Ratcheting up fresh pressure, Greece has blasted the British Museum for exhibiting the Parthenon marbles, calling the collection “stolen” treasures and demanding the masterpieces be returned to Athens. The call comes as Greece celebrates the 11th anniversary of the New Acropolis Museum, a four-story, state of the art edifice built to house the ancient treasures and weaken Britain’s claim that it is best able to look after the 2,500-year-old masterpieces. 
 
“Since September 2003 when construction work for the Acropolis Museum began, Greece has systematically demanded the return of the sculptures on display in the British Museum because they are the product of theft,” the country’s culture minister Lina Mendoni said. “The current Greek government – like any Greek government – is not going to stop claiming the stolen sculptures which the British Museum, contrary to any moral principle, continues to hold illegally,” she told the Athens daily Ta Nea. 
 
Depicting figures of ancient Greek mythology, the 75-meter frieze and its 17 statues were sawed off the Parthenon temple and shipped to London by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, during his tenure as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. 
 
Bankrupted by the venture, the British aristocrat sold them to the British Museum in 1816, where they became a major attraction and began one of the world’s longest running cultural disputes. 
 
Mendoni said “It is sad that one of the world’s largest and most important museums is still governed by outdated, colonialist views.” While successive governments in Britain have opposed calls for the return of the sculptures to Greece, pressure has mounted in recent years with a bandwagon of celebrities and politicians joining the repatriation campaign. 
 
Greece’s center-right government is also stepping up efforts to win back the treasures as the country gears up for its bicentennial independence anniversary next year.A municipal worker wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant outside Acropolis museum as the Parthenon temple is seen in the background in Athens on March 24, 2020.While 50 meters of the 115-block Parthenon frieze is displayed in Athens, eight other museums scattered across Europe house fragments of it, including the Louvre and the British Museum. 
 
Last year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis secured a key agreement from French President Macron to allow the Louvre to lend a small fragment of the Parthenon in light of those celebrations. 
 
Macron has become the first Western leader to initiate a comprehensive review of colonial looting, repatriating significant collections to Africa – a move traditionally resisted by leading museums in the West, including the British Museum. 
 
A similar loan request was made to the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson but it was quickly knocked down by the British Museum, saying any swap would require Athens to relinquish ownership claims to the prized treasures — a request Greece has emphatically refused. 
 
“Without the supreme symbol of culture, the Parthenon, Western Civilization cannot exist, and this symbol deserves to be reunited with its expatriate sculptures,” Mendoni told a local broadcaster in May. 
 
Government officials have refused to clarify whether Athens has followed up with any alternative proposal to the British Museum. Nor have they said whether Greece would resort to legal action against Britain in a bid to win back the marbles. 
 
“In law, a thief is not allowed to keep his or her ill-gotten gains, no matter how long ago they were taken, or how much he or she may have improved them,” said Geoffrey Robertson, a leading human rights attorney whom the government in Athens recruited in 2014 to consider legal action. 
 
“In the past, a lot of cultural property was wrongfully extracted from places that are now independent states. They want the loot sent back to where it was created and to the people for whom it has most meaning.” 
 
In its pamphlets, the British Museum argues that its free-of-charge entrance attracts millions of visitors every year from around the work, making the ancient Greek masterpieces available to the public within the context of a wide swath of human civilization — a claim Greece insists is now defunct with its $200 million mammoth museum. 
 
An austere building wedged within the chaotic sprawl of a crowded old neighborhood, the new Acropolis museum was initially scheduled to open in time for the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. 
 
