YCLOAK

LOS ANGELES — After ripping through thousands of buildings, wildfires in Los Angeles were looming Saturday toward the celebrated Getty Center and its priceless collection. 

Nestled in the mountains above Los Angeles, the famed art museum is within a new evacuation warning zone as the Palisades Fire roars east. 

Dubbed a “beautiful fortress” and constructed of fire-resistant travertine stone, as well as cement and steel, the center has drawn museum experts from around the world to observe its safety system. 

Its roofs are covered with crushed stone to prevent embers from igniting; in the gardens, resilient plants were chosen. 

Inside, the galleries can be closed off with a vaultlike double door that, museum officials say, is practically impenetrable. 

“Getty staff, the art collections and buildings remain safe from the Palisades fire,” the museum said Friday, hours before the evacuation warning. 

“The threat is still happening,” Getty added in an X post. 

The museum’s unique collection comprises 125,000 artworks — including paintings by Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh and Monet — and 1.4 million documents. It also houses a research hub and a foundation. 

Museum officials have previously said the collection is protected within the center’s fireproof structure, made up of 300,000 travertine blocks and 12,500 tons of steel bars. 

“The Getty was constructed to house valuable art and keep it very safe from fires, from earthquakes, from any type of damage,” said Lisa Lapin, communications vice president now and when Getty was threatened by fire in 2019. 

“We are really built like a beautiful fortress, and everything inside is quite safe,” she told AFP at the time. 

Built more than two decades ago by architect Richard Meier at a cost of $1 billion, the center’s protective measures also include a 3.8-million liter water tank feeding its irrigation system. 

The building’s ventilation system has an internal recycling system, similar to those found in cars, preventing smoke from entering rooms from the outside. 

Despite such extensive measures, Getty announced its closure earlier this week “out of caution and to help alleviate traffic.” 

When the 2019 fire threatened the center, it served as a base for firefighters battling the blaze.  

Caused by a tree branch falling on power lines, that fire burned 300 hectares and destroyed 10 homes. 

A fire two years before that also triggered safety measures at Getty, although it affected only the far side of an adjacent freeway. 

“In both cases, we’ve been very confident that the center is fine,” said Lapin in 2019. 

The Palisades fire has ravaged nearly 9,000 hectares since erupting on Tuesday and is just 11% contained as a series of fires burn through Los Angeles neighborhoods. 

The fire threatened the separate Getty Villa, which also has special flame-resistant protections, earlier in the week. 

Trees and vegetation around the coastal villa were burned, but the structure and collections, including Greek and Roman antiquities, were spared. 
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BETHANY BEYOND THE JORDAN, JORDAN — The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Friday consecrated a new church at a place on the banks of the Jordan River that the Catholic Church officially recognizes as the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Parolin inaugurated and consecrated the Church of the Baptism of the Lord at Al-Maghtas, known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, before thousands of Jordanians, Palestinians, other Arabs and diplomats.

“My presence here today, according to the wishes of the pope, is meant to be a tangible sign of the closeness of the whole Church to the Christian communities of the Middle East,” Parolin said in his homily, read on his behalf in Arabic by the Rev. Jihad Shweihat.

“At a time in history when this region is experiencing serious upheaval, it is important that Christians also make their contribution to the building of a just and peaceful society,” he said.

Parolin celebrated Mass, accompanied by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. The ceremony also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s annual pilgrimage to Jesus’ purported baptismal site.

Parolin also anointed the church’s altar, dedicating it as where the relics of Pope St. John Paul II and the recently canonized Holy Martyrs of Damascus and others will be placed.

Parolin’s three-day visit to Jordan coincides with a new exhibition of 90 Jordanian artifacts of the nation’s history at the start of Christianity.

The exhibition, “Jordan: Dawn of Christianity,” is to debut at the Vatican next month. It celebrates Jordan’s biblical roots through the centuries and commemorates 30 years of diplomatic ties between Jordan and the Holy See.

Jordan’s tourism and antiquities minister, Lina Annab, described the exhibition’s importance to journalists on Wednesday in Amman, saying many people outside the country do not realize that there are Jordanian Christians.

“This exhibition celebrates and sheds light on the origins and heritage as well as the enduring legacy and presence of Christianity in Jordan,” Annab said. “The origins of Christianity are here. Jordan is an integral part of the Holy Land. We are more interested in really showcasing the importance of Jordan as far as the faiths that have lived on this land, whether the Islamic faith or the Christian faith.”

Three popes have visited the believed site of Jesus’ baptism on the Jordanian banks of the Jordan River: John Paul II in 2000, Benedict XVI in 2009 and Francis in 2014. Pope Paul VI first visited Jordan in 1964.
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ISLAMABAD — A high court in Pakistan prohibited authorities Friday from forcibly deporting Afghan musicians and singers until their asylum cases are resolved within the next two months.

The ruling comes amid a crackdown on hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighboring Afghanistan who either lack legal permits to reside in the country or have overstayed their visas.

They sought refuge in Pakistan after Taliban insurgents swept back to power in Kabul in 2021, placing sweeping curbs on civil liberties and banning music in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Sharia.

However, a group of 150 Afghan performers initiated a legal challenge against their deportation in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, arguing they are at risk of persecution if they return home.

“The federal government … shall decide cases of all these petitioners for grant or refusal of asylum within a period of two months,” the Pakistan court stated Friday.

“Until the final decision, these petitioners shall not be ousted from [the] territory of Pakistan nor otherwise compelled to leave Pakistan and return to their native country Afghanistan,” the ruling read.

The court mandated that the Pakistan Interior Ministry permit petitioners to remain in the country if the government cannot resolve their cases within 60 days and requires additional time for a definitive decision.

Attorney Mumtaz Ahmed told The Associated Press that Friday’s ruling was the first of its kind and a significant relief for his clients, who have lived in fear and uncertainty for months.

Pakistan unleashed a nationwide crackdown on foreign migrants living in the country illegally in 2023. The move primarily affected Afghan refugees, forcing more than 800,000 of them to return to their impoverished country, which is struggling to recover from years of devastating war and natural disasters since the Taliban takeover.

Refugee families have been reluctant to leave Pakistan, citing the Taliban’s ban on Afghan girls’ education beyond the sixth grade and restrictions on women’s access to workplaces except for a few departments, including health, immigration and police.

People at risk of deportation include Afghan nationals who are awaiting responses from the United States and European nations regarding their asylum applications. Many refugees served as translators and guides for U.S.-led international forces during their two-decade presence in Afghanistan, which ended in August 2021.

The United Nations and aid organizations have criticized Pakistan’s crackdown on Afghan nationals from the outset, citing dire economic conditions and a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Pakistan hosts over 1 million legal Afghan refugees who fled their country due to the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, the subsequent civil war and the rule of the Islamist Taliban from 1996 to 2001. The Pakistani government has permitted those refugees to remain until June 2025.
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LOS ANGELES — Peter Yarrow, the singer-songwriter best known as one-third of Peter, Paul and Mary, the folk-music trio whose impassioned harmonies transfixed millions as they lifted their voices in favor of civil rights and against war, has died. He was 86.

Yarrow, who also co-wrote the group’s most enduring song, “Puff the Magic Dragon,” died Tuesday in New York, publicist Ken Sunshine said. Yarrow had bladder cancer for the past four years.

“Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life. The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise as his lyrics suggest,” his daughter Bethany said in a statement.

During an incredible run of success spanning the 1960s, Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers released six Billboard Top 10 singles and two No. 1 albums and won five Grammys.

They also brought early exposure to Bob Dylan by turning two of his songs, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” into Billboard Top 10 hits as they helped lead an American renaissance in folk music. They performed “Blowin’ in the Wind” at the 1963 March on Washington at which the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

After an eight-year hiatus to pursue solo careers, the trio reunited in 1978 for a “Survival Sunday,” an anti-nuclear-power concert that Yarrow had organized in Los Angeles. They would remain together until Travers’ death in 2009. Upon her passing, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform both separately and together.

 

Born May 31, 1938, in New York, Yarrow was raised in an upper-middle-class family he said placed high value on art and scholarship. He took violin lessons as a child, later switching to guitar as he came to embrace the work of such folk music icons as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

Upon graduating from Cornell University in 1959, he returned to New York, where he worked as a struggling Greenwich Village musician until connecting with Stookey and Travers. Although his degree was in psychology, he had found his true calling in folk music at Cornell when he worked as a teaching assistant for a class in American folklore his senior year.

Soon after returning to New York, he met impresario Albert Grossman, who would go on to manage Dylan, Janis Joplin and others and who at the time was looking to put together a group that would rival the Kingston Trio, which in 1958 had a hit version of the traditional folk ballad “Tom Dooley.”

But Grossman wanted a trio with a female singer and a member who could be funny enough to keep an audience engaged with comic patter. For the latter, Yarrow suggested a guitar-strumming Greenwich Village comic he’d seen named Noel Stookey.

Stookey, who would use his middle name as a member of the group, happened to be a friend of Travers, who as a teenager had performed and recorded with Pete Seeger and others.

After months of rehearsal, the three became an overnight sensation when their first album, 1962’s eponymous “Peter, Paul and Mary,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. Their second, “In the Wind,” reached No. 4 and their third, “Moving,” put them back at No. 1.

From their earliest albums, the trio sang out against war and injustice in songs like Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer” and “Where Have all the Flowers Gone,” Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “When the Ship Comes In,” and Yarrow’s own “Day is Done.”

They could also show a soft and poignant side, particularly on “Puff the Magic Dragon,” which Yarrow had written during his Cornell years with college friend Leonard Lipton.

It tells the tale of Jackie Paper, a young boy who embarks on countless adventures with his make-believe dragon friend until he outgrows such childhood fantasies and leaves a sobbing, heartbroken Puff behind. As Yarrow explains: “A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys.”

After recording their last No. 1 hit, a 1969 cover of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” the trio split up the following year to pursue solo careers.

That same year Yarrow had pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl who had come to his hotel room with her older sister to ask for autographs. The pair found him naked when he answered the door and let them in. Yarrow, who resumed his career after serving three months in jail, was pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in 1981. Over the decades, he apologized repeatedly.

Over the years, Yarrow continued to write and co-write songs, including the 1976 hit “Torn Between Two Lovers” for Mary MacGregor. He received an Emmy nomination in 1979 for the animated film “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

Later songs include the civil rights anthem “No Easy Walk to Freedom,” co-written with Margery Tabankin, and “Light One Candle,” calling for peace in Lebanon.

