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Saturday: Weekend

Crafting for critters

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. — Kyla Gill had never so much as touched a sewing machine or picked up a crochet hook two weeks ago. Now, she’s hooked on crafting for critters 10,000 miles away, to the point of temporarily putting aside her floor refinishing business in Pittsburgh. “I do hard labor, so I’m rough with my hands. Sewing, knitting — that’s just completely out of my realm,” she said. “But to go to work the next day knowing that there are animals and people suffering? I just pretty much wiped my schedule clean and put my projects on ...

Stephen King criticized for comments on diversity

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen King says he cares “only about ìquality,” not diversityî when deciding on awards. Some are asking why he thinks the two must be different. “I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality,î” King tweeted this week. “It seems to me that to do otherwise would be wrong.î” The best-selling author’s comments came shortly after the announcement of this year’s nominees for the Academy Awards, widely criticized for only choosing male directors and for an almost entirely white group of acting finalists. King wrote that he had ...

Whitney Houston, Notorious B.I.G. lead field into rock and roll hall

By DAVID BAUDER AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK — Posthumous inductees Whitney Houston and The Notorious B.I.G. will lead a new class into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined by Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails and T-Rex. The gospel-trained Houston, whose soaring voice transformed the Dolly Parton cover ìI Will Always Love Youî into a gigantic hit, was one of four artists elected after being on the ballot for the first time. The Doobie Brothers, Biggie and T-Rex were the others. The annual induction ceremony will take place May 2 at the Public Auditorium ...

Documents suggest Thomas Markle may testify in Meghan suit

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON — The estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex could be called to testify against the royals in her lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday newspaper, court papers reveal. Meghan is suing the newspaper and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, for publishing a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle. The civil lawsuit accuses the newspaper of copyright infringement, misuse of private information and violating the U.K.’s data protection law with the publication of the letter. Documents filed at the High Court show the ...

Are child crusaders, heroes fair game for adult critics?

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK— The point where childhood ends and adulthood begins isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Add the limelight and things can get complicated for young people who either voluntarily or through circumstances live very public lives. Those public lives often come with heaping helpings of adult-size sniping. But are children and adolescents who find themselves under global microscopes still entitled to age-appropriate protection from the harshness of public discourse? And, more importantly, can they handle it? Children and teens, in ...

DiCaprio’s Earth Alliance gives $3M to Australia fire relief

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leonardo DiCaprio's Earth Alliance environmental organization will donate $3 million to help wildfire relief efforts in Australia. The foundation said Thursday that it has started the Australia Wildfire Fund to help with an ìinternational response to the catastrophic bushfiresî currently raging in the country. The wildfires have scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland, killed at least 25 people and destroyed 2,000 homes. The fires, fueled by drought and the countryís hottest and ...