Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into the icy waters of rivers and lakes across Bulgaria on Monday to retrieve crucifixes tossed by priests in Epiphany ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.
By tradition, the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. After the cross is fished out, the priest sprinkles believers with water using a bunch of basil.
The religious holiday of Epiphany is also celebrated in some Western Christian churches as Three Kings Day, which marks the visit of the Magi, or three wise men, to the baby Jesus, and closes out the Christmas season.Pope Francis leaves at the end of an Epiphany Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Jan. 6, 2020.At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the faithful to reject “the god of money” as well as consumerism, pleasure, success and self. In his Epiphany homily Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis encouraged people to focus on serving others, not themselves.
He urged the faithful to concentrate on the essentials by getting rid of what he calls “useless things and addictions” that numb hearts and confuse minds. Francis said believers should aid those suffering on life’s margins, saying Jesus is present in those people.
In Milan, city officials served a hotel lunch to 200 homeless people to mark the day.
In the sleepy mountain city of Kalofer in central Bulgaria, dozens of men dressed in traditional white embroidered shirts waded into the icy Tundzha River on Monday waving national flags and singing folk songs.
Led by the town’s mayor, inspired by bass drums and bagpipes and fortified by homemade plum brandy, they performed a slow “mazhko horo,” or men’s dance, stomping on the rocky riverbed.
Braving sub-zero temperatures, the men danced for nearly half an hour, up to their waists in the freezing water, pushing away chunks of ice floating on the river.
The town of Kalofer has applied to the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO for this traditional ritual to be inscribed as part of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”
 Greek Orthodox faithful Nikolaos Solis, a pilgrim from Agrinio, Greece, retrieves a wooden crucifix as he swims in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Jan. 6, 2020.In Istanbul, more than a dozen Orthodox men jumped into the frigid waters of the Golden Horn amid heavy rains in a ceremony led by Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Nikolaos Solis from Agrinio in Greece retrieved the wooden cross, the fourth time he has done so. Another Greek man lost consciousness and had to be pulled out of the frigid water and taken to an ambulance.
The Patriarchate in Istanbul is considered the heart of the Orthodox world and dates back to the Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottomans conquered the city in 1453.
Epiphany marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas, but not all Orthodox Christian churches celebrate it on the same day.
While the Orthodox Christian churches in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania celebrate the feast on Jan. 6, Orthodox Churches in Russia, Ukraine and Serbia follow the Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 19, as their Christmas falls on Jan. 7.    
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The 77th Golden Globes were meant to be a coronation for Netflix. Instead, a pair of big-screen epics took top honors Sunday, as Sam Mendes’ technically dazzling World War I tale “1917” won best picture, drama, and Quentin Tarantino’s radiant Los Angeles fable “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” won best film, comedy or musical.The wins for “1917” were a surprise, besting such favorites as Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” (the leading nominee with six nods) and Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” Both are acclaimed Netflix releases but they collectively took home just one award, for Laura Dern’s supporting performance as a divorce attorney in “Marriage Story.” “The Irishman” was entirely shut out.”1917” also won best director for Mendes. The film was made in sinuous long takes, giving the impression that the movie unfolds in one lengthy shot.”I hope this means that people will turn up and see this on the big screen, the way it was intended,” said Mendes, whose film expands nationwide Friday.Though set around the 1969 Manson murders “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” was classified a comedy and thus had an easier path to victory than the more competitive drama category. Brad Pitt won for best supporting actor, his first acting Globe since winning in 1996 for “12 Monkeys,” padding his front-runner status for the Oscars. Tarantino also won best screenplay.”I wanted to bring my mom, but I couldn’t because any woman I stand next to they say I am dating so it’d just be awkward,” Pitt said.Throughout the night, those who took the stage used the moment to speak about current events including the wildfires raging in Australia, rising tensions with Iran, women’s rights, the importance of LGBT trailblazers, even the importance of being on time.Patricia Arquette, a winner for her performance in Hulu’s “The Act,” referenced the United States’ targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, saying history wouldn’t remember the day for the Globes but will see “a country on the brink of war.” She urged all to vote in November’s presidential election.Ricky Gervais, hosting the NBC-telecast ceremony for the fifth time, opened the show by stating that Netflix had taken over Hollywood, a fair appraisal given the streaming service’s commanding 34 nominations coming into the Globes. “This show should just be me coming out going: `Well done, Netflix. You win everything tonight,” he said.Ricky Gervais, left, and Jane Fallon arrive at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.As it turned out, he was wrong. Netflix won only two awards: Dern’s win plus one for Olivia Colman’s performance in “The Crown.” It was a definite hiccup for