In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by a son, Christopher, and a granddaughter, Valentina.
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Hollywood got dressed up as the Golden Globes returned for its annual champagne-soaked celebration of film and television workers at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The show serves as the ceremonial start to the 2025 awards season.Two wildly audacious films — Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language, genre-shifting trans musical “Emilia Perez” — won top honors at the show.
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Two wildly audacious films — Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language, genre-shifting trans musical “Emilia Perez” — won top honors at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday.

The Globes, which are still finding their footing after years of scandal and makeover, scattered awards around to a number of films. But the awards group put its strongest support behind a pair of movies that sought to be unlike anything else.

“The Brutalist” was crowned best film, drama, putting one of 2024’s most ambitious films on course to be a major contender at the Academy Awards. The film, shot in VistaVision and released with an intermission, also won best director for Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody.

“I was told that this film was un-distributable,” said Corbet. “No one was asking for a three-and-half-hour film about a mid-century designer in 70mm. But it works.”

“Emilia Perez” won best film, comedy or musical, elevating the Oscar chances of Netflix’s top Oscar contender. It also won best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, best song (“El Mal”) and best non-English language film. Karla Sofia Gascon, the film’s transgender star who plays a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender-affirming surgery, spoke for the film.

“The light always wins over darkness,” said Gascon, gesturing to her brightly orange dress. “You can maybe put us in jail. You can beat us up. But you never can take away our soul or existence or identity.”

“I am who I am. Not who you want.”

The night’s big actor winners included some surprises. One shocker was Moore’s win for best actress in a comedy or musical. Her comeback performance in “The Substance,” about a Hollywood star who resorts to an experimental process to regain her youth, landed the 62-year-old Moore her first Globe — a victory that came over the heavily favored Mikey Madison of “Anora.”

“I’m just in shock right now. I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first thing I’ve ever won as an actor,” said Moore, who was last nominated by the Globes for a film role in 1991 for “Ghost.” “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress.”

Best actress, in a drama film, was a surprise, too. The Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres won for her performance in “I’m Still Here,” a based-on-a-true-story drama about a family living through the disappearance of political dissident Rubens Paiva in 1970s Rio de Janeiro.

Best supporting actor in a musical or comedy went to Sebastian Stan for another movie about physical transformation: “A Different Man,” in which Stan plays a man with a deformed face who’s healed. Stan, who was also nominated for playing Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” noted that both films were hard to get made.

“These are tough subject matters but these films are real and they’re necessary,” said Stan. “But we can’t be afraid and look away.”

Glaser lightly roasts the Globes

Comedian Nikki Glaser kicked off the Globes, with a promise: “I’m not here to roast you.”

But Glaser, a stand-up whose breakthrough came in a withering roast of Tom Brady, made her way around the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday picking out plenty of targets in an opening monologue she had worked out extensively in comedy clubs beforehand.

While Glaser might not have reached Tina Fey and Amy Poehler levels of laughs, the monologue was mostly a winner, and a dramatic improvement over last year’s host, Jo Koy. Last year’s Globes, following a diversity and ethics scandal that led to the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were widely panned, but delivered where it counted. Ratings rebounded to about 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS, who waded in after NBC dumped the Globes, signed up for five more years.

Hosting the Globes two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Glaser reserved perhaps her most cutting line for the whole room of Hollywood stars.

“You could really do anything … except tell the country who to vote for,” said Glaser. “But it’s OK, you’ll get ’em next time … if there is one. I’m scared.”

The Globes are now owned by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which acquired the award show from the now defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. After diversity and ethics scandals, the HFPA sold off the Globes and dissolved. However, more than a dozen former HFPA members are seeking to have the sale to Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions rescinded.

A win for ‘Wicked’

The Globes’ award for cinematic and box-office achievement went to Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which has nearly collected $700 million in theaters. In a heavily arthouse Oscar field, “Wicked” is easily the biggest hit seen as having a chance to win best picture. Accepting the award, Chu argued for “a radical act of optimism” in art.

Though few film awards have been predictable this season, Kieran Culkin is emerging as the clear favorite for best supporting actor. Culkin won Sunday for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” his second Globe in the past year following a win for the HBO series “Succession.” He called the Globes “basically the best date night that my wife and I ever have,” and then thanked her for “putting up what you call my mania.”

The papal thriller “Conclave” took best screenplay, for Peter Straughan’s script. “Flow,” the wordless Latvian animated parable about a cat in a flooded world, took best animated film, winning over studio blockbusters like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot.” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won best score for their thumping music for “Challengers.”

TV prizes

Most of the TV winners were oft-awarded series, including the Emmy champ “Shogun.” It won four awards, including best drama series and acting wins for Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano. Other repeat winners were: “Hacks” (best comedy series, actress for Jean Smart), “The Bear” (Jeremy Allen White for best actor) and “Baby Reindeer” (best limited series).

Ali Wong won for best stand-up performance, Jodie Foster for “True Detective” and Colin Farrell for his physical transformation in “The Penguin.”

“I guess it’s prosthetics from here on out,” said Farrell.
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif — “Emilia Perez” won best musical or comedy motion picture at the 82nd Golden Globes.

“The Brutalist” won best motion picture drama, and Adrien Brody took home best actor for his role in the film.

“Shogun” won best television drama, and “Hacks” won for TV comedy or musical. Emilia Perez” entered the night as the lead nominee, with 10 nods.

Demi Moore, Sebastian Stan, Zoe Saldana, Kieran Culkin and Jean Smart were among the acting winners.

Comedian Nikki Glaser hosted Sunday’s ceremony from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

At a gala dinner Friday, Viola Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and Ted Danson accepted the Carol Burnett Award. The Globes aired on CBS and streamed live for subscribers to Paramount+ with Showtime.

Here’s a list of winners at Sunday’s Golden Globes:

MoviesBest motion picture, drama

“The Brutalist”

Best motion picture, musical or comedy

“Emilia Pérez”

Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture, drama

Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”

Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture, drama

Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”

Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy

Demi Moore, “The Substance”

Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy

Sebastian Stan, “A Different Man”

Best performance by a female actor in a supporting role, movie

Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role, movie

Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

“Wicked”

Best motion picture, non-English

“Emilia Pérez”

Best motion picture, animated

“Flow”

Best director

Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”

Best screenplay

Peter Straughan, “Conclave”

Best original score

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “Challengers”

Best original song

“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez” music/lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard

TelevisionBest television series, drama

“Shōgun”

Best television series, comedy or musical

“Hacks”

Best performance by a female actor, TV series, drama

Anna Sawai, “Shōgun”

Best performance by a male actor, TV series, drama

Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shōgun”

Best performance by a female actor TV series, musical or comedy

Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Best performance by a male actor, TV series, musical or comedy

Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

Best limited series, anthology series or movie made for television

“Baby Reindeer”

Best performance by a male actor in a limited series, anthology series or movie made for television

Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”

Best performance by a female actor in a limited series, anthology series or movie made for television

Jodie Foster, “True Detective: Night Country”

Best performance by a female actor in a supporting role, TV

Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”

Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role, TV

Tadanobu Asano, “Shōgun”

Best performance in stand-up comedy on TV

Ali Wong, “Ali Wong: Single Lady”
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Beverly Hills, California — Viola Davis’ journey to becoming one of Hollywood’s most revered actors was driven by a straightforward mantra: Embrace every role, using each as a paycheck and a chance to explore new characters while honing her skills.

Davis delivered a moving, 16-minute speech while accepting the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Gala: An Evening of Excellence on Friday night. She reflected on how her turbulent upbringing fueled her passion for acting as an escape and how financial necessity often influenced her choice of roles.

“If I waited for a role that was written for me, well crafted, then I wouldn’t be standing up here,” said Davis, who along with Ted Danson, recipient of the Carol Burnett Award, were celebrated for their career achievements in film and television during a star-studded, black-tie gala dinner in Beverly Hills, California, just two nights before the 82nd annual Golden Globes on Sunday.

Some of the popular names in attendance included Carol Burnett, Jane Fonda, Anthony Anderson, Steve Guttenberg and singer-songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. It’s the first time the Globes hosted a separate event dedicated to both awards.

Davis said she couldn’t afford to wait for the perfect role, especially as a “dark-skinned Black woman with a wide nose and big lips.”

“So I took it for the money,” said Davis, who won praise for a string of compelling characters in films such as “Fences,” “The Woman King,” “The Help” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” while captivating TV audiences through the legal thriller drama “How to Get Away with Murder.”

“I don’t believe that poverty is really the answer to craft,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any nobility in poverty.”

Meryl Streep presented the award to Davis, who she called a pure artist who “delivers the truth every time.” Both actors worked together in the 2008 film “Doubt,” where Streep first became in awe of Davis, who she called her “favorite actor in the world.”

The DeMille Award has been bestowed on Hollywood’s greatest talents. Past recipients include Tom Hanks, Jeff Bridges, Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Streep, Barbra Streisand and Sidney Poitier.

When Danson accepted his award, he congratulated Davis, calling her an “amazing actor.”

“It’s such a pleasure to be in the same room with you,” said Danson, a three-time Globes winner, who has been a fixture on TV since he broke out as Boston bartender Sam Malone on NBC’s comedy “Cheers.” His other credits include “The Good Place,” “Mr. Mayor,” “Fargo,” “CSI” and “CSI: Cyber,” “Damages” and “Becker.”

Danson currently stars in Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside,” which earned his first nomination since 2008 and 13th overall.

“Bia Iftikhar, who does his hair on set, said it best: ‘Ted sets the tone,'” said his wife, actor Mary Steenburgen, who presented Danson with the Carol Burnett Award, which was inaugurated in 2019. Past recipients include Norman Lear, Ryan Murphy and Ellen DeGeneres. The first was Burnett herself.

Danson and Steenburgen appeared in a few projects together including “Pontiac Moon,” “Gulliver’s Travels” and “It Must Be Love.”

“He’s so loving and takes such joy in acting that all of us who are hard at work away from our families for long hours get to work on a set that is dictated by his kindness,” Steenburgen said. “As his wife, watching the respect and love … for Ted, it made me very proud.”

Danson traded “I love you” with Burnett, showing admiration for each other. He thanked a number of writers, producers and actors along with the “Cheers” co-creators Glen and Les Charles, who surprised him by showing up to the event.

