A star-studded Los Angeles Rams team will seek to deny the giant-killing Cincinnati Bengals a Hollywood ending in the Super Bowl on Sunday as an NFL season full of plot twists reaches its climax. The first NFL championship game of the post-Tom Brady era sees the Rams play host at their gleaming $5.5 billion SoFi…
From Campus to Congress, Colleges Urged to End Legacy Boost
America’s elite colleges are facing growing calls to end the decades-old tradition of giving an admissions boost to the children of alumni — a practice that critics say is rooted in racism and bestows an unfair advantage to students who need it least. Fueled by the national reckoning with racial injustice, opponents say they are…
Black NFL Coaches Lament Hiring Policies That Fall Short
Veteran NFL coach Anthony Lynn appreciates the league policy that requires teams to interview minority candidates for their top jobs, and he has even benefited from it. Like many of his peers, though, the assistant head coach for the San Francisco 49ers believes the policy has fallen short of its good intentions: There were three…
Americans Get Ready for Super Bowl: A National Party
Americans are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. It’s the final matchup of the National Football League season and a national celebration. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles Rams will face the Cincinnati Bengals. …
New Artechouse Exhibition Offers Experience in Hyperrealism
Artechouse’s new exhibit in Washington, “Transient: Impermanent Painting,” offers visitors an experience in hyperrealism. The Italian multimedia artist Quayola projects hyperrealistic pictorials of paint strokes against the sound of a coded, computerized Yamaha piano. Maxim Moskalkov reports. …
Excitement Builds in Los Angeles Suburb Where Superbowl 2022 Will Be Played
Los Angeles is getting ready to host one of the biggest annual sporting events in the U.S. – the Superbowl. Angelina Bagdasaryan examines the preparations for Superbowl 2022 and also spoke with residents about this Sunday’s (2/13) playoff between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. Anna Rice narrates her story. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian …
Sting Sells Entire Songwriting Catalog to Universal
Sting has sold his songwriting catalog — including solo works as well as hits with The Police like “Roxanne” — to Universal Music Group, the company said Thursday, the industry’s latest such blockbuster transaction. The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal, but U.S. media estimated it was worth some $250 million. It…
Kenyan Hockey Team Says Olympic Hopes Dashed by Lack of Support
Kenya will be sitting out the Winter Olympics in Beijing after the country’s hopefuls either failed to qualify or pulled out of The Games due to lack of financial support. The ice hockey team did not have a place to train. Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi. Videographer: Amos Wangwa …
Latin America Nations Slam French Auction of Pre-Hispanic Artifacts
Ambassadors from six Latin American countries on Tuesday denounced an upcoming auction of pre-Hispanic artifacts in France, reviving a longstanding grievance of the region. The joint statement came a day after Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador denounced the practice as immoral after a recent major auction. The Paris ambassadors of Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama,…
‘Power of the Dog’ Tops Oscar Nominations With 12; ‘Dune’ Nabs 10
Jane Campion’s gothic western “The Power of the Dog” led nominations to the 94th Academy Awards, where streaming services more than ever before swept over Hollywood’s top honors. In nominations announced Tuesday, Campion’s film landed a leading 12 nominations, including nods for best picture, best director and all of its top actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten…
Take a Sad Song and Make It Better: ‘Hey Jude’ NFT Fetches $77,000
A virtual version of the handwritten notes for the song “Hey Jude” has been sold at auction in California for almost $77,000, the latest hammer price success for NFTs. Originally entitled “Hey Jules,” the Fab Four’s hit was written in 1968 by Paul McCartney to comfort a young Julian Lennon during father John’s separation from…
What to Watch for When Oscar Nominations Are Announced Tuesday
It’s time again to celebrate Hollywood’s grandest ambitions and most daring risk takers. No, I’m not talking about Jackass Forever. On Tuesday morning, nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards will be announced. Nominations are occurring a little later than usual. To make way for the Olympics, the Oscars are to be held March 27.…
Spotify CEO Says Canceling Joe Rogan Isn’t ‘The Answer’
Joe Rogan has put Spotify in a tough spot, but the streaming giant is not ready to part ways with the popular podcast host despite intense criticism over his anti-coronavirus vaccine comments and use of racial slurs. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also said in a message to employees Sunday that Rogan’s racist language was “incredibly…
Senegal’s Cup of Nations Triumph Sees Potential Fulfilled at Last
After final against Egypt finished 0-0 in extra time, Sengal won shoot-out 4-2 …
Chinese Tennis Star Again Denies Accusing Government Official of Sexual Assault on Social Media
