Damian Lewis returns as King Henry VIII in ‘Wolf Hall’TV
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Black Ribbon Books is a cozy community hangout in Arkansas
Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.
Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.
This week we have Nannette Crane-Post, owner of Black Ribbon Books in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
What’s your store’s story?
Black Ribbon Books is a woman-owned bookstore. I’m a full-time community college faculty member who splits her time between teaching, grading and maintaining a community space for books and reading. The shop is located in a historic hotel in Hot Springs National Park.
What makes your independent bookstore unique?
My customers are a mix of tourists and locals and all describe the store as welcoming and cozy. I am located next to a record store in the shopping gallery of the Arlington Hotel with a distinct art deco and 1920s vibe. I host author events, a book club and a safe place for local high school students to hang out. I sell both new and used books at all price points because I believe books should be affordable for everyone. I also carry gift items from local artists.
What’s your favorite section in your store?
My favorite section is the lounge area that has a couch, cozy chair and a coffee table with an ongoing jigsaw puzzle.
What book do you love to recommend to customers and why?
I love recommending Louise Erdrich’s book, “The Sentence.” Tookie, the main character, is deeply flawed yet looking for love, inclusion and a tribe. I think many of us can relate to her.
“Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” by Annie Dillard deserves more attention because it is a deep, slow study of our environment as a way to heal us and understand our lives. It asks us to slow down and focus our attention on things that may be overlooked (like the tiny inhabitants of a creek) because we deem them unimportant in our hurry to always be on the go.
Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?
Shopping at local indie bookstores is important because bookstores define the coupling of community and the world at large. Where else can one go to feel included and authentic, yet also connected with the world? I love how social barriers are removed in bookstores because our sense of self is sustained by having access to what speaks to us and what we identify with. At the same time, we are expanded by exposure to new subjects we otherwise would never discover.
What are some of your store’s events, programs, or partnerships you would like to share?
Every month we host a monthly book club. Past events include author readings and signings, student art receptions, birthday parties, photo shoots and even a wedding proposal.
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’60s teen heartthrob battling disease
Mom thought she’d spend 60th birthday alone, until now
This mom thought she’d be spending her birthday day alone in a California hospital with her husband battling cancer, until her daughters walked in.
Bobby Sherman, an actor and singer who rose to teen idol status in the 1960s, has been diagnosed with cancer.
Sherman’s wife Brigitte Poublon announced the diagnosis in a post to Facebook Tuesday and thanked his “cherished fans” for “remembering him.” She did not specify the type of cancer.
“As many of you know, Bobby has been retired for some time and is no longer able to participate in cameos, sign autographs, or make appearances,” wrote Poublon, who wed Sherman in 2011.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share Bobby has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer,” she continued. “During this challenging time, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect for our privacy.”
A rep for Sherman was not immediately available for comment.
Sherman, 81, exemplified a classic California pop king. Hailing from Santa Monica, he charmed audiences with ballads like the gold-record-winning “Little Woman” and “Easy Come, Easy Go” and blended yacht rock with doo-wop sensibilities.
More Monkees than Beach Boys, his sound was not the only source of success for Sherman. His heartthrob look and singing chops also landed him on several television shows. In 1968, he made his debut on “Here Come the Brides,” a Western comedy series.
He was later cast as the house singer on the ABC variety show “Shindig!” and appeared in several cameos on “The Patridge Family” and “The Love Boat.”
For Sherman, teen stardom represented only a first act. In the 1990s he left entertainment to become a paramedic and work with local law enforcement, teaching first aid to recruits at the Los Angeles Police Department Academy, according to a 1993 profile of him in The Los Angeles Times.
He later became a technical reserve officer for the department.
“Thank you so much for still remembering him,” Sherman’s wife concluded in her statement. “We really appreciate it.”
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Selena Gomez values Taylor Swift’s opinion: ‘She’s super honest’
Selena Gomez is grateful for “very sweet” support from her longtime friend Taylor Swift.
“Taylor Swift gave you the ultimate shout out over the weekend,” reporter Emily Curl asked the Only Murders in the Building star on Thursday. “How did it feel seeing that and seeing her support?”