“I feel so grateful,” he said. “I’m truly the luckiest… on Earth.”

Davis quipped, “Little Viola is squealing,” referring to how her younger self would be overjoyed at the actor’s journey from an impoverished childhood to Hollywood stardom.

“She’s standing behind me and she’s pulling on my dress,” said Davis, who achieved EGOT status after winning a Grammy last year for best audio book, narration, and storytelling for the recording for her memoir “Finding Me.”

“She’s wearing the same red rubber boots that she wore rain or shine because they her feel ‘purty'” she continued. “What she’s whispering is: ‘I told you I was a magician.'”
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The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.

The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn’t far behind.

“Sonic 3” stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. “Mufasa’s” running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.

In third place, Focus Features’ “Nosferatu” remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable.

“Nosferatu,” which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses.

No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, “Moana 2,” claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.

The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it’s Searchlight’s highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in 2019.

A24’s erotic drama “Babygirl,” which added 49 locations, held steady at $4.5 million.

Another Thanksgiving leftover, “Wicked,” rounded out the top five. Universal’s movie musical was made available to purchase on VOD on Jan. 31, but still earned another $10.2 million from theaters. The movie is up for several awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including nominations for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, best motion picture musical or comedy and “cinematic and box office achievement,” which last year went to “Barbie.”

Also in theaters this weekend was the IMAX re-release of David Fincher’s 4K restoration of “Seven,” which earned just over $1 million from 200 locations.

The 2025 box office year is already off to a better start than 2024, up around 20% from the same weekend last year.

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Mufasa: The Lion King,” $23.8 million.

2. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” $21.2 million.

3. “Nosferatu,” $13.2 million.

4. “Moana 2,” $12.4 million.

5. “Wicked,” $10.2 million.

6. “A Complete Unknown,” $8.1 million.

7. “Babygirl,” $4.5 million.

8. “Gladiator II,” $2.7 million.

9. “Homestead,” $2.1 million.

10. “The Fire Inside,” $1.2 million.
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NEW YORK — Say hello to the latest dog in the American Kennel Club’s lineup of recognized breeds. Or you might say “hej.”

The Danish-Swedish farmdog — yep, that’s the official name — joined the pack Thursday. The designation makes the breed eligible to compete for many best in show trophies, and it likely augurs more widespread interest in the small, sprightly dogs. The prospect both gladdens and concerns their biggest fans.

“We’re excited about it. We’re looking forward to it,” said Carey Segebart, one of the people who worked to get Danish-Swedish farmdogs recognized by the AKC. She proudly plans to debut one of her own at a dog show this month near her Iowa home.

Still, she thinks increased exposure is “a double-edged sword” for the fleet, versatile pups.

“We don’t want the breed to just explode too quickly,” she said.

Called the farmdog or DSF for short, the breed goes back centuries in parts of what are now Denmark, southern Sweden and some other European countries, according to the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America.

“They’re interesting, fun little dogs,” said Segebart, who has owned them since 2011 and is the club’s incoming president. “They’re essentially up for anything. They succeed at most everything.”

In their original homelands, the dogs’ main job was rodent patrol, but they also would herd a bit, act as watchdogs and play with farmers’ children. Some even performed in circuses, according to the club.

After Denmark and Sweden became more urban and suburban in the 20th century, farmdog fanciers set out to secure the breed’s place in both nations (where “hej” translates to the English “hello”). Kennel clubs there began registering farmdogs in 1987.

In the U.S., many of the just about 350 farmdogs nationwide compete in agility, obedience or other canine sports that are open to all dogs, including mixed breeds.

But until now, farmdogs couldn’t enter the traditional breed-by-breed judging that leads to best in show prizes at events including the prominent Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York. The entry deadline has passed for February’s Westminster show, so farmdogs will have to wait for 2026 there, but they may well appear later this year at two other major, televised shows, the National Dog Show and AKC National Championship.

The Danish-Swedish farmdog is the AKC’s 202nd breed and “a wonderful addition to a family that is able to provide it with the exercise and mental stimulation that it needs,” said the club’s Gina DiNardo.

Too popular for its own good?

The AKC is the United States’ oldest purebred dog registry and essentially a league for many dog competitions. Registration is voluntary, and requirements for breed recognition include at least 300 pedigreed dogs spread through at least 20 states. Some breeds are in other kennel clubs or none at all.

Danish-Swedish farmdog fanciers deliberated for several years before pursuing AKC recognition and the attention that’s likely to come with it, Segebart said. The number of farmdog puppy-seekers has grown substantially over the last decade; each of the few breeders receives multiple inquiries a week, and the typical wait for a puppy is a year or more, she said.

Farmdog folk fear that their appealing, relatively easy-care breed could quickly become too popular for its own good. They’re not the first to worry: Much fur has flown in dogdom over the rise of the French bulldog, which the AKC now ranks as the most popular breed in the country.

Some animal rights activists echo those concerns to argue against dog breeding in general. They say purebred popularity trends divert people from adopting shelter animals, fuel puppy mills and prize dogs’ appearance over their health.

The AKC says it promotes responsibly “breeding for type and function” to produce dogs with at least somewhat predictable traits, whether as basic as size or as specialized as bomb-sniffing skills. The club says it has given over $35 million since 1995 to its canine health research charity.
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JOHANNESBURG — The dance world mourned Tuesday the internationally acclaimed South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo, who died in the hospital over the weekend at age 39.

Masilo died unexpectedly on Sunday after a brief illness, a spokesperson for her family said in a statement.

Born in Soweto, she was described as a sprite-like, energetic dancer and a fearless rule-breaker, who brought African dance motifs to classic European roles in a career that spanned two decades.

“Deeply respectful of European and contemporary music traditions, but unafraid to go bare on stage and voice her own opinions, she effectively changed the shape and appearance of contemporary dance in South Africa,” family spokesperson Bridget van Oerle said in the statement, announcing her death.

Among the most recent in a series of acknowledgements of her work, Masilo in September received the Positano Leonide Massine lifetime achievement award for classic and contemporary dance, which praised her as “powerful and topical.”

Her revisited versions of the great classics of romantic ballet drew on African dance to speak of the society in which she lived and of tolerance across borders, the award announcement said.

“A brilliant light has been extinguished,” the Joburg Ballet company said, praising Masilo’s “creative force as a choreographer and her wisdom as a human being.”

“Her groundbreaking work reshaped the world of contemporary dance, and her spirit will continue to inspire generations of artists and audiences,” the University of Johannesburg’s arts and culture department said.

The U.K.-based Dance Consortium, which toured with Masilo in Britain twice, called her death a “tragic loss to the dance world.”

“Her fresh perspective, extraordinary presence and stunning creations wowed and inspired audiences and artists across the U.K. and around the world,” it said.

‘Extraordinary role model’

Masilo was best known for her iconic re-invention of the great ballet classics such as Swan Lake and Giselle, said Lliane Loots, artistic director at the JOMBA! dance center at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

She used her “remarkable skill as a ballet dancer” to meld this European dance form “with the rhythms and intentions of her own histories of African dance and of being South African,” Loots said.

In 2016, Masilo’s Swan Lake was nominated for a New York Bessie Award and the following year her Giselle won Best Performance by the Italian Danza and Danza Award, the family statement said.

In 2018, she won the Netherlands’ Prince Claus Next Generation award, where she was described as an “extraordinary role model for young people and girls.”
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It was a life that took him from peanut farming to the presidency. While former President Jimmy Carter ‘s time in the White House lasted only one term, the decades afterward were defined by humanitarian work that affected people all around the world.

Founding the Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, he became a global champion for democracy, human rights and public health. And he still took time to teach Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Georgia.

Carter was the nation’s longest-lived president when he died Sunday at age 100.

But he was just one of many noteworthy people who died in 2024.

Alexey Navalny, who died in prison in February, was a fierce political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, crusading against corruption and staging protests against the Kremlin. He had been jailed since 2021 when he returned to Russia to face certain arrest after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

Other political figures who died this year include: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi; former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Vietnamese politician Nguyen Phu Trong; U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee; former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov; pundit Lou Dobbs; Greek politician Vasso Papandreou; former U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman, Jim Inhofe, Tim Johnson and Jim Sasser; Namibian President Hage Geingob; and former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss.

The year also brought the deaths of several rights activists, including the Reverends Cecil L. “Chip” Murray and James Lawson Jr.; Dexter Scott King; Hydeia Broadbent; and David Mixner.

Business leaders who died this year include Indian industrialist Ratan Tata; Home Depot co-founder Bernard “Bernie” Marcus; financier Jacob Rothschild; and Daiso retail chain founder Hirotake Yano.

O.J. Simpson’s “trial of the century” over the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend exposed divisions over race and law enforcement and brought an intersection of sports, crime, entertainment and class that was hard to turn away from. His death in April ended a life that had become defined by scrutiny of the killings.

Other noteworthy sports figures who died include basketball players Jerry West and Dikembe Mutombo; baseball players Willie Mays and Fernando Valenzuela; and gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi.

The music industry lost a titan in producer Quincy Jones, who died in November. His many contributions included producing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album and working with hundreds of other musicians over a long and storied career.

Other artists and entertainers who died this year include: actors James Earl Jones, Chita Rivera, Donald Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Louis Gossett Jr., Shelley Duvall, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Lavin, Sandra Milo, Anouk Aimee, Carl Weathers, Joyce Randolph, Maggie Smith, Tony Todd, Shannen Doherty and Song Jae-lim; musicians Sergio Mendes, Toby Keith, Phil Lesh, Melanie, Dickey Betts, Françoise Hardy, Fatman Scoop, Duane Eddy and Frankie Beverly; filmmakers Roger Corman and Morgan Spurlock; authors Faith Ringgold, Nikki Giovanni and N. Scott Momaday; TV fitness guru Richard Simmons; sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer; talk show host Phil Donahue; and poets Shuntaro Tanikawa, John Sinclair and Kazuko Shiraishi.

Here is a roll call of some noteworthy figures who died in 2024.

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JANUARY

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Hinton Battle, 67. The three-time Tony Award-winning actor, dancer and choreographer was the first to portray the Scarecrow in the Broadway production of “The Wiz.” Jan. 30.