But legal fights over the expropriation of some 25 buildings, as well as archaeological findings unearthed at the site, derailed the project by more than 5 years. 
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The popular U.S. race car series NASCAR is investigating what it called Sunday a “heinous act” after a noose was found in the team garage of Bubba Wallace, its only top-level Black driver. Wallace said he was “incredibly saddened” and added that the act is “a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.” He stressed the need to advocate for a community that is welcoming to everyone, and said those involved in the sport “will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate.” Wallace drew widespread support from other drivers for his push two weeks ago to get NASCAR to ban the presence of the confederate flag at its races. NASCAR said in a statement it will do everything it can to identify who was responsible for the noose “and eliminate them from our sport.” The incident happened at Talladega Superspeedway in the southern state of Alabama, which was scheduled to host a race Sunday before it was interrupted by rain. Protesters on Saturday and Sunday drove cars and trucks flying the confederate flag on roads near the track. 
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Yohan, a member of K-pop group TST, died last week. He was 28 years old.  “We are sad to relay the most unfortunate, sorrowful news,” wrote TST’s record label, KJ Music Entertainment, in a June 17 release to Allkpop, a U.S.-based Korean pop website. “On June 16, TST member Yohan left this world.”  The cause of his death remains undisclosed. The label shared that they would not reveal the cause of his death to respect his family’s wishes.  “The late Yohan’s family is currently in deep mourning,” the statement read. “The family has pleaded that media articles about Yohan’s passing, such as those making speculations about the cause of his death, be refrained out of respect.”  Yohan’s death is the most recent in a string of young Korean celebrity deaths in the last year, which include singer and actress Sulli, 25, who died by suicide in October 2019, singer Goo Hara, 28, who died by suicide in November 2019, and actor Cha In-ha, 27, whose cause of death was not disclosed.News reports say these cases shed light on the dark side of Korea’s entertainment industry, which includes cyberbullying and lack of mental health support.  Yohan’s sudden death came as a shock for many fans because until recently, he was actively interacting with his followers on social media.  Kim Jeong-hwan, Yohan’s real name, was seen interacting with fans last month on V LIVE, a South Korean video streaming service that allows stars to broadcast live videos and interact with fans.  In a V LIVE video published last month, Yohan introduced the novel Everyone Turns 30 by Chae-won Pyeon to his fans and read an excerpt from the epilogue:“While I don’t desire to be a leading role, has the way I’ve been living my life for the past 30 years been so lousy that I don’t even get to be an extra? Everyone on this stage called life is worthy to get a spotlight, whether as a lead or as an extra.”“To be honest,” Yohan explained, “this part touched me the most. I’ve always carried a similar thought in my mind. Honestly, I have been thinking a lot on this recently and have tried to look back on myself.”Yohan communicated with his fans four times through V LIVE in May.  He also participated in TST’s fourth single “COUNTDOWN” which was released in January.  Fans have been expressing their deep condolences to the late singer online.  TST fan and twitter user @igotcaratinyzen paid respects by buying and naming a star after the late singer.I bought & named a star after our precious #Yohan#TST. I made sure to find a big bright star that’s especially visible in Seoul in June, not that it can’t be seen any other time of the year. I wanted to make sure it was visible in June. #restinpeaceyohan#ripyohan@FS7_officialpic.twitter.com/RJayh8AT4R— 🖤💔Rest In Peace Yohan💔🖤 🐳Mr. Whale Out Soon🐳 (@igotcaratinyzen) June 17, 2020TST fans, also known as “Hanas,” are also streaming their song “Paradise (2018),” noting that Yohan often expressed he wanted this song to become famous.reminder to please watch/stream paradise as it was yohan’s favorite song thank you 💗https://t.co/mZjPifAnNX#SparklingJeonghwan#AlwaysWithTst#YohanIsOurParadisepic.twitter.com/IkZPcW8LNO— summer ♡ bday girl!! (@oddsohn) June 18, 2020Fans of other K-pop groups have also expressed their condolences through social media.  Twitter account @GlobalBlackPink, an international fan page for Korean girl group BLACKPINK, paid their respects by refraining from trending any BLACKPINK hashtags June 17.We wont be trending any hashtags today for giving respect to Top Secret (TST) Yohan’s Death. Our deepest condolences to His family, friends and fans. May he rest in peace🙏— GLOBAL BLACKPINK 💙⁰⁶²⁶ (@GlobalBlackPink) June 16, 2020BTS fan account @btsallure on Twitter also encouraged its followers to stream Paradise.tw// deathHello, if you have time please listen (stream) paradise by tst, Yohan said he always wanted for that song to be famous.Someone so special will never be forgotten, deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans. May his soul rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/5crNXMHoW1— arri⁷🍯 (@btsallure) June 17, 2020Other Korean celebrities have been expressing their grief on social media.Kiseop Lee, former member of K-pop group U-KISS, commented, “I love you a lot, Yohan … I miss you” on Yohan’s last Instagram post published May 31.  Yohan’s Instagram account has been memorialized.      View this post on Instagram         여행가고 싶다✈A post shared by 김요한 (@yohanee0416) on May 31, 2020 at 2:32am PDTYohan debuted with the group NOM (No Other Man) in 2015 and joined TST (also known as Top Secret) in 2017 as a vocalist after NOM’s disbandment.  TST is most famous for their songs “Mind Control (2017),” “Paradise (2018),” and “Wake Up (2019).”  Surviving members of TST are Ain, Junghoon, K, Yonghyeon and Wooyoung. 
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The family of late rock musician Tom Petty has filed a cease and desist motion after President Trump’s campaign played a song by Petty at a campaign rally.
 
Trump played the song “I won’t back down” at his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday. Hours later, Petty’s family posted a statement condemning the use of the song on social media.
 
“Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” the statement said.
 
The family said Petty wrote the 1989 song “for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE.”
 
“We want to make it clear that we believe everyone is free to vote as they like, think as they like, but the Petty family doesn’t stand for this,” the statement went on.
 
The statement, signed by Petty’s daughters, ex-wife, and wife, said they had issued an official cease and desist notice to what they called a “campaign of hate”.pic.twitter.com/mxToRoHWNn— Tom Petty (@tompetty) June 21, 2020Neil Young, R.E.M., and Rihanna are among a growing list of musicians who have objected to Trump’s use of their music in his political campaigns.
 
