The Eurovision Song Contest kicked off with pop and protests as the war in Gaza casts a shadow

MALMO, Sweden — Competition in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Tuesday in Sweden, with the war in Gaza casting a shadow over the sequin-spangled pop extravaganza. Performers representing countries across Europe and beyond took the stage in the first of two semifinals in the Swedish city of Malmo. It and a second semifinal … Read more

Harvey Weinstein is back at NYC’s Rikers Island jail after hospital stay

NEW YORK — One-time movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was returned to a New York City jail in what his publicist said Tuesday was the result from a published report claiming he was getting VIP treatment during his 10-day stay at a hospital. The publicist, Juda Engelmeyer, said Weinstein was moved late Monday from Bellevue Hospital … Read more

New York judge blocks amendment barring discrimination on gender identity and pregnancy outcomes

ALBANY, N.Y. — A proposed amendment to New York’s constitution barring discrimination based on “gender identity” and “pregnancy outcomes” cannot appear on the state ballot in November because legislators made a procedural error during an initial round of approval, a judge ruled Tuesday. The ruling from state Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle found lawmakers … Read more

Met Gala photos: Outside the Mark Hotel, the carpet before the carpet

NEW YORK — Before guests make it to the Met Gala, there are the red carpets before the carpet — otherwise known as the parade of departures from the various New York hotels that host gala guests and their teams for preparations before fashion’s big night. The Mark Hotel is perhaps the best-known pre-gala host. … Read more

The Met Gala’s flowery theme went in all directions

NEW YORK — Who won the Met Gala? Nature and its many blooms, along with some far-flung princesses. It was anybody’s guess exactly how the celebrity crowd on the steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art would interpret the “Garden of Time” dress code Monday at the annual fashion extravaganza after last year’s uber-specific homage … Read more

Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick is Colm Tóibín’s ‘Long Island,’ the sequel to ‘Brooklyn’

NEW YORK — Colm Tóibín’s “Long Island,” the Irish novelist’s follow-up to the prize-winning immigrant tale “Brooklyn,” is Oprah Winfrey’s latest book club pick. “Long Island,” published Tuesday, continues the story of Eilis Lacey, who left Ireland for New York City in the 1950s and is now trapped in an unhappy marriage to Tony Fiorello, … Read more

A knife attack at a Chinese hospital kills 2 people and injures 21. The motive is unclear

BEIJING — A knife attack at a hospital in southwestern China on Tuesday killed two people and injured 21 others, authorities said. No motive was given for the attack at Zhenxiong County People’s Hospital in Yunnan province. The suspect is a male from a village in the same county, a Zhenxiong police statement said. The … Read more

Nintendo to announce Switch successor in this fiscal year as profits rise

TOKYO — Japanese video-game maker Nintendo said Tuesday that it will make an announcement about a successor to its Switch home console sometime before March 2025. In reporting its financial results, Nintendo gave no details about the announcement, including about whether it would launch that successor product during this fiscal year, or just announce its … Read more

Jeannie Epper, epic stuntwoman behind feats of TV’s ‘Wonder Woman,’ dies at 83

LOS ANGELES — Jeannie Epper, a groundbreaking performer who did stunts for many of the most important women of film and television action of the 1970s and ’80s, including star Lynda Carter on TV’s “Wonder Woman,” has died. She was 83. Epper died of natural causes Sunday at her home in Simi Valley, California, family … Read more

For a Louisiana lawmaker, exempting incest and rape from the state’s abortion ban is personal

For Louisiana Rep. Delisha Boyd, the uphill battle she faces to exempt pregnancies that are the result of rape and incest from Louisiana’s strict abortion ban is not just morally right — it’s also personal. With a GOP-dominated legislative committee set to debate and vote on Boyd’s exemption bill Tuesday, the Democratic New Orleans lawmaker … Read more