Zvi Zamir, 98. A former director of Israel’s Mossad spy service who warned that Israel was about to be attacked on the eve of the 1973 Mideast War. Jan. 2.

Glynis Johns, 100. A Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim. Jan. 4.

David Soul, 80. The actor-singer was a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo “Starsky & Hutch” and topped the music charts with the ballad “Don’t Give Up on Us.” Jan. 4.

Franz Beckenbauer, 78. He won the World Cup both as a player and coach and became one of Germany’s most beloved personalities with his easygoing charm. Jan. 7.

Joyce Randolph, 99. A veteran stage and television actor whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners” provided the perfect foil to her dimwitted TV husband. Jan. 13.

Jack Burke Jr., 100. He was the oldest living Masters champion and staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors. Jan. 19.

Marlena Shaw, 81. The jazz and R&B vocalist whose “California Soul” was one of the defining soul songs of the late 1960s. Jan. 19.

Mary Weiss, 75. The lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Shangri-Las, whose hits included “Leader of the Pack.” Jan. 19.

Gigi Riva, 79. The all-time leading goal scorer for Italy’s men’s national team was known as the “Rombo di Tuono” (Rumble of Thunder). Jan. 22.

Dexter Scott King, 62. He dedicated much of his life to shepherding the civil rights legacy of his parents, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Jan. 22.

Charles Osgood, 91. He anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for more than two decades, was host of the long-running radio program “The Osgood File” and was referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence. Jan. 23.

Melanie, 76. The singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits, including the enduring cultural phenomenon “Brand New Key.” Jan. 23.

N. Scott Momaday, 89. A Pulitzer Prize-winning storyteller, poet, educator and folklorist whose debut novel “House Made of Dawn” is widely credited as the starting point for contemporary Native American literature. Jan. 24.

Herbert Coward, 85. He was known for his “Toothless Man” role in the movie “Deliverance.” Jan. 24.

Sandra Milo, 90. An icon of Italian cinema who played a key role in Federico Fellini’s “8½” and later became his muse. Jan. 29.

Jean Carnahan, 90. She became the first female senator to represent Missouri when she was appointed to replace her husband following his death. Jan. 30.

Chita Rivera, 91. The dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists. Jan. 30.

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FEBRUARY

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Carl Weathers, 76. A former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore.” Feb. 1.

Ian Lavender, 77. An actor who played a hapless Home Guard soldier in the classic British sitcom “Dad’s Army.” Feb. 2.

Hage Geingob, 82. Namibia’s president and founding prime minister who played a central role in what has become one of Africa’s most stable democracies after returning from a long exile in Botswana and the United States as an anti-apartheid activist. Feb. 4.

Bob Beckwith, 91. A retired firefighter whose chance encounter with President George W. Bush amid the rubble of ground zero became part of an iconic image of American unity after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Feb. 4.

Toby Keith, 62. A hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans. Feb. 5.

John Bruton, 76. A former Irish prime minister who played a key role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Feb. 6.

Sebastian Pinera, 74. The two-time former president of Chile faced social upheaval followed by a pandemic in his second term. Feb. 6.

Seiji Ozawa, 88. The Japanese conductor amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Feb. 6.

Henry Fambrough, 85. The last surviving original member of the iconic R&B group the Spinners, whose hits included “It’s a Shame,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” and “The Rubberband Man.” Feb. 7.

Robert Badinter, 95. He spearheaded the drive to abolish France’s death penalty, campaigned against antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and led a European body dealing with the legal fallout of Yugoslavia’s breakup. Feb. 9.

Bob Edwards, 76. He anchored National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” for just under 25 years and was the baritone voice who told many Americans what had happened while they slept. Feb. 10.

Hirotake Yano, 80. He founded the retail chain Daiso, known for its 100-yen shops, Japan’s equivalent of the dollar store. Feb. 12.

Alexey Navalny, 47. The fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests. Feb. 16.

Lefty Driesell, 92. The Hall of Fame coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs. Feb. 17.

Hydeia Broadbent, 39. The HIV/AIDS activist came to national prominence in the 1990s as a young child for her inspirational talks to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus she was born with. Feb. 20.

Jacob Rothschild, 87. The financier and philanthropist was part of the renowned Rothschild banking dynasty. Feb. 26.

Richard Lewis, 76. An acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain.” Feb. 27.

Nikolai Ryzhkov, 94. A former Soviet prime minister who presided over botched efforts to shore up the crumbling national economy in the final years of the USSR. Feb. 28.

Brian Mulroney, 84. The former Canadian prime minister forged close ties with two Republican U.S. presidents through a sweeping free-trade agreement. Feb. 29.

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MARCH

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Iris Apfel, 102. A textile expert, interior designer and fashion celebrity known for her eccentric style. March 1.

Akira Toriyama, 68. The creator of the bestselling Dragon Ball and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics. March 1.

Chris Mortensen, 72. The award-winning journalist covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN. March 3.

David E. Harris, 89. He flew bombers for the U.S. military and broke barriers in 1964 when he became the first Black pilot hired at a major U.S. airline. March 8.

Eric Carmen, 74. The singer-songwriter fronted the power-pop 1970s band the Raspberries and later had soaring pop hits like “All by Myself” and “Hungry Eyes” from the hit “Dirty Dancing” soundtrack. March 11.

Paul Alexander, 78. A Texas man who spent most of his life using an iron lung chamber and built a large following on social media, recounting his life from contracting polio in the 1940s to earning a law degree. March 11.

David Mixner, 77. A longtime LGBTQ+ activist who was an adviser to Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign and later called him out over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer personnel in the military. March 11.

Kevin Toney, 70. The jazz pianist and composer was an original member of the popular fusion band the Blackbyrds, with hits such as “Rock Creek Park” and “Walking in Rhythm.” March 18.

M. Emmet Walsh, 88. The character actor brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner.” March 19.

Lou Whittaker, 95. A legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state. March 24.

Joe Lieberman, 82. The former U.S. senator from Connecticut nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election and almost became Republican John McCain’s running mate eight years later. March 27.

Louis Gossett Jr., 87. The first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots.” March 28.

William D. Delahunt, 82. The longtime Massachusetts congressman was a Democratic stalwart who postponed his retirement from Washington to help pass former President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda. March 30.

Chance Perdomo, 27. An actor who rose to fame as a star of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “Gen V.” March 29.

Barbara Rush, 97. A popular leading actor in the 1950s and 1960s who co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman and other top film performers and later had a thriving TV career. March 31.

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APRIL

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Lou Conter, 102. The last living survivor of the USS Arizona battleship that exploded and sank during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. April 1.

John Sinclair, 82. A poet, music producer and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him. April 2.

The Reverend Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, 94. An influential pastor and civil rights leader who used his tenure at one of Los Angeles’ oldest churches to uplift predominantly Black neighborhoods following one of the country’s worst race riots. April 5.

Peter Higgs, 94. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist proposed the existence of the so-called “God particle” that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang. April 8.

Ralph Puckett Jr., 97. A retired Army colonel who was awarded the Medal of Honor seven decades after he was wounded while leading a company of outnumbered Army Rangers in battle during the Korean War. April 8.

O.J. Simpson, 76. The decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges that he killed his former wife and her friend but was later found liable in a separate civil trial. April 10.

William Strickland, 87. A longtime civil rights activist and supporter of the Black Power movement who worked with Malcolm X and other prominent leaders in the 1960s. April 10.

Robert MacNeil, 93. He created the evenhanded, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades. April 12.

Faith Ringgold, 93. An award-winning author and artist who broke down barriers for Black female artists and became famous for her richly colored and detailed quilts combining painting, textiles and storytelling. April 12.

Carl Erskine, 97. He pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series. April 16.

Bob Graham, 87. A former U.S. senator and two-term Florida governor who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks and as an early critic of the Iraq war. April 16.

Dickey Betts, 80. The guitar legend who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote its biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man.” April 18.

Roman Gabriel, 83. The first Filipino American quarterback in the NFL and the league MVP in 1969. April 20.

Terry Anderson, 76. The globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent became one of America’s longest-held hostages after he was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years. April 21.

William Laws Calley Jr., 80. As an Army lieutenant, he led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history. April 28.

Duane Eddy, 86. A pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless others. April 30.

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MAY

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Dick Rutan, 85. He, along with co-pilot Jeana Yeager, completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling. May 3.

Jeannie Epper, 83. A groundbreaking performer who did stunts for many of the most important women of film and television action of the 1970s and ’80s, including star Lynda Carter on TV’s “Wonder Woman.” May 5.

Bernard Hill, 79. An actor who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and went down with the ship as the captain in “Titanic.” May 5.

Steve Albini, 61. An alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more. May 7.

Kim Ki Nam, 94. A North Korean propaganda chief who helped build personality cults around the country’s three dynastic leaders. May 7.

Pete McCloskey, 96. A pro-environment, anti-war California Republican who co-wrote the Endangered Species Act and co-founded Earth Day. May 8.

Ralph Kennedy Frasier, 85. The last surviving member of a trio of Black youths who were the first to desegregate the undergraduate student body at North Carolina’s flagship public university in the 1950s. May 8.

Roger Corman, 98. The “King of the B’s” helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors early breaks. May 9.

David Sanborn, 78. The Grammy Award-winning saxophonist worked in several musical genres with numerous artists including Eric Clapton, James Brown, Carly Simon and Bob James. May 12.

Alice Munro, 92. The Nobel laureate was a Canadian literary giant who became one of the world’s most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history’s most honored short story writers. May 13.

Dabney Coleman, 92. The mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in “9 to 5” and the nasty TV director in “Tootsie.” May 16.

Peter Buxtun, 86. The whistleblower who revealed that the U.S. government allowed hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama to go untreated for syphilis in what became known as the Tuskegee study. May 18.

Ebrahim Raisi, 63. The Iranian president was a hard-line protege of the country’s supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels, launched a major attack on Israel, and experienced mass protests. May 19.

Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60. Iran’s foreign minister and a hard-liner close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who confronted the West while also overseeing indirect talks with the U.S. over the country’s nuclear program. May 19.

Ivan F. Boesky, 87. The flamboyant stock trader whose cooperation with the government cracked open one of the largest insider trading scandals in the history of Wall Street. May 20.