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Comedian DL Hughley COVID-19 Positive after Fainting Onstage Comedian D.L. Hughley announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing onstage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee. The stand-up comedian, 57, lost consciousness while performing at the Zanies comedy nightclub on Friday night and was hospitalized, news outlets reported. On Saturday, Hughley posted a video on Twitter in which he said he was treated for exhaustion and dehydration afterward. “I also tested positive for COVID-19, which blew me away,” he says in the video. “I was what they call asymptomatic. I didn’t have any symptoms, the classic symptoms.” Hughley plans to quarantine in his Nashville hotel room for 14 days. The remaining two nights of his four-night engagement at Zanies were canceled, according to the club’s online calendar. “Our friend D.L. Hughley had a medical emergency while performing on Friday and was hospitalized overnight. According to his publicist, he was suffering from exhaustion after working & traveling this week,” the club posted on Facebook. “Love ya, D.L. and we’ll look forward to seeing this King of Comedy back in Nashville soon!” Hughley said he still hasn’t exhibited any of the typical symptoms associated with the coronavirus, including shortness of breath and fever. “So, in addition to all the other stuff you have to look out for,” Hughley advises in the video, if you “pass out in the middle of a show, onstage, you probably need to get tested.” In addition to stand-up comedy, Hughley is also an actor, author and radio and television host. He starred in Spike Lee’s 2000 concert film, “The Original Kings of Comedy,” alongside Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer. Hughley also produced and starred in “The Hughleys,” which aired on ABC and UPN from 1998 to 2002 and hosted a CNN talk show. He currently hosts the radio show “The D.L. Hughley Show,” which is syndicated in dozens of markets. “Thank you for your prayers and your well wishes — and a few more of them wouldn’t hurt,” Hughley says in the video. 
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Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes in front of empty stands on Saturday, clinching the first leg of Thoroughbred horse racing’s Triple Crown.The colt was followed by Dr Post and Max Player at the New York event, which is usually the last leg of the three races that make up the Triple Crown. This year, however, it was contested first as the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes had to be postponed until later in the season because of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has claimed more than 121,000 lives in the United States.Spectators were barred from attending the race because of the pandemic.In other horse racing news Saturday, London’s Royal Ascot witnessed its biggest-priced winner as 150-1 shot Nando Parrado won the Coventry Stakes.Trained by Clive Cox, Nando Parrado was steered home by jockey Adam Kirby.”The price was a shock. He is a proper horse and we loved him from the start,” Cox said.The previous record was set in 1990 when 100-1 outsider Fox Chapel won the Britannia Stakes. Flashmans Papers was also a 100-1 shot when winning at the iconic meeting in 2008.
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Beyoncé did not let Juneteenth pass without dropping one of her signature surprises — a new single called “Black Parade.””I’m going back to the South, I’m going back where my roots ain’t watered down,” Beyoncé sings, opening the track. At several points on Friday’s release, the singer tells listeners to “Follow my parade.”Proceeds from the song will benefit black-owned small businesses, a message entitled “Black Parade Route” on the singer’s website said. The post included links to dozens of black-owned businesses.”Happy Juneteenth. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right,” the message said.Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. While the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South beginning Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War two years later. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.”We got rhythm, we got pride, we birth kings, we birth tribes,” Beyoncé sings toward the end of the nearly five-minute song.Juneteenth — typically a day of both joy and pain — was marked with new urgency this year, amid weekslong protests over police brutality and racism sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, in police custody.Beyoncé spoke out on social media in the wake of Floyd’s death.”We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain,” she said in an Instagram video that called for people to sign a petition demanding justice for Floyd.The singer also joined the call for charges against the officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was gunned down in March by officers who burst into her Kentucky home. Beyoncé wrote in a letter Sunday to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron that the three Louisville police officers “must be held accountable for their actions.” Cameron has asked for patience amid a probe, but Louisville’s mayor announced Friday that one of the officers would be fired.The release of “Black Parade” is the singer’s latest philanthropic effort. In April she announced her BeyGOOD charity would partner with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s Start Small campaign  to provide $6 million in relief funds to a variety of groups working to provide basic necessities in cities like Detroit, Houston, New York and New Orleans.It’s also the latest surprise release from the singer, who along with husband Jay-Z released the nine-track album “Everything Is Love” in 2018 with no notice. In 2013, Beyoncé released the self-titled album “Beyoncé,” also without any notice.”I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle,” she wrote in an Instagram post announcing the release of “Black Parade.” “Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power.”  
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Keedron Bryant, the 12-year-old who grabbed attention on social media with his passionate performance about being a young black man in today’s world, has signed a deal with Warner Records. The song’s official release on Friday coincides with Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.