“You know with Taylor I value her support and her opinion so much, because she’s super honest,” Gomez responded.
Swift shared the “I Said I Love You First” cover art to her Instagram story on Saturday with the caption, “I LOVE THIS ALBUM SO MUCH OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDD.”
iHeartRadio shared the interaction on X where the 32-year-old singer was promoting her emotionally rich album she collaborated with fiancé Benny Blanco.
Long live the Eras Tour with our enchanting book
Gomez admitted before any songs hit the airwaves or streaming sites, she sends songs to Swift. “I have always played her – off any of my albums – the top two I like to see and what she thinks.”
After almost two decades of friendship, Gomez said Swift offers an unfiltered opinion. Some songs are “OK” while others are “knockouts”: “Like when I played her ‘Lose You to Love Me’ before it came out and she and her amazing mom started crying and then I started crying and it’s very sweet.”
Don’t miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter This Swift Beat.
Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network’s Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
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Mike Wolfe announces hiatus from ‘American Pickers.’ Why?
Death timeline of Gene Hackman, wife
Gene Hackman and his wife died a week apart and from entirely different causes. No foul play is suspected in the deaths.
“American Pickers” star Mike Wolfe is taking a break from the show for the first time, six months after former co-star Frank Fritz’s death.
In a People magazine exclusive published Friday, Wolfe revealed he will take a brief hiatus from the History Channel hit.
“We haven’t done that in 15 years, so that’s going to feel good. For 15 years, we have just been going and going and going,” Wolfe told People, adding that the show’s longest break so far has been for “a month around Christmas.”
“American Pickers” follows Wolfe and his brother Rob Wolfe, who replaced Frank Fritz, as the pair traverses the country searching for antique treasures.
“I think we’re going to have at least four or five months off, so it’s going to be good,” he continued.
The news comes as Wolfe is set to star in a film “Day of Reckoning” alongside girlfriend Leticia Cline.
“A struggling sheriff teams up with a tough U.S. Marshal to detain a cunning female outlaw. As tensions rise within their posse, they must face an approaching gang led by the prisoner’s violent husband,” the film’s description reads on IMDb.
Wolfe added that he originally wanted to “stay in my lane” but added that “I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I can.’ I don’t know if I’m fighting above my weight here, but it wasn’t like I had a ton of lines.
“I think the best experience out of it, or the most surreal experience for me, was meeting a lot of the cast,” he said.
‘American Pickers’ hiatus comes after Frank Fritz’s October death
The news of a hiatus comes six months after Wolfe’s co-star Frank Fritz died at 60.
In an Instagram post on Oct. 1, Wolfe mourned “with a broken heart” the loss of his longtime former co-star.
“I’ve know Frank for more then (sic) half my life and what you’ve seen on TV has always been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny,” he wrote. “The same off camera as he was on, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself.”
Wolfe continued: “Who would have ever dreamed we would share the cockpit of a white cargo van in front of millions of people interested in our adventures. Before the show we would take off together to places we never knew existed with no destination in mind and just the shared passion to discover something interesting and historic.”
The History Channel star added that the pair have “been on countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home. I love you buddy and will miss you so much I know your in a better place.”
In July 2021, Wolfe confirmed Fritz would no longer appear on the show, writing that he would “miss Frank.” While Wolfe described the pair’s close relationship with Fritz then, his late co-star revealed to The Sun in July 2021 that he hadn’t spoken to Wolfe in “two years” and that he “didn’t leave the show.”
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JLo reunites with ‘Selena’ co-star amid Yolanda Saldivar parole denial
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck separated in April: Reports
Jennifer Lopez filed to divorce Ben Affleck on the two-year anniversary of their Georgia wedding ceremony. Their romance dates back to 2002.
Jennifer Lopez is having a “Selena” reunion in a new Netflix movie.
In an Instagram post Thursday, the multi-hyphenate announced that her former co-star Edward James Olmos, who played her on-screen dad in the 1997 film about the death of singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, will star in her upcoming film “Office Romance.”
“From ‘Selena’ to now, this journey has come full circle…SWIPE to see the big news. We’re thrilled to welcome the incredible Edward James Olmos to ‘Office Romance’!” Lopez captioned the post, which was also posted in Spanish.