Morgan Spurlock, 53. The documentary filmmaker and Oscar nominee whose most famous works skewered America’s food industry and who notably ate only at McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet. May 23.

Bill Walton, 71. He starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting. May 27.

Robert Pickton, 74. A Canadian serial killer who took female victims to his pig farm during a crime spree near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s. May 31.

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JUNE

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Tin Oo, 97. One of the closest associates of Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as a co-founder of her National League for Democracy party. June 1.

Janis Paige, 101. A popular actor in Hollywood and in Broadway musicals and comedies who danced with Fred Astaire, toured with Bob Hope, and continued to perform into her 90s. June 2.

David Levy, 86. An Israeli politician born in Morocco who fought tirelessly against deep-seated racism against Jews from North Africa and went on to serve as foreign minister and hold other senior governmental posts. June 2.

Brigitte Bierlein, 74. The former head of Austria’s Constitutional Court became the country’s first female chancellor in an interim government in 2019. June 3.

Paul Pressler, 94. A leading figure of the Southern Baptist Convention who was accused of sexually abusing boys and young men and later settled a lawsuit over the allegations. June 7.

The Reverend James Lawson Jr., 95. An apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction. June 9.

Lynn Conway, 86. A pioneer in the design of microchips that are at the heart of consumer electronics who overcame discrimination as a transgender person. June 9.

Françoise Hardy, 80. A French singing legend and pop icon since the 1960s. June 11.

Jerry West, 86. Selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, his silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo. June 12.

Angela Bofill, 70. The R&B singer, songwriter and composer performed such hits as “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “Angel of the Night” and “I Try.” June 13.

George Nethercutt, 79. The former U.S. congressman was a Spokane, Washington, lawyer with limited political experience when he ousted Democratic Speaker of the House Tom Foley as part of a stunning GOP wave that shifted national politics to the right in 1994. June 14.

Kazuko Shiraishi, 93. A leading name in modern Japanese “beat” poetry, she was known for her dramatic readings — at times with jazz music. June 14.

Willie Mays, 93. The electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players. June 18.

Anouk Aimee, 92. The radiant French star and dark-eyed beauty of classic films including Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” and Claude Lelouch’s “A Man and a Woman.” June 18.

Donald Sutherland, 88. The Canadian actor whose wry, arresting screen presence spanned more than half a century of films from “MAS*H” to “The Hunger Games.” June 20.

Bill Cobbs, 90. The veteran character actor became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man. June 25.

Martin Mull, 80. His droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development.” June 27.

Pal Enger, 57. A talented Norwegian soccer player-turned-celebrity art thief who pulled off the sensational 1994 heist of Edvard Munch’s famed “The Scream” painting from the National Gallery in Oslo. June 29.

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JULY

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Jim Inhofe, 89. A powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for over six decades, the Republican U.S. senator was a conservative known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change. July 9.

Joe Bonsall, 76. A Grammy Award winner and celebrated tenor of the country and gospel group the Oak Ridge Boys. July 9.

Tommy Robinson, 82. A former U.S. congressman who gained notoriety as an Arkansas sheriff for tactics that included chaining inmates outside a state prison to protest overcrowding. July 10.

Shelley Duvall, 75. The intrepid, Texas-born movie star whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a mainstay in the films of Robert Altman and who co-starred in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” July 11.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 96. The diminutive sex therapist became a pop icon, media star and bestselling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics. July 12.

Shannen Doherty, 53. The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star whose life and career were roiled by illness and tabloid stories. July 13.

Richard Simmons, 76. He was television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. July 13.

James Sikking, 90. He starred as a hardened police lieutenant on “Hill Street Blues” and as the titular character’s kindhearted dad on “Doogie Howser, M.D.” July 13.

Jacoby Jones, 40. A former NFL receiver whose 108-yard kickoff return in 2013 remains the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history. July 14.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, 81. The composer and civil rights activist was a founder of the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. July 16.

Cheng Pei-pei, 78. A Chinese-born martial arts film actor who starred in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” July 17.

Bob Newhart, 94. The deadpan accountant-turned-comedian became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album. July 18.

Lou Dobbs, 78. The conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade. July 18.

Nguyen Phu Trong, 80. He was general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and the country’s most powerful politician. July 19.

Sheila Jackson Lee, 74. The longtime congresswoman from Texas helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. July 19.

Abdul “Duke” Fakir, 88. The last surviving original member of the beloved Motown group the Four Tops, which was known for such hits as “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love.” July 22.

Edna O’Brien, 93. Ireland’s literary pride and outlaw scandalized her native land with her debut novel “The Country Girls” before gaining international acclaim as a storyteller and iconoclast, welcomed everywhere from Dublin to the White House. July 27.

Francine Pascal, 92. A onetime soap opera writer whose “Sweet Valley High” novels and the ongoing adventures of twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and other teens captivated millions of young readers. July 28.

Betty Prashker, 99. A pioneering editor of the 20th century who, as one of the first women with the power to acquire books, published such classics as Kate Millett’s “Sexual Politics” and Susan Faludi’s “Backlash” and helped oversee the careers of Jean Auel, Dominick Dunne and Erik Larson, among others. July 30.

Ismail Haniyeh, 62. Hamas’ top leader in exile landed on Israel’s hit list after the militant group staged its surprise October 7 attacks. July 31.

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AUGUST

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Jack Russell, 63. The lead singer of the bluesy ’80s metal band Great White, whose hits included “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and “Rock Me,” and who was fronting his band the night 100 people died in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island. Aug. 7.

Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, 88. A Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sport’s most popular players during a long professional career. Aug. 8.

Susan Wojcicki, 56. A pioneering tech executive who helped shape Google and YouTube. Aug. 9.

Wallace “Wally” Amos, 88. The creator of the Famous Amos cookie empire went on to become a children’s literacy advocate. Aug. 13.

Gena Rowlands, 94. She was hailed as one of the greatest actors to ever practice the craft and a guiding light in independent cinema as a star in groundbreaking movies by her director husband, John Cassavetes. She later charmed audiences in her son’s tear-jerker “The Notebook.” Aug. 14.

Peter Marshall, 98. The actor and singer-turned-game show host who played straight man to the stars for 16 years on “The Hollywood Squares.” Aug. 15.

Alain Delon, 88. The internationally acclaimed French actor embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world. Aug. 18.

Phil Donahue, 88. His pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that brought success to Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others. Aug. 18.

Ruth Johnson Colvin, 107. She founded Literacy Volunteers of America, was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and received the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Aug. 18.

Al Attles, 87. A Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Golden State Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador. Aug. 20.

John Amos, 84. He starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots.” Aug. 21.

Salim Hoss, 94. The five-time former Lebanese prime minister served during some of the most tumultuous years of his country’s modern history. Aug. 25.

Leonard Riggio, 83. A brash, self-styled underdog who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble into the country’s most powerful bookseller before it was overtaken by the rise of Amazon.com. Aug. 27.

Edward B. Johnson, 81. As a CIA officer, he traveled into Iran with a colleague to rescue six American diplomats who fled the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. Aug. 27.

Johnny Gaudreau, 31. An NHL player known as “Johnny Hockey,” he played 10 full seasons in the league. Aug. 29.

Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, 69. As New Zealand’s Maori king, he was the seventh monarch in the Kiingitanga movement. Aug. 30.

Fatman Scoop, 56. The hip-hop artist topped charts in Europe with “Be Faithful” in the early 2000s and later lent his distinctive voice and ebullient vibe to hits by artists including Missy Elliott and Ciara. Aug. 30.

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SEPTEMBER

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Linda Deutsch, 80. A special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years wrote glittering first drafts of history from many of the nation’s most significant criminal and civil trials, including Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson. Sept. 1.

James Darren, 88. A teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget.” Sept. 2.

Sergio Mendes, 83. The Grammy Award-winning Brazilian musician whose hit “Mas Que Nada” made him a global legend. Sept. 5.

James Earl Jones, 93. He overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen, eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader. Sept. 9.

Frankie Beverly, 77. With his band Maze, he inspired generations of fans with his smooth, soulful voice and lasting anthems including “Before I Let Go.” Sept. 10.

Jim Sasser, 87. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate and six years as ambassador to China. Sept. 10.

Alberto Fujimori, 86. His decade-long presidency began with triumphs righting Peru’s economy and defeating a brutal insurgency, only to end in autocratic excess that later sent him to prison. Sept. 11.

Joe Schmidt, 92. The Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team. Sept. 11.

Tito Jackson, 70. One of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5. Sept. 15.

John David “JD” Souther, 78. A prolific songwriter and musician who helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s with his collaborations with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. Sept. 17.

Kathryn Crosby, 90. She appeared in such movies as “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “Anatomy of a Murder” and “Operation Mad Ball” before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby. Sept. 20.

John Ashton, 76. The veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films. Sept. 26.

Maggie Smith, 89. The masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for the 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in “Downton Abbey” and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Sept. 27.

Hassan Nasrallah, 64. The Hezbollah leader who transformed the Lebanese militant group into a potent paramilitary and political force in the Middle East. Sept. 27.

Kris Kristofferson, 88. A Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor. Sept. 28.

Drake Hogestyn, 70. The “Days of Our Lives” star appeared on the show for 38 years. Sept. 28.

Pete Rose, 83. Baseball’s career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied. Sept. 30.

Dikembe Mutombo, 58. A Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game. Sept. 30.

Gavin Creel, 48. A Broadway musical theater veteran who won a Tony Award for “Hello, Dolly!” opposite Bette Midler and earned nominations for “Hair” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Sept. 30.

Humberto Ortega, 77. The Nicaraguan guerrilla fighter and a Sandinista defense minister who later in life became a critic of his older brother, President Daniel Ortega. Sept. 30.

Ken Page, 70. A stage and screen actor who starred alongside Beyonce in “Dreamgirls,” introduced Broadway audiences to Old Deuteronomy in “Cats” and scared generations of kids as the voice of Oogie Boogie, the villain of the 1993 animated holiday film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Sept. 30.

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OCTOBER

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Megan Marshack, 70. An aide to Nelson Rockefeller who was with the former New York governor and vice president when he died under circumstances that spurred intense speculation. Oct. 2.

Mimis Plessas, 99. A beloved Greek composer whose music was featured in scores of films, television shows and theatrical productions and who provided the soundtrack to millions of Greeks’ lives. Oct. 5.