the streaming service, which is aiming for its first best-picture win at the Academy Awards next month.Instead, the awards were widely spread out among traditional Hollywood studios, indie labels like A24, cable heavyweights like HBO and relative newcomers like Hulu.Renee Zelleweger (“Judy”) took home best actress in a drama, as expected, notching her fourth Globe. But, as always at the Globes, there were surprises. Taron Egerton, a regular presence on the awards circuit this year, won best actor in a comedy or musical for his Elton John in “Rocketman” – an honor many had pegged for Eddie Murphy (“Dolemite Is My Name”).Awkwafina, the star of the hit indie family drama The Farewell,'' became the first woman of Asian descent to win best actress in a comedy or musical.If anything, if I fall upon hard times, I can sell this,” said Awkwafina, holding the award.The winners were otherwise largely white, something the Globes have been criticized for before – including even in Gervais’ opening monologue, in which he called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association “racist.’’No other category has been more competitive this year than that for best actor. Joaquin Phoenix won for his loose-limbed performance in the divisive but hugely popular “Joker” in a category that included Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”) and Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”). Phoenix gave a rambling speech that began with crediting the HFPA with the vegan meal served at the ceremony.Michelle Williams, who won best actress in a limited series for “Fosse/Verdon,” stood up for women’s rights in her acceptance speech.”When it’s time to vote, please do so in your self interest,” Williams said. “It’s what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them.’’Dern’s best supporting actress award for her performance as a divorce attorney in “Marriage Story,” was her fifth Globe. Her win denied Jennifer Lopez, the “Hustlers” star, her first major acting award.The first award of the night went to a streaming service series. Ramy Youssef won best actor in a TV series comedy or musical for his Hulu show “Ramy.” Best actor in a limited series went to Russell Crowe for the Showtime series “The Loudest Voice.” He wasn’t in attendance because of raging wildfires in his native Australia.”Make no mistake, the tragedy unfolding in Australia is climate-changed based,” Crowe said in a statement read by presenters Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.Phoebe Waller-Bridge followed up her Emmy haul by winning best comedy series and best actress in a comedy series. She thanked former President Barack Obama for putting “Fleabag” on his best-of-2019 list. With a grin, she added: “As some of you may know, he’s always been on mine.”Waller-Bridge’s co-star Andrew Scott (of “hot priest” fame) missed out on the category’s supporting actor award, which Stellan Skarsgard took for HBO’s “Chernobyl.”Stellan Skarsgard, left, and Jared Harris, from the cast of “Chernobyl,” winners of the award for best television limited series or motion picture made for television, pose in the press room at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards.HBO was also triumphant in best TV drama, where the second season of “Succession” bested Netflix’s “The Crown” and Apple TV Plus’ first Globe nominee, “The Morning Show.” Brian Cox, the Rupert Murdoch-like patriarch of “Succession,” also won best actor in a drama series. “The Crown” took some hardware home, too, with Olivia Colman winning best actress in a drama series, a year after winning for her performance in “The Favourite.’’Best foreign language film went to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” the Cannes Palme d’Or winning sensation from South Korea. Despite being an organization of foreign journalists, the HFPA doesn’t include foreign films in its top categories, thus ruling out “Parasite,” a likely best picture nominee at next month’s Oscars.”Once you overcome the inch-tall-barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,” Bong said, speaking through a translator.Tom Hanks, also a nominee for his supporting turn as Fred Rogers in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” received the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award. The Carol Burnett Award, a similar honorary award given for television accomplishment, was given to Ellen DeGeneres. She was movingly introduced by Kate McKinnon who said DeGeneres’ example guided her in her own coming out.”The only thing that made it less scary was seeing Ellen on TV,” said McKinnon.Hanks’ speech had its own emotional moment when he caught sight of his wife and four children at a table near the stage and choked up.”A man is blessed with the family’s sitting down front like that,” Hanks said.Elton John and Bernie Taupin won the evening’s most heavyweight battle, besting Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Their “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” won best song. “It’s the first time I’ve ever won an award with him,” Elton said of his song-writing partner. “Ever.’’The Golden Globes, Hollywood’s most freewheeling televised award show, could be unusually influential this year. The roughly 90 voting members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have traditionally had little in common with the nearly 9,000 industry professionals that make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The HFPA is known for calculatingly packing its show with as much star power as possible, occasionally rewarding even the likes of “The Tourist” and “Burlesque.’’Sunday’s show may have added to that history with an unexpected award for “Missing Link” for best animated feature film over films like “Toy Story 4” and “Frozen 2.” No one was more surprised than its director, Chris Butler. “I’m flabbergasted,” he said.But the condensed time frame of this year’s award season (the Oscars are Feb. 9) brings the Globes and the Academy Awards closer. Balloting for Oscar nominations began Thursday. Voters were sure to be watching.