Lopez posted the photo carousel with a throwback picture of the duo and an updated photo.
Olmos will star with Lopez in “Office Romance,” a romantic comedy film from Brett Goldstein and Joe Kelly, the creators of HBO hit “Ted Lasso.” Last year, Deadline reported that Lopez will produce the film. The movie also stars Goldstein, “Glow’ actress Betty Gilpin and “The Blacklist” actor Zuhdi Boueri.
Selena Quintanilla Pérez killer denied parole
But JLo’s timing comes almost 30 years to the day after pop singer and Tejano legend Quintanilla-Pérez, who she played in the beloved 1997 movie, was murdered – and the same day her killer was denied parole.
On Thursday, Yolanda Saldívar, 64, who is currently serving a life sentence for Selena’s murder, was denied parole.
The crossover star died March 31, 1995, at 23 years old in Corpus Christi, Texas, after Saldívar shot and killed her.
On Thursday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a press release announcing that a three-person parole panel determined after “thorough consideration” that Saldívar should not be granted release on parole due to the nature of the offense. In 1995, she was convicted on the charge of murder with a deadly weapon.
The panel’s decision was based on her parole review file, which included confidential interviews, court documents, criminal history, information both in support and protest of her parole, “institutional adjustment” and a statement provided by Saldívar.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY; Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times
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Studio Ghibli AI portraits spark outrage, make it to the White House
Nvidia and Disney unveil smart and cute ‘Star Wars’ droid
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang presented an AI-powered “Star Wars” droid and showcased its abilities at Nvidia GTC in San Jose.
From its inception, artificial intelligence has stoked fear among the creative community.
Amid the rapid expansion of AI and ever-growing discussions of how machine learning may upend modern life, many artists have begun to sound the alarm on what they fear may be a free-for-all of unauthorized use and theft.
No scenario better depicts that tension than the current controversy roiling OpenAI’s new image generator and the popular animation house Studio Ghibli, known for its animated movies including “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro.”
Here’s a rundown on how it all started, and why it has creative critics of the technology up in arms.
The Studio Ghibli, AI controversy explained
On Tuesday, OpenAI, perhaps the most powerful mover in the machine learning space, released a new Image generator, powered by GPT-4o.
When fans of animator Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, noticed that they could ask the technology to recreate modern memes and scenarios in his style, social media became became awash with the images.
Want to see the Pillsbury Doughboy as a character in “Howl’s Moving Castle” (one of Miyazaki’s most famous films)? No problem. How about a Troll, but Ghibli-style? Done!
OpenAI founder Sam Altman even joined in, changing his profile photo on X to an image of him in Ghibli style.
In a more sinister example, the official White House X account posted an AI-generated, Ghibli-style portrait of a woman crying amid deportation.
While the software does issue a disclaimer before spitting out its design, seemingly to avoid trademark issues, some fair-use hawks are not convinced.
“I can’t create images in the exact style of Studio Ghibli due to content policies, but I can generate a troll with a soft, whimsical, and painterly look inspired by Ghibli’s magical worlds,” the new image generator said in a trial run by USA TODAY. “Would you like me to proceed with that?”
In a technical paper posted Tuesday, OpenAI insisted it would take a “conservative approach” to image generation as it learned more about how the tool was being used by the “creative community.”
“We added a refusal which triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist,” it reads.
In a statement sent to USA TODAY Friday, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the company’s goal was “to give users as much creative freedom as possible.”
“We continue to prevent generations in the style of individual living artists, but we do permit broader studio styles—which people have used to generate and share some truly delightful and inspired original fan creations,” the statement said. “We’re always learning from real-world use and feedback, and we’ll keep refining our policies as we go.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Studio Ghibli for comment.
Fans were quick to point out, however, that the content warning does little to silence the fears of artists that the technology will result in widespread copyright infringement − violations that will remain unpunished on a technicality. Machine learning, after all, generates its knowledge from first-hand documents, which are products of a real person’s labor.
Miyazaki himself is also an AI critic.
Shown a demo of the technology in 2016, the animator said he was “utterly disgusted” by the display, according to documentary footage. Miyazaki went on to say he would “never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all.”