Cissy Houston, 91. A two-time Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel artist who sang with Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and other stars and knew triumph and heartbreak as the mother of singer Whitney Houston. Oct. 7.

Tim Johnson, 77. The former U.S. senator was the last Democrat to hold statewide office in South Dakota and was adept at securing federal funding for projects back home during his nearly three decades in Washington. Oct. 8.

Ratan Tata, 86. One of India’s most influential business leaders, the veteran industrialist was former chairman of the $100 billion conglomerate Tata Group. Oct. 9.

Leif Segerstam, 80. The prolific Finnish conductor and composer was one of the most colorful personalities in the Nordic country’s classical music scene. Oct. 9.

Ethel Kennedy, 96. The wife of Senator Robert F. Kennedy raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter. Oct. 10.

Lilly Ledbetter, 86. A former Alabama factory manager whose lawsuit against her employer made her an icon of the equal pay movement and led to landmark wage discrimination legislation. Oct. 12.

Philip G. Zimbardo, 91. The psychologist behind the controversial “Stanford Prison Experiment” that was intended to examine the psychological experiences of imprisonment. Oct. 14.

Liam Payne, 31. A former One Direction singer whose chart-topping British boy band generated a global following of swooning fans. Oct. 16.

Yahya Sinwar, 61. The Hamas leader who masterminded the surprise October 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel that shocked the world and triggered the longest, deadliest and most destructive war in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Oct. 16.

Mitzi Gaynor, 93. The effervescent dancer and actor starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film “South Pacific” and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. Oct. 17.

Vasso Papandreou, 79. A trailblazing Greek politician who served as a government minister, European commissioner and leading advocate for women’s representation in politics. Oct. 17.

Thelma Mothershed Wair, 83. One of nine Black students who integrated a high school in Arkansas’ capital of Little Rock in 1957 while a mob of white segregationists yelled threats and insults. Oct. 19.

Fethullah Gulen, 83. A reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a global social movement while facing unproven accusations that he masterminded a failed 2016 coup in his native Turkey. Oct. 20.

Fernando Valenzuela, 63. The Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the National League’s Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981. Oct. 22.

The Reverend Gustavo Gutierrez, 96. The Peruvian theologian was the father of the social justice-centered liberation theology that the Vatican once criticized for its Marxist undercurrents. Oct. 22.

Phil Lesh, 84. A classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter who found his true calling by reinventing the role of rock bass guitar as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Oct. 25.

Teri Garr, 79. The quirky comedy actor rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star in such favorites as “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie.” Oct. 29.

Colm McLoughlin, 81. An Irishman who landed in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates and helped lead Dubai Duty Free into becoming an airport retail behemoth generating billions of dollars. Oct. 30.

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NOVEMBER

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Quincy Jones, 91. The multitalented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists. Nov. 3.

Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, 95. The co-founder of Home Depot, a billionaire philanthropist and a big Republican donor. Nov. 4.

Murray Sinclair, 73. A former First Nation judge, senator and chair of the commission that delved into Canada’s troubled history of residential schools for First Nations students. Nov. 4.

Elwood Edwards, 74. He voiced America Online’s ever-present “You’ve got mail” greeting. Nov. 5.

Tony Todd, 69. An actor known for his haunting portrayal of a killer in the horror film “Candyman” and for roles in many other films and television shows. Nov. 6.

Bobby Allison, 86. He was founder of racing’s “Alabama Gang” and a NASCAR Hall of Famer. Nov. 9.

Lou Donaldson, 98. The legendary master of the alto saxophone was both a leader and sideman in bebop who was influenced by jazz great Charlie Parker. Nov. 9.

Reg Murphy, 90. A renowned journalist whose newsgathering career included stints as an editor and top executive at newspapers in Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; and Baltimore, Maryland — and who found himself the subject of national headlines when he survived a politically motivated kidnapping. Nov. 9.

Judith Jamison, 81. The dancer and choreographer danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1965 to 1980. Nov. 9.

Vardis J. Vardinoyannis, 90. A powerful and pivotal figure in Greek shipping and energy who survived a terrorist attack and cultivated close ties with the Kennedy family. Nov. 12.

Timothy West, 90. A British actor who played the classic Shakespeare roles of King Lear and Macbeth and who in recent years along with his wife, Prunella Scales, enchanted millions of people with their boating exploits on Britain’s waterways. Nov. 12.

Song Jae-lim, 39. A South Korean actor known for his roles in K-dramas “Moon Embracing the Sun” and “Queen Woo.” Nov. 12.

Shuntaro Tanikawa, 92. He pioneered modern Japanese poetry — poignant but conversational in its divergence from haiku and other traditions. Nov. 13.

Bela Karolyi, 82. The charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport. Nov. 15.

Olav Thon, 101. A billionaire entrepreneur recognizable for his bright red cap who went from selling leather and fox hides in his youth to building one of Norway’s biggest real estate empires. Nov. 16.

Arthur Frommer, 95. His “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by persuading average Americans to take budget vacations abroad. Nov. 18.

Alice Brock, 83. Her Massachusetts-based eatery helped inspire Arlo Guthrie’s deadpan Thanksgiving standard “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.” Nov. 21.

Fred Harris, 94. A former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, presidential hopeful and populist who championed Democratic Party reforms in the turbulent 1960s. Nov. 23.

Chuck Woolery, 83. The affable, smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19. Nov. 23.

Barbara Taylor Bradford, 91. A British journalist who became a publishing sensation in her 40s with the saga “A Woman of Substance” and wrote more than a dozen other novels that sold tens of millions of copies. Nov. 24.

Mary McGee, 87. A female racing pioneer and subject profiled in the Oscar-contending documentary “Motorcycle Mary.” Nov. 27.

Prince Johnson, 72. The Liberian former warlord and senator whose brutal tactics shocked the world. Nov. 28.

Ananda Krishnan, 86. One of Malaysia’s richest tycoons with a vast business empire including telecommunications, media, petroleum and real estate. Nov. 28.

Lou Carnesecca, 99. The excitable St. John’s coach whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his team’s rousing Final Four run in 1985 and who was a treasured figure in New York sports. Nov. 30.

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DECEMBER

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Debbie Nelson, 69. The single mother of rapper Eminem whose rocky relationship with her son was known widely through his hit song lyrics. Dec. 2.

Nikki Giovanni, 81. The poet, author, educator and public speaker who rose from borrowing money to release her first book to decades as a literary celebrity sharing her blunt and conversational takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality. Dec. 9.

George Joseph Kresge Jr., 89. He was known to generations of TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist The Amazing Kreskin. Dec. 10.

Michael Cole, 84. Best-known for his portrayal of Pete Cochran, one of three young hippie detectives on the ABC hit show “The Mod Squad.” Dec. 10.

Jim Leach, 82. A former congressman who served 30 years as a politician from eastern Iowa and later headed the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dec. 11.

John Spratt, 82. A former longtime Democratic congressman from South Carolina who successfully pushed for a balanced budget deal in the 1990s but was unseated decades later when his district turned Republican. Dec. 14.

Zakir Hussain, 73. One of India’s most accomplished classical musicians who defied genres and introduced tabla to global audiences. Dec. 15.

Fred Lorenzen, 89. A NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1965 Daytona 500 champion. Dec. 18.

Tsuneo Watanabe, 98. The powerful head of the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper, who had close ties with the country’s powerful conservative leaders. Dec. 19.

Rickey Henderson, 65. The baseball Hall of Famer was the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball’s leadoff position. Dec. 20.

Shyam Benegal, 90. A renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a new-wave cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s. Dec. 23.

Desi Bouterse, 79. A military strongman who led a 1980 coup in the former Dutch colony of Suriname then returned to power by election three decades later despite charges of drug smuggling and murder. Dec. 24.

Richard Perry, 82. The prolific record producer of superstar artists Carly Simon, Rod Stewart and Ringo Starr. Dec. 24.

Osamu Suzuki, 94. The charismatic former boss of Suzuki Motor Corp. helped turn the Japanese mini-vehicle maker into a globally competitive company. Dec. 25.

Warren Upton, 105. The oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah. Dec. 25.

Manmohan Singh, 92. India’s former prime minister who was widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States. Dec. 26.

Richard Parsons, 76. One of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup. Dec. 26.

Greg Gumbel, 78. The longtime CBS sportscaster who became the first Black announcer in the U.S. to call play-by-play of a major sports championship. Dec. 27.

Olivia Hussey, 73. The actor won a Golden Globe for her role as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” and later brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over nude scenes in the film. Dec. 27.

Dayle Haddon, 76. The actor, activist and trailblazing former “Sports Illustrated” model who pushed back against age discrimination by reentering the industry as a widow. Dec. 27.

Jimmy Carter, 100. The peanut farmer — who won the U.S. presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War — endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian. Dec. 29.

Linda Lavin, 87. The Tony Award-winning actress best-known for her portrayal of a waitress at Mel’s Diner on the hit TV comedy “Alice.” Dec. 29.
…

NEW YORK — Linda Lavin, a Tony Award-winning stage actress who became a working class icon as a paper-hat wearing waitress on the TV sitcom “Alice,” has died. She was 87. 

Lavin died in Los Angeles on Sunday of complications from recently discovered lung cancer, her representative, Bill Veloric, told The Associated Press in an email. 

A success on Broadway, Lavin tried her luck in Hollywood in the mid-1970s. She was chosen to star in a new CBS sitcom based on “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” the Martin Scorsese-directed film that won Ellen Burstyn an Oscar for playing the title waitress. 

The title was shortened to “Alice” and Lavin became a role model for working moms as Alice Hyatt, a widowed mother with a 12-year-old son working in a roadside diner outside Phoenix. The show, with Lavin singing the theme song “There’s a New Girl in Town,” ran from 1976 to 1985. 

The show turned “Kiss my grits” into a catchphrase and co-starred Polly Holliday as waitress Flo and Vic Tayback as the gruff owner and head chef of Mel’s Diner. 

The series bounced around the CBS schedule during its first two seasons but became a hit leading into “All in the Family” on Sunday nights in October 1977. It was among primetime’s top 10 series in four of the next five seasons. Variety magazine listed it among the all-time best workplace comedies. 

Lavin soon went on to win a Tony for best actress in a play for Neil Simon’s “Broadway Bound” in 1987. 

