The woman who killed Tejano music icon Selena in 1995 has been denied parole
HOUSTON (AP) -- Yolanda Saldívar, who has served nearly three decades in prison for killing Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez, has been denied parole by a Texas board. A three-member panel of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Thursday that it voted to not release Saldívar from prison. The panel says her case will be eligible to be reviewed again for parole in 2030. Saldívar is serving a life sentence at a prison in Gatesville, Texas. She fatally shot the singer known to her fans as simply Selena on March 31, 1995, at a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, after the singer accused her of stealing money.
So long, Park City. Sundance Film Festival to relocate to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027
After a yearlong search, the Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, keeping Sundance in the mountains but moving it out of Park City, the Utah ski town that had for decades provided the premiere independent film gathering its picturesque snowy backdrop. Sundance had narrowed down the options to Salt Lake City (with a smaller presence in Park City), Cincinnati and Boulder. Organizers said that after 40 years in the mountains, the festival had outgrown Park City, and lacked the necessary theaters or affordable housing to continue hosting what has become one of North America's most sprawling movie events.
Betty White, TV's Golden Girl, celebrated at stamp ceremony in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Betty White is making her mark on the nation's snail mail. The beloved actor of "The Golden Girls" fame has been celebrated with a new U.S. Postal Service stamp at a first-day-of-issue ceremony at the Los Angeles Zoo. Fans that were crowded behind barricades cheered as a blue curtain dropped to reveal a portrait of White in a blue polka-dot blouse. White had worked with the zoo since its opening in 1966 until her death in December 2021, a couple weeks shy of her 100th birthday. She established a private foundation before her death that funds various zoo programs.
Ella Langley leads 2025 ACM Awards nominations. Beyoncé and Miranda Lambert are shut out
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ella Langley leads the nominees for the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards with eight nods to her name. There are no nominations for Beyoncé's landmark "Cowboy Carter," which won the Grammy for both album of the year and country album of the year last month. Miranda Lambert's "Postcards from Texas" was also shut out. Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Morgan Wallen closely follow Langley's nominations with seven each. Chris Stapleton has six, and Riley Green and Post Malone are tied with five. The 60th annual ACM Awards will take place on May 8 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Reba McEntire will host.
Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding to programs with 'improper ideology'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the Smithsonian Institution that targets funding to programs that contain what he calls "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology." Trump says there's been a "concerted and widespread" effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing "objective facts" with a "distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth." He has signed an executive order putting Vice President JD Vance in charge of an effort to "remove improper ideology" from the Smithsonian Institution, including its museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo.
New York rapper who joined Trump in campaign rally pleads guilty to attempted murder
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City rapper who joined President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy charges. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says Sheff G, whose legal name is Michael Williams, agreed to serve five years in prison as part of a deal finalized Wednesday. Prosecutors say the rapper used his music earnings to fuel gang violence in Brooklyn. They say Sheff G also acted as a getaway driver in one shooting and lavished money, jewelry and other rewards on gang members. His lawyer said the plea deal was in the best interest of everyone involved.
Salman Rushdie's first book of fiction since his stabbing will be published in November
NEW YORK (AP) -- Salman Rushdie has a collection of novellas and short stories coming out this fall. It's his first published fiction since being stabbed repeatedly and hospitalized in 2022. Random House announced Thursday that Rushdie's "The Eleventh Hour" will be released Nov. 4. It's billed by the publisher as "five interlinked stories and novellas that explore the eternal mysteries of the eleventh hour of life." Rushdie's memoir about the attack, "Knife," was published last year and was a finalist for a National Book Award. But he has spoken of fiction as a sign of further healing and restored imaginative powers.
Reaction to the Sundance Film Festival's announcement it's leaving Park City, Utah
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) -- The Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027, after spending 40 years in Park City, Utah. The decision ends a yearlong process in which numerous U.S. cities vied to host the prominent film festival, which has been a launching pad for numerous directors, actors and Oscar contenders. The finalist cities ended up being Boulder, Cincinnati, Ohio and a combined Salt Lake City and Park City bid. Officials in Utah expressed disappointment with the decision, with Utah's governor saying he expects Sundance will regret its choice. The move is endorsed by Sundance's founder, Oscar-winner Robert Redford.
Prosecutor asks for 18-month suspended sentence for Gérard Depardieu if convicted of sexual assault
PARIS (AP) -- Paris' public prosecutor has requested that French actor Gérard Depardieu be found guilty and given a 18-month suspended prison sentence on the last day of the four-day trial over accusations by two women of sexual assault on a film set. The 76-year-old actor is accused of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during filming in 2021 of the movie "Les Volets Verts" or "The Green Shutters". He denies the accusations. The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted. The verdict will be rendered on May 13.
The Associated Press, banned from White House press pool, renews request to court for reinstatement
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lawyer for The Associated Press has asked a federal judge once again to reinstate the agency's access to the White House press pool and some other official events. It says the Trump administration's ban should be overturned. Charles Tobin, speaking on behalf of the news agency, says that "AP has now spent 44 days in the penalty box." The news agency and the Trump administration are in court in a disagreement over the White House's removal of AP reporters and photographers from the small group of journalists in the pool who follow the president.