“I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself,” he added.
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Will Smith ‘Based on a True Story’ album addresses Chris Rock slap
Will Smith poses in an all black look at the 2025 Grammys
Will Smith is all smiles at the 2025 Grammys.
Entertain This!
“Will Smith is canceled?!”
Smith’s new album “Based on a True Story” (out now) opens with a barbershop skit mocking debates and social media chatter about everything from his shocking slap of Chris Rock to his “crazy” family and “complicated” relationship with wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Him and Jada both crazy, girl. What you talking about?” a hater mocked by Smith says to a faux fan played by comedian B. Simone. “You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth,” says another detractor. Another adds: “He gon’ drop a new record like we all gon’ forget. You need to take another year and untangle some (stuff).”
At 56 – and 20 years out of the rap game – Smith is clearly having fun with it. On the project’s second track, “You Lookin’ For Me?” he shouts out his wife (“Jada got my DMs hot with bodies”) before telling people to “mind your business” about his personal life. He follows the braggadocious, fast-paced rap with a commanding, drawling pastor interlude, a character that makes regular appearances throughout the 14-track album.
Will Smith ‘Based on a True Story’ album: Listen
The “Summertime” rapper mixes his hip-hop sensibilities (he is the first rapper to win a Grammy, after all, a fact he notes multiple times) with eclectic influences, from trap and neo-soul to flamenco, Afrobeats and gospel.
Big Sean and Joyner Lucas complement Smith well, inspiring him to deliver some of his best raps on last summer’s “Beautiful Scars” and “Tantrum,” respectively. Teyana Taylor sings on standout “Hard Times (Smile),” a feel-good track with a Motown-inspired groove. Other feature records include the previously released “Work of Art” with Russ and son Jaden, and “First Love,” previously released and performed at the 2025 Premio Lo Nuestro awards with Spanish singer India Martínez.
When the Fresh Prince announced his return to music last June, he did so on the 2024 BET Awards stage with “You Can Make It,” teaming up with Fridayy and the Ye-distanced Sunday Service Choir for a Kirk Franklin-inspired call-and-response gospel record.
Despite the album’s brash opening, spiritual themes of hardship and retribution are still throughout the album. In Smith’s sermons, he gives a glimpse into his emotional mindset post-slap and offers a word of encouragement.
“You do not have to be perfect to deserve love,” he says. “In all your conflicting beauty, you are a work of art.”
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‘The Studio,’ ‘The Chosen,’ stream ‘The Life List’
Sofia Carson on ‘The Life List’ and working with her mother Laura
Sofia Carson sits down with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa to talk about her new film “The Life List” and her relationship with her mother Laura.
Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY’s Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids.
Making a movie is messy.
For as long as Hollywood has existed, there’s been many a tale of personality clashes, unfortunate events and filmmaking shenanigans. (Speaking from personal experience, having visited quite a few movie sets, there’s always a potential for chaos.) The new Apple TV+ comedy “The Studio” makes hay with that situation, starring Seth Rogen as the embattled head of a movie studio and a cavalcade of A-list cameos. If the Bible is more your jam than Tinseltown, the fifth season of the popular series “The Chosen” is upon us, focusing on the days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. And Sofia Carson, the former Disney Channel kid and current queen of Netflix movies, goes on an epic emotional quest with the life-affirming “The Life List.”
Now on to the good stuff:
Catch Seth Rogen as a fumbling movie executive in ‘The Studio’
Apple TV+ has been my happy place lately: I finally started watching “Severance” like the rest of the world – pretty good after four episodes! – and also am enjoying “The Studio.” Seth Rogen co-directs and stars in the Hollywood satire as the newly appointed head of a movie studio who pretty much immediately is a cringey disaster. In the first two episodes, he seeks a director to make a “Barbie”-esque Kool-Aid movie and also visits the set of a film trying to capture the perfect one-shot take. (It doesn’t go well.)
