NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News said Monday it has “agreed to part ways” with Tucker Carlson, its popular and controversial host, less than a week after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe">settling a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;over the network's 2020 election reporting.

The network said in a press release that the last program of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” aired Friday.

“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the press release from the network said.

Carlson became Fox’s most popular personality after replacing Bill O’Reilly in Fox’s prime-time lineup in 2016. He’s also consistently drawn headline for controversial coverage, including most recently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-tucker-carlson-capitol-riot-mccarthy-adc245e22f50b076925eb72948062808">airing tapes from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection</a>&nbsp;to minimize the impact of the deadly attack.

There was no immediate explanation from Fox about why Carlson was leaving. A text message to Carlson seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Fox agreed last week to pay Dominion Voting Systems more than $787 million and acknowledged that some of its reporting following the 2020 election — which allowed former President Donald Trump's aides to amplify false charges of election fraud — was incorrect.

But that reporting mostly concerned other shows, not Carlson’s. His name did come up during the case, primarily because of email and text messages that were revealed as part of the lawsuit.

Carlson and other Fox hosts were caught in private messages doubting their own network's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-explainer-trump-fbd401a951905879d837a8860b3bec5e">allegations about Dominion's role</a>&nbsp;in the supposed election fraud, while also being concerned that Fox was losing audience among Trump fans at the time. In some of them, Carlson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tucker-carlson-fox-news-murdoch-capitol-attack-96c305cf4046aaf373130876940fd06e">privately criticized Trump,</a>&nbsp;saying he hated him passionately.

A few weeks ago, Carlson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-trial-trump-carlson-election-f580413e13d1bfaea1e94827a4f35dc1">devoted his entire show</a>&nbsp;to an interview with Trump.

Carlson was recently named in a lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg, a Fox News producer fired after claiming that Fox lawyers had pressured her to give misleading testimony in the Dominion lawsuit. Grossberg had gone to work for Carlson after leaving Maria Bartiromo's Fox show.

Her lawsuit says that Grossberg learned “she had merely traded in one overtly misogynistic work environment for an event crueler one — this time, one where unprofessionalism reigned supreme, and the staff’s distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.”

Fox has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-defamation-lawsuit-voting-sexism-9f0b4ec94a19fa68c1205864fef277c5">countered with its own lawsuit,</a>&nbsp;trying to bar Grossberg from disclosing confidential discussions with Fox attorneys and saying in a statement that “her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless.”

“Fox News Tonight” will air in Carlson's 8 p.m. ET prime-time slot, hosted by a rotating array of network personalities, for the time being.

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News said Monday it has “agreed to part ways” with Tucker Carlson, its popular and controversial host, less than a week after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe">settling a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;over the network's 2020 election reporting.The network said in a press release that the last program of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” aired Friday.“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the press release from the network said.Carlson became Fox’s most popular personality after replacing Bill O’Reilly in Fox’s prime-time lineup in 2016. He’s also consistently drawn headline for controversial coverage, including most recently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-tucker-carlson-capitol-riot-mccarthy-adc245e22f50b076925eb72948062808">airing tapes from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection</a>&nbsp;to minimize the impact of the deadly attack.There was no immediate explanation from Fox about why Carlson was leaving. A text message to Carlson seeking comment was not immediately returned.Fox agreed last week to pay Dominion Voting Systems more than $787 million and acknowledged that some of its reporting following the 2020 election — which allowed former President Donald Trump's aides to amplify false charges of election fraud — was incorrect.But that reporting mostly concerned other shows, not Carlson’s. His name did come up during the case, primarily because of email and text messages that were revealed as part of the lawsuit.Carlson and other Fox hosts were caught in private messages doubting their own network's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-explainer-trump-fbd401a951905879d837a8860b3bec5e">allegations about Dominion's role</a>&nbsp;in the supposed election fraud, while also being concerned that Fox was losing audience among Trump fans at the time. In some of them, Carlson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tucker-carlson-fox-news-murdoch-capitol-attack-96c305cf4046aaf373130876940fd06e">privately criticized Trump,</a>&nbsp;saying he hated him passionately.A few weeks ago, Carlson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-trial-trump-carlson-election-f580413e13d1bfaea1e94827a4f35dc1">devoted his entire show</a>&nbsp;to an interview with Trump.Carlson was recently named in a lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg, a Fox News producer fired after claiming that Fox lawyers had pressured her to give misleading testimony in the Dominion lawsuit. Grossberg had gone to work for Carlson after leaving Maria Bartiromo's Fox show.Her lawsuit says that Grossberg learned “she had merely traded in one overtly misogynistic work environment for an event crueler one — this time, one where unprofessionalism reigned supreme, and the staff’s distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.”Fox has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-defamation-lawsuit-voting-sexism-9f0b4ec94a19fa68c1205864fef277c5">countered with its own lawsuit,</a>&nbsp;trying to bar Grossberg from disclosing confidential discussions with Fox attorneys and saying in a statement that “her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless.”“Fox News Tonight” will air in Carlson's 8 p.m. ET prime-time slot, hosted by a rotating array of network personalities, for the time being.

Tucker Carlson, Fox News' most popular host, out at network

Salina's Stiefel Theatre has received a nomination from the Academy of Country Music!

In a release made public Thursday, the Academy of Country Music announced that the Stiefel Theatre was one of five venues nominated in the Theatre of the Year category. Other venues competing in the category include the following.

● Crystal Grand Music Theatre – Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

● Florida Theatre – Jacksonville, Fla

What an amazing surprise! Thank you ACM - Academy of Country Music! This is an incredible honor," said Jane Gates, Stiefel executive director.

She then went on to thank those who helped make the nomination possible.

"Thanks to our agents that have become friends - to the incredible artists and crews that have played here in this beautiful space - and to everyone that supports this historic theatre in so many ways. We are so grateful for our most wonderful staff, crew, board and volunteers. The passion you all have for this theatre shows every day. And most of all...thank you to everyone that comes in for our shows. Nothing could happen without you. Our warm audiences are always noticed - and often mentioned backstage after the shows. We absolutely love this historic theatre. To the stars!" Gates said.

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, is scheduled to stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ territories on Prime Video at 7 p.m. May 11 from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The full rebroadcast of “Country Music’s Party of the Year” will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.

Salina's Stiefel Theatre has received a nomination from the Academy of Country Music!In a release made public Thursday, the Academy of Country Music announced that the Stiefel Theatre was one of five venues nominated in the Theatre of the Year category. Other venues competing in the category include the following.● Crystal Grand Music Theatre – Wisconsin Dells, Wis.● Florida Theatre – Jacksonville, Fla● Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville● Orpheum Theater – Omaha, Neb.What an amazing surprise! Thank you ACM - Academy of Country Music! This is an incredible honor," said Jane Gates, Stiefel executive director.She then went on to thank those who helped make the nomination possible."Thanks to our agents that have become friends - to the incredible artists and crews that have played here in this beautiful space - and to everyone that supports this historic theatre in so many ways. We are so grateful for our most wonderful staff, crew, board and volunteers. The passion you all have for this theatre shows every day. And most of all...thank you to everyone that comes in for our shows. Nothing could happen without you. Our warm audiences are always noticed - and often mentioned backstage after the shows. We absolutely love this historic theatre. To the stars!" Gates said.The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, is scheduled to stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ territories on Prime Video at 7 p.m. May 11 from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The full rebroadcast of “Country Music’s Party of the Year” will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.

Salina's Stiefel Theatre receives Academy of Country Music nomination

Warner
 Bros. Discovery is sticking with safe bet franchises that will likely 
lure viewers, including a “Harry Potter” series and a “Game of Thrones” 
prequel for its <a href="https://apnews.com/article/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-streaming-max-app-9a662dfab76d312bc2af4d9cb13b9b98">rebranded Max streaming service</a>.

Executives
 touted Max and made original Warner Bros. Discovery programming 
announcements on Wednesday during a presentation for journalists and 
investors. The $16-per-month service will be released May 23 in the U.S.
 and automatically replace the company’s existing HBO Max.

The 
“Harry Potter” series is described as a “faithful retelling” of the 
books about the boy wizard by J. K Rowling, featuring a new cast.

Each season is intended to focus on one of the seven books, though Max anticipates stretching the series to a decade-long run.

Max
 also announced it is has also ordered a “Game of Thrones” prequel 
called “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,” set in 
Westeros 100 years prior to the events of “Game of Thrones." It's based 
on fantasy novellas by George R. R. Martin, which follow the adventures 
of a knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and Aegon V 
Targaryen (called Egg). Martin will serve as an executive producer and 
writer on the series alongside Ira Parker.

“House of the Dragon” also a “Game of Thrones” prequel, has begun production on its second season for HBO.

Other
 announcements included a series based on the Penguin character in "The 
Batman", which is now in production with Colin Farrell resuming his role
 and another comedy set in the “Big Bang Theory” universe from Chuck 
Lorrie, both for Max.

