score, best sound and best film not in English.  Austin Butler was a surprise best actor winner for “Elvis.” Baz Lurhmann’s flamboyant musical also won for casting, costume design and hair and makeup. Cate Blanchett won the best actress prize for orchestral drama “Tár.”  Martin McDonagh’s “Banshees,” the bleakly comic story of a friendship gone sour, was named best British film.  “Best what award?” joked McDonagh of the film, which was shot in Ireland with a largely Irish cast and crew. It has British funding, and McDonagh was born in Britain to Irish parents.  “Banshees” also won for McDonagh’s original screenplay, and awards for Kerry Condon as best supporting actress …

Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV’s most indelible detectives as John Munch in “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Law & Order: SVU,” has died. He was 78.  Belzer died Sunday at his home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft said. Scheft, a writer who had been working on a documentary about Belzer, said there was no known cause of death, but that Belzer had been dealing with circulatory and respiratory issues. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer’s cousin, tweeted, “Rest in peace Richard.”  For more than two decades and across 10 series — even including appearances on “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” — Belzer played the wise-cracking, acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. Belzer first played Munch on a 1993 episode of “Homicide” and last played him in 2016 on “Law & Order: SVU.”  Belzer never auditioned for the role. After hearing him on “The Howard Stern Show,” executive producer Barry Levinson brought the comedian in to read for the part.  “I would never be a detective. But if I were, that’s how I’d be,” Belzer once said. “They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissidence and conspiracy theories. …

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the English composer who created the scores for blockbuster musicals such as “Cats,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Evita,” has written the anthem for King Charles III’s coronation, adapting a piece of church music that encourages singers to make a “joyful noise.” The work by Webber is one of a dozen new pieces Charles commissioned for the grand occasion taking place May 6 at Westminster Abbey. It includes words adapted from Psalm 98 and is scored specifically for the abbey’s choir and organ. “I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion,” Webber said in a statement distributed by Buckingham Palace.  The program for the king’s coronation ceremony includes older music and new compositions as the palace seeks to blend traditional and modern elements that reflect the realities of modern Britain. New pieces were composed by artists with roots in all four of the United Kingdom’s constituent nations, as well as in the Commonwealth and foreign countries that have sent so many people to its shores. The service will include works by William Byrd (1543–1623), George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), Edward Elgar (1857–1934), Henry Walford Davies (1869–1941), William Walton (1902–1983), Hubert Parry (1848–1918) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958), …

The career of Boris Beecker, whose thunderous delivery earned him the nickname “Boom Boom” as a young tennis player, took him from the greatest heights of sporting achievement aged 17 to prison at 54, and he is unsure if it could have gone any other way. “It’s very difficult to win Wimbledon at 17,” the German former tennis champion said ahead of the premiere on Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival of a documentary on his life. “You have to be a bit crazy to cross the line and do things nobody else has ever achieved before.” One of the greatest tennis players in history who won six Grand Slam titles, Becker’s on-court brilliance was matched by an inability to manage his affairs off it, that saw him pile up personal disasters from sleeping pill addictions to a prison sentence. “You expect world champions in a sport to be like everyone else but we aren’t,” he told a news conference. “To have that mindset … in real life that’s a problem.” Alex Gibney’s “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker” is the work of an unashamed fan, blending court highlights with interviews with a stellar cast of tennis greats, including …

Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu has been found dead under the building where he lived in southern Turkey after last week’s massive earthquake, the ex-Chelsea winger’s Turkish agent said. “Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble,” Murat Uzunmehmet told reporters in Hatay, where the athlete’s body was found. “Currently, more items are still being taken out. His phone was also found.” Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of southern Turkey hours before the quake, but Hatayspor’s manager said on Friday the Ghanaian opted to stay with the club after scoring the game-winning goal in a Feb. 5 Super Lig match. …

Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family said on Thursday, nearly a year after the “Die Hard” franchise star retired from acting because of aphasia that had hampered his cognitive abilities.   “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed, and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD),” his family said in a statement posted on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration website.   “Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”   The statement, to which the family attached a photo of a smiling Willis at the beach, said there are no current treatments for the disease. The family members said they hoped Willis’ diagnosis at age 67 would bring more focus to battling FTD.   “As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research,” the statement said.  Frontotemporal degeneration is caused by progressive nerve cell loss in the brain’s frontal lobes or its temporal lobes.  Willis’ family believes that if the retired …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join Hollywood actor Sean Penn by video link on Thursday at the opening of the Berlinale, Europe’s first major film festival of the year, as it spotlights the fight for freedom in Ukraine and Iran. The 73rd annual event, traditionally the most politically minded of the three big European cinema showcases, will mark the Russian invasion’s first anniversary as well as anti-regime protests in Iran with new feature films and documentaries. U.S. actor Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”), head of the jury for the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes, told reporters it was “an enormous opportunity to have a hand in highlighting beautiful things” in the face of global turmoil. “It’s the job of an artist to take a disgusting and ugly thing and sort of transmute it and put it through your body and pump out something more beautiful…in response to the world that’s falling apart around us,” she said. Artistic director Carlo Chatrian said the festival stood with “the suffering population, the millions who left Ukraine and the artists (who) have remained defending the country and continue filming the war,” adding that it was a “special honour” to welcome Zelenskyy digitally. Penn will appear …

The UK is working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens, British Museum chair George Osborne said on Thursday, describing it as a win-win situation. Osborne, a former finance minister, reiterated that the museum was having constructive talks with the Greek government about the marbles which have been a source of dispute between the two European countries for centuries. “It’s a very hard problem to solve,” Osborne told BBC Radio. “But I think there is a way forward where these sculptures, the Elgin Marbles, the Parthenon Sculptures, could be seen both in London and in Athens, and that will be a win-win for Greece and for us.” When asked if that meant loans, he said: “we’re talking to the Greek government about that, about a new arrangement and what I didn’t want to do is force the Greeks to accept things that they find impossible, and equally they can’t force on us things that we would find impossible.”  The Greek government has said it was in talks over repatriation of the sculptures, which were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin from the imposing Parthenon temple in Athens …

When Raquel Welch donned a deerskin bikini for a 1966 caveman screen epic, she became one of the hottest sex symbols of her time, a role she never felt able to escape. The film was mediocre, but the poster for “One Million Years BC” went round the world, taking her with it and making both of them an indelible part of cinema history. “With the release of that famous movie poster, in one fell swoop, everything in my life changed and everything about the real me was swept away,” Welch wrote in her 2010 autobiography Beyond the Cleavage. “All else would be eclipsed by this bigger-than-life sex symbol.” With an auburn mane and lauded for her famous figure, Welch took over from the late Marilyn Monroe to become the universal sex goddess of the 1960s and 1970s. The New York Times described her in 1967 as “a marvelous breathing monument to womankind” while Playboy magazine said she was “the most desired woman of the 1970s.” Walk-on parts Welch, who died Wednesday after a brief illness, was born Jo Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940, in Chicago to a Bolivian aeronautical engineer and his American wife. Growing up in California, she …

This year’s New York Fashion Week is wrapping up after featuring genderless style, throwback 1990s fashion and colorful knitwear to fight sadness. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Producer: Anna Rice. Camera: Vladimir Badikov. …

Ethiopia has long struggled with problems of communal friction turning into violent, ethnic conflict. Members of the two largest ethnic groups, the Oromos and Amharas, have come together to showcase traditional conflict resolution through musical drama. Maya Misikir reports from Adama, Ethiopia. Camera: Vinicius Assis. …

A German newspaper critic had animal feces smeared on her face in the city of Hannover by a ballet director who apparently took offense at a review she wrote. The Hannover state opera house apologized for the incident and said Monday that it was immediately suspending ballet director Marco Goecke. The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that a furious Goecke approached its dance critic, Wiebke Huester, during the interval of a premiere at Hannover’s opera house on Saturday and asked what she was doing there. It said that the two didn’t know each other personally. The newspaper said that Goecke, who apparently felt provoked by a recent review she wrote of a production he staged in the Dutch seat of government, The Hague, threatened to ban her from the ballet and accused her of being responsible for people canceling season tickets in Hannover. He then pulled out a paper bag with animal feces and smeared her face with the contents before making off through a packed theater foyer, the newspaper said. Huester identified the substance as dog feces and said she had filed a criminal complaint, German news agency dpa reported. In a statement on its website, the opera house …