She was working as recently as this month promoting a new Netflix series in which she appears, “No Good Deed,” and filming a forthcoming Hulu series, “Mid-Century Modern,” according to Deadline, which first reported her death. 

Lavin grew up in Portland, Maine, and moved to New York City after graduating from the College of William and Mary. She sang in nightclubs and in ensembles of shows. 

Iconic producer and director Hal Prince gave Lavin her first big break while directing the Broadway musical “It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman.” She went on to earn a Tony nomination in Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” in 1969 before winning 18 years later for another Simon play, “Broadway Bound.” 

In the mid 1970s, Lavin moved to Los Angeles. She had a recurring role on “Barney Miller” and in 1976 was chosen to star in a new CBS sitcom based on Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning waitress comedy-drama, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” 

Back on Broadway, Lavin later starred Paul Rudnick’s comedy “The New Century,” had a concert show called “Songs & Confessions of a One-Time Waitress” and earned a Tony nomination in Donald Margulies’ “Collected Stories.” 

Michael Kuchwara of the AP gave Lavin a rave in “Collected Stories,” writing that she “gives one of those complete, nuanced performances, capturing the woman’s intellectual vigor, her wry sense of humor and her increasing physical frailty with astonishing fidelity. And Lavin’s sense of timing is superb, whether delivering a joke or acerbically dissecting the work of her protegee.” 

Lavin basked in a burst of renewed attention in her 70s, earning a Tony nomination for Nicky Silver’s “The Lyons.” She also starred in “Other Desert Cities” and a revival of “Follies” before they transferred to Broadway. 

The AP again raved about Lavin in “The Lyons,” calling her “an absolute wonder to behold as Rita Lyons, a nag of a mother with a collection of firm beliefs and eye rolls, a matriarch who is both suffocating and keeping everyone at arm’s length.” 

She also appeared in the film “Wanderlust” with Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, and released her first CD, “Possibilities.” She played Jennifer Lopez’s grandmother in “The Back-Up Plan.” 

When asked for guidance from up-and-coming actresses, Lavin stressed one thing. “I say that what happened for me was that work brings work. As long as it wasn’t morally reprehensible to me, I did it,” she told the AP in 2011. 

She and Steve Bakunas, an artist, musician and her third husband, converted an old automotive garage into the 50-seat Red Barn Studio Theatre in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

It opened in 2007 and their productions include “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley, “Glengarry Glen Ross” by David Mamet, “Rabbit Hole” by David Lindsay-Abaire and “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” by Charles Busch, in which Lavin also starred on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination. 

She returned to TV in 2013 in “Sean Saves the World,” starring “Will & Grace’s” Sean Hayes, a show which lasted a season. Lavin also made appearances on “Mom” and “9JKL.” 
…

Two family films dominated the holiday box office this week, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair.

Paramount’s Sonic movie earned $38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. On a normal weekend counting Friday, Saturday and Sunday ticket purchases, the winner would be somewhat clear. But when the Christmas holiday falls on a Wednesday as it did this year, the studios look at two sets of numbers: The five-day earnings and the three-day weekend earnings. With the five-day tally, The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” had the edge, bringing in $63.8 million.

It all adds up to a rather robust theatrical landscape, helped by the continued success of “Wicked” and “Moana 2,” which are on their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.

The vampire horror “Nosferatu” also debuted triumphantly. Robert Eggers’ modern reimagining of a 1922 silent film starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp rose to the top of a starry batch of Christmas Day newcomers, which included the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothée Chalamet; the erotic drama “Babygirl” with Nicole Kidman; and “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields.

“Nosferatu” landed in third place with $21.2 million from the weekend and $40.3 million from its first five days. Not accounting for inflation, it had the best Christmas Day opening ever for a genre film, with $11.6 million (besting “The Faculty’s” $4.4 million in 1998). Focus Features released the R-rated film in 2,992 theaters. 

It was a gamble to open “Nosferatu” on Christmas, when family films or all-ages blockbusters tend to be prioritized. But it paid off, attracting the coveted 18 to 34-year-old demographic to theaters.

“It was a risky move, but we knew that we had such a great film,” said Lisa Bunnell, who leads distribution for Focus Features. “A lot of people thought we were insane. But I think the more that people thought we were crazy, the more we all felt like it was the right thing to do.”

The response to the unconventional counterprogramming was gratifying. The sarcophagus-inspired popcorn buckets are even reselling for over $100.

“People keep talking about ‘how do we get people back into the movies?’ I think the only way you can get people to go back is to shake it up,” Bunnell said. “You don’t just spoon feed them the same things over and over again.”

The Bob Dylan movie, directed by James Mangold, also got off to a bright start with $11.6 million over the weekend and $23.2 million since Christmas. The 5-day total is a record for Searchlight Pictures since Disney acquired the company in early 2019. It’s been well received by both critics (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A on CinemaScore) and will likely get more of a boost from the awards race.

“Babygirl,” an A24 release from filmmaker Halina Reijn, played on 2115 screens, earning $4.4 million over the weekend and $7.2 million since Christmas. The film stars Kidman as a married, buttoned-up CEO who begins an affair with a young intern at the company, played by Harris Dickinson. Kidman won the best acting prize for her performance at the Venice Film Festival.

“The Fire Inside,” from Amazon MGM Studios, meanwhile got a bit lost in the mix despite strong reviews. It has earned a total of $4.3 million, with $2 million coming from weekend shows where it played in 2006 theaters.

Thanksgiving releases continued to perform well through the Christmas timeframe. Fourth place went to “Wicked,” which earned another $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $424.2 million. On Tuesday, the lavish movie musical will also be available to rent or purchase at home. It’s a move that has drawn some critics who believe making it available at home after only 40 days in theaters will cannibalize profits.

“Moana 2” rounded out the top five films this weekend with $18.2 million. The Disney movie has made $882.5 million globally and is closing in on $400 million domestically.

Christmas Day itself was massive for the industry, with $61 million in ticket sales. Thursday was nearly as big, with $50 million.

“Every day was like Saturday at the box office because of the way the holidays lined up,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst.

Comscore is projecting that the year will net out with about $8.75 billion in domestic box office receipts. That’s down about 3.3% from last year, which cracked $9 billion, and the pre-pandemic normal of $11 billion.

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are:

1. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” $38 million.

2. “Mufasa: The Lion King,” $37.1 million.

3. “Nosferatu,” $21.2 million.

4. “Wicked,” $19.5 million.

5. “Moana 2,” $18.2 million.

6. “A Complete Unknown,” $11.6 million.

7. “Babygirl,” $4.4 million.

8. “Gladiator II,” $4.2 million.

9. “Homestead,” $3.2 million.

10. “The Fire Inside,” $2 million.
    …

MEXICO CITY — On a Sunday afternoon in Mexico City’s Roma neighborhood, Rosa María Espinosa joins nearly 80 men under a park pavilion to play poleana, a board game requiring mental dexterity that was born in the city’s prisons nearly a century ago.

Espinosa blows smoke rings with her cigarette and laughs with the others. Today she will be the only woman playing.

Though the game’s origins still carry a stigma, it is having a moment as people from diverse backgrounds discover its appeal.

“It’s a lot of adrenaline,” said Espinosa. “But sometimes the dice aren’t lucky.”

Playing for freedom

Poleana is played on a square wooden box with a sunken center for dice rolling. Four players, each with four pieces, race to navigate the board, using specific dice combinations and calculations to move their pieces from their starting positions, around the board, and out through their designated corner, while strategically blocking opponents.

The board symbolizes the confines of prison, and getting out before the others, winning freedom — even if just metaphorically — is the game’s goal.

“People used to say ‘these folks know how to play because they’ve been to prison,'” said the 62-year-old Espinosa. “Thank God I’ve never been, but I like to play.”

This afternoon’s tournament marks the first time she’s competed against anyone outside her circle of relatives or friends she usually plays with on Tuesdays and Sundays in the small chapel of her apartment complex.

Ancient roots

Alejandro Olmos, an archaeologist and anthropologist specializing in Mesoamerican games at the National Anthropology and History School, has studied and played poleana for years.

He traces the game’s origins to the Indian game chaupar (or pachisi), with archaeological evidence dating back to 600 A.D. After British colonization, the game spread to various Western countries under different names, including Ludo, Aggravation and Parcheesi.

In the United States, game maker Parker Brothers marketed a similar game, which was based on the 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter Pollyanna.

Sometime around 1940, the game spread in the lockups of Mexico City, with Lecumberri—a prison whose very architecture echoed the geometry of the poleana board — likely serving as its initial breeding ground. It was here where it was renamed poleana and received a new set of rules.

“All cultures have a process called adoption-transformation,” Olmos said. In Mexico, “the game reflects the roughness of prison life: mistakes are not pardoned.”

Poleana breaks out

Six years ago, Jonathan Rulleri started a family business promoting poleana with the goal of bringing together people from different walks of life.

One of the early challenges was establishing common rules for the game, “which has been spreading from below, from prison to the street and from the street into neighborhoods,” said the 37-year-old Rulleri, who learned to play while incarcerated in the State of Mexico, outside the capital.

After his release, he struggled to find work, a common problem for those who have been imprisoned.

He launched a taco delivery service alongside his wife, but the business proved unsuccessful, leading him to reluctantly accept a commission to craft a poleana board for an acquaintance. Then came another commission — and he began to post his creations on social media.

“We dumped the taco idea and started making poleanas,” said Rulleri.

The resulting business, Poleana Cana’da Frogs — a name derived from a slang word for prison and a description of the way the pieces hop around the board — has so far organized 55 poleana tournaments in public spaces, emphasizing a family-friendly atmosphere and explicitly excluding betting, a practice common in other poleana events.

“We want to remove the game’s stigma, that it was a game for prisoners or slackers,” Rulleri said.

In the 1980s, the game began to spread beyond the prisons and found purchase in many of Mexico City’s rougher neighborhoods.

Tepito — the capital’s cradle of street commerce and boxing — is one of the neighborhoods where people can almost always be found playing poleana. At a handball court where men of all ages smack a ball against a wall, others on the sidelines play poleana late into the evening.

Fernando Rojas, 57, learned poleana when he was 18, but it was in prison where he honed his talents. The games, which can last for hours, in prison happen back-to-back.

