ROME (AP) – Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti has been named artistic director of the Turin Film Festival, an event that focuses on young directors and independent movies from around the world.“(The festival’s) work in researching new cinema and finding less conventional authors is of great importance,” Moretti said Wednesday in a statement. “I accepted … […]

MUNCIE, Ind. – When the sun goes down and the streets go dark, scofflaws in this old industrial city wonder if this will be the night they’re brought to justice by La Toya Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne’s kid Jack or – and this would really be special – “Wee Man,” all 4-feet-7-inches of him.Crime-fighting has entered […]

PASADENA, Calif. – It sounds like the plot from a telenovela. Sofia Vergara’s brother was assassinated in a kidnapping that went awry in her native Colombia nine years ago. Four years ago she developed thyroid cancer. Fifteen years ago she became a mother at 20. But none of that is apparent in the upbeat and […]

“It is usually possible,” said a chicken farmer, “to tell from an egg’s look whether it will hatch out a rooster or a hen. The egg that will hatch out a hen is, you see, quite smooth at both ends. The one that will give a rooster is wrinkled at the point. Sometimes this rule […]

PORTLAND (AP) – “Survivor” host Jeff Probst and his girlfriend, former contestant Julie Berry, served Christmas dinner at a soup kitchen and were spotted the following day shopping at a Target store.Probst said the experience of volunteering to serve meals at the Wayside Soup Kitchen was a chance to bring some perspective to the “frantic” […]

“Taylor Hicks”Arista “Fantasia”JThe difference between two American Idols on their simultaneously released eponymous CDs is glaring. Taylor Hicks, he of the “Soul Patrol” sloganeering, tells listeners about soul – it’s no accident he’s titled his song “Soul Thing.” Fantasia is of the more valuable show-me school. She has soul so she doesn’t have to brand […]

With 2006 drawing to a close, it seemed a good time to compile some of the sites farther down on the ol’ bookmark list. Here are a few of the loose ends and oddities left over from a year of clicking around on Al Gore’s Internet.• Telemarketer Revenge: http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/Comedian Tom Mabe has built a career […]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s 1-year-old daughter, Violet, has been baptized at Christ Church United Methodist, where the actress’ parents are members.Pastor Randy Flanagan said members of the congregation weren’t star-struck – or didn’t show it too much – when the Hollywood couple showed up on Christmas Eve with their daughter.Violet’s […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Ben Stiller’s “Night at the Museum” was the main exhibit at theaters, debuting with $30.8 million to lead a rush of new movies over the holiday weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.Starring Stiller as a guard at a museum where exhibits come alive at night, the comedy exceeded expectations for 20th […]

New Door Records/UMe recording artist William Tell has landed a highly coveted spot for music featured in promos for the upcoming sixth season of “American Idol.” This is an extremely desirable spot and a major feat for a new artist. Tell’s song “Slipping Under (Sing Along To Your Favorite Song)” will be heard in network […]