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Some of London’s biggest West End shows, including “Hamilton” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” won’t reopen until next year, producers announced Wednesday, as arts bodies warned that Britain faces a “cultural catastrophe” because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Producer Cameron Mackintosh, his producing partners and his Delfont Mackintosh Theatres group said “Hamilton,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” Mary Poppins” and “Les Miserables,” would return “as early as practical in 2021.”
The company said it was talking to staff about “potential redundancies.”
Mackintosh, one of Britain’s biggest and wealthiest theater producers, said the decision was “heartbreaking” and criticized Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government for offering stage producers “no tangible practical support beyond offers to go into debt, which I don’t want to do.”
 
He said the government’s “inability to say when the impossible constraints of social distancing will be lifted makes it equally impossible for us to properly plan for whatever the new future is.”  
Music, theater, art, design, architecture and publishing generate billions for the British economy each year, but the country’s clubs, theaters, cinemas, concert halls and art galleries shut down in March as part of a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.  
Shops and outdoor spaces such as zoos are now starting to reopen, but indoor venues remain closed because of social distancing rules that require people to remain two meters (6 ½ feet) apart.
The government says it’s reviewing the distance rule amid pressure from retailers, restaurateurs and others to cut it to one meter (three feet).
The government has penciled in a July 4 re-opening date for pubs and restaurants, but Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden acknowledged that “it is going to be exceptionally difficult” for theaters to open.
Dowden said at a news conference that he planned to gather representatives from theaters, choirs and orchestras with medical experts in the next week to work on a “road map” for safe performances.
A study released Wednesday by research firm Oxford Economics projected that the U.K.’s creative industries could lose 74 billion pounds ($93 billion) in revenue this year and a fifth of the U.K.’s 2 million creative-sector jobs could disappear.
Chief executive Caroline Norbury of the Creative Industries Federation, which lobbies for arts and culture, said that “without additional government support, we are heading for a cultural catastrophe.”
“Thousands of world-leading creative businesses are set to close their doors, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost and billions will be lost to our economy,” she said.
Norbury and other culture-sector leaders called on the government to set up a “cultural renewal fund” and continue support programs that have supported self-employed people and furloughed workers during the lockdown. The Treasury plans to scale back the programs in the next few months.
A letter to the government signed by almost 100 theater artists including actors James McAvoy and Wendell Pierce and “Fleabag” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge warned that “British theater is on the brink of ruin.”
“The pandemic has brought theater to its knees,” the letter said. “Theaters do not have the money to operate viably with physical distancing. It is difficult to see venues opening before the end of the year.”
Dowden said the government was looking at “what further support we can give” to the arts.
“I know how essential our theaters, our music venues and the performing arts are to our wider cultural ecosystem,” he said. “Culture is our calling card.”
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Dame Vera Lynn, the woman whose voice boosted British spirits during the darkest days of World War Two, has died at 103.Her family did not give a cause of death when it announced her passing Thursday in East Sussex.Along with Winston Churchill’s, Lynn’s was the most recognized and renowned British voice of World War Two.She was known as the “Forces’ Sweetheart,” serenading Allied soldiers and the British people with such sentimental but optimistic ballads as “We’ll Meet Again,” “The White Cliffs of Dover” and “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.”FILE – Singing star Vera Lynn tries on a lampshade in London, Nov. 30, 1961.She also hosted “Sincerely Yours,” a hugely popular BBC radio show during the war that included messages to British soldiers and sailors overseas and songs she sang at their request.Lynn also toured army camps, entertaining British troops in person.”What they needed was a contact from home,” she said. “I entertained audiences from 2,000 to 6,000. And the boys would just come out of the jungle and sit there for hours waiting until we arrived and then slip back in once we’d left.”Her popularity endured after the war.A decade before the Beatles, her 1952 recording of “Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart” made her the first British singer to top the American record charts.She also found renewed fame when director Stanley Kubrick played her vintage recording of “We’ll Meet Again” near the end of his 1964 film “Dr. Strangelove.”Long after she retired, a 2009 compilation album, “We’ll Meet Again — The Very Best of Vera Lynn,” was a top-selling recording in Britain.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said her “charm and magical voice entranced and uplifted our country in some of our darkest hours. Her voice will live on to lift the hearts of generations to come.”Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth plans to send a personal note of condolence to Lynn’s family. Sir Paul McCartney tweeted that he is “so sad to hear of her passing but at the same time so glad to have met her and experienced first-hand her warm, fun-loving personality. Her voice will sing in my heart forever.”Sir Cliff Richard recalled performing with Lynn on the 50th anniversary of VE Day in 1995, calling her “a great singer, a patriotic woman and a genuine icon.” 
 
