World Top News

By CLAUDIA TORRENS, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — During a tribute to her career at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), Penelope Cruz recalled the Betamax videotape store that opened in her neighborhood, in a suburb of Madrid, when she was a child and that made her discover cinema. It was there where she rented all the films of Spanish movie director Pedro Almodóvar, she said. “I watched, and I laughed, I cried, and I learned," she said at a star-studded benefit Tuesday evening at the museum. “I would not be here tonight, being honored by MoMa,Vans Shoes For Womens  ,if I had not had the privilege of working with brilliant directors who have inspired me, taught me, helped me grow as an artist and as a person. I want to thank them all tonight, and spec...

By The Associated Press If 2020 was a pandemic-induced pause, 2021 was when things started up again, albeit slowly and timidly. But that doesn't describe this year's eight Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of the Year: They seized their masks — and the moment. They are Damson Idris, Simu Liu, Rachel Zegler, Rauw Alejandro, Adrienne Warren, Saweetie, Anupam Tripathi and Sydney Sweeney. Each found ways to share their art despite virus fears and variants. The year went quickly for Zegler, who had beat out thousands for the part of Maria in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” The pandemic pushed the film's release a year but she didn't stop. Zegler was cast in and filmed the sequel to “Shazam” and Clarks Shoes  snagged the role of Snow White in t...

By MARK THIESSSEN, Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The newly crowned Miss America has made history, becoming both the first Korean American and the first Alaskan to hold the title in the competition’s 100-year history. “I never could have imagined in a million years that I would be Miss America, let alone that I would be Miss Alaska,” a beaming Emma Broyles told The Associated Press on Friday in a Zoom call from Connecticut, where she won the competition about 12 hours earlier. In fact, she was sure they had it wrong. The final two contestants were Broyles and Lauren Bradford, Miss Alabama, and Broyles said she was thinking Bradford was Menairshoes  going to make an amazing Miss America. “And then they said Alaska, and I said, ‘No way. Are you ...

By LINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer Never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, even with a mutating virus afoot. Despite rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” not only shattered pandemic-era box office records; it became the third best opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($357.1 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War" ($257.7 million). The Sony and Marvel blockbuster grossed a stunning $253 million in ticket sales from 4,325 North American locations, according to studio estimates on Sunday, also setting a record for the month of December. The web-slinger’s success couldn’t have come sooner for a movie business that has had a rollercoaster 2021 and could be headed for a difficult start to 2022 as the o micron variant of th...