Mexican kid’s comic Xavier López, ‘Chabelo,’ dies at 88

MEXICO CITY – Xavier López, a Mexican children’s comic better known by his stage name “Chabelo,” has died at 88, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote Saturday. López’s best-known work, the Sunday variety show “En Familia con Chabelo”, ran for an astonishing 48 years from 1967 to 2015, Mexico’s longest-running TV show. The Mexican president … Read more

Protests erupt in NYC — not for Trump but for ‘The Joker’

NEW YORK – Throngs of protesters gathered at the courthouse steps, chanting for freedom for their embattled hero. Police kept watch as passions flared and voices roared. Squad cars and television trucks encircled the commotion. It’s a scene New York City authorities have been bracing for as prosecutors consider an indictment against former President Donald … Read more

Nicholas Lloyd Webber, son of famed composer, dies at 43

NEW YORK – Nicholas Lloyd Webber, the Grammy-nominated composer, record producer and eldest son of Andrew Lloyd Webber, died Saturday in England after a protracted battle with gastric cancer and pneumonia. He was 43. “His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft,” the 75-year-old Webber said in a statement emailed by … Read more

Book thief in plot that duped famous authors avoids prison

NEW YORK – It was the stuff of novels: For years, a con artist plagued the publishing industry, impersonating editors and agents to pull off hundreds of literary heists. But the manuscripts obtained from high-profile authors were never resold or leaked, rendering the thefts all the more perplexing. The Thursday sentencing of Filippo Bernardini in … Read more

Former ‘Family Feud’ contestant charged in wife’s slaying

QUINCY, Ill. – A former contestant on the long-running television game show “Family Feud” has been charged with first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois. Timothy Bliefnick, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon at his arraignment in Adams County Circuit Court in Quincy, according to court records. … Read more

Reese Witherspoon, Jim Toth announce plans to divorce

LOS ANGELES – Reese Witherspoon and her husband say they are divorcing after nearly 12 years of marriage. The actor-producer and her husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, announced their breakup Friday in a joint statement on Instagram. Their wedding anniversary is Sunday. “It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have … Read more