‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is a box office smash

Audiences said let’s go to the movie theater for “ The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” this weekend. The animated offering from Universal and Illumination powered up with $204.6 million in its first five days in 4,343 North American theaters, including $146.4 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday. With an estimated … Read more

Show stopper: Singalong fans ejected, ‘Bodyguard’ halted

MANCHESTER – A British performance of “The Bodyguard” musical ended in unrequited love for some audience members who couldn’t refrain from singing along to the anthemic finale. The show at the Palace Theatre in Manchester screeched to a halt Friday when two unruly patrons were ejected for joining the lead in singing “I Will Always … Read more

Chasing Horse sex abuse charges upheld, drug crime dropped

LAS VEGAS – A Nevada judge has thrown out a drug trafficking charge against a former “Dances With Wolves” actor but upheld a Las Vegas grand jury’s sweeping indictment on 18 sexual abuse-related felony crimes. In an order issued late Friday afternoon, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny said state prosecutors presented enough evidence … Read more

WWE apologizes for using Auschwitz image in preview show

LOS ANGELES – World Wrestling Entertainment apologized Friday for using an image from the Auschwitz concentration camp to promote one of its matches during the first night of WrestleMania 39 last weekend. The image was used in a promotional package for the match between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio on a preview show on April … Read more

Ojibwe woman makes history as North Dakota poet laureate

North Dakota lawmakers have appointed an Ojibwe woman as the state’s poet laureate, making her the first Native American to hold this position in the state and increasing attention to her expertise on the troubled history of Native American boarding schools. Denise Lajimodiere, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band in Belcourt, has written several … Read more

Paul Cattermole of UK pop group S Club 7 dies at 46

LONDON – Paul Cattermole, a member of early-2000s British pop group S Club 7, has died just weeks after the band announced a reunion tour. He was 46. The band and Cattermole’s family said Friday that “it is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved son and brother Paul Cattermole.” … Read more