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The Golden Globes are famously unpredictable, but a few sure things seem to be in store for Sunday’s awards: Streaming services will play a starring role; five-time host Ricky Gervais will snicker at his own jokes; and Brad Pitt is all but assured of taking home an award.Plenty of question marks remain for the 77th Golden Globe Awards, though. Will Jennifer Lopez score her first Globe? Who will win best song in the face-off between Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Elton John? Just how many “Cats” jokes are too many?Stars began arriving Sunday at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, ahead of the ceremony, which is due to start at 8 p.m. EST and be broadcast live on NBC. Among the standouts on the red carpet was, predictably, Billy Porter. The “Pose” star, who made such an impression at last year’s Oscars, arrived in a gleaming white suit with a long feather train that needed an assistant to carry it.Whatever the cat drags in Sunday, the Golden Globes — Hollywood’s most freewheeling televised award show — should be entertaining. But they also might be unusually influential.The roughly 90 voting members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have traditionally had little in common with the nearly 9,000 industry professionals that make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The HFPA is known for calculatingly packing its show with as much star power as possible, occasionally rewarding even the likes of “The Tourist” and “Burlesque.”But the condensed time frame of this year’s award season brings the Globes and the Academy Awards closer. Balloting for Oscar nominations began Thursday and ballots are due on Tuesday. Voters will be watching.Netflix comes into the Globes with a commanding 34 nods — 17 in film categories and 17 in television categories. Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” leads all movies with six nominations, including best film, drama. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” with five, is up for the same category. The box-office smash “Joker” may be their stiffest competition.The path is more certain for Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” which is competing in the comedy or musical category. It could easily take home more trophies than any other movie, with possible wins for Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio — a 12-time Globes nominee and three-time winner — and Tarantino’s script. Tarantino is also up for best director, though he faces formidable competition in Scorsese and “Parasite” filmmaker Bong Joon Ho.The dearth of nominations for female filmmakers has stoked more backlash than anything else at this year’s Globes. Only men were nominated for best director (just five women have ever been nominated in the category), and none of the 10 films up for best picture was directed by a woman, either.Time’s Up, the activist group that debuted at the black-clad 2018 Globes, has been highly critical of the HFPA for the omission, calling it “unacceptable.”Last year, eventual Oscar best picture winner “Green Book” took best comedy, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” unexpectedly won best drama. This year, one of the likely best picture nominees at the Academy Awards wasn’t eligible. Despite being an organization of foreign journalists, the HFPA doesn’t include foreign films in its top categories, thus ruling out the South Korean sensation “Parasite.”On the TV side, series like “Fleabag,” “The Crown,” “Succession” and “Chernobyl” are among the favorites. The recently launched Apple TV Plus also joins its first major awards show with “The Morning Show,” including nominations for both Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.The show will be watchable beyond the traditional NBC broadcast. With a cable or satellite TV login, the three-hour show can be streamed on NBC.com or on Hulu (with live TV), YouTube TV, Sling TV or PlayStation Vue. The official red carpet will be streamed on Facebook, beginning at 6 p.m. EST.Last year’s telecast, hosted by Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh, held steady in TV ratings, averaging 18.6 million viewers. Along with the returning Gervais, scheduled presenters include Tiffany Haddish, Will Ferrell and last year’s best actress winner, Glenn Close.Tom Hanks, also a nominee for his supporting turn as Fred Rogers in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” will receive the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award. The Carol Burnett Award, a similar honorary award given for television accomplishment, will go to Ellen DeGeneres.
