Jerry Lewis — comedian, actor and director — dies at 91

Jerry Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced comedian who burst onto the post-World War II show-business scene with partner Dean Martin to form the hottest comedy team of their era before launching his own highly successful solo career a decade later, died Sunday. He was 91. Lewis died of natural causes in Las Vegas with his family […]

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Schwarzenegger: There’s no two sides to hatred

Former California governor blasts Trump for his comments on Charlottesville, recalls childhood in post-Nazi Austria in warning to white supremacists By Times of Israel staff Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger lambasted US President Donald Trump on Thursday for his failure to unequivocally condemn participants in a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend. In

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International, USA

Rallying Nazis: Mentally Ill or Just Terrible People?

The scores of people carrying flaming torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us” last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, bore the message of the “alt-right,” the name given to the white supremacist movement dedicated to eradicating religious and ethnic minorities from America. This racist uprising will be followed by at least nine rallies this weekend—ostensibly

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USA

Dick Gregory, groundbreaking comedian and civil rights activist, dies at 84

Dick Gregory, who became the first black stand-up comic to break the color barrier in major nightclubs in the early 1960s, a decade in which he satirized segregation and race relations in his act and launched his lifetime commitment to civil rights and other social justice issues, died Sunday. He was 84. His death was

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Obituaries & memorials, USA

Trumps to skip Kennedy Center honors, citing ‘political distraction’

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, will not attend the annual Kennedy Center honors — a traditional showcase of the nation’s arts — over concerns of a political distraction, the White House said Saturday. The announcement came the day after the entire 17-member White House arts council quit Friday in protest over

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USA

Police arrest five in raid after Finland stabbing spree

Finnish police arrested five people in a Turku apartment overnight in their investigation into a stabbing rampage that left two people dead, they said Saturday. Police shot and wounded a knife-wielding suspect on Friday, arresting him minutes after an afternoon stabbing spree at a Turku market square. Police on Saturday raised the number of injured

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International

Arthur Finklestein, master campaign strategist, dies at 72

He was credited with bringing Benjamin Netanyahu to power for the first time in 1996 and a series of successful campaigns in the US and Israel By Times of Israel staff Arthur Finkelstein and Benjamin Netanyahu in March 10, 1999. (Flash 90) Arthur Finklestein, a conservative campaign strategist widely credited with bringing Prime Minister Benjamin

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Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Jason Kessler, ‘Unite the Right’ organizer, calls slain protester’s death ‘payback time’

Jason Kessler, the alt-right activist and organizer of last weekend’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, tweeted that the woman who died protesting his event “was a fat, disgusting Communist” and called her death “payback time” – then walked back the remark and blamed it on drugs and alcohol. “Heather Heyer was a

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USA

Trump Tweets About Boston

After all the criticism Donald Trump received last week when he failed to quickly condemn violent demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, he was quick to tweet Saturday about Boston. The Massachusetts capital had been bracing for a Charlottesville-like clash between supporters of a so-called Free Speech Rally and counter-protesters, but the rally ended early as activists

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USA

Venezuela congress rejects what it denounces as government takeover

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress on Saturday rejected a government bid to usurp many of its powers, vowing to continue its legislative agenda and denouncing the move against it as a power grab by President Nicolas Maduro. “This is a parliament in resistance against an armed military dictatorship,” declared congressional Vice President Freddy Guevara.

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International

Lebanese army destroys 11 ISIL positions on Syrian border

The Lebanese army says its destroyed 11 Islamic State positions along the border with Syria. On Saturday, the U.S.-backed army launched its biggest military operation yet against ISIS, since the group gained a foothold along the country’s border with Syria in 2014. During a news conference, Nazih Jreij, a spokesman for the Lebanese army, said

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Middle East