Associated PressWarner
 Bros. Discovery is sticking with safe bet franchises that will likely 
lure viewers, including a “Harry Potter” series and a “Game of Thrones” 
prequel for its <a href="https://apnews.com/article/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-streaming-max-app-9a662dfab76d312bc2af4d9cb13b9b98">rebranded Max streaming service</a>.Executives
 touted Max and made original Warner Bros. Discovery programming 
announcements on Wednesday during a presentation for journalists and 
investors. The $16-per-month service will be released May 23 in the U.S.
 and automatically replace the company’s existing HBO Max.The 
“Harry Potter” series is described as a “faithful retelling” of the 
books about the boy wizard by J. K Rowling, featuring a new cast.Each season is intended to focus on one of the seven books, though Max anticipates stretching the series to a decade-long run.Max
 also announced it is has also ordered a “Game of Thrones” prequel 
called “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,” set in 
Westeros 100 years prior to the events of “Game of Thrones." It's based 
on fantasy novellas by George R. R. Martin, which follow the adventures 
of a knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and Aegon V 
Targaryen (called Egg). Martin will serve as an executive producer and 
writer on the series alongside Ira Parker.“House of the Dragon” also a “Game of Thrones” prequel, has begun production on its second season for HBO.Other
 announcements included a series based on the Penguin character in "The 
Batman", which is now in production with Colin Farrell resuming his role
 and another comedy set in the “Big Bang Theory” universe from Chuck 
Lorrie, both for Max.Cover image courtesy Pixabay

'Game of Thrones' prequel and 'Harry Potter' series are a go

LOS
 ANGELES (AP) — Travis Kelce is living his best life: On the heels of 
winning the Super Bowl and hosting “Saturday Night Live,” the Kansas 
City Chiefs superstar tight end will cap his successful string with a 
music festival this month.

The two-time Super Bowl winner 
announced Tuesday that he’ll host his first-ever festival called “Kelce 
Jam” during NFL Draft weekend. The inaugural event will be held April 28
 at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas — a metropolitan 
area of Kansas City.

The event will feature performances by Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross, DJ duo Loud Luxury and Kansas City rap legend Tech N9ne.

“With
 the draft coming to KC, I think it’s perfect timing for me to throw the
 biggest music festival that’s ever come here,” said Kelce, who believes
 the festival could lure around 15,000 attendees. “We’ll have some 
unreal stage productions, Kansas City’s best food, tons of attractions 
and football-related games. This will be a whole lot of fun.”

Kelce said he’s taking advantage of his surging popularity after the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2023-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">Super Bowl 57</a>
 in February. Last month, he hosted “Saturday Night Live” and he 
co-hosts a flourishing podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, who plays 
for the Eagles.

In this moment, Kelce is enjoying “every bit of it” and feels ecstatic about his upcoming music festival.

“Every
 door that’s been opened because of winning the Super Bowl, I’ve been 
running through them,” he said. “It’s not going to stop anytime soon – 
especially with Kelce Jam. I think this will be the nail-in-the-coffin 
for the 2022 season.”

Kelce said he wanted to bring some of his 
favorite artists including Machine Gun Kelly – who is an Ohio native 
like himself. He felt inspired to host his own music festival after he 
attended four-time Super Bowl champion <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/rob-gronkowski">Rob Gronkowski</a> ’s Gronk Beach during the NFL Draft in Las Vegas last year.

“I
 took note from what Gronk did last year,” he said. “I want to throw a 
big party knowing that the draft is coming to Kansas City. It’s a 
special event for the city to host. … I’m going to need Kansas City to 
come out and be electric with me.”

LOS
 ANGELES (AP) — Travis Kelce is living his best life: On the heels of 
winning the Super Bowl and hosting “Saturday Night Live,” the Kansas 
City Chiefs superstar tight end will cap his successful string with a 
music festival this month.The two-time Super Bowl winner 
announced Tuesday that he’ll host his first-ever festival called “Kelce 
Jam” during NFL Draft weekend. The inaugural event will be held April 28
 at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas — a metropolitan 
area of Kansas City.The event will feature performances by Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross, DJ duo Loud Luxury and Kansas City rap legend Tech N9ne.“With
 the draft coming to KC, I think it’s perfect timing for me to throw the
 biggest music festival that’s ever come here,” said Kelce, who believes
 the festival could lure around 15,000 attendees. “We’ll have some 
unreal stage productions, Kansas City’s best food, tons of attractions 
and football-related games. This will be a whole lot of fun.”Kelce said he’s taking advantage of his surging popularity after the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2023-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">Super Bowl 57</a>
 in February. Last month, he hosted “Saturday Night Live” and he 
co-hosts a flourishing podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, who plays 
for the Eagles.In this moment, Kelce is enjoying “every bit of it” and feels ecstatic about his upcoming music festival.“Every
 door that’s been opened because of winning the Super Bowl, I’ve been 
running through them,” he said. “It’s not going to stop anytime soon – 
especially with Kelce Jam. I think this will be the nail-in-the-coffin 
for the 2022 season.”Kelce said he wanted to bring some of his 
favorite artists including Machine Gun Kelly – who is an Ohio native 
like himself. He felt inspired to host his own music festival after he 
attended four-time Super Bowl champion <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/rob-gronkowski">Rob Gronkowski</a> ’s Gronk Beach during the NFL Draft in Las Vegas last year.“I
 took note from what Gronk did last year,” he said. “I want to throw a 
big party knowing that the draft is coming to Kansas City. It’s a 
special event for the city to host. … I’m going to need Kansas City to 
come out and be electric with me.”

Chiefs' Travis Kelce to host music festival in Kansas City

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree Jade Piros de Carvalho.

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p4fEi-BuxTE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree Jade Piros de Carvalho.

🎤 Forward Ever: USA Today Woman of the Year 2023 honoree Jade Piros de Carvalho

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash.

A jury dismissed the complaint of a retired optometrist who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2019/01/29/gwyneth-paltrow-sued-over-utah-ski-crash/">sued Paltrow</a>&nbsp;over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-0d1bf78d45d65d86eafcd0e6bc21ae38">live-streamed courtroom testimony</a>&nbsp;that made the case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-b748dfec3d0cc7ba7281355a21a4f6ff">a pop culture fixation.</a>

Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, Paltrow looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amber-heard-johnny-depp-entertainment-ae1cbc0ff84940adf857355ec956723e">actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off</a>&nbsp;last year.

The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow’s attorneys described the complaint against her as “utter B.S.” and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-entertainment-ap-top-news-us-news-lawsuits-89356b1afe574eee890e7f31cb193b86">unfair, frivolous lawsuits</a>&nbsp;due to her celebrity.

Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-utah-ski-collision-trial-3f3b25539799e4537f2157ee3679d202">insist the collision</a>&nbsp;wasn’t her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt “a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.”

Throughout the trial, the word&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-2d9de9365c38">“uphill” became synonymous with “guilty,</a>&nbsp;” as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.

Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson’s motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputations.

The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival">Sundance Film Festival,</a>&nbsp;where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love” and the “Iron Man” movies.

The jury’s decision marks a painful court defeat for Terry Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on a beginner run. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.

He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift’s response to a radio host’s defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded $1 in 2017.

Paltrow’s defense team tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become “obsessed” with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn’t at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680216584319.png" alt="Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court during an objection by her attorney during her trial, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)" />
 <figcaption>Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court during an objection by her attorney during her trial, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)</figcaption>
 </figure>PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash.A jury dismissed the complaint of a retired optometrist who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2019/01/29/gwyneth-paltrow-sued-over-utah-ski-crash/">sued Paltrow</a>&nbsp;over injuries he sustained when the two crashed on a beginner run at Deer Valley ski resort, siding with Paltrow after eight days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-0d1bf78d45d65d86eafcd0e6bc21ae38">live-streamed courtroom testimony</a>&nbsp;that made the case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-b748dfec3d0cc7ba7281355a21a4f6ff">a pop culture fixation.</a>Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, Paltrow looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amber-heard-johnny-depp-entertainment-ae1cbc0ff84940adf857355ec956723e">actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off</a>&nbsp;last year.The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow’s attorneys described the complaint against her as “utter B.S.” and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-entertainment-ap-top-news-us-news-lawsuits-89356b1afe574eee890e7f31cb193b86">unfair, frivolous lawsuits</a>&nbsp;due to her celebrity.Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-utah-ski-collision-trial-3f3b25539799e4537f2157ee3679d202">insist the collision</a>&nbsp;wasn’t her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt “a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.”Throughout the trial, the word&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gwyneth-paltrow-ski-trial-lawsuit-utah-2d9de9365c38">“uphill” became synonymous with “guilty,</a>&nbsp;” as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson’s motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputations.The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival">Sundance Film Festival,</a>&nbsp;where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love” and the “Iron Man” movies.The jury’s decision marks a painful court defeat for Terry Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on a beginner run. Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. Paltrow in response countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift’s response to a radio host’s defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded $1 in 2017.Paltrow’s defense team tried to paint Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become “obsessed” with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn’t at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.

Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for ski collision, jury decides

By JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. AP Entertainment Writer

LOS
 ANGELES — Hip-hop became a cultural phenomenon against the 
backdrop of American history, and now Public Enemy’s Chuck D has 
committed himself to explore the artform's origins.

Chuck D 
rounded up several rap greats — including Ice-T, Run DMC and MC Lyte — 
who offered their firsthand accounts ahead of this year's 50th 
anniversary of hip-hop. Their reflections are explored in the four-part 
docuseries <a href="https://www.pbs.org/show/fight-power-how-hip-hop-changed-world/">“Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World,”</a> that aired on PBS and is available to stream on its platforms and YouTube with a premium subscription.

The
 series delves into the history of hip-hop including the genre’s radical
 rise from the New York City streets, creating a platform for political 
expression and being a leading voice for social justice

“Fight the
 Power” touches on how the hip-hop has played an impactful role in 
speaking up against injustice in the aftermath of America’s racial and 
political reckoning in 2020 after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-minneapolis-police-reform-d109eb0d3094119ddbcb560676467f19">George Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police</a>.
 The series, executive produced by Chuck D, features archival footage 
and insightful interviews from of rap’s most integral figures including 
Fat Joe, Lupe Fiasco, Grandmaster Caz, B-Real of Cypress Hill, Melle 
Mel, will.i.am, John Forte, Roxanne Shanté and Abiodun Oyewole of The 
Last Poets.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Chuck
 D talked about hip-hop’s cultural growth in 50 years, the genre being 
the backbone for Black men’s voices and how rap could last for another 
half century.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and bravery. 
___ AP: You mentioned in your docuseries that hip-hop was a catalyst for
 the Black Lives Matter movement. How so?

CHUCK D: It’s a 
collective where people felt the same way. It spoke politically to the 
injustice regarding George Floyd and was a spark that connected around 
the world. Hip-hop has done the same thing. Hip-hop ties human beings 
for their similarities and knocks the differences to the side. It’s a 
movement, when you talk about collective people feeling similar, enact 
upon something and still even stay within the constraints of the law. 
Younger people say, “OK, listen, we’re going to speak truth to power 
right now. We’re going to protest march. We're going to show you numbers
 that you ain’t seen in a long time about something you probably didn’t 
care about." That’s hip-hop, right?

AP: During the birth of hip-hop, how do it help encourage Black voices?

CHUCK
 D: Black men didn’t have a voice. You might’ve sung records for people 
who were fortunate to become recording artists. Our music has always 
been code. Hip-hop is the term for our creativity, maybe for the last 50
 years. But before that, we always was creative and musicianship, 
vocalization, arts and craft, and also the movement of dance. Just that 
the elements had gotten refined in another period in the '70s out of 
another Big Bang Theory of socio political environments. That’s where 
that voice came out and it came out culturally. It still speaks loudly, 
culturally.

AP: How does your documentary amplify that notion?

CHUCK
 D: Some people like to deal with hip-hop where they first started. I 
think what this documentary series says is “Nah, this is where it 
started.” You might have picked up on it after you were born in the 
1990s and picked up maybe 2000, but it started before you.

AP: What do you want people to take away from your documentary?

CHUCK
 D: I don’t want people to do what they don’t want to do. If you say you
 love hip-hop, then you should be able to know about what you love. You 
don’t have to love hip-hop. I used to ask people straight out, “Do you 
love hip-hop?” They would respond “Oh yeah. I love it.” Then I was ask, 
“Do you love Black people?” They would say “What’s that got to do with 
it?” I’m here to tell you that the culture and the music comes out of 
the people. Sometimes your love of it got to infuse and give something 
back to the people. That’s the cycle.

AP: How do you feel about hip-hop being misinterpreted at times?

CHUCK
 D: I’m 12 years older than hip-hop, so I’m not in awe of it. I’ve seen 
the trajectory and my involvement in it was to see if I can make it go 
head-to-head, stand shoulders and shoulders next to everything else that
 gets bragged and talked about. I’m a big sports fan. You know, a lot of
 people in New York broke up because the Giants lost. That’s how they 
tied into their loyalty for something that they say that they love. 
Well, people love music, too. They seem to know less about it than they 
know about sports, because sports make sure you’re not stupid. Stephen 
A. Smith now is a superstar journalist who makes sure that if you come 
in the room, you’re not stupid about sports. You can’t go off the top of
 your head and freestyle what you think when it’s fact. This four-part 
series at least deals with facts, especially in this misinformation age.
 Facts are important. Facts is not opinion, bro.

CHUCK
 D: Africa is the future of hip-hop. It’s 54 African nations. Not only 
are they spitting like crazy, but they’re also braiding languages. 
Hip-hop is going to like 3.0 when you talk about Africa. Hip-hop is 
there. So that’s the sustaining power if you want to pay attention to 
it.

AP: Do you feel like rappers can still be commercially successful while being socially conscious?

CHUCK
 D: Depends on where they are and who they’re talking to. If you’re in 
France, it might work for you. Each level that you get into it, you got 
to go deeper because you build a fan base that’s three times harder than
 you. If you’re an activist, you’re going to bring on activists that's 
really doing this. You as an artist could engage on it and group them 
together.

Now, as far as what’s going to make that artists keep a 
light on or go out and get the Lamborghini, that’s a personal thing. 
Money is relative. There’s pressure put on the arts. That’s an illusion.
 It’s a little unfair to any art — which is not supposed to bring you an
 industry. It’s supposed to be able to bring a canvas to the world.

AP: What’s it going to take for hip-hop to live for another 50 years?

CHUCK
 D: Commitment collective, people recognizing that this is a part of us 
and recognizing more parts of us that have been part of our cultural 
history around the world. We got to recognize the world too.

By JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. AP Entertainment WriterLOS
 ANGELES — Hip-hop became a cultural phenomenon against the 
backdrop of American history, and now Public Enemy’s Chuck D has 
committed himself to explore the artform's origins.Chuck D 
rounded up several rap greats — including Ice-T, Run DMC and MC Lyte — 
who offered their firsthand accounts ahead of this year's 50th 
anniversary of hip-hop. Their reflections are explored in the four-part 
docuseries <a href="https://www.pbs.org/show/fight-power-how-hip-hop-changed-world/">“Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World,”</a> that aired on PBS and is available to stream on its platforms and YouTube with a premium subscription.The
 series delves into the history of hip-hop including the genre’s radical
 rise from the New York City streets, creating a platform for political 
expression and being a leading voice for social justice“Fight the
 Power” touches on how the hip-hop has played an impactful role in 
speaking up against injustice in the aftermath of America’s racial and 
political reckoning in 2020 after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-minneapolis-police-reform-d109eb0d3094119ddbcb560676467f19">George Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police</a>.
 The series, executive produced by Chuck D, features archival footage 
and insightful interviews from of rap’s most integral figures including 
Fat Joe, Lupe Fiasco, Grandmaster Caz, B-Real of Cypress Hill, Melle 
Mel, will.i.am, John Forte, Roxanne Shanté and Abiodun Oyewole of The 
Last Poets.In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Chuck
 D talked about hip-hop’s cultural growth in 50 years, the genre being 
the backbone for Black men’s voices and how rap could last for another 
half century.Remarks have been edited for clarity and bravery. 
___ AP: You mentioned in your docuseries that hip-hop was a catalyst for
 the Black Lives Matter movement. How so?CHUCK D: It’s a 
collective where people felt the same way. It spoke politically to the 
injustice regarding George Floyd and was a spark that connected around 
the world. Hip-hop has done the same thing. Hip-hop ties human beings 
for their similarities and knocks the differences to the side. It’s a 
movement, when you talk about collective people feeling similar, enact 
upon something and still even stay within the constraints of the law. 
Younger people say, “OK, listen, we’re going to speak truth to power 
right now. We’re going to protest march. We're going to show you numbers
 that you ain’t seen in a long time about something you probably didn’t 
care about." That’s hip-hop, right?AP: During the birth of hip-hop, how do it help encourage Black voices?CHUCK
 D: Black men didn’t have a voice. You might’ve sung records for people 
who were fortunate to become recording artists. Our music has always 
been code. Hip-hop is the term for our creativity, maybe for the last 50
 years. But before that, we always was creative and musicianship, 
vocalization, arts and craft, and also the movement of dance. Just that 
the elements had gotten refined in another period in the '70s out of 
another Big Bang Theory of socio political environments. That’s where 
that voice came out and it came out culturally. It still speaks loudly, 
culturally.AP: How does your documentary amplify that notion?CHUCK
 D: Some people like to deal with hip-hop where they first started. I 
think what this documentary series says is “Nah, this is where it 
started.” You might have picked up on it after you were born in the 
1990s and picked up maybe 2000, but it started before you.AP: What do you want people to take away from your documentary?CHUCK
 D: I don’t want people to do what they don’t want to do. If you say you
 love hip-hop, then you should be able to know about what you love. You 
don’t have to love hip-hop. I used to ask people straight out, “Do you 
love hip-hop?” They would respond “Oh yeah. I love it.” Then I was ask, 
“Do you love Black people?” They would say “What’s that got to do with 
it?” I’m here to tell you that the culture and the music comes out of 
the people. Sometimes your love of it got to infuse and give something 
back to the people. That’s the cycle.AP: How do you feel about hip-hop being misinterpreted at times?CHUCK
 D: I’m 12 years older than hip-hop, so I’m not in awe of it. I’ve seen 
the trajectory and my involvement in it was to see if I can make it go 
head-to-head, stand shoulders and shoulders next to everything else that
 gets bragged and talked about. I’m a big sports fan. You know, a lot of
 people in New York broke up because the Giants lost. That’s how they 
tied into their loyalty for something that they say that they love. 
Well, people love music, too. They seem to know less about it than they 
know about sports, because sports make sure you’re not stupid. Stephen 
A. Smith now is a superstar journalist who makes sure that if you come 
in the room, you’re not stupid about sports. You can’t go off the top of
 your head and freestyle what you think when it’s fact. This four-part 
series at least deals with facts, especially in this misinformation age.
 Facts are important. Facts is not opinion, bro.AP: How have you seen hip-hop transcend?CHUCK
 D: Africa is the future of hip-hop. It’s 54 African nations. Not only 
are they spitting like crazy, but they’re also braiding languages. 
Hip-hop is going to like 3.0 when you talk about Africa. Hip-hop is 
there. So that’s the sustaining power if you want to pay attention to 
it.AP: Do you feel like rappers can still be commercially successful while being socially conscious?CHUCK
 D: Depends on where they are and who they’re talking to. If you’re in 
France, it might work for you. Each level that you get into it, you got 
to go deeper because you build a fan base that’s three times harder than
 you. If you’re an activist, you’re going to bring on activists that's 
really doing this. You as an artist could engage on it and group them 
together.Now, as far as what’s going to make that artists keep a 
light on or go out and get the Lamborghini, that’s a personal thing. 
Money is relative. There’s pressure put on the arts. That’s an illusion.
 It’s a little unfair to any art — which is not supposed to bring you an
 industry. It’s supposed to be able to bring a canvas to the world.AP: What’s it going to take for hip-hop to live for another 50 years?CHUCK
 D: Commitment collective, people recognizing that this is a part of us 
and recognizing more parts of us that have been part of our cultural 
history around the world. We got to recognize the world too.