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Dame Vera Lynn, the woman whose voice boosted British spirits during the darkest days of World War II, has died at 103.Her family did not give a cause of death when it announced her passing Thursday in East Sussex.Along with Winston Churchill’s, Lynn’s was the most recognized and renowned British voice of World War II.She was known as the “Forces’ Sweetheart,” serenading Allied soldiers and the British people with such sentimental but optimistic ballads as “We’ll Meet Again,” “The White Cliffs of Dover” and “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.”FILE – Singing star Vera Lynn tries on a lampshade in London, Nov. 30, 1961.She also hosted “Sincerely Yours,” a hugely popular BBC radio show during the war that included messages to British soldiers and sailors overseas and songs she sang at their request.Lynn also toured army camps, entertaining British troops in person.”What they needed was a contact from home,” she said. “I entertained audiences from 2,000 to 6,000. And the boys would just come out of the jungle and sit there for hours waiting until we arrived and then slip back in once we’d left.”Her popularity endured after the war.A decade before the Beatles, her 1952 recording of “Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart” made her the first British singer to top the American record charts.She also found renewed fame when director Stanley Kubrick played her vintage recording of “We’ll Meet Again” near the end of his 1964 film “Dr. Strangelove.”Long after she retired, a 2009 compilation album, “We’ll Meet Again — The Very Best of Vera Lynn,” was a top-selling recording in Britain.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said her “charm and magical voice entranced and uplifted our country in some of our darkest hours. Her voice will live on to lift the hearts of generations to come.”Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth plans to send a personal note of condolence to Lynn’s family. 
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The death of George Floyd while in police custody has sparked protests across the country and abroad about police brutality against African Americans. Acclaimed films have shone a light on racial injustice against African Americans since the 1960s. VOA’s Penelope Poulou looks at some of these works.
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Inside the Zarzuela Palace, the spacious residence of King Felipe VI of Spain, there is a corridor dedicated to cartoons about the royal family.Most of the light-hearted jokes are by Spanish media but there is also one from France’s Le Monde.Conspicuous by its absence is the Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves (Thursday). This is no accident.When Felipe’s father Juan Carlos I abdicated in 2014 after nearly 40 years on the throne, the magazine’s artists marked the occasion with a special front page cartoon.It showed the former king passing his son a crown covered in excrement – a pointed reference to the scandals which had led to Juan Carlos’ to quit the throne.It did not go down well at the Zarzuela. El Jueves was ordered to withdraw the magazine from sale and gave in to pressure as insulting the royal family is a criminal offense in Spain.“It seemed that we could make fun of Juan Carlos’ love life but if we said anything about his financial affairs or anything about how he ruled, that would not be tolerated,” Isaac Rosa, a former writer for El Jueves told VOA.“Many staff, myself included, left in protest. We all knew about these allegations but no-one reported it in Spain. That has changed now.”A financial scandal involving the 82-year-old ex-king has put into sharp relief Spaniards’ relationship with the monarchy.Spain’s supreme court prosecutor began an investigation into the role of its former king in a $7.5 billion deal to build a high speed rail link in Saudi Arabia.FILE – Spain’s Princess Elena waves to the crowds as she is escorted by her father King Juan Carlos to the altar of Seville’s cathedral on March 18, 1995.Prosecutors are examining if there is any evidence of money laundering and fraud after Juan Carlos left the throne as the Spanish constitution says serving monarchs cannot be prosecuted.The story revolves around allegations made by Carlos’ former lover, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a German businesswoman who splits her time between London and Monaco. She said they had maintained a relationship between 2004 and 2010. The king remains married to Queen Sofia.Sayn-Wittgenstein claimed in 2008 Carlos received a kickback of $100m from the Saudi Arabian royal family and he later gave her some $65 million which was deposited in offshore accounts.A magistrate in Switzerland is now investigating two financial advisers to Juan Carlos who handled accounts in Switzerland and Panama City.Spain’s relationship with monarchy has in recent years been an uneasy one.The longtime ruler General Francisco Franco nominated Juan Carlos as his successor before Franco died in 1975.Before Franco came to power after winning the civil war in 1936-1939, Spain voted in 1931 on whether to get rid of its monarch, Juan Carlos’s grandfather, Alfonso XIII, and usher in a republic.  Alfonso fled.Juan Carlos was lauded for helping to uphold a fragile new democracy.In 1981, when armed police stormed the Spanish parliament in an attempted coup d’etat, Juan Carlos made a televised address to the nation backing democracy and faced down the plotters. The coup failed.Despite his love of bullfighting, fast cars and women to whom he was not married, the king was a popular figure.Yet doubts remained. Spaniards were often described as “more juan carlistas than monarquistas” meaning they supported the person of Juan Carlos more than the monarchy itself.Attitudes changed in 2012 when Juan Carlos had to be flown back from Botswana to Spain after he injured himself during a secret elephant hunting safari with Sayn-Wittgenstein.Spaniards were appalled as millions were struggling to survive a deep recession.When Felipe came to the throne he promised a “renewed monarchy for new times” and vowing to “listen, understand, warn and advise.”In March, Felipe was forced to renounce his personal inheritance from his father after it was alleged that he was set to receive millions of euros from a secret offshore fund linked to Saudi Arabia. The king also stripped Juan Carlos of his royal allowance.The king released an unprecedented statement saying last year he had become aware he was the beneficiary of an offshore fund and decided to renounce any benefit from this account.Now the issue has split the coalition government of the Socialists and the far-left Unidas Podemos.FILE – People fill the main square of Madrid during a march by members of the Podemos party, which hopes to emulate the electoral success of Greece’s Syriza party in elections later this year, Jan. 31, 2015.Pablo Echenique, parliamentary spokesman for Podemos, led a motion for a parliamentary commission to examine the ex-king’s financial affairs, but it was blocked by the Socialists who formed an unlikely alliance with the conservative People’s Party and the far-right Vox party.“Every time they need weaker arguments to continue protecting the royal household and to keep putting the king above the law. We will keep trying to change that,” Echenique tweeted.Pilar Eyre, a writer and royal expert, said the royal household should have addressed the financial allegations earlier to boost support for the monarchy.“The way the royal household has dealt with this has seemed clumsy. These allegations have been around for a time but they have not dealt with them properly in order to re-establish respect for the institution of the monarchy,” she told VOA.Conservative commentators have applauded the role of King Felipe in renewing faith in the monarchy and for his support during the COVID-19 crisis.Emiliano Garcia-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha, said: “I don’t think a debate over monarchy or a republic will be the best idea now. The king has been in touch with us throughout this crisis.”Spaniards may disagree.A poll published in April for Publico newspaper found 51.6 per cent of Spaniards backed a republic rather than a monarchy, while 34.6 per cent supported the crown. Just over 58 per cent said the matter should be settled by holding a referendum.The spokesman for the royal household declined to comment.
 
