Israel ambassador asks to meet New Zealand pop star Lorde over canceled show
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Israel’s ambassador to New Zealand on Wednesday appealed to the pop star Lorde to meet him after she canceled a show in Tel Aviv after appeals from activists for her to shun Israel as a protest against its treatment of Palestinians. Itzhak...
‘Sound of Music’ actress Heather Menzies-Urich dies at 68
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Actress Heather Menzies-Urich, best known for portraying Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film “The Sound of Music,” died Sunday night. She was 68. Menzies-Urich, the widow of actor Robert Urich, had been recently diagnosed with cancer,...
Federal judge partially lifts Trump’s latest refugee restrictions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge in Seattle partially blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s newest restrictions on refugee admissions on Saturday, the latest legal defeat for his efforts to curtail immigration and travel to the United States. The decision by...
Trump signs tax, government spending bills into law
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed Republicans’ massive $1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law on Friday, cementing the biggest legislative victory of his first year in office, and also approved a short-term spending bill that averts a possible...
Second court rejects Trump bid to stop transgender military recruits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday rejected a bid by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent the U.S. military from accepting transgender recruits starting Jan. 1, the second court to issue such a ruling this week. Four...
Trump says he will sign tax, government spending bills on Friday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he will sign Republicans’ massive $1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law on Friday to cement the first major legislative win of his first year in office. In a post on Twitter, Trump said he would finalize the tax...
Congress votes to avert shutdown, sends Trump stopgap spending bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Thursday averted a government shutdown just one day before federal funding was due to expire, sending President Donald Trump a bill to provide just enough money to keep agencies operating through Jan. 19. With lawmakers...
U.S. sports broadcaster Dick Enberg, 82, dies in San Diego: media
(Reuters) - U.S. broadcaster Dick Enberg, who charmed sports fans with his “Oh My!” declaration as he called some of the most memorable sporting events during the last five decades, died on Thursday, ESPN reported. He was 82. Enberg was found dead at his home in San...
Sylvester Stallone ‘categorically disputes’ claim of 1990s sexual assault
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Sylvester Stallone on Thursday denied an accusation that he raped a woman in the 1990s and said the allegation was “completely fabricated.” Celebrity news site TMZ reported on Wednesday, citing law enforcement sources, that a woman had...
U.S. House unveils new stop-gap funding bill to avert shutdown
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Thursday advanced legislation to keep the federal government operating past Friday when funding expires, adding some “emergency” money for the military in a bid to gain the support of conservatives in the...