Q&A: Chuck D talks rap's rise through 'Fight the Power' doc

Newsmax
 is returning to DirecTV after a dispute between the parties saw the 
conservative network removed from the satellite carrier.

The duo 
were initially unable to agree to financial terms on an agreement, which
 led to DirecTV losing the rights to distribute Newsmax programming on 
Jan. 25.

The companies said Wednesday that they've now reached a 
multiyear distribution deal that will see the Newsmax channel return to 
DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse starting on Thursday.

“As
 a stand-alone company, DirecTV helped give Newsmax its start nearly a 
decade ago as it continues to do with upcoming news networks, which is 
why we are pleased to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that will 
deliver our network to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse customers 
over the next several years,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said in a 
statement on Wednesday.

Associated PressNewsmax
 is returning to DirecTV after a dispute between the parties saw the 
conservative network removed from the satellite carrier.The duo 
were initially unable to agree to financial terms on an agreement, which
 led to DirecTV losing the rights to distribute Newsmax programming on 
Jan. 25.The companies said Wednesday that they've now reached a 
multiyear distribution deal that will see the Newsmax channel return to 
DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse starting on Thursday.Financial terms were not disclosed.“As
 a stand-alone company, DirecTV helped give Newsmax its start nearly a 
decade ago as it continues to do with upcoming news networks, which is 
why we are pleased to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that will 
deliver our network to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse customers 
over the next several years,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said in a 
statement on Wednesday.

Newsmax returns to DirecTV, inks multiyear distribution deal

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a moment in the new PBS documentary about <a href="https://apnews.com/article/anthony-fauci-announces-retirement-7efdacac6a9ff7aa6e2f870b551fe508">Dr. Anthony Fauci</a> when a protester holds up a handmade sign reading, “Dr. Fauci, You Are Killing Us."

It
 says something about Fauci that it's not initially clear when that sign
 was waved in anger — in the 1980s as AIDS made its deadly rise or in 
the 2020s with COVID-19 vaccine opponents.

<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/anthony-fauci-documentary/23072/">“American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci,”</a>
 offers a portrait of an unlikely lightning rod: A government infectious
 disease scientist who advised seven presidents. Fauci hopes it can 
inspire more public servants like him.

“I just felt that there 
needed to be a story of people understanding what public health 
officials go through, but also I hope as a source of inspiration for 
young people who are either in science or interested in going into 
science,” he told The Associated Press. The documentary airs Tuesday and
 later streams.

Fauci allowed a film crew to follow him for 23 
months starting in January 2021. The documentary covers his career and 
its crises, especially the way COVID-19 was handled by the Trump 
administration.

“When you talk about all of the different things 
coming together for a disaster, that’s what happened: A divided country,
 a president who amplified the division and then a public health crisis —
 you couldn’t ask for a worse combination of things,” he said.

<a href="http://room608.com/portrait-photos">Director Mark Mannucci</a>
 offers an intimate look at his subject, with images of Fauci running 
from meeting to meeting and wolfing down Wheat Thins between Zooms. His 
wife attests to the stress by pointing out their security detail due to 
threats.

“The story illuminates — and he’d be the first to say it —
 some very dark stuff about this country and how a person who has 
devoted his life to helping individuals got so twisted in this current 
climate,” said Mannucci.

Michael Kantor, executive producer for the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/">American Masters series</a>,
 says Fauci is a figure who has been central to American life for 
decades and deserves an examination, even if some virulently oppose him.

“Dr.
 Fauci is a very controversial figure, and there are going to be people 
who are going to voice — just as in the film — great displeasure about 
what he’s done and about his approach to things. But isn’t that the 
whole point of public media? It is intended to make that conversation 
happen in the best possible way.”

COVID-19 may have introduced 
Fauci to millions of Americans, but his long career at the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was marked by numerous 
previous health scares, among them HIV, SARS, MERS, Ebola and even the 
nation’s 2001 anthrax attacks.

The film shows that Fauci learned a
 lesson in humility with AIDS, as the disease stubbornly persisted and 
activists argued not enough was being done from the government. “I went 
from a world of success and gratification to a world of frustration and 
failure,” he says in the film.

Mannucci's camera flashes-forward 
to today, with Fauci cordially meeting up with the former AIDS activists
 who once decried him. They have long since reconciled; they were all on
 the same side, after all — science.

“I put aside the 
confrontational behavior and the attacks on me and listen to what they 
were saying,” Fauci explained in the interview. “And what they were 
saying was making perfect sense. It made me feel if I were in their 
shoes, I’d be doing exactly what they were doing.”

That's not the 
case when protesters in recent years began attacking Fauci for mask 
mandates, school closures, quarantines and bizarre claims about the 
COVID-19 vaccines.

“There’s one sign that says, ‘Fauci, You’re 
Killing Us’ and the other sign that says ‘Fauci, You’re Killing Us’ but 
the rationale for those from the 1980s to 2023 is enormously different,”
 Fauci said. “They couldn't be more different.”

In one remarkable 
sequence in the documentary, Mannucci presses Fauci on whether he might 
have handled things differently looking back — like asking Americans to 
adopt masks sooner or ordering quarantines faster. “Maybe I should have 
done that,” he says. “Yeah, I was wrong.”

Mannucci relied on 10 
long sit-downs with Fauci to develop trust with his subject and didn't 
clutter the documentary with testimonials from talking heads, wanting to
 focus on Fauci's experiences.

“I hope it’s not viewed as a 
partisan message, but as a portrait of who he is and what he went 
through,” said the director. “I hope that people on the other side, even
 if they never end up agreeing with him, will at least see somebody who 
is a real person, who’s a thinking person, who’s somebody maybe they can
 even relate to.”

The film ends with Fauci's retirement from the 
NIAID late last year. Kantor suspects only time will tell where history 
will judge a man who dedicated his life to public service.

