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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
The magic of Christmas is lighting up New York City, and nowhere is it more dazzling than in Dyker Heights, a neighborhood famous for its extravagant holiday displays. VOA’s Aron Ranen takes us to this festive wonderland. …
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. As the seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately — and frequently capped by a dome. Visitors to Pennsylvania ‘s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, …
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can be …
New York — In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative …
The group behind a proposed breakaway European football competition is back. They have a new name for their tournament, too, calling it the Unify League this time. The latest idea for an elite competition for the biggest teams in Europe …
SAO PAULO — For decades, they have scrounged for food on streets across the country — undesired, abandoned and overlooked. But today, the caramel-colored mutts of Brazil are having a major moment. The “vira-lata caramelo” (literally: caramel trashcan-tipper) is being exalted …
OAKLAND, Calif. — Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball’s leadoff position, has died. He was 65. Henderson died on Friday. The Athletics said Saturday they were “shocked and heartbroken by his passing,” but did …
Rhiannon Giddens is a Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning musical artist whose latest project tells the story of the U.S. transcontinental railroad — a story told through the eyes of its builders, including African American, Chinese, Japanese, Irish and Native American workers. …
When Pope Francis left the Vatican earlier this month for his traditional Christmastime outing downtown, he acknowledged what many Romans have been complaining about for months: That his big plans for a Holy Year had turned their city into a …