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In place of crowded and festive in-person parades and celebrations, national pride networks have organized a virtual 24-hour international FILE – People attend the annual Pride in London parade, in London, Britain, July 6, 2019.For Oliva, Global Pride will be a time to reflect and be grateful for the efforts of the international LGBTQIA community. “I think that Pride for a lot of us is going to be just this chance to breathe and to … remind ourselves of our identities and how important it is to keep celebrating them especially during tough times like this,” he told Reuters. Although many local pride organizations postponed their celebrations in order to focus on racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, Global Pride said that over 500 Pride organizations submitted more than 1,000 pieces of content. The content will be compiled into a video stream by volunteers. The event will also focus on the pivotal role of black trans people in the Pride movement in the United States, as well as calling for an end to racism. According to LGBTQIA+ publication Time Out, Global Pride is partnering with Black Lives Matter to raise awareness during the event. “What makes Global Pride very unique is that this is the first Pride of its kind where we are really focused on bringing the entire LGBT global community together,” said Natalie Thompson, a chair of the Global Pride event. Some information from Reuters was used in this report.
 
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Padma Lakshmi has watched in anger as some politicians denigrate immigrants. She’s been left seething as newcomers are discriminated against or targeted.  So she has responded with something she knows quite a lot about: food. Specifically, immigrant food: burritos, dosas, crab boil, pad Thai and poke.Lakshmi, a longtime judge of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” created and hosts the new Hulu documentary series “Taste the Nation,” which celebrates the food of American immigrants and indigenous people.”I am an immigrant. And I was just disgusted the way immigrants had been used as a pawn for political gain and been discriminated against so grossly by this administration. I guess this show is my rebuttal to that,” she said.”Taste the Nation” sees Lakshmi go to the Texas border city of El Paso and talk to locals about the wall. She goes to South Carolina to go crabbing and explore Gullah Geechee food. She goes to Las Vegas to spend time with Thai immigrants and to Arizona to forage for Native American ingredients.Lakshmi, an Indian American who came to America when she was 4, tells viewers at the top of each episode: “I want to explore who we are through the food we eat. What makes us American?”  There’s discussion of immigration, global warming, massacres, cultural stereotypes and racism. It’s a departure from most food shows, which avoid partisan politics or current events for fear of alienating viewers or piercing the safe cooking bubble.  “I wouldn’t even say that I was a very political person a few years ago, but I have out of necessity and anger and frustration, and become very vocal,” Lakshmi said.”I’m not interested in food in a vacuum. I’m interested in the cultural and emotional connection that people have to food. And I’m not just interested in the food: I’m interested in the hand that makes the food.”During each episode, Lakshmi consults with community leaders, food experts and leading lights. Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara talks about being bullied as a kid. Lakshmi and Indian actress and food authority Madhur Jaffrey make Lemony Chicken with Coriander.  “I just wanted to show the humanity of these people who live in our country, who have built our country and show that they’re not something to be afraid of,” she said. “They’re not dirty. They’re not criminals. They’re not going to threaten our jobs.”Lakshmi goes to the very heart of the nation’s food identity when she visits Milwaukee to look at that mainstay of Americanism — the hot dog. It’s another immigration story.Hot dogs have their roots in Germany, as do the classic U.S. beer labels Pabst, Miller and Schlitz. Lakshmi notes than many German Americans had to hide their background during World War II. “Assimilation is complicated,” she points out.  Sarina Roma, executive producer and co-director, said the show represents a lot of what Lakshmi cares about in her personal life. “It all comes from a place of genuine curiosity. It’s very reflective of who she is as a person.”Roma added that the show illustrates food can be political: “We’ve tasted food from all over the world, but when you actually stop and think about how that food got here, it tells a much larger story of America.”The third episode finds Lakshmi getting very personal. The woman known mostly for her kindness to TV contestants beside chef Tom Colicchio this time introduces her daughter and mother as she discusses Indian immigration.  “I did not want this show to be about me. That was not the intention at all. But obviously my experience informs this show throughout. And so I had to be able to show my family in my kitchen,” she said. “To talk to other Indians without talking to members of my own family would have felt not false, but a little hypocritical.”Lakshmi knows her show is subjective and formed around her specific political and cultural lens, but she hopes people with differing views will tune in.She is hopeful. too. that the world of food will look at itself and change. She complains that restaurants are often boys’ clubs for white men, where immigrants and women find glass ceilings. She noted the recent furor at Bon Appetit that cost its editor in chief his job after a photo of him dressed in a stereotypical Puerto Rican costume surfaced on social media.  And Lakshmi called for doing more in real life, not just online.”It doesn’t do any good for us to tweet our support and like and post and all that stuff if, behind closed doors, we’re not practicing what we’re so up in arms about in our social media,” she said. “I would say that a reckoning is very much needed.”
 
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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities.  
The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The organizations said it is the largest individual gift in support of student scholarships at HBCUs.  
Hastings has a history of supporting educational causes, including charter schools. He launched a $100 million education fund in 2016, beginning with money toward college scholarships for black and Latino students.  
Hastings said now is the time when “everyone needs to figure out” how to contribute to solving racism. He said HBCUs have been resilient “little-known gems” for black education.FILE – People enter the campus of Morehouse College, a historically black school, in Atlanta, Georgia, April 12, 2019.Amid protests over police brutality that began three weeks ago, companies and business leaders have been pledging solidarity with their black employees and the black community. But tech companies — including Netflix — have fallen short in hiring, retaining and promoting underrepresented minorities within their own ranks.  
Other tech industry donations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests have largely been on the company level. Last week, for instance, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company will spend $100 million on a new Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, investing in education and criminal justice reform among other things. YouTube, meanwhile, pledged $100 million to help black artists and other creators. 
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Democrats flooded Twitter and email inboxes this week with praise for the watershed Supreme Court decision shielding gay, lesbian and transgender people from job discrimination. Republicans — not so much.  
The court’s 6-3 ruling came just two days after an event that played out in the opposite direction. Freshman GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, who’d officiated at a same-sex wedding, lost his party’s nomination in a conservative Virginia district.
The two developments underscored an election-year challenge facing the GOP: how to reconcile broad national support for LGBT protections, even among many Republicans, with fervent opposition from some of the party’s die-hard conservative voters.  
On Election Day, that question will be easily overshadowed by the moribund economy, the coronavirus pandemic, the interaction between race and violent police tactics and by Trump himself. Still, the week’s events point to a culture-war schism in the GOP that Democrats are happy to exploit, even as Republicans struggle to prevent moderate suburban voters from deserting them.
 
“This is something suburban voters support,” said GOP pollster Glen Bolger. “And that is a group that Republicans are having challenges with.”Polling illustrates GOP’s dilemma
In a December survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 62% of Americans overall said they backed banning discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people in workplaces, housing and schools.  
That included around 3 in 4 Democrats and nearly half of Republicans. That’s a turnaround from more negative feelings people had two decades ago.
“Wake up, my Republican friends, the times, they are a-changing,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday.
Yet just 33% of white evangelical Protestants said they supported prohibiting broad LGBT discrimination. In a September 2019 survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, 61% of Americans said making same-sex marriage legal was good for society while 72% of white evangelical Protestants said it was bad.  
Those voters are a crucial GOP bloc, especially in rural districts, and party leaders cross them at their own peril. The Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the Constitution ensures a right for same-sex couples to marry.
“It’s decided law” but some Republicans are using same-sex marriage as a “divisive political tool,” said Jerri Ann Henry, who resigned last year as executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, which represents LGBT members of the party.
Henry, a GOP strategist, said the battle over the issue is “the exact thing that will further alienate suburban and independent voters.”
Within hours of Monday’s Supreme Court ruling, Democratic lawmakers unleashed a flood of statements hailing it. GOP reaction was harder to find, with top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., mum.  
Notably, praise came from two moderate GOP senators, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins.
“All Americans deserve a fair opportunity to pursue the American dream,” tweeted Collins, a four-term senator in her toughest reelection race. She called the decision “a major advancement for LGBTQ rights.”
Collins’ likely Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, tweeted that the decision showed Collins “will continue to be a reliable vote for Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ nominees.” Gideon’s focus was Collins’ pivotal 2018 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, which Democrats consider a major vulnerability for Collins. Kavanaugh voted against this week’s court ruling.
 
Other Republicans were less receptive to the court’s decision.
Carrie Severino, president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, suggested the ruling would motivate conservative voters eager to ensure that Congress, not courts, control the law.
 