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is again denying that she had accused a former Communist Party official of sexually assaulting her in a social media post late last year. L’Equipe, a French daily sports newspaper, published an interview it conducted with Peng in its Monday edition. “I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in…
Iconic Tapestry of Picasso’s `Guernica’ Back at UN
The iconic tapestry of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” which is considered by numerous art critics as perhaps the most powerful anti-war painting in history, returned to its place of honor at the United Nations on Saturday after a year-long absence that angered and dismayed many U.N. diplomats and staff. The tapestry of the painting, woven by…
Lata Mangeshkar ‘Nightingale of India’ Dies at 92
Bollywood superstar Lata Mangeshkar, known to millions as the “Nightingale of India” and a regular fixture of the country’s airwaves for decades, died Sunday morning at the age of 92. Mangeshkar was born in 1929 and started her musical training early under the tutelage of her father, Deenanath, singing in his theatrical productions when she…
A New York Law Could Change the Fashion Industry If Enacted
The fashion industry has always had a relationship with some forms of social activism. But all too often the industry is also seen as one of excess and consumerism gone wild. That could change if New York’s Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act – or FSSAA – becomes law. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated…
Golf: The Senegalese Woman Who’s Beating All the Boys
Golf is sometimes seen as a sport only accessible to an elite few. But in Senegal, one female golf star is redefining the sport’s image and challenging her country’s conservative gender norms. Annika Hammerschlag reports from Saly, Senegal. …
Fired Coach Sues NFL, Alleging Racist Hiring
The lawsuit alleges that the league has discriminated against Brian Flores and other Black coaches for racial reasons; the NFL said it will defend “against these claims, which are without merit” …
NFL’s Washington Football Team Now Called Commanders
The U.S. National Football League’s Washington franchise announced Wednesday it will now be known as the Washington Commanders, 18 months after dropping its previous name following years of complaints it was derogatory and racist. The team, founded as the Boston Braves, became the Redskins in 1932 before moving to Washington in 1937. But since the…
Torch Relay for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Begins
Beijing began its hosting duties of the 2022 Winter Olympics with the start of the traditional Olympic torch relay Wednesday. Vice Premier Han Zheng began the event when he passed the iconic torch to 80-year-old Luo Zhihuan, China’s first internationally competitive speed skater and first winter sports world champion, at Olympic Foreign Park. More than…
Police Arrest Man in Colorado Over Alleged Threats to UCLA
A man who allegedly threatened the University of California, Los Angeles, and detailed potential violence against the prominent university over hundreds of pages has been taken into custody in Colorado following a standoff Tuesday. The man — identified as Matthew Christopher Harris, 31 — was taken into custody Tuesday morning and is being held in…
Several Black Colleges Receive Bomb Threats for Second Day
Several historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, received a second round of bomb threats Tuesday following similar threats on Monday. Among those receiving threats Tuesday were Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia in Washington; Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida; Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky; Fort Valley State…
Bomb Threats Made to Historically Black Schools Across US
At least a half-dozen historically Black universities in five states and the District of Columbia were responding to bomb threats Monday, with many of them locking down their campuses for a time. In warnings to students, school officials say some of the threats were directed at academic buildings. The FBI “is aware of bomb threats…
Holocaust-Era Letters Prompt Writer to Dive Into Family’s History
Eleanor Reissa’s mother and father survived the Nazi Holocaust in Europe during the 1940’s. After the war but before they were married, they wrote letters to each other. Those letters led Eleanor on a journey to learn about her parents’ past. The result of that journey was just released in book form. Victoria Kupchinetsky has…
Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams Advance to US Pro Football Championship Game
The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Los Angeles Rams in the 56th edition of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the U.S. National Football League and one of the premier championship events in all of professional sports. The visiting Cincinnati Bengals came back from a 21-10 halftime deficit to post a 27-24 overtime win…
37 Olympic Athletes, Officials Test Positive Sunday in China
Olympic officials in China say 37 people, including athletes and team officials, tested positive for the coronavirus Sunday. On Saturday, 34 people connected with The Games also received positive results. The Pacific Maritime Association says, according to a New York Times report, that more West Coast longshoremen “contracted the coronavirus in the last month than…