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Hollywood’s biggest party, the Golden Globes, kicks off the showbiz awards season Sunday, with streaming giant Netflix expected to be popping champagne corks through the night.Stars will don couture gowns and extravagant jewels before they hit the red carpet at the luxury Beverly Hills hotel where the calendar’s second-most important — but rowdiest — prize-giving gala takes place.Victory at the Globes ensures key momentum for the Oscars, which are a little more than a month away.Netflix and its expensively assembled roster of A-listers are far ahead of the traditional studios with 17 Globe film nominations.The streaming giant secured an equal number of nods in the often-overlooked television categories, where it also leads the pack, ahead of HBO at 15.Netflix has two frontrunners to scoop the night’s most prestigious film prize, best drama — Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic “The Irishman” and heart-wrenching divorce saga “Marriage Story.””Certainly Netflix is pouring everything they can into this and has a good shot in the drama category,” said Deadline’s awards columnist Pete Hammond.”That would be a big deal for Netflix, definitely.”Vatican drama “The Two Popes” is also in contention for the streamer, while Warner Bros. dark comic tale “Joker” and Universal war epic “1917” round out the category.Netflix only began producing original movies in 2015, but has spent billions to lure the industry’s top filmmaking talent — and to fund lavish awards season campaigns.It also has Eddie Murphy’s comeback vehicle “Dolemite Is My Name” in the best comedy or musical race — unlike the Oscars, Globes organizers split films into two categories.But “Dolemite” is expected to face stiff competition from frontrunner “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”Quentin Tarantino’s homage to 1960s Tinseltown has resonated with the 90-odd veteran entertainment reporters of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which doles out the prizes.In 2019, they correctly picked the Oscar winner in every film category except for best musical score.”Last year, they had by far the best track record of any other show,” said Hammond.Oscar nominations voting is already under way, but does not close until Tuesday, meaning Academy members may be tempted to wait for the Globes to conclude before casting their ballots.”Momentum is ready to be built out of this,” added Hammond.Firing lineBritish comedian Ricky Gervais returns for a record fifth time as Globes host.His provocative barbs have both riled and delighted Hollywood stars in previous years.This time, he has promised to “go after the general community” rather than individuals, telling the Hollywood Reporter that “pretension and hypocrisy” will be in his firing line.The starry list of award presenters include nominees Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio (both from “Once Upon a Time…”) and Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”).In the drama acting categories, Joaquin Phoenix is leading a crowded field for his radical portrayal of the villainous anti-hero in “Joker.”But Adam Driver’s intense turn in “Marriage Story” has generated significant buzz, while the ever-popular Antonio Banderas has been hailed for a career-best performance in “Pain and Glory.””I’m very happy to be a nominee and to be with all of these wonderful actors in a pack, and we’ll see what happens,” Banderas told AFP at a pre-Globes event in Beverly Hills.Renee Zellweger looks in a formidable position to pick up the best actress gong with Judy Garland biopic “Judy.”Newcomer Apple will be hoping to make waves in the television categories, where its #MeToo drama “The Morning Show” has multiple nominations.But it must fend off Netflix’s flagship “The Crown,” boasting a new cast led by Oscar winner Olivia Colman.Hollywood heavyweightsAnd early signs suggest a breakthrough year for Asian filmmaking.Asian-American actress Awkwafina is favorite to collect best comedy actress for “The Farewell,” while South Korean black comedy “Parasite” is expected to bag the award for best foreign language film.Bong Joon-ho, the filmmaker behind “Parasite,” goes head-to-head with Hollywood heavyweights Tarantino and Scorsese in the best director category.But the HFPA drew stinging criticism for its failure to nominate any female directors.HFPA president Lorenzo Soria defended the all-male list, insisting that members of his organization “don’t vote by gender” but “by film and accomplishment.”Sam Mendes (“1917”) and Todd Phillips (“Joker”) round out the category.   
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American pop singer Pink says she is donating $500,000 to help fight the deadly wildfires that have devastated parts of Australia.“I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires,” Pink tweeted Saturday to her 32.2 million Twitter followers. “I am pledging a donation of $500,000 directly to the local fire services that are battling so hard on the frontlines. My heart goes out to our friends and family in Oz.”The death toll in the wildfire crisis is now up to 23 people. The fires are expected to be particularly fierce throughout the weekend.The wildfires, which have been raging since September, have already burned about 5 million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land and destroyed more than 1,500 homes.