“It really helps you escape the reality of being a prisoner and that’s how it started,” Rojas said. “No one can understand what it’s like to be a prisoner … you don’t see the end of your sentence. There are people who have to do drugs as their way to escape. Poleana is very important in prison.”

Now the game serves as Rojas’ therapy: a way to relieve stress and avoid family conflict. He carries his dice and pieces in a small plastic bag, religiously joining his friends at the handball court to play.

“We all have problems, in prison and in the street,” he said. “So a lot of people come here for a distraction.”

In Poleana, plays and number combinations have names. For example, a roll of six is a “six pack,” because that’s what it looks like when seen from above. Rolling doubles prompts celebratory shouts of “pares y no pares,” a play on Spanish words for pairs and not stopping. With luck, you could get a piece three-quarters of the way around the board.

While chance plays a role, mathematical calculation is also key.

That’s why Diego González and Dana López are thrilled that their 7-year-old son Kevin is learning to play poleana. He has fun and he’s getting faster with his calculations.

González, 33, also makes poleana boards through his family business, Poleanas Iztapalapa, finding a creative outlet after serving a three-year sentence a decade ago. He crafts personalized boards with details like strobe lights and Bluetooth speakers.

His boards are popular gifts for weddings, birthdays and Christmas. Some special commissions have included requests to include images of deceased loved ones in the sunken area where dice are tossed. Others want playful characters to decorate boards they give to their children.

Sales surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were shut in their homes and found poleana to be a good way to pass the time.

“Two, three hours counting and tossing, and all that was really nice for them,” he said. “They realized it’s not a bad game, it’s a game of strategy and getting the family together.”
…

LONDON — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media Saturday. She was 73. 

Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said. 

Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy after spotting her onstage in the play “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” which also starred Vanessa Redgrave. 

“Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 at the time. 

Decades later, Hussey and Whiting brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes in the film. 

They alleged that they were initially told they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in a bedroom scene, but on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli told the pair they would wear only body makeup, and that the camera would be positioned in a way that would not show nudity. They alleged they were filmed in the nude without their knowledge. 

The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023, who found their depiction could not be considered child pornography and the pair filed their claim too late. 

Whiting was among those paying tribute to Hussey on Saturday. “Rest now my beautiful Juliet no injustices can hurt you now. And the world will remember your beauty inside and out forever,” he wrote. 

Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a child. She studied at the Italia Conti Academy drama school. 

She also starred as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television series “Jesus of Nazareth,” as well as in the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” and horror movies “Black Christmas” and “Psycho IV: The Beginning.” 

She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, her three children and a grandson. 
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ROME — Pope Francis made a visit on Thursday to one of the largest prison complexes in Italy, opening a special “Holy Door” for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, in what the Vatican said was the first such action by a Catholic pontiff.

Speaking to hundreds of inmates, guards and staff at the Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of Rome, Francis said he wanted to open the door, part of the prison chapel, and one of only five that will be open during the Holy Year, to show that “hope does not disappoint.”

“In bad moments, we can all think that everything is over,” said the pontiff. “Do not lose hope. This is the message I wanted to give you. Do not lose hope.”

Francis opened the Catholic Holy Year, also known as a Jubilee, on Tuesday. A Catholic Jubilee is considered a time of peace, forgiveness and pardon. This Jubilee, dedicated to the theme of hope, will run through Jan. 6, 2026.

Holy Years normally occur every 25 years, and usually involve the opening in Rome of four special “Holy Doors,” which symbolize the door of salvation for Catholics. The doors, located at the papal basilicas in Rome, are only open during Jubilee years.

The Vatican said the opening of the “Holy Door” at Rome’s Rebibbia prison was the first time such a door had been opened by a pope at a prison since the start of the Jubilee year tradition by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300.

Francis has shown special attention for the incarcerated over his 11-year papacy. He often visits prisons in Rome and on his foreign trips.
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Washington — The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor Tuesday: It officially became the country’s national bird. 

President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle — familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body — as the national bird. 

The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, which is used in official documents, since 1782, when the design was finalized. The seal is made up of the eagle, an olive branch, arrows, a flag-like shield, the motto “E Pluribus Unum” and a constellation of stars. 

Congress, that same year, designated the bald eagle as the the national emblem, and its image appears in a host of places, ranging from documents and the presidential flag to military insignia and U.S. currency, according to USA.gov. 

But it had never been officially designated to be what many had just assumed it was — the national bird. 

The bald eagle is indigenous to North America. 
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The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time.

Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages, from English to Japanese.

On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats, such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”

“There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer.

Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.”

NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War, predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics. The tradition continues regardless of government shutdowns, such as the one in 2018, and this year.

Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing.

Origin story is Hollywood-esque

It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number.

A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war.

Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list.

“He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999.

Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?”

Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said.

In the pre-digital age, the agency used an 18-by-24-meter plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole.

The tradition was born.

“Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.”

In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.”

Is the origin story humbug?

Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call.

In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from December 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number.

“When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season:

‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece.

In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations.

Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955.

A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike.

“Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said.

Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls.

“And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying, ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’”

Rare addition to Santa’s story

NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010.

Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens.

In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada — known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa.

He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night.

“That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track [Santa] through that heat source.”

NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org, that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, mountain standard time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.
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As Christians celebrate Christmas, Pope Francis, in his traditional Christmas message, urges “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions,” from the Holy Land to Ukraine, Africa to Asia. 
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NEW DELHI — Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died after chronic kidney disease. He was 90. 

His contribution to cinema was recognized as a director, editor and screenwriter. He came into the limelight with films — Ankur (1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) — that challenged mainstream Bollywood by dealing with the social realities of a poor nation. 

Benegal died Monday at Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital, and his cremation will take place on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing his daughter Piya. 

“Benegal had been suffering from chronic kidney disease for several years but it had gotten very bad,” Piya said. 

Many paid tribute to the filmmaker on social media platform X. 

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt wrote that Benegal told stories without pretense. “They were raw and real, about the struggles of ordinary people. His films had craft and conviction.” 

“Deeply saddened by the passing of Shyam Benegal, whose storytelling had a profound impact on Indian cinema. His works will continue to be admired by people from different walks of life,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted. 

Benegal was a mentor to top Indian actors including Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, who made their mark in Bollywood’s popular cinema as well. 

“I have lost my foster father, a man to whom I owe more than I can say,” Shah posted. 

“Shyam Benegal was not just a legend; he was a visionary who redefined storytelling and inspired generations,” said actor Manoj Bajpayee. 

The film Ankur explored the feudal divide in India, while Manthan was based on the story of the country’s cooperative dairy milk movement. 

Benegal also was widely known for Bharat Ek Khoj, a landmark 53-episode television series based on the book Discovery of India, written by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. It chronicled the country’s troubled passages, from ancient times to modernity. 

He also directed a 2023 biopic on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s freedom struggle against Pakistan in the 1970s. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August following a student movement, is the daughter of Rahman. 

Benegal was born in 1934 in Hyderabad in southern India. He earned an economics degree from Hyderabad’s Osmania University and established the Hyderabad Film Society. He also ventured into advertising, where he directed over 900 sponsored documentaries and advertising films. 

Benegal also is survived by his wife, Nira Benegal.
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For 92 years, the Hollywood Christmas Parade has featured celebrities and performers. This year, the parade includes the Divas and Drummers of Compton, a nonprofit working to give inner city kids an opportunity to learn performing arts. Genia Dulot reports from Los Angeles.
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Singer and actress Sofia Carson closes 2024 with her first action film role and a duet of the holiday classic “White Christmas” with Andrea Bocelli. Carson reflected on her bicultural roots and humanitarian work to VOA’s Veronica Villafane.
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TAIPEI — A Chinese war plane goes missing near Taiwan. China sends swarms of military boats and planes for a blockade as Taiwan goes on a war footing. Panic ensues on the streets of Taipei.

The premise of “Zero Day,” a new Taiwan TV drama envisioning a Chinese invasion, is a topic that has for years been considered too sensitive for many Taiwan filmmakers and television show creators, who fear losing access to the lucrative Chinese entertainment market.

But as China steps up military threats, including the large massing of naval forces last week and daily military activities close to the island, the upcoming drama confronts the fear by setting the 10-episode series around a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

“We thought there is freedom in Taiwan, but in film and TV production we are restricted by China on many levels,” said Cheng Hsin Mei, the showrunner on “Zero Day.”

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory over the objections of the government in Taipei, is a much larger market for film and television. Taiwanese entertainers are popular there partly due to language and cultural similarities.

Cheng said creators in free and democratic Taiwan, however, are indirectly confined by Beijing’s powerful state censorship.

Beijing has regularly called out Taiwanese artists seen as violating China’s political ideology and has threatened to blacklist those unwilling to cooperate.

China pressured a popular Taiwanese rock band to make pro-China comments ahead of Taiwan’s presidential vote early this year, sources told Reuters. Beijing denied pressuring the group Mayday.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Buzz in Taiwan

For the “Zero Day” crew, confronting such a sensitive topic means facing difficulties, from funding and casting, to finding places to film.

Cheng said more than half of the “Zero Day” crew asked to remain anonymous on the crew list, and some people including a director pulled out of the production at the last minute, due to worries it might jeopardize their future work in China or concerns about the safety of their families working there.

“Our freedom is hard-earned,” Cheng said, adding people should not give in easily due to fears over China.

“The People’s Liberation Army has launched substantial incursions against us and they are getting closer and closer,” she said. “We should look at this directly rather than pretending that it is not happening.”

The show, which is set to be broadcast online and on yet-to-be announced television channels next year, is already creating buzz in Taiwan after the extended trailer went online in July.

The drama focuses on several scenarios Taiwan might face in the days leading up to a Chinese attack, including a global financial collapse, the activation of Chinese sleeper agents and panicked residents trying to flee the island.

“Without freedom, Taiwan is not Taiwan,” the actor who plays a fictional Taiwan president says in a televised speech, urging unity after declaring war on China, in the show’s trailer.

The live broadcast then gets abruptly cut off, replaced by a feed of a Chinese state television anchor calling for Taiwanese to surrender and to report “hidden pro-independence activists” to Chinese soldiers after their landing in Taiwan.

Milton Lin, a 75-year-old Taipei resident, said he was grateful the TV series was putting a spotlight on the threats by China.

“It helps Taiwanese to understand that we are facing a strong enemy trying to annex us and how we should be on guard with unity to face such an invasion.”
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