David Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first turn on the ballot, while steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied entry to Cooperstown in their final year under consideration by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Ortiz was a clutch slugger and 10-time All-Star over 20 seasons mostly with the Boston Red Sox. He was named on 77.9% of ballots, clearing the 75% […]
NEW YORK (AP) — "Stop Right There." They were three words that defined a hit album. They also launched a career. Singer Ellen Foley belted out the famous warning to Meat Loaf about halfway through their eight-and-a-half minute duet "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," the epic seduction song on his hit "Bat Out of Hell" album. Foley is looking back on that memorable song as she recalls Meat Loaf and […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely and Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series "Baskets," has died at age 68. Anderson's publicist Glenn Schwartz says the comedian died Friday in Las Vegas. The publicist had said earlier this week that Anderson was hospitalized for a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He'd been a familiar face […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Meat Loaf, the rock superstar loved by millions for his "Bat Out of Hell" album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," has died at age 74. A family statement provided by his longtime agent says the singer born Marvin Lee Aday died Thursday night. "Bat Out of Hell," his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter […]
BEIJING (AP) — With just over two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, residents of the Chinese capital are disappointed at not being able to attend events because of coronavirus restrictions. Organizers have announced no tickets will be sold to the general public and only selected spectators will be allowed. Access to the famed National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, and indoor venues in the heart […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Major international airlines have canceled flights heading to the U.S. or changed the planes they're using. The moves Wednesday represented the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that 5G mobile phone service could interfere with aircraft technology. Carriers took widely different approaches to the brewing crisis affecting international travel, from Emirates drastically reducing its U.S.-bound flights to Air France saying it would fly […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lily Tomlin is this year's recipient of AARP The Magazine's Movies for Grownups Awards career achievement honor. The 82-year-old actor and comedian will receive the honor at the AARP's annual Best Movies and TV for Grownups ceremony. The 20th anniversary virtual event, hosted by Alan Cumming, will be telecast March 18 on PBS. Tomlin says "there are so few grownups in the world" and she is […]
The late Betty White was a tireless advocate for animals for her entire life, from caring for homeless animals as a child to launching her own weekly TV show "The Pet Set" dedicated to her celebrity friends and their pets. Her biggest contribution, though, may be yet to come, as fans get set to donate to animal welfare charities and local shelters on Jan. 17 as part of the #BettyWhiteChallenge. […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Ronnie Spector, the cat-eyed, bee-hived rock 'n' roll siren who sang such 1960s hits as "Be My Baby," "Baby I Love You" and "Walking in the Rain" as the leader of the girl group The Ronettes, has died. She was 78. Spector died Wednesday after a brief battle with cancer, her family said. "Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, […]
