A - 56-year-old star retires
B - Discrimination in 21st century
C - Health problems for star
D - Second reunion for singer and city
E - Singer wins legal battle
F - Toys on sale before the movie
G - Weight problems lead to legal battle
1
Former teen idol David Cassidy said Monday he’s suffering from dementia. It came just a day after
weekend performances in California in which he forgot his words and appeared to fall off stage, raising concerns over his health. The 66-year-old former Partridge Family star told People magazine he was fighting dementia, a disease his mother also suffered from. He said he was in denial, but ‘part of me always knew this was coming’. Cassidy told the magazine he’d decided to stop touring as a musician to focus on his health. His publicist said his comments were accurate, but gave no further details. Cassidy has struggled with drinking and financial troubles in recent years.
2
Cher and Vegas are together again. The legendary singer opened a new residency show in Sin City on February 8. Titled “Classic Cher,” the concert at Monte Carlo’s Park Theatre, features some of her greatest hits like “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Half Breed.” During the 90-minute show Cher has 11 costume changes, all designed by her long time collaborator Bob Mackie. Cher will be playing the 5,000-seat theatre through February 25, before returning for another block in May. This is the second residency Cher has had in Nevada. The Grammy and Oscar-winner performed a three-year engagement at Caesars Palace from 2008 to 2011.
3
Disney has announced that they will once again be holding a ‘Force Friday’ to unveil the latest toys from the upcoming ‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’. Like last time, the event, called ‘Force Friday II’ will be held worldwide at 12:01 am on September 1, allowing fans from around the globe to get a first glimpse of what will feature in the eighth film in the franchise. ‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’ will launch two and a half months after the toys on December 15.
4
Singer Kesha has released a series of emails in which her producer Dr. Luke says that musicians were unwilling to give her their songs to perform because of her weight. The emails were part of a set of court documents filed this week amid the singer’s case to get out of her recording contract. 29-year-old Kesha has been involved in a three-year battle to be released from a deal with Sony Music and pop hit maker Dr. Luke. Documents filed in New York state court this week show a 2012 email chain between Kesha’s manager and Dr. Luke in which he chastised the singer for breaking her juice diet by drinking soda and eating turkey. Another email chain outlines a dispute between the singer and the producer over the lyrics of a song. But representatives for Dr. Luke say the documents don’t show the full story. Kesha first filed a civil lawsuit in 2014 in Los Angeles against Dr. Luke with numerous allegations including that the producer’s criticism of her appearance had caused her to develop bulimia. The “Tik Tok” singer later dropped the lawsuit in California but her lawyers said she would continue her case in New York to get out of her contract. A New York judge last year denied Kesha’s bid to extricate herself from her recording contract, which sparked an emotional #FreeKesha campaign by the singer’s fans on social media.
5
13th argues that although it’s been 150 years since slavery was officially abolished, it is still alive in the United States in the form of mass incarceration that disproportionately affects the black population. It’s
already won a BAFTA and director Ava DuVernay has also received her fair share of acclaim and was recently announced as the first black female director to commandeer a $100 million movie budget. DuVernay’s documentary also shows how the black community has been wrongfully characterized over the years. Part of the reason why you can have a Muslim ban is that enough people don’t exactly know what that even means. You know what I mean, that enough people don’t know other kinds of people. They haven’t sat at your table, you haven’t read their history, you don’t know their music, you don’t know their poetry, you don’t know what their religion even really is, you only know what has been fed to you, you know, and it’s all about the ways that we don’t know each other. If we knew each other more, there would be more compassion and empathy and I think we’d be in a better place.
KEY:
1C 2D 3F 4G 5B