At the South by Southwest premiere of the show, Rogen told my colleague Erin Jensen that he and filmmaking partner Evan Goldberg tried to put as much of their own head-scratching and wince-inducing experiences into the show as possible: “We were in a meeting once with an executive who said the thing I say (in the first episode), which is, ‘I got into this because I love movies, and now it’s my job to ruin them.’ Which became one of the cornerstones of the whole character, in a lot of ways.”
See some ‘iconic’ Jesus moments in ‘The Chosen’ Season 5
Speaking of set visits, Erin stopped by the Texas-based production of “The Chosen” for a feature on the fifth season of the biblical drama series. It’s being divided into three theatrical releases – the first part is out now, and the next two are coming April 4 and April 11 – before streaming in full on Prime Video in June. The eight new episodes focus on the days leading up the crucifixion of Jesus (played by Jonathan Roumie).
“This is the season where some of the most iconic moments in history are taking place,” says creator Dallas Jenkins. “You’ve got the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. You’ve got the turning over the tables in the temple. You got the Last Supper. You got Judas’ betrayal. These are moments that have such visual and emotional weight that I think that, more than any season we’ve ever done, it demands to be seen on the big screen.”
Stream Netflix’s tear-jerking ‘The Life List’ with Sofia Carson
Those in the mood for a story of self-discovery (with all the feels!) can dig into “The Life List” (streaming now on Netflix) based on the Lori Nelson Spielman book. Sofia Carson, who starred in “The Descendants” movies before becoming a Netflix fixture, plays a young woman named Alex whose mother (Connie Britton) dies of cancer. Her mom leaves a video for her asking Alex to complete the “life list” she made as a 13-year-old kid, including trying stand-up comedy and going one-on-one with a New York Knick.
My colleague Ralphie Aversa invited Carson into our New York studio, and she reveals that “finding love” is something that makes both her and her character’s bucket lists. “Through this beautiful journey, (Alex) falls in love with herself,” Carson says. “It’s a journey that is scary, but that all of us should go on.”
Even more goodness to check out!
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email [email protected] and follow me on the socials: I’m @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.
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Dua Lipa wins ‘Levitating’ lawsuit, judge says you can’t own disco
Dua Lipa thinks about her Glastonbury performance ‘all the time’
Dua Lipa has opened up about her plans for this year’s Glastonbury festival, saying that she thinks about the performance “all the time.”
Bang Showbiz
NEW YORK — Dua Lipa won the dismissal on Thursday of a lawsuit in Manhattan accusing the British pop star of copying her 2021 megahit “Levitating” from a 1979 disco song.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla said L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer failed to show “substantial similarity” between “Levitating” and their song “Wiggle and Giggle All Night,” though some listeners could hear similarities.
Linzer and Brown alleged that “Levitating” copied the “signature melody” from “Wiggle” and another song to which they held a copyright.
But the judge found that melody unprotectable, drawing on a federal appeals court decision in November that ruled Ed Sheeran’s 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” did not illegally copy Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On.”
The judge also found that several other alleged similarities between “Levitating” and “Wiggle” were commonplace, having appeared in Mozart and Rossini operas, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.
“A musical style, defined by (Linzer and Brown) as ‘pop with a disco feel,’ and a musical function, defined by (Linzer and Brown) to include ‘entertainment and dancing,’” cannot possibly be protectable,” Failla wrote.
To make it so the style was uncopyable by law, she said, would “completely foreclose the further development of music in that genre or for that purpose.”
Jason Brown, a lawyer for Linzer and Brown, said they plan to appeal.
“This case has always been about standing up for the enduring value of original songwriting,” Brown, who is L. Russell Brown’s nephew, said in an email to Reuters.
Lawyers for Lipa, her label Warner Records and other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Her lawyers previously called it implausible to believe Lipa, 29, heard “Wiggle” before writing “Levitating,” and said the artists suing her could not “monopolize one of the most commonplace and rudimentary elements of music: the use of a minor scale.”
Brown’s other songs include Tony Orlando and Dawn’s “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” and “Knock Three Times,” while Linzer’s songs include the Four Seasons’ “Let’s Hang On!” and “Working My Way Back To You.”
“Levitating,” from Lipa’s album “Future Nostalgia,” was the No. 1 song on Billboard’s 2021 year-end chart.
Contributing: Jonathan Stempel, Reuters