Her name was Gianna Maria Onore Bryant. The world, now and forever, knows her as Gigi. Her dad, Kobe Bryant, called her Mambacita. He was Mamba, of course, and she was going to be basketball’s female version of him. She was going to play at Connecticut and head to the WNBA. That was the plan.      Over the years, the world watched her grow from a baby in her father’s arms, to a small child trying to hold his Finals MVP trophy, to his companion at WNBA, college and …

An artist known for work depicting his native Bolivia has died after being struck by a car in northern Virginia. Alfredo Da Silva died Sunday. He was 84. Alexandria Police say he died at the scene after he was struck by a car Sunday morning. Police said Tuesday that the crash remains under investigation. The car’s driver remained at the scene and was interviewed by police. Da Silva lived in Alexandria but was born in Potosi, Bolivia, and studied art in Buenos Aires. Pablo Zuniga, director of the Art Museum …

Fans call it The House that Kobe Built, and since Kobe Bryant’s shocking death in a helicopter crash mourners by the thousands have gathered outside the glistening steel-and-glass edifice where the Los Angeles Lakers legend made so much basketball history.The arrivals at downtown Staples Center began soon after word spread that Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among nine people killed in Sunday’s crash. They continued unabated Monday as people took off from school or work to pay respects to a man with whom many felt a kinship.“The memories …

The pilot of the helicopter that crashed and killed basketball superstar Kobe Bryant apparently climbed to avoid a cloud layer just before slamming into a hillside, federal investigators say.Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday the copter was about 700 meters off the ground before it plunged more than 300 meters into the hills north of Los Angeles.Air traffic say the pilot’s message that he had to climb to avoid the clouds was the last thing they heard from the copter.Homendy says the debris field is “extensive.””A …

Harvey Weinstein “got offended”  when his repeated advances were rebuffed, Mimi Haleyi testified Monday when she took the witness stand as one of the key accusers whose allegations of sexual assault led to charges and the trial of the former movie mogul.      Former production assistant Mimi Haleyi testified that before the alleged assault, Weinstein showed up at her apartment and begged her to join him on a trip to Paris for a fashion show. She said he wouldn’t take no for an answer.      “At one point, …