Rihanna made her long-awaited return to the stage at the Super Bowl with a career-spanning medley of pop bangers, but it was her baby bump that dominated the conversation.    The megastar appeared in the stadium midair on a floating stage, donning a clingy, all-red ensemble featuring a molded bustier — and a belt below what many viewers deduced was another mini RiRi in the making.    Representatives for the singer confirmed the speculation to trade magazines Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter: Rihanna is pregnant with her second child.    The 34-year-old welcomed her first child, a son, with rapper A$AP Rocky in May.    Musically speaking, fans who hoped for some fresh tracks were disappointed: Rihanna’s night on the world’s biggest stage offered a nostalgia tour of hits from the past.  She delivered her club smashes including “Where Have You Been” to “Only Girl (In the World)” and the time-tested “We Found Love.”    “Rude Boy,” “Work” and “All of the Lights” were also on the setlist, as a sea of dancers performed stunning acrobatics.    “Wild Thoughts,” “Run This Town” and, of course, “Umbrella” and “Diamonds” rounded out the show.    She did not, as many stars do, bring out any guest artists, commanding the …

A court run by Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels on Sunday upheld a five-year sentence against a female actor and one of her companions who were convicted of committing an indecent act and having drugs in her possession, her lawyer said. The arrest of Intisar al-Hammadi and the three other women in February 2021 — as well as the court proceedings against them — have been widely criticized by international rights groups. The case has mirrored widespread Houthi repression and crackdown on women in areas they control in war-torn Yemen. Al-Hammadi and one of the women were first sentenced in November 2021 to five years. The other two were handed one and three years in prison, respectively. The Court of Appeals in the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa upheld the sentences against al-Hammadi and Yousra al-Nashri, who was also handed a five-year sentence, according to lawyer Khalid al-Kamal, who represents all four women. Al-Hammadi, who is also a model, was born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother. She has worked as a model for four years and acted in two Yemeni soap drama series in 2020. She was the sole breadwinner for her four-member family, including her blind father and a …

There is no bigger cheerleader of awards season than Richard E. Grant.  He brings joy to the red carpet, snapping selfies with stars and posting congratulations to nominees on social media.  Now this enthusiasm has been tapped to host the EE BAFTA Film Awards on February 19 at the Royal Festival Hall.  “I’m an unabashed fan of movies and of talent and always have been. I’ve never been disingenuous or, you know, blasé about that,” he says. “I probably have to restrain myself from permanently taking selfies with every nominee and winner coming up on the stage.”  “From that point of view, I am the right fit for the job, hopefully,” he says.  Grant also knows how it feels to participate in awards season and sit, nervously, waiting for that career changing envelope to be opened. He was nominated as supporting actor at both the BAFTAs and Oscars in 2019 for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”  And he’s aware that, as a working actor, hosting has its challenges.  “Traditionally if you’re a comedian, your role is very clear to roast the audience. Whereas I’m an actor and, you know, even though I’m the vast vintage that I am now, I …

A halftime show that Rihanna promises will be “jam-packed” will sit at the center of the celebrity supplements to Super Bowl 57.  But the 13-minute mini-extravaganza, her first live event in seven years, is only one part of the entertainment sideshow surrounding Sunday’s big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.  Chris Stapleton, who has dominated country music awards in recent years, will take on the challenge, and scrutiny, of singing the national anthem.  “The national anthem’s not an easy song for singers. It’s one that can go horribly wrong as we’ve seen many times in the past,” Stapleton said at a media event during the leadup to the game. “But if you’re gonna do it, this is the place to do it. I’m gonna go out there and play. And play it like I play it.”  The length of the anthem has become one of the countless game elements up for betting. Oddsmakers have put the over-under on Stapleton’s “Star Spangled Banner” at 2 minutes, 5 seconds.  This being the Super Bowl, one anthem is not enough. R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.”  And “Abbot Elementary” star Sheryl …