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Beth Jensen suffered a stroke when she was just eight years old, and though she survived, she was almost completely paralyzed and unable to talk as a result. Yet, Jensen has refused to let her condition stop her from living a life filled with activities, art and love. Iryna Matviichuk met with the artist. Anna Rice narrates her story
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Hundreds of new restaurants mushroom in Washington every year, but the “Immigrant Food” restaurant that recently opened just a block away from the White House is unique. On top of making a delicious statement, it also makes a political one, serving food inspired by the many immigrant communities that live in the U.S. Mykhailo Komadovsky visited the unusual venue
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As former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein goes to trial on rape charges next week in Manhattan, lawyers will need to keep an eye out for jurors who want to use the case to make a statement about sexual abuse following the rise of the #MeToo movement, legal experts said.Once one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers, Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York, one in 2006 and the other in 2013.In all, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades.Those accusations helped fuel the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, politics, the news media and entertainment of sexual harassment or assault. Weinstein has denied the allegations and said any sexual encounters were consensual.Jury selection is expected to begin Tuesday following a pretrial conference Monday, according to Danny Frost, spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.Selecting impartial jurors to decide the fate of a celebrity whose alleged abuse fueled the #MeToo movement presents unique challenges, experts said, as potential jurors may try to mask their bias to advance a larger cause.”They may think, ‘I want to be the one to make sure he goes to jail. I want to be the one to do justice,'” said Roy Futterman, a New York jury consultant.On the other hand, Futterman said, people who believe that #MeToo has gone too far and ruined the lives of innocent men, may attempt to hide their bias so they can exonerate Weinstein. Weinstein faces up to life in prison if convicted on the top counts, predatory sexual assault.Social media useOne of his lawyers, Donna Rotunno, said the defense team will be looking at potential jurors’ social media use and responses to jury selection questions, and said she is confident that will uncover biased candidates.”Obviously this case has a lot more notoriety and press involved with it, but that’s a concern in any case,” Rotunno said in a phone interview. “Once 12 people are put on that bench and they realize the gravity of it, they really want to be fair.”District Attorney Vance’s office, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment on the jury selection issue.Weinstein in October lost a bid to move the trial to suburban Long Island or to Albany, New York state’s capital. He had said intense media scrutiny made it impossible for jurors to give him a fair trial in Manhattan.”The question … will be not whether they’ve heard of the Weinstein case and the allegations against him, but whether that publicity has made it impossible for someone to be a fair and impartial juror,” said Deborah Tuerkheimer, a Northwestern University law professor and former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office.Jury selection is expected to last two weeks. Experts say both sides will likely question potential jurors about their knowledge and opinion of the case, their work history and whether they have been victims of sexual misconduct.Legal teams in high-profile trials often spend hundreds of hours building databases of potential jurors’ activity on social media such as Facebook and Twitter that might reveal bias, said Jeffrey Frederick, director of Jury Research Services at the National Legal Research Group Inc in Charlottesville, Virginia.”It’s almost legal malpractice not to do this,” he said. “You will find people in your jury pool where you will go, ‘Whoa, this is particularly good or particularly bad for me.'”Eliminating jurorsLawyers can excuse an unlimited number of potential jurors if they show bias for or against Weinstein. Each side can typically use “peremptory” challenges to eliminate up to three potential jurors they believe will be unsympathetic, without providing a reason.The #MeToo movement has prompted more people who have experienced sexual assault or workplace harassment to come forward, which is likely to complicate the vetting process, Tuerkheimer said.According to a 2018 Pew Research study, about 60% of women surveyed said they had been subjected to unwanted sexual advances or sexual harassment in their lifetime, and more than half of those reported being harassed in the workplace. Some, but not all, of those people might be biased, Tuerkheimer said.Experts said the prosecution may seek to eliminate jurors who say they have been falsely accused of harassment, out of fear they might sympathize with Weinstein, while the defense might excuse people who appear to be activists or favor liberal causes.Paul Callan, a former prosecutor, said lawyers also will want to avoid potential jurors seeking to cash in on the experience.”If books are written after the trial, that could result in a reversal,” Callan said.