“The Supreme Court is always a hugely important issue to conservatives,” Severino said Tuesday.  
If the court’s ruling wasn’t painful enough for Republicans, the opinion was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first Supreme Court appointee. Trump administration lawyers had argued on the side of employers who opposed lifting the discrimination ban.
Trump has voiced support for LGBTQ rights and appointed openly gay Richard Grenell to be acting director of national intelligence, though he’s since been replaced.  
But Trump has also appointed numerous federal judges who opposed LGBTQ rights and rolled back federal protections for transgender people. And the GOP has embraced its 2016 party platform anew for this year’s campaign, a document that “condemns the Supreme Court’s lawless ruling” that legalized same-sex marriage.
“Donald Trump has racked up some firsts, and that sets the tone in the Republican Party,” said Charles Moran, managing director of Log Cabin Republicans. But he added, “There are definitely battles we still need to fight in some heartland areas” of the country.  
Riggleman learned that firsthand last weekend. His short-circuited attempt to be renominated to Congress demonstrated that while religious conservatives have gotten more attention lately for opposing abortion, battling same-sex marriage resonates for many.
A member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, Riggleman was endorsed by Trump and evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.  
But he was defeated Saturday at a GOP nominating convention in rural Virginia that, amid the pandemic, was conducted by delegates who voted by driving up to a church near his opponent’s home. It was the only polling location in a district that sprawls from northern Virginia to the North Carolina border.
Riggleman officiated at a wedding last summer of two of his male friends and campaign aides. He said that during Saturday’s voting, a constituent asked him to repent for conducting that wedding. He said he responded he had nothing to repent for.  
Riggleman said younger Republicans and those who’ve have served in military like himself don’t see gay marriage as an issue. He said if the GOP wants religious liberties protected, it must embrace civil liberties, too.  
“If we can’t get over how other people live, I think the Republican Party is dead in Virginia,” Riggleman said. And he voiced no regrets for officiating at the wedding. 
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced the U.S. Open tennis tournament is on schedule to be held this year in Queens, N.Y. from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 without spectators due to health concerns associated with the coronavirus.  Cuomo said the United States Tennis Association (USTA) “will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space and dedicated housing and transportation.”  The USTA said they are “incredibly excited” by Cuomo’s approval to push ahead with the U.S. Open.  “We recognize the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks,” said Mike Dowse, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.Dowse also described “tennis as the ideal social distancing sport,” and “a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.”  The green light for the U.S. Open makes it the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to be held after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.  The French Open, originally scheduled for May 2020, was moved to September and London’s famed Wimbledon tournament was cancelled.  
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Roger Goodell would like to see Colin Kaepernick back in the NFL this season.  The NFL commissioner said during ESPN’s “The Return of Sports” special on Monday that he is encouraging teams to sign the 32-year old quarterback, who hasn’t played the past three seasons. Kaepernick was with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
“If he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s gonna take a team to make that decision. I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that,” Goodell said during his interview with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg.
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last week that he received a call from another team about Kaepernick. Carroll and the Seahawks brought in Kaepernick for a workout in 2017 and had another planned in 2018 before it was canceled.
Goodell set up a tryout for Kaepernick in Atlanta last year for scouts of all 32 teams to attend, but it unraveled at the last moment due to lack of media access and what Kaepernick’s representatives saw as an unusual liability waiver. Instead of the workout taking place at the Falcons’ training complex, Kaepernick conducted an impromptu session at a high school in front of media and scouts from eight teams.  The NFL released a video on June 5 in which Goodell apologized for the league for not doing a good job of listening to concerns by players on racial inequality. Goodell though was roundly criticized for the apology not mentioning Kaepernick.The video came out a day after many players released a video criticizing the league for not condemning racism following the May 25 death of George Floyd.  “We had spent time prior to that understanding all the frustration, fear and sadness. When the video came out on Thursday it was very powerful. It was appropriate for me to respond,” Goodell said. “We should have listened to our players earlier including Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, Malcolm Jenkins and so many people really brought these issues to light.”Atanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said Goodell’s video was a great step in the right direction.
“We all need to be on the same page and address some of the uncomfortable things that need addressed,” he said.Goodell did not answer how the league would respond if President Donald Trump continued to criticize them if players kneeled for the National Anthem. Goodell also said that he wants to include Kaepernick’s voice on how the league should approach social issues.”I hope we’re at a point now where everybody’s committed to making long-term, sustainable change,” Goodell said. “If his efforts are not on the field but continuing to work in this space, we welcome him to that table and to help us, guide us, help us make better decisions about the kinds of things that need to be done in the communities.”NBA commissioner Adam Silver said when the league gathers at the Disney campus it would provide an opportunity for the league to do more to promote social and societal change — especially since players, who will be confined to the campus, will have plenty of free time on their hands and with what’s expected to be a sizable media contingent present.”How can we use our larger platform, the NBA together with our players, really to affect change?” Silver asked. “There’s an appropriate role, of course, for protests. There’s an appropriate role for those who choose not to engage in the game of basketball down in Florida. But … for those who decide to come, together with the league, what are those things we can be doing?”Another interesting point in what Silver said was the acknowledgement that some players may choose not to go to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex for the restart of the season. A group of players, led by Kyrie Irving, has made it clear in recent days that they want their colleagues to think about the ramifications of playing at a time of racial and social unrest.Portland guard Damian Lillard has been part of a protest and said he hopes that people realize “that the black community has had enough” when it comes to injustice. But he also said he plans to play, even though he expressed some reservations about how safe it will be from a health perspective.
