WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to deliver an election-year roast Saturday night before a large crowd of journalists, celebrities and politicians against the backdrop of growing protests over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. In previous years, Biden, like most of his predecessors, has used the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — Even amid war, Ukraine finds time for the glittery, pop-filled Eurovision Song Contest. Perhaps now even more than ever. Ukraine’s entrants in the pan-continental music competition — the female duo of rapper alyona alyona and singer Jerry Heil — set off from Kyiv for the competition on Thursday. In wartime, that means … Read more
RAMAT GAN, Israel — When Ben Binyamin was left for dead, his right leg blown off during the Hamas attack on the Tribe of Nova music festival, the Israeli professional soccer player thought he would never again play the game he loved. “When I woke up,” the 29-year-old said, “I felt I was going to … Read more
Vietnamese journalist-turned-filmmaker Phanxinê remembers exactly when he decided to make movies in his native country rather than Hollywood. It was in 2008 but it could have been a satirical scene out of the Vietnam Era-novel “The Sympathizer.” Someone from a movie studio visiting his University of Southern California film class told him his story pitch … Read more
NEW YORK — Several authors have turned down awards and awards nominations from PEN America, citing unhappiness with the literary and free expression organization’s stance on the war in Gaza. This week, PEN announced its long lists in categories ranging from the $75,000 Jean Stein Award for best book to the $10,000 PEN/Hemingway award for … Read more
LONDON — It’s 50 years since ABBA won a major battle with “Waterloo.” A half-century ago on Saturday, the Swedish quartet triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the peppy love song, which opens: “My my, at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way.” The song … Read more
JERUSALEM — On Monday, the Israeli military withdrew from its second devastating raid on Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, leaving it in ruins, with the walls blown out and frame blackened. Despite the destruction, Israel claimed the battle as a victory in its battle against Hamas militants — and said it hadn’t harmed civilians sheltering inside … Read more
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned. One toddler died from a brain injury caused by an Israeli strike that fractured his skull. His cousin, … Read more
AUSTIN, Texas — AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — “Civil War,” Alex Garland’s election-year provocation, debuted Thursday at the SXSW Film and TV Festival, unveiling a violent vision of a near-future America at war with itself. “Civil War,” reportedly A24’s biggest budget release yet, is a bold gamble to capitalize on some of the anxieties that have … Read more
TEL AVIV, Israel — When Shawn Landis, an evangelical Christian from Pennsylvania, heard about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, he knew he would come to Israel to volunteer as soon as it was safe. Five months later, he was chopping vegetables in a Tel Aviv kitchen, preparing meals for Israeli soldiers. Evangelicals … Read more