 
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Lulu Wang, Lorene Scafaria, Melina Matsoukas and Greta Gerwig led Hollywood to a record year for women in the director’s chair. In 2019, women directed more of the most popular movies than any year before. Women directed 12 of 2019’s top 100-grossing films in 2019, according to a study released Thursday by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. That percentage of female filmmakers, 10.6%, is greater than researchers have recorded before, suggesting that some measure of change is finally coming to a film industry where inequality behind the camera has remained stubbornly persistent. It’s the most meaningful increase in several decades for female directors. Despite mounting outcry, the rate of female directors helming Hollywood’s top productions has long been largely stagnant. The previous high in USC’s annual study was 8%, in 2008. In 2018, only 4.5% of the year’s top films were directed by women. ‘More progress needed’This is the first time we have seen a shift in hiring practices for female film directors in 13 years,'' said Stacy L. Smith, one of the study's authors.One notable reason for this jump in 2019 was that Universal Pictures had five films with women directors at the helm in the top 100 movies. Yet there is still much more progress needed to reach parity for women behind the camera.” The high-profile success of several films had already made 2019 a historic one for women. Those include Wang’s The Farewell, one of the year’s most popular indie releases; Scafaria’s acclaimed Hustlers ($105 million domestically); Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim ($40.7 million); and Gerwig’s Little Women, which last week opened strongly with $29 million in its first five days of release. FILE – Director Jennifer Lee smiles during a press conference for her new movie “Frozen 2″ in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 25, 2019.Frozen II, with $1.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, is close to setting a new box-office record for a movie directed by a woman. Jennifer Lee, who co-directed the film, set the record with the first Frozen film. In 2018, Lee became the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Other notable films included Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, Tina Gordon’s Little and Jill Culton’s Abominable. USC researchers singled out Universal Pictures, which put forward a slate of films with 26% directed by women. Universal is the only major studio with a female studio chief, Donna Langley. Netflix also fared well. While the streaming company’s films largely bypass theaters — leaving them outside the study’s parameters — 20% of Netflix’s 2019 movies were directed by women. Paramount Pictures, however, hasn’t released a movie directed by a woman in the last five years. Underrepresented directorsFour women of color directed one of the top 100 movies in 2019, though the overall statistics for underrepresented directors dipped. Underrepresented filmmakers were behind 16.8% of films in 2019, a decline from last year’s 21.4%, a record. “While 2019 is a banner year for women, we will not be able to say there is true change until all women have access and opportunity to work at this level,” Smith said. Another study released Thursday by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University examined women in the top films as not just directors but writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers. Women accounted for 20% of all such roles in the year’s top films, up from 16% the year before. But the San Diego State University study, the 22nd annual Celluloid Ceiling authored by Martha Lauzen, found less progress when the movies researched were expanded to the top 500 films. In that metric, Lauzen found women held steady at 23%. While the numbers moved in a positive direction this year, men continue to outnumber women 4 to 1 in key behind-the-scenes roles, Lauzen said in a statement. It's odd to talk about reaching historic highs when women remain so far from parity.'' Overlooked for awardsDespite gains, female filmmakers have been largely overlooked in this awards season. Sunday's Golden Globes, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, includes no women nominated for best director. None of the 10 films nominated for best picture were directed by women, either. Rebecca Goldman, Time's Up chief operating officer, earlier said those results were unacceptable. “This year, there have been twice as many women-led features than ever, with more films by female directors on the way,'' Goldman said.Women — and especially women of color — continue to be pushed to the sidelines by a system that holds women back, onscreen and off.” 
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White evangelical Protestants stand noticeably apart from other religious people on how the government should act on two of the most politically divisive issues at play in the 2020 presidential election, according to a new poll of Americans from various faith backgrounds.Asked about significant restrictions on abortion — making it illegal except in cases of rape, incest or to threats to a mother’s life — 37% of all Americans responded in support, according to the poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Those abortion limits drew 39% support from white mainline Protestants, 33% support from nonwhite Protestants and 45% support from Catholics, but 67% support from white evangelical Protestants.A similar divide emerged over whether the government should bar discrimination against people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in workplaces, housing or schools. About 6 in 10 Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nonwhite Protestants supported those protections, compared with about a third of white evangelical Protestants.The differences between white evangelicals and other religious Americans, as well as the non-religious, were less stark on other policy issues examined in the poll. But its findings nonetheless point to an evangelical Protestant constituency that’s more firmly aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda than other Americans of faith. White evangelicals were also more likely than members of other faiths to say religion should have at least some influence on policymaking.Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Billy Graham and one of Trump’s most stalwart evangelical supporters, pointed to Trump’s record on abortion as a key driver of the president’s support from his religious community.“I don’t think evangelicals are united on every position the president takes or says, but they do recognize he is the most pro-life-friendly president in modern history,” Graham said in a recent interview. “He has appointed conservative judges that will affect my children and grandchildren’s lives, long after he’s gone.”Indeed, white evangelical Protestants’ preference for a religious influence on abortion policy outdrew most other issues examined in the poll. About 8 in 10 white evangelicals said religion should have at least some influence on abortion policy. A similar share said that of poverty, compared with about 7 in 10 saying the same about education and roughly 6 in 10 saying that about income inequality, immigration and LGBT issues.Trump has embraced a staunch anti-abortion agenda, and his administration has opposed legislation supported by Democrats seeking to challenge him in 2020 that would extend broad anti-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals.“There is nobody, except a few wackos who are one-half of 1%, that would ever want to discriminate against some of these groups,” said Stephen Strang, founder of the Christian magazine Charisma and author of a forthcoming book backing Trump’s reelection.“But what happens is, this legislation is criminalizing long-held beliefs that we believe are scriptural,” Strang added, referring to conservative evangelicals’ opposition to same-sex marriage.About 8 in 10 white evangelical Protestants approve of the president’s job performance, according to the poll, which asked respondents to self-identify as born-again or evangelical.Trump’s reelection campaign plans to showcase that high level of support in Miami on Friday, with the president set to unveil an “Evangelicals for Trump” coalition.But not every Trump-backed policy found strong support in the poll from white evangelical Protestants. A majority of white evangelicals opposed an immigration policy that separates children from parents who are detained entering the country illegally, although nonwhite Protestants and white mainline Protestants opposed that policy by slightly larger margins.“I disagree with the president on that one,” said Dorothy Louallen, 87, of Dunlap, Tenn., who described herself as a born-again Christian opposed to abortion and said “I really don’t think government and churches should be involved.”The poll also showed a majority of white evangelical Protestants supporting higher taxes on the wealthy, albeit by smaller margins than the other major religious groups surveyed, as well as the non-religious. Trump signed a GOP tax bill in 2017 that cut taxes for the middle class but delivered a larger tax break for the wealthiest Americans.Similarly, about half of white evangelicals showed support for increasing government aid to the poor, similar to that policy’s support from Catholics and white mainline Protestants. About 7 in 10 nonwhite Protestants supported more government assistance for the poor. More than 600,000 low-income Americans are set to lose access to food stamps under new work requirements proposed by the Trump administration.In addition, about 6 in 10 white evangelicals supported regulating the levels of carbon dioxide that power plants can emit, a climate change-fighting measure that Trump has weakened and that majorities of other religious groups also support, as well as those without a religious affiliation.Americans without any religious affiliation registered stronger opposition in the poll than people of specific faiths to abortion restrictions (72%) and stronger support than people of specific faiths for government action to shield people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender from discrimination (83%). About one-quarter of Americans currently align with no religious faith, a figure that’s risen notably over three decades, according to the General Social Survey.However, some Americans of faith continue to defy easy characterization — a trend that promises to scramble the electorate’s moral calculus heading into a 2020 campaign where Democrats have shown strong interest in connecting with voters of faith, even evangelicals whom Trump is often assumed to have locked down.Courtney Lester, 29, of Macon, Ga., said she was baptized in the Baptist faith but “can’t say I’m in one set religion.”Once policymakers “mix religion with politics, that’s when things get very mixed up,” Lester added, noting that she is “not here to judge anyone” of a different sexual orientation and praising immigrants for making America “great the first time.”Lester, who is undecided in the election, said faith should play the same role in politics that it does in medicine: Doctors, she said, prioritize health rather than asking “‘Who is your God?’ before (they) see if you have the flu.”The AP-NORC poll of 1,053 adults was conducted Dec. 5-9 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods and later were interviewed online or by phone.
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 Former US secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was appointed Thursday as the new chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast.Clinton will serve for five years in the largely ceremonial role, the Northern Irish institution announced.”It is a great privilege to become the chancellor of Queen’s University, a place I have great fondness for and have grown a strong relationship with over the years,” Clinton said in a statement.”The university is making waves internationally for its research and impact and I am proud to be an ambassador and help grow its reputation for excellence.”The Democratic presidential nominee lost the 2016 US election to Republican candidate Donald Trump.Clinton received an honorary doctorate from Queen’s in October 2018.”Secretary Clinton has made a considerable contribution to Northern Ireland and as an internationally-recognized leader will be an incredible advocate for Queen’s and an inspirational role model for the Queen’s community,” said Stephen Prenter, who chairs the university’s governing body.The chancellor’s duties involve presiding at degree awarding ceremonies, representing Queen’s in an ambassadorial role and advising the university’s executive.Queen’s is one of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom.