“I 
think 10 years from now, hopefully the furor over him as a controversial
 figure will die down. But the legacy of the approach to pandemics and 
so on will still be super valuable,” he said.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment WriterNEW YORK (AP) — There's a moment in the new PBS documentary about <a href="https://apnews.com/article/anthony-fauci-announces-retirement-7efdacac6a9ff7aa6e2f870b551fe508">Dr. Anthony Fauci</a> when a protester holds up a handmade sign reading, “Dr. Fauci, You Are Killing Us."It
 says something about Fauci that it's not initially clear when that sign
 was waved in anger — in the 1980s as AIDS made its deadly rise or in 
the 2020s with COVID-19 vaccine opponents.<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/anthony-fauci-documentary/23072/">“American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci,”</a>
 offers a portrait of an unlikely lightning rod: A government infectious
 disease scientist who advised seven presidents. Fauci hopes it can 
inspire more public servants like him.“I just felt that there 
needed to be a story of people understanding what public health 
officials go through, but also I hope as a source of inspiration for 
young people who are either in science or interested in going into 
science,” he told The Associated Press. The documentary airs Tuesday and
 later streams.Fauci allowed a film crew to follow him for 23 
months starting in January 2021. The documentary covers his career and 
its crises, especially the way COVID-19 was handled by the Trump 
administration.“When you talk about all of the different things 
coming together for a disaster, that’s what happened: A divided country,
 a president who amplified the division and then a public health crisis —
 you couldn’t ask for a worse combination of things,” he said.<a href="http://room608.com/portrait-photos">Director Mark Mannucci</a>
 offers an intimate look at his subject, with images of Fauci running 
from meeting to meeting and wolfing down Wheat Thins between Zooms. His 
wife attests to the stress by pointing out their security detail due to 
threats.“The story illuminates — and he’d be the first to say it —
 some very dark stuff about this country and how a person who has 
devoted his life to helping individuals got so twisted in this current 
climate,” said Mannucci.Michael Kantor, executive producer for the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/">American Masters series</a>,
 says Fauci is a figure who has been central to American life for 
decades and deserves an examination, even if some virulently oppose him.“Dr.
 Fauci is a very controversial figure, and there are going to be people 
who are going to voice — just as in the film — great displeasure about 
what he’s done and about his approach to things. But isn’t that the 
whole point of public media? It is intended to make that conversation 
happen in the best possible way.”COVID-19 may have introduced 
Fauci to millions of Americans, but his long career at the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was marked by numerous 
previous health scares, among them HIV, SARS, MERS, Ebola and even the 
nation’s 2001 anthrax attacks.The film shows that Fauci learned a
 lesson in humility with AIDS, as the disease stubbornly persisted and 
activists argued not enough was being done from the government. “I went 
from a world of success and gratification to a world of frustration and 
failure,” he says in the film.Mannucci's camera flashes-forward 
to today, with Fauci cordially meeting up with the former AIDS activists
 who once decried him. They have long since reconciled; they were all on
 the same side, after all — science.“I put aside the 
confrontational behavior and the attacks on me and listen to what they 
were saying,” Fauci explained in the interview. “And what they were 
saying was making perfect sense. It made me feel if I were in their 
shoes, I’d be doing exactly what they were doing.”That's not the 
case when protesters in recent years began attacking Fauci for mask 
mandates, school closures, quarantines and bizarre claims about the 
COVID-19 vaccines.“There’s one sign that says, ‘Fauci, You’re 
Killing Us’ and the other sign that says ‘Fauci, You’re Killing Us’ but 
the rationale for those from the 1980s to 2023 is enormously different,”
 Fauci said. “They couldn't be more different.”In one remarkable 
sequence in the documentary, Mannucci presses Fauci on whether he might 
have handled things differently looking back — like asking Americans to 
adopt masks sooner or ordering quarantines faster. “Maybe I should have 
done that,” he says. “Yeah, I was wrong.”Mannucci relied on 10 
long sit-downs with Fauci to develop trust with his subject and didn't 
clutter the documentary with testimonials from talking heads, wanting to
 focus on Fauci's experiences.“I hope it’s not viewed as a 
partisan message, but as a portrait of who he is and what he went 
through,” said the director. “I hope that people on the other side, even
 if they never end up agreeing with him, will at least see somebody who 
is a real person, who’s a thinking person, who’s somebody maybe they can
 even relate to.”The film ends with Fauci's retirement from the 
NIAID late last year. Kantor suspects only time will tell where history 
will judge a man who dedicated his life to public service.“I 
think 10 years from now, hopefully the furor over him as a controversial
 figure will die down. But the legacy of the approach to pandemics and 
so on will still be super valuable,” he said.

Anthony Fauci documentary on PBS covers a career of crises

HONG KONG — Public screenings of a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/winnie-the-pooh-copyright-blood-and-honey-batman-mickey-717bf5a77eed30fe02283f1439ca6cd7">slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh</a> were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city.

Film
 distributor VII Pillars Entertainment announced on Facebook that the 
release of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been 
canceled with “great regret” in Hong Kong and neighboring Macao.

In
 an email reply to The Associated Press, the distributor said it was 
notified by cinemas that they could not show the film as scheduled, but 
it didn't know why. The cinema chains involved did not immediately reply
 to a request for comment.

For many residents, the Winnie the Pooh
 character is a playful taunt of China's President Xi Jinping and 
Chinese censors in the past had briefly banned social media searches for
 the bear in the country. In 2018, the film “Christopher Robin,” also 
featuring Winnie the Pooh, was reportedly denied a release in China.

The film being pulled in Hong Kong has prompted concern on social media over the territory’s shrinking freedoms.

The movie was initially set to be shown in about 30 cinemas in Hong Kong, VII Pillars Entertainment wrote last week.

The
 Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration said it had 
approved the film and arrangements by local cinemas to screen approved 
films “are the commercial decisions of the cinemas concerned." It 
refused to comment on such arrangements.

A screening initially 
scheduled for Tuesday night in one cinema was canceled due to “technical
 reasons," the organizer said on Instagram.

Kenny Ng, a professor 
at Hong Kong Baptist University’s academy of film, refused to speculate 
on the reason behind the cancellation, but suggested the mechanism of 
silencing criticism appeared to be resorting to commercial decisions.

Hong
 Kong is a former British colony that returned to China's rule in 1997, 
promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. But China imposed a 
national security law following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, 
silencing or jailing many dissidents.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-hong-kong-censorship-7f468deea7ab0e637b2ee58fbe28c031">In 2021, the government tightened guidelines</a> and authorized censors to ban films believed to have breached the sweeping law.

Ng
 said the city saw more cases of censorship over the last two years, 
mostly targeting non-commercial movies, such as independent short films.

“When there is a red line, then there are more taboos,” he said.

Associated PressHONG KONG — Public screenings of a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/winnie-the-pooh-copyright-blood-and-honey-batman-mickey-717bf5a77eed30fe02283f1439ca6cd7">slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh</a> were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city.Film
 distributor VII Pillars Entertainment announced on Facebook that the 
release of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been 
canceled with “great regret” in Hong Kong and neighboring Macao.In
 an email reply to The Associated Press, the distributor said it was 
notified by cinemas that they could not show the film as scheduled, but 
it didn't know why. The cinema chains involved did not immediately reply
 to a request for comment.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679421169582.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>For many residents, the Winnie the Pooh
 character is a playful taunt of China's President Xi Jinping and 
Chinese censors in the past had briefly banned social media searches for
 the bear in the country. In 2018, the film “Christopher Robin,” also 
featuring Winnie the Pooh, was reportedly denied a release in China.The film being pulled in Hong Kong has prompted concern on social media over the territory’s shrinking freedoms.The movie was initially set to be shown in about 30 cinemas in Hong Kong, VII Pillars Entertainment wrote last week.The
 Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration said it had 
approved the film and arrangements by local cinemas to screen approved 
films “are the commercial decisions of the cinemas concerned." It 
refused to comment on such arrangements.A screening initially 
scheduled for Tuesday night in one cinema was canceled due to “technical
 reasons," the organizer said on Instagram.Kenny Ng, a professor 
at Hong Kong Baptist University’s academy of film, refused to speculate 
on the reason behind the cancellation, but suggested the mechanism of 
silencing criticism appeared to be resorting to commercial decisions.Hong
 Kong is a former British colony that returned to China's rule in 1997, 
promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. But China imposed a 
national security law following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, 
silencing or jailing many dissidents.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-hong-kong-censorship-7f468deea7ab0e637b2ee58fbe28c031">In 2021, the government tightened guidelines</a> and authorized censors to ban films believed to have breached the sweeping law.Ng
 said the city saw more cases of censorship over the last two years, 
mostly targeting non-commercial movies, such as independent short films.“When there is a red line, then there are more taboos,” he said.

'Winnie the Pooh' film pulled from Hong Kong cinemas

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Taylor Swift opened her U.S. concert series with a three-hour tour of her career.

Swift
 kicked off the first concert of the 52-date Eras Tour with a six-song 
set from her album “Lover” on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in 
Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago.

“I
 don’t know how to address the way this is making me feel right now,” 
Swift, who hasn't toured since 2018, said early in the show.

She ended the concert with a seven-song set from her latest album “Midnights," closing with the song “Karma.”