Visitors to one of Florence’s most iconic monuments — the Baptistry of San Giovanni, opposite the city’s Duomo — are getting a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see its ceiling mosaics up close thanks to an innovative approach to a planned restoration effort. Rather than limit the public’s access during the six-year cleaning of the vault, officials built a scaffolding platform for the art restorers that will also allow small numbers of visitors to see the ceiling mosaics at eye level. “We had to turn this occasion into an opportunity to make it even more accessible and usable by the public through special routes that would bring visitors into direct contact with the mosaics,” Samuele Caciagli, the architect in charge of the restoration site, said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Caciagli called the new scaffolding tour of the baptistry vault “a unique opportunity that is unlikely to be repeated in the coming decades.” The scaffolding platform sprouts like a mushroom from the floor of the baptistry and reaches a height of 32 meters (105 feet) from the ground. Visits are set to start Feb. 24 and must be reserved in advance. The octagonal-shaped baptistry is one of the most visible …

As legal sports gambling proliferates, the number of Americans betting on the Super Bowl and the total amount they’re wagering is surging — although most of the action is still off the books.  An estimated 1 in 5 American adults will make some sort of bet, laying out a whopping $16 billion, or twice as much as last year, according to an industry trade group.  Even as legal gambling has spread to two-thirds of U.S. states, independent analysts say only about $1 billion of the total being wagered on Sunday’s game will happen through casinos, racetracks or companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings, whose ads have become ubiquitous during sporting events.  The vast majority of people, in other words, are still betting with friends and family, participating in office pools or taking their chances with a bookie.  More than 50 million American adults are expected to bet on the national championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, according to the American Gaming Association, whose estimates are based on a nationwide online survey of 2,199 adults. That’s an increase of 61% from last year.  Experts in addiction say aggressive advertising is contributing to a rise in problem …

Australia has nominated a culturally sensitive Aboriginal area that is home to the world’s largest collection of rock art for United Nations heritage protection.  The Burrup Peninsula, 1,500 kilometers north of Perth, the Western Australian state capital, has 50,000 years of First Nations history, including millions of a type of rock carving called petroglyphs.   It is the world’s densest known concentration of hunter-gatherer petroglyphs. The site has been nominated as a United Nations World Heritage site.  If accepted by UNESCO, it would become the second site in Australia listed for World Heritage for its Aboriginal cultural heritage.  Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek told reporters Friday the site is a “natural wonder of the world.” “This place has to be protected forever, and it has to be managed for the benefit of people who have connection to it but managed for the benefit of all of humanity,” said Plibersek. Reece Whitby, Western Australia’s environment minister, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday that the region has global significance. “It is putting it on par with such things as Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China, and I think it deserves that status,” said Whitby. “So, this is very important and …

When Enrique Vera opens the door to his workshop, an array of gleaming gold and silver matadors’ jackets shine in the sun. “It is little bit like a cave full of treasure,” he says. Vera painstakingly fashions the brilliant trajes de luces (suits of lights) which are worn by bullfighters when they face half-ton bulls in the ring. One of only seven sastres (bullfighting tailors) in the world, he used to be a matador. But he swapped the sword used to kill the bull for a needle and followed a family tradition to become a tailor. The iconic status of the matador’s suit has meant it has passed from the bullring to mainstream popular culture. Vera and his mother, Nati, also a seamstress, were called on to make matadors suits for films and the catwalk, working with Pink Panther star Peter Sellers, designer John Paul Gaultier and the late ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. From the moment a matador steps through the door into Vera’s office in Seville, southern Spain, it sets in motion an intricate process of measuring, sewing, ironing, and finally fitting the suits which can cost as much as $6,000 each. Meticulous process Vera’s team of 15 specialist …

Scientists have a mystery on their hands after the discovery of 330 stone tools about 2.9 million years old at a site in Kenya, along Lake Victoria’s shores, that were used to butcher animals, including hippos, and pound plant material for food. Which of our prehistoric relatives that were walking the African landscape at the time made them? The chief suspect, researchers said on Thursday in describing the findings, may be a surprise. The Nyayanga site artifacts represent the oldest-known examples of a type of stone technology, called the Oldowan toolkit, that was revolutionary, enabling our forerunners to process diverse foods and expand their menu. Three tool types were found: hammerstones and stone cores to pound plants, bone and meat, and sharp-edged flakes to cut meat. To put the age of these tools into perspective, our species Homo sapiens did not appear until roughly 300,000 years ago. Scientists had long believed Oldowan tools were the purview of species belonging to the genus Homo, a grouping that includes our species and our closest relatives. But no Homo fossils were found at Nyayanga. Instead, two teeth – stout molars – of a genus called Paranthropus were discovered there, an indication this prehistoric …