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Don Larsen, the journeyman pitcher who reached the heights of baseball glory when he threw a perfect game in 1956 with the New York Yankees for the only no-hitter in World Series history, died Wednesday night. He was 90.Larsen’s agent, Andrew Levy, said the former pitcher died of esophageal cancer in hospice care in Hayden, Idaho. Levy said Larsen’s son, Scott, confirmed the death.Larsen was the unlikeliest of characters to attain what so many Hall of Famers couldn’t pull off in the Fall Classic. He was 81-91 lifetime, never won more than 11 games in a season and finished an unsightly 3-21 with Baltimore in 1954, the year before he was dealt to the Yankees as part of an 18-player trade.In the 1956 World Series, won in seven games by the Yankees, he was knocked out in the second inning of Game 2 by the Brooklyn Dodgers and didn’t think he would have another opportunity to pitch. But when he reached Yankee Stadium on the morning of Oct. 8, he found a baseball in his shoe, the signal from manager Casey Stengel that he would start Game 5.“I must admit I was shocked,” Larsen wrote in his autobiography. “I knew I had to do better than the last time, keep the game close and somehow give our team a chance to win. Casey was betting on me, and I was determined not to let him down this time.”No-windup deliveryThe Dodgers and Yankees split the first four games and Stengel liked the deception of Larsen’s no-windup delivery. The manager’s instincts proved historically correct. The lanky right-hander struck out seven, needed just 97 pitches to tame the Dodgers and only once went to three balls on a batter — against Pee Wee Reese in the first inning.In winning 2-0, the Yankees themselves only managed five hits against the Dodgers’ Sal Maglie, but scored on Mickey Mantle’s home run and an RBI single by Hank Bauer.Larsen, selected MVP of the 1956 Series, had two close calls. In the second inning, Jackie Robinson hit a hard grounder that was deflected by third baseman Andy Carey to shortstop Gil McDougald, who threw out Robinson. In the fifth, Mantle ran down a long drive to left-center field by Gil Hodges. With two outs in the ninth, pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell took a third strike, completing the perfect game and sending catcher Yogi Berra dashing out from behind the plate to leap into Larsen’s arms. Their celebration remains one of baseball’s most joyous images.FILE- New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra embraces pitcher Don Larsen as he leaps into Larsen’s arms at the end of Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers at New York’s Yankee Stadium, Oct. 8, 1956. Larsen pitched a perfect game.Out on the town before perfect gameBorn Aug. 7, 1929, in Michigan City, Indiana, Larsen moved with his family to San Diego, where he went to Point Loma High School, the alma mater of another Yankees perfect game pitcher, David Wells. Larsen played basketball and baseball and was signed by the St. Louis Browns for a $500 bonus and $150 a month.After two minor league seasons, Larsen hurt his arm and then spent two years in the Army. He was promoted to the Browns in 1953 and moved with the team to Baltimore the following year. He struggled through his 3-21 season but two of the wins were against the Yankees, who insisted he be included in the trade that also brought pitching star Bob Turley to New York.Larsen started 1955 with the Yankees’ farm team in Denver, where he went 9-1 and developed the no-windup delivery. Promoted to the majors midway through the season, he finished 9-2 for New York. Larsen went 11-5 the next season and enjoyed the party atmosphere that came with playing for the Yankees, often running with Mantle, Billy Martin and Whitey Ford in their late-night rounds of the city. On the night before his perfect game, he had been out on the town, believing he was not in Stengel’s plans for the next day. Larsen pitched in three other World Series. He won Game 2 of the 1957 series against Hank Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves, but lost the decisive Game 7. He shut out the Braves 4-0 on six hits in Game 3 of the 1958 Series, when New York beat Milwaukee in seven games, and was back in the Bronx with the San Francisco Giants for the 1962 Fall Classic.Record unbrokenLarsen retired in 1967 with an 81-91 record over 14 major league seasons. He later worked as a liquor salesman and paper company executive. When David Cone tossed a perfect game for the Yankees during the 1999 season, Larsen was in attendance after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.No other pitcher has thrown a perfect game in the postseason, but in 2010 the Phillies’ Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds during the National League Division Series. “They can never break my record,” Larsen would say of his game. “The best they can do is tie it. October 8, 1956, was a mystical trip through fantasyland. Sometimes I still wonder whether it really all happened.”Late on Wednesday night, Cone tweeted “RIP my friend” with a photo of himself, Wells and Larsen together on the field at Yankee Stadium.“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Don Larsen, who remained a welcome and familiar face at our annual Old-Timers’ Day celebrations in the decades following his playing career,” the Yankees said. “He will be missed.”In addition to his son, Larsen is survived by his wife of 62 years, Corrine, daughter-in-law Nancy, and grandsons Justin and Cody.
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