In
 between she played clusters of songs from most of her albums — and just
 one, “Tim McGraw,” from her 2006 self-titled debut. In the end it took 
44 songs and just over three hours for her to span her 17-year career.

Having
 not toured for her previous three albums, this concert series is 
intended to play catchup by providing the live debut of many of those 
songs. When <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-phoebe-bridgers-e960c7caddace9a05374ddc7a53211aa">Swift announced the tour</a> in November she called it “a journey through the musical eras of my career (past and present!).”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-af5d58d2a8c6def368ded1bd2ddd8a6f">Swift seemed to acknowledge</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/josh-shapiro-business-taylor-swift-tennessee-e157badef297f7c302615b3a6080ba2a">the Ticketmaster furor</a> that sullied the run-up to the tour when she told the crowd of more than 70,000 that she understands it took <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">“considerable effort” for them to be there</a>.

After
 another show at the same venue Saturday night, the tour moves on to 
Allegiant Stadium outside Las Vegas and then AT&amp;T Stadium near 
Dallas.

It concludes with two Los Angeles-area shows in August.

Associated PressGLENDALE, Ariz. — Taylor Swift opened her U.S. concert series with a three-hour tour of her career.Swift
 kicked off the first concert of the 52-date Eras Tour with a six-song 
set from her album “Lover” on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in 
Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago.“I
 don’t know how to address the way this is making me feel right now,” 
Swift, who hasn't toured since 2018, said early in the show.She ended the concert with a seven-song set from her latest album “Midnights," closing with the song “Karma.”In
 between she played clusters of songs from most of her albums — and just
 one, “Tim McGraw,” from her 2006 self-titled debut. In the end it took 
44 songs and just over three hours for her to span her 17-year career.Having
 not toured for her previous three albums, this concert series is 
intended to play catchup by providing the live debut of many of those 
songs. When <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-phoebe-bridgers-e960c7caddace9a05374ddc7a53211aa">Swift announced the tour</a> in November she called it “a journey through the musical eras of my career (past and present!).”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-taylor-swift-af5d58d2a8c6def368ded1bd2ddd8a6f">Swift seemed to acknowledge</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/josh-shapiro-business-taylor-swift-tennessee-e157badef297f7c302615b3a6080ba2a">the Ticketmaster furor</a> that sullied the run-up to the tour when she told the crowd of more than 70,000 that she understands it took <a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-concert-tickets-parents-34399cca6403c97f0983a5c69c7edec0">“considerable effort” for them to be there</a>.After
 another show at the same venue Saturday night, the tour moves on to 
Allegiant Stadium outside Las Vegas and then AT&amp;T Stadium near 
Dallas.It concludes with two Los Angeles-area shows in August.

Taylor Swift kicks off US Eras Tour at Super Bowl stadium

LAS VEGAS (AP) — <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness">March Madness</a>
 isn't just about filling out — and later trashing — brackets. There are
 more ways to bet the field in the NCAA Tournament, an event that will 
consume basketball fans over the next three weeks. Here's a look at the 
favorites, underdogs and long shots.

Earlier
 this week, top-seeded Houston was the plus-135 favorite to emerge as 
the Midwest Region representative and play in Houston, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab?tab=march-madness">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>. That means a $100 bet pays $135. The next top team in the region is No. 5 Texas at plus-350.

Alabama, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-2023-e8fe1bfd7964f938781458952670f51a">the No. 1 overall seed</a>, was plus-150 to come out of the South.

The
 most competitive region appears to be the West. Top seed Kansas opened 
as a slight favorite but later shared that spot with 2-seed UCLA at 
plus-330 (before the Jayhawks were ousted). No. 3 seed Gonzaga wasn't 
far behind at plus-400.

Top seed Purdue was at plus-300 to come out of the East, but the Boilermakers lost in the first round.

After
 a batch of upsets, the favorites heading into the Sweet 16 are (in 
order, as of March 19): Alabama, Houston, UConn, UCLA, Gonzaga and 
Texas, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab?tab=national-champion">FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>

If you were looking for the next Saint Peter's or Loyola-Chicago, check out these options.

Nineteen
 teams were listed at plus-50,000: Arizona State, Charleston, Colgate, 
Furman, Grand Canyon, Howard, Iona, Kennesaw State, Kent State, 
Louisiana-Lafayette, Montana State, Nevada, Northern Kentucky, Oral 
Roberts, Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, UC Santa Barbara,
 UNC Asheville and Vermont. Furman did advance to the second round with a
 big win over 4th-seeded Virginia but that was it. Princeton, anyone?

Alabama
 was a 23 1/2-point favorite over Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi. Kansas 
was favored by 22 1/2-over Howard in their first-round matchup — the 
same spread <a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-fairleigh-dickinson-purdue-16-seed-715e3e361344928ea10880dd9a9d8a58">Fairleigh Dickinson faced against Purdue before its shocking 63-58 win.</a>

The
 old saying is that life is too short to bet the under, but it's often 
the wise play. Some of these totals may give bettors second thoughts 
before taking the over, but that doesn't mean it's the wrong move.

The
 highest totals heading into the tourney were Gonzaga-Grand Canyon, 
Missouri-Utah State and Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi-Southeast Missouri 
State at 155 1/2 each, Xavier-Kennesaw State at 153 1/2, Auburn-Iowa at 
151 1/2 and Florida Atlantic-Memphis and Colgate-Texas at 150 1/2 each.

Just
 because the committee seeds one team over another doesn't necessarily 
mean it's the better team in the minds of the oddsmakers. Games where 
the lower seed was the favorite on the early line: Tenth-seeded Utah 
State by 1 1/2 points over seventh-seeded Missouri (Missouri won), 
ninth-seeded West Virginia by 2 1/2 over eighth-seeded Maryland 
(Maryland won) and ninth-seeded Auburn by 1 1/2 over eighth-seeded Iowa 
(Auburn won 83-75).

Circa Sports in Las Vegas likes 
the chances of the 5-12 opening-round upset trend continuing, posting 
the odds of a No. 12 seed winning at minus-510. Odds also are in the 
favor of a No. 13 beating a four-seed at minus-250.

A victory by a
 No. 14 (plus-110), No. 15 (plus-195) and No. 16 (plus-745) aren't as 
likely but that's March Madness: A 15 and a 16 won in the first round, 
after all.

The Big 12 had the highest total for number of tournament wins by a conference at 11.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-brackets-ncaa-arizona-virginia-princeton-furman-e05e2095ceedec75d99c5c5ae0c037fe">The chase for the perfect bracket in office pools and everywhere else ended before the second round</a>
 this year. Wins by the likes of 15-seed Princeton, 13-seed Furman and 
16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson's near-historic win over No. 1 seed Purdue 
left the number of perfect brackets at 0 late Friday in the major 
contests run by ESPN, CBS Sports, the NCAA and others.