“This is what we do. This is our job,” Lillard said. “And this is how we take care of our families. And this is my way of providing for communities and impacting my community. So to play the game I love, to resume the season, I guess it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”Goodell, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and MLS commissioner Don Garber acknowledged there will be positive tests once their sports return, but that they are hoping to isolate those as quickly as possible along with aggressive use of contact tracing.Monday’s show began with baseball commissioner Rob Manfred casting some doubt on whether there will be games this season after a breakdown in talks with the players’ union on salaries. Manfred said last week he was 100% certain games would be played.  “I’m not confident. I think there’s real risk; and as long as there’s no dialogue, that real risk is going to continue,” Manfred said. “The owners are 100% committed to getting baseball back on the field. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that I’m 100% certain that’s going to happen.”
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Spoiler alert: 2020 has been rough on the American psyche. Folks in the U.S. are more unhappy today than they’ve been in nearly 50 years.This bold — yet unsurprising — conclusion comes from the COVID Response Tracking Study, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. It finds that just 14% of American adults say they’re very happy, down from 31% who said the same in 2018. That year, 23% said they’d often or sometimes felt isolated in recent weeks. Now, 50% say that.The survey, conducted in late May, draws on nearly a half-century of research from the General Social Survey, which has collected data on American attitudes and behaviors at least every other year since 1972. No less than 29% of Americans have ever called themselves very happy in that survey.Most of the new survey’s interviews were completed before the death of George Floyd touched off nationwide protests and a global conversation about race and police brutality, adding to the feelings of stress and loneliness Americans were already facing from the coronavirus outbreak — especially  for black Americans.Lexi Walker, a 47-year-old professional fiduciary who lives near Greenville, South Carolina, has felt anxious and depressed for long stretches of this year. She moved back to South Carolina late in 2019, then her cat died. Her father passed away in February. Just when she thought she’d get out and socialize in an attempt to heal from her grief, the pandemic hit.”It’s been one thing after another,” Walker said. “This is very hard. The worst thing about this for me, after so much, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”Among other finding from the new poll about life in the pandemic:— The public is less optimistic today about the standard of living improving for the next generation than it has been in the past 25 years. Only 42% of Americans believe that when their children reach their age, their standard of living will be better. A solid 57% said that in 2018. Since the question was asked in 1994, the previous low was 45% in 1994.  — Compared with surveys conducted after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans are less likely to report some types of emotional and psychological stress reactions following the COVID-19 outbreak. Fewer report smoking more than usual, crying or feeling dazed now than after those two previous tragedies, though more report having lost their temper or wanting to get drunk.— About twice as many Americans report being lonely today as in 2018, and not surprisingly given the lockdowns that tried to contain the spread of the coronavirus, there’s also been a drop in satisfaction with social activities and relationships. Compared with 2018, Americans also are about twice as likely to say they sometimes or often have felt a lack of companionship (45% vs. 27%) and felt left out (37% vs. 18%) in the past four weeks.What is surprising, said Louise Hawkley, a senior research scientist with NORC at the University of Chicago, was that loneliness was not even more prevalent.  “It isn’t as high as it could be,” she said. “People have figured out a way to connect with others. It’s not satisfactory, but people are managing to some extent.”The new poll found that there haven’t been significant changes in Americans’ assessment of their families’ finances since 2018 and that Americans’ satisfaction with their families’ ability to get along financially was as high as it’s been over nearly five decades.Jonathan Berney, of Austin, Texas, said that the pandemic — and his resulting layoff as a digital marketing manager for a law firm — caused him to reevaluate everything in his life. While he admits that he’s not exactly happy now, that’s led to another uncomfortable question: Was he truly happy before the pandemic?”2020 just fast forwarded a spiritual decay. When things are good, you don’t tend to look inwards,” he said, adding that he was living and working in the Miami area before the pandemic hit. As Florida dealt with the virus, his girlfriend left him and he decided to leave for Austin. “I probably just wasn’t a nice guy to be around from all the stress and anxiety. But this forced an existential crisis.”Berney, who is looking for work, said things have improved from those early, dark days of the pandemic. He’s still job hunting but has a little savings to live on. He said he’s trying to kayak more and center himself so he’s better prepared to deal with any future downturn in events.Reimagining happiness is almost hard-wired into Americans’ DNA, said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside.”Human beings are remarkably resilient. There’s lots and lots of evidence that we adapt to everything. We move forward,” she said, adding that she’s done happiness studies since the pandemic started and found that some people are slightly happier than last year.Melinda Hartline, of Tampa, who was laid off from her job in public relations in March, said she was in a depressed daze those first few weeks of unemployment. Then she started to bike and play tennis and enrolled in a college course on post-crisis leadership.  Today, she’s worried about the state of the world and the economy, and she wonders when she can see her kids and grandkids who live on the West Coast — but she also realizes that things could be a lot worse.”Anything can happen. And you have to be prepared,” she said. “Whether it’s your health, your finances, whether it’s the world. You have to be prepared. And always maintain that positive mental attitude. It’s going to get you through it.” 
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Next year’s British Academy Film Awards have been postponed by two months, organizers said Tuesday. The move follows a decision by Hollywood’s film academy to shift the 2021 Oscars from February to April because of the coronavirus pandemic.The British Academy said the awards will be held on April 11, rather than the previously announced Feb. 14. The academy has also changed eligibility rules so that films whose theatrical releases were curtailed or switched to online-only releases will be eligible for consideration.Film committee chair Marc Samuelson said the new date would “give all films the best possible chance to be released and considered properly.”Movie theaters in Britain have been closed since March 20 as part of a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19.The date of the 2022 awards, known as BAFTAs, is being reviewed.On Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network announced that the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemic’s effects on the movie industry. It’s the fourth postponement in Oscars history.The British awards are usual held a week or two before the Oscars and have become an important awards-season staging post. 
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World renowned guitarist Steve Masakowski didn’t want to push his children into music, but both kids, including daughter Sasha, embraced jazz anyway. The children are now adults and the New Orleans family continues to bond over its shared passion — something they’ll celebrate this Father’s Day.
Camera: Claire Bangser  Producer: Dora Mekouar, Matt Haines
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