Associated PressLAS VEGAS (AP) — <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness">March Madness</a>
 isn't just about filling out — and later trashing — brackets. There are
 more ways to bet the field in the NCAA Tournament, an event that will 
consume basketball fans over the next three weeks. Here's a look at the 
favorites, underdogs and long shots.WHO’S FAVORED TO REACH THE FINAL FOUR?Earlier
 this week, top-seeded Houston was the plus-135 favorite to emerge as 
the Midwest Region representative and play in Houston, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab?tab=march-madness">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>. That means a $100 bet pays $135. The next top team in the region is No. 5 Texas at plus-350.Alabama, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-2023-e8fe1bfd7964f938781458952670f51a">the No. 1 overall seed</a>, was plus-150 to come out of the South.The
 most competitive region appears to be the West. Top seed Kansas opened 
as a slight favorite but later shared that spot with 2-seed UCLA at 
plus-330 (before the Jayhawks were ousted). No. 3 seed Gonzaga wasn't 
far behind at plus-400.Top seed Purdue was at plus-300 to come out of the East, but the Boilermakers lost in the first round.WHO’S FAVORED TO WIN THE TITLE?After
 a batch of upsets, the favorites heading into the Sweet 16 are (in 
order, as of March 19): Alabama, Houston, UConn, UCLA, Gonzaga and 
Texas, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab?tab=national-champion">FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>WHO IS THE BIGGEST UNDERDOG?If you were looking for the next Saint Peter's or Loyola-Chicago, check out these options.Nineteen
 teams were listed at plus-50,000: Arizona State, Charleston, Colgate, 
Furman, Grand Canyon, Howard, Iona, Kennesaw State, Kent State, 
Louisiana-Lafayette, Montana State, Nevada, Northern Kentucky, Oral 
Roberts, Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, UC Santa Barbara,
 UNC Asheville and Vermont. Furman did advance to the second round with a
 big win over 4th-seeded Virginia but that was it. Princeton, anyone?WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SPREAD DIFFERENCE?Alabama
 was a 23 1/2-point favorite over Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi. Kansas 
was favored by 22 1/2-over Howard in their first-round matchup — the 
same spread <a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-fairleigh-dickinson-purdue-16-seed-715e3e361344928ea10880dd9a9d8a58">Fairleigh Dickinson faced against Purdue before its shocking 63-58 win.</a>WHAT’S THE BIGGEST OVER/UNDER?The
 old saying is that life is too short to bet the under, but it's often 
the wise play. Some of these totals may give bettors second thoughts 
before taking the over, but that doesn't mean it's the wrong move.The
 highest totals heading into the tourney were Gonzaga-Grand Canyon, 
Missouri-Utah State and Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi-Southeast Missouri 
State at 155 1/2 each, Xavier-Kennesaw State at 153 1/2, Auburn-Iowa at 
151 1/2 and Florida Atlantic-Memphis and Colgate-Texas at 150 1/2 each.NOT REAL UNDERDOGSJust
 because the committee seeds one team over another doesn't necessarily 
mean it's the better team in the minds of the oddsmakers. Games where 
the lower seed was the favorite on the early line: Tenth-seeded Utah 
State by 1 1/2 points over seventh-seeded Missouri (Missouri won), 
ninth-seeded West Virginia by 2 1/2 over eighth-seeded Maryland 
(Maryland won) and ninth-seeded Auburn by 1 1/2 over eighth-seeded Iowa 
(Auburn won 83-75).PROPSCirca Sports in Las Vegas likes 
the chances of the 5-12 opening-round upset trend continuing, posting 
the odds of a No. 12 seed winning at minus-510. Odds also are in the 
favor of a No. 13 beating a four-seed at minus-250.A victory by a
 No. 14 (plus-110), No. 15 (plus-195) and No. 16 (plus-745) aren't as 
likely but that's March Madness: A 15 and a 16 won in the first round, 
after all.The Big 12 had the highest total for number of tournament wins by a conference at 11.BRACKETS<a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-brackets-ncaa-arizona-virginia-princeton-furman-e05e2095ceedec75d99c5c5ae0c037fe">The chase for the perfect bracket in office pools and everywhere else ended before the second round</a>
 this year. Wins by the likes of 15-seed Princeton, 13-seed Furman and 
16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson's near-historic win over No. 1 seed Purdue 
left the number of perfect brackets at 0 late Friday in the major 
contests run by ESPN, CBS Sports, the NCAA and others.

March Madness betting guide: Upsets shuffle favorites' odds

NEW YORK — Legendary British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens will 
release a new album of original songs this summer that took the “Peace 
Train” hitmaker over a decade to make and revisits familiar themes of 
togetherness.

The 12-song collection is called “King of a Land” 
and comes out in June on George Harrison-founded Dark Horse Records. The
 album cover illustration shows a boy playing guitar on top of the 
Earth, as a cat stretches and a train puffs along a track.

The 
first single is the cheerful, family friendly “Take the World Apart,” 
with the lyrics “I'll take the world apart/to find a place for a 
peaceful heart.”

“The source of musical inspiration for this song 
came from the 50s. The smoochy harmonies and chords have an enchanting 
effect on the ear. Life was simpler then: lonely hearts yearning for 
love," he said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The album 
reunites Stevens with producer Paul Samwell-Smith, who produced three 
Stevens albums between 1970-72 — “Tea for the Tillerman,” “Teaser and 
the Firecat” and “Catch Bull at Four.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1a43c96be82d41eb8ba03e37a82fec4a">Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame member Stevens,</a>
 who also goes by Yusuf, the name he took when he converted to Islam, 
has been a respected writer since releasing his debut in 1967. He’s had a
 string of Top 40 hits, from “Peace Train” and “Wild World” to “Morning 
Has Broken.” He was just named to Glastonbury’s coveted Legends slot 
this summer.

Associated PressNEW YORK — Legendary British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens will 
release a new album of original songs this summer that took the “Peace 
Train” hitmaker over a decade to make and revisits familiar themes of 
togetherness.The 12-song collection is called “King of a Land” 
and comes out in June on George Harrison-founded Dark Horse Records. The
 album cover illustration shows a boy playing guitar on top of the 
Earth, as a cat stretches and a train puffs along a track.The 
first single is the cheerful, family friendly “Take the World Apart,” 
with the lyrics “I'll take the world apart/to find a place for a 
peaceful heart.”“The source of musical inspiration for this song 
came from the 50s. The smoochy harmonies and chords have an enchanting 
effect on the ear. Life was simpler then: lonely hearts yearning for 
love," he said in a statement to The Associated Press.The album 
reunites Stevens with producer Paul Samwell-Smith, who produced three 
Stevens albums between 1970-72 — “Tea for the Tillerman,” “Teaser and 
the Firecat” and “Catch Bull at Four.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1a43c96be82d41eb8ba03e37a82fec4a">Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame member Stevens,</a>
 who also goes by Yusuf, the name he took when he converted to Islam, 
has been a respected writer since releasing his debut in 1967. He’s had a
 string of Top 40 hits, from “Peace Train” and “Wild World” to “Morning 
Has Broken.” He was just named to Glastonbury’s coveted Legends slot 
this summer.

Cat Stevens to return this summer with a new album

By DAVID BAUDER AP Entertainment Writer

NEW
 YORK — In reimagining 40 of their best-known songs, U2 recognized 
that many fans would experience them through earphones connected to a 
device in their pockets — rather than being belted out onstage.

That was one thought behind <a href="https://www.u2.com/">“Songs of Surrender,”</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/u2-ted-lasso-streaming-watch-week-211eb0a5b4f8606f313c523c790f49d1">coming out this week</a>.
 The four men of U2, now either 61 or 62 years old, revisit material 
written in some cases when they were little more than kids out of 
Dublin.

Particularly in those days, U2 songs were written 
primarily with concerts in mind. The Edge told The Associated Press in 
an interview that U2 wanted to catch the attention of people seeing the 
band for the first time, perhaps in a festival or as an opening act.

“There's
 a sort of gladiatorial aspect to live performances when you're in that 
situation,” he said. “The material has got to be pretty bold and even 
strident at times. With this reimagining, we thought it would be fun to 
see intimacy as a new approach, that intimacy would be the new punk 
rock, as it were.”

The Edge was the driving force behind “Songs of Surrender,” using pandemic down time to record much of the music at home.

Given
 that his electric guitar and Bono's voice are the musical signature of 
U2, there's a certain irony in the absence of that guitar being the most
 immediately noticeable feature of the new versions. He sticks primarily
 to keyboards, acoustic guitar and dulcimer.

The process began without a roadmap or commitment to see it through if it wasn't working.

“As
 we got into it and got into a groove, we really started to enjoy what 
was happening,” he said. “There was a lot of freedom in the process, it 
was joyful and fun to take these songs and sort of reimagine them and I 
think that comes across. It doesn't sound like there was a lot of hard 
work involved because it wasn't.”

Much of the intimacy comes 
through Bono's voice. There's no need to shout, so he sometimes uses 
lower registers or slips into falsetto.

Lyrics are often rewritten, sometimes extensively in even a recent song like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwZEIHTne58">“The Miracle of Joey Ramone.”</a>
 Some changes are more subtle but still noticeable: replacing the line 
“one man betrayed with a kiss” with “one boy never will be kissed” takes
 Jesus out of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHcP4MWABGY">“Pride (In the Name of Love).”</a>

At the same time, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is rearranged to end with a question: “where is the victory Jesus won?”

Cellos replace the driving guitar of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98W9QuMq-2k">“Vertigo.”</a> Keyboards give <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZWSrr5wFI">“Where the Streets Have No Name”</a> an ambient sound. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQiFSPboKAM">"Two Hearts Beat as One,"</a>
 the original a high-octane rock dance song, now has a slinkier, sexy 
vibe and is one of four songs where The Edge takes lead vocal.

The
 band is fairly democratic in taking songs from throughout its catalog, 
although 1981's “October” album and 2009's “No Line on the Horizon” are 
not represented. “New Year's Day,” “Angel of Harlem” and “Even Better 
Than the Real Thing” are among the songs left alone.

“We’re one of
 the only acts that has this body of work where a project like this 
would be possible, with the distance of time and experience where it 
would be interesting to revisit early songs,” The Edge said.

Throughout
 music history, bands have occasionally re-recorded material for 
contractual reasons. Taylor Swift is the most famous example, putting 
out new versions of her older songs in order to control their use. 
Squeeze's “Spot the Difference” makes sport of how they tried to make 
new recordings indistinguishable from the originals.

Live 
recordings and archive-cleaning projects like Bob Dylan's “bootleg” 
series gives fans the chance to hear familiar songs differently.

Many
 older artists don't see the point of making new music, since there's 
little opportunity to be heard and fans are partial to the familiar 
stuff, anyway, said Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone contributing editor.

“Revisiting
 your body of work in a creative way is a means of sustaining interest 
in your career,” DeCurtis said. “Older fans might not be interested in 
another collection of your hits, but reworking them in a meaningful way 
could prove enticing. Younger fans don't have the same investment in 
your classics, so these new versions offer a route into your catalog.”

The Edge encourages fans to give the new versions a try, suggesting they may even grow to prefer some of them.

“I
 don't think there's a competition between these and the original 
versions,” he said. "It's more of an additive thing than a substitution.
 If you like the new arrangements, great. If you prefer the originals, 
keep listening.

“It's no problem either way,” he said. “They're both valid.”

The Edge said he's working on new music for U2, “and we've got some great stuff in the pipeline.”

The
 quartet that met in drummer Larry Mullen Jr.'s kitchen when they 
answered an ad placed on a high school bulletin board is a remarkable 
story in longevity. A passage toward the end of Bono's book “Surrender,”
 where he talked about looking around onstage at the end of their most 
recent tour in 2019 and wondering if it was the end, raised natural 
questions about how long U2 would continue.

“There are many 
reasons why U2 has stayed together for so long, but one of the main 
reasons is that it works so well for us as individuals,” The Edge said. 
“I think we all shine the brightest as part of this collective. I 
certainly would not like to hang up the guitar.”

This year will 
provide a test for a band that can count on one hand the number of times
 it has performed without all four members. U2 has committed to a run of
 shows in Las Vegas without Mullen, who is recuperating from surgery.

Would U2 continue if one of the original quartet decides it's time to hang it up?

“I
 wouldn't rule out the possibility that we could go forward with 
different members,” The Edge said. “But also, equally, I could imagine 
us deciding not to. It would be a big challenge. But I think at the time
 we would know what felt right.”

By DAVID BAUDER AP Entertainment WriterNEW
 YORK — In reimagining 40 of their best-known songs, U2 recognized 
that many fans would experience them through earphones connected to a 
device in their pockets — rather than being belted out onstage.That was one thought behind <a href="https://www.u2.com/">“Songs of Surrender,”</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/u2-ted-lasso-streaming-watch-week-211eb0a5b4f8606f313c523c790f49d1">coming out this week</a>.
 The four men of U2, now either 61 or 62 years old, revisit material 
written in some cases when they were little more than kids out of 
Dublin.Particularly in those days, U2 songs were written 
primarily with concerts in mind. The Edge told The Associated Press in 
an interview that U2 wanted to catch the attention of people seeing the 
band for the first time, perhaps in a festival or as an opening act.“There's
 a sort of gladiatorial aspect to live performances when you're in that 
situation,” he said. “The material has got to be pretty bold and even 
strident at times. With this reimagining, we thought it would be fun to 
see intimacy as a new approach, that intimacy would be the new punk 
rock, as it were.”The Edge was the driving force behind “Songs of Surrender,” using pandemic down time to record much of the music at home.Given
 that his electric guitar and Bono's voice are the musical signature of 
U2, there's a certain irony in the absence of that guitar being the most
 immediately noticeable feature of the new versions. He sticks primarily
 to keyboards, acoustic guitar and dulcimer.The process began without a roadmap or commitment to see it through if it wasn't working.“As
 we got into it and got into a groove, we really started to enjoy what 
was happening,” he said. “There was a lot of freedom in the process, it 
was joyful and fun to take these songs and sort of reimagine them and I 
think that comes across. It doesn't sound like there was a lot of hard 
work involved because it wasn't.”Much of the intimacy comes 
through Bono's voice. There's no need to shout, so he sometimes uses 
lower registers or slips into falsetto.Lyrics are often rewritten, sometimes extensively in even a recent song like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwZEIHTne58">“The Miracle of Joey Ramone.”</a>
 Some changes are more subtle but still noticeable: replacing the line 
“one man betrayed with a kiss” with “one boy never will be kissed” takes
 Jesus out of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHcP4MWABGY">“Pride (In the Name of Love).”</a>At the same time, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is rearranged to end with a question: “where is the victory Jesus won?”Cellos replace the driving guitar of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98W9QuMq-2k">“Vertigo.”</a> Keyboards give <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZWSrr5wFI">“Where the Streets Have No Name”</a> an ambient sound. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQiFSPboKAM">"Two Hearts Beat as One,"</a>
 the original a high-octane rock dance song, now has a slinkier, sexy 
vibe and is one of four songs where The Edge takes lead vocal.The
 band is fairly democratic in taking songs from throughout its catalog, 
although 1981's “October” album and 2009's “No Line on the Horizon” are 
not represented. “New Year's Day,” “Angel of Harlem” and “Even Better 
Than the Real Thing” are among the songs left alone.“We’re one of
 the only acts that has this body of work where a project like this 
would be possible, with the distance of time and experience where it 
would be interesting to revisit early songs,” The Edge said.Throughout
 music history, bands have occasionally re-recorded material for 
contractual reasons. Taylor Swift is the most famous example, putting 
out new versions of her older songs in order to control their use. 
Squeeze's “Spot the Difference” makes sport of how they tried to make 
new recordings indistinguishable from the originals.Live 
recordings and archive-cleaning projects like Bob Dylan's “bootleg” 
series gives fans the chance to hear familiar songs differently.Many
 older artists don't see the point of making new music, since there's 
little opportunity to be heard and fans are partial to the familiar 
stuff, anyway, said Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone contributing editor.“Revisiting
 your body of work in a creative way is a means of sustaining interest 
in your career,” DeCurtis said. “Older fans might not be interested in 
another collection of your hits, but reworking them in a meaningful way 
could prove enticing. Younger fans don't have the same investment in 
your classics, so these new versions offer a route into your catalog.”The Edge encourages fans to give the new versions a try, suggesting they may even grow to prefer some of them.“I
 don't think there's a competition between these and the original 
versions,” he said. "It's more of an additive thing than a substitution.
 If you like the new arrangements, great. If you prefer the originals, 
keep listening.“It's no problem either way,” he said. “They're both valid.”The Edge said he's working on new music for U2, “and we've got some great stuff in the pipeline.”The
 quartet that met in drummer Larry Mullen Jr.'s kitchen when they 
answered an ad placed on a high school bulletin board is a remarkable 
story in longevity. A passage toward the end of Bono's book “Surrender,”
 where he talked about looking around onstage at the end of their most 
recent tour in 2019 and wondering if it was the end, raised natural 
questions about how long U2 would continue.“There are many 
reasons why U2 has stayed together for so long, but one of the main 
reasons is that it works so well for us as individuals,” The Edge said. 
“I think we all shine the brightest as part of this collective. I 
certainly would not like to hang up the guitar.”This year will 
provide a test for a band that can count on one hand the number of times
 it has performed without all four members. U2 has committed to a run of
 shows in Las Vegas without Mullen, who is recuperating from surgery.Would U2 continue if one of the original quartet decides it's time to hang it up?“I
 wouldn't rule out the possibility that we could go forward with 
different members,” The Edge said. “But also, equally, I could imagine 
us deciding not to. It would be a big challenge. But I think at the time
 we would know what felt right.”

In unusual step, U2 reinterprets 40 of its best-known songs

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Dare2tri executive director Keri Serota.

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_mCgRqySF6Q" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Dare2tri executive director Keri Serota.

🎤 Forward Ever: Dare2tri executive director Keri Serota

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country singer Lainey Wilson is a fan favorite at this year’s <a href="https://www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards">CMT Music Awards</a>, where she is the leading nominee including for “Video of the Year.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country singer Lainey Wilson is a fan favorite at this year’s <a href="https://www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards">CMT Music Awards</a>, where she is the leading nominee including for “Video of the Year.”The
 “Heart Like a Truck” singer earned four nominations when nominees were 
announced Wednesday ahead of the April 2 show airing on CBS.Other
 leading nominees including Cody Johnson, CMT co-host Kane Brown and 
first-time nominee Jelly Roll, who all have three nominations each. 
Brown and Kelsea Ballerini return to host the show from Austin, Texas.There are 16 nominees for the show's top prize, video of the year, a category that Carrie Underwood <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-anthony-mackie-kelsea-ballerini-nashville-tennessee-b8d1e13ad2888abd891dab8da439b620">holds the record</a> in with 25 awards. She's nominated again for her video “Hate My Heart” and will also perform.The winners will be selected by fan voting, which is open now at <a href="http://vote.cmt.com">vote.cmt.com</a>.Wynonna
 Judd earned two nominations in the CMT performance of the year 
category, one with her late mother Naomi for their last performance 
together on last year's CMT Music Awards and one for her performance of 
“The Rose” with Brandi Carlile during <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-country-nashville-28c4ce0f989a4ceb3276fac8a570c434">a memorial show</a> after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/naomi-judd-dead-29302bc273e57c174ea9ecbea606f668">Naomi Judd's death.</a>This
 year, CMT is splitting their breakthrough video of the year award into 
separate male and female subcategories, which increases the total number
 of nominees.