Los Angeles medical examiner pushes for greater transparency in high-profile deaths<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Los Angeles County’s chief medical examiner is emphasizing the need for greater transparency when it comes to autopsies following celebrity deaths. Dr. Odey Ukpo is also keen to underscore his office’s independence from law enforcement in handling high-profile cases. He has overseen the autopsy reports of \u201cFriends\u201d star Matthew Perry and director Rob Reiner. And he made a rare public objection to being forced to withhold for months his office’s findings on 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The singer D4vd has been charged with murder in her killing. Ukpo believes holding back such information only increases anxiety for the family and the community.<\/p>\n
Judge says Paramount and Warner must halt merger for at least two weeks, granting states’ request<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A federal judge has ordered Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to halt their $81 billion merger for at least two weeks, allowing states that are challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court. The judge issued her order Monday. Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount\u2019s pending buyout of Warner last week \u2014 alleging that such a combination would \u201cextinguish competition\u201d in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers across the U.S. Paramount, which was bought out by Skydance just last year, has called the states claims meritless and vows to \u201cvigorously defend\u201d its acquisition.<\/p>\n
Luke Skywalker’s ‘Empire Strikes Back’ lightsaber with severed hand attached auctioned for $3.75M<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 A lightsaber with Luke Skywalker’s severed hand prop from \u201cThe Empire Strikes Back\u201d has sold for $3.75 million at auction. Heritage Auctions said this is the highest price ever for a \u201cStar Wars\u201d prop. The auction house announced the results of its Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction on Monday. The lightsaber was used by Mark Hamill in the iconic Cloud City fight. Other items included a Wicked Witch of the West hat from \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d and Gene Wilder’s top hat from \u201cWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.\u201d Two rugs from \u201cThe Big Lebowski\u201d also sold for more than expected.<\/p>\n
Toronto International Film Festival sets lineup with films by Chris Rock, Peter Farrelly<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled the bulk of the lineup to its 51st edition, setting world premieres for Chris Rock\u2019s drama \u201cMisty Green\u201d and Peter Farrelly\u2019s Sylvester Stallone film \u201cI Play Rocky.\u201d TIFF, North America\u2019s largest film festival, annually hosts some of the fall\u2019s most anticipated titles. On Monday, it revealed more than 60 films that will play in the festival\u2019s gala and special presentations sections. Festival organizers earlier announced that \u201cBeing Heumann,\u201d director Si\u00e2n Heder\u2019s film about the late disability rights activist Judith Heumann, will open this year\u2019s edition. TIFF runs Sept. 10-20.<\/p>\n
Officials sought phone records of NYT journalists and their relatives in an effort to unmask sources<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A court document says President Donald Trump’s administration sought New York Times journalists\u2019 phone records and even those of some of their relatives in an attempt to unmask the confidential sources of reporters who wrote about Trump\u2019s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. The motion unsealed Monday reveals more expansive attempts by Trump’s Republican administration than previously known to compel the identity of sources. The Justice Department has justified the original subpoenas by saying \u201creporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.\u201d Additional subpoenas included a request for phone records of one reporter\u2019s mother and two of the journalists\u2019 spouses.<\/p>\n
What to Stream: Charli xcx, ‘The Dink,’ ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ and ’72 Hours’<\/p>\n
Charli XCX claims the dance floor is dead on her new album, \u201cMusic, Fashion, Film,\u201d out Friday. The album features distorted guitars and processed vocals, with a pop heart intact. Meanwhile, Jake Johnson stars in \u201cThe Dink,\u201d a comedy about pickleball, streaming July 24 on Apple TV. These are some of the streaming offerings the week of July 20. Also online will be Kevin Hart\u2019s new Netflix comedy, \u201c72 Hours\u201d \u2014 it arrives July 24. The \u201cBig Bang Theory\u201d spinoff, \u201cStuart Fails to Save the Universe,\u201d premieres July 28 on HBO Max. Nintendo\u2019s \u201cSplatoon Raiders\u201d offers a treasure hunt adventure on Switch 2, starting June 23.<\/p>\n
Shakira, Madonna and many Muppets take the World Cup stage, along with BTS and Bieber<\/p>\n
Madonna opened the World Cup halftime show with her 2000 dance-pop hit \u201cMusic,\u201d joined by star Brazilian soccer players of yesteryear, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Sunday’s show started with an apparently prerecorded piece in a roller rink before she rode into the stadium on a dune buggy. Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel led an orchestra through the White Stripes\u2019 sporting anthem \u201cSeven Nation Army,\u201d while Animal and other Muppets bopped and shook. K-pop sensations BTS took to the field in red and black moments later singing \u201cDynamite.\u201d There was also Justin Bieber, \u201cTed Lasso\u201d characters and, of course, \u201cDai Dai.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket found by a teen at a thrift store fetches over $89,000 at auction<\/p>\n
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) \u2014 A warmup jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA finals that was found in an Oregon thrift store fetched over $89,000 in an auction that closed Monday. Nineteen-year-old Portland resident Quinn Brown found the Lakers warmup jacket at a Goodwill. After buying it for about $3, he searched online for photos and measurements from other Chamberlain jerseys to compare. When he posted about the jacket on social media, Sotheby’s contacted him about consigning it. The auction house determined that Chamberlain wore it during the 1972 finals, in which he was named finals MVP. The NBA Hall of Famer is viewed as one of the all-time greats.<\/p>\n
Medical examiner outlines how his office handles autopsies of the famous and everyone else<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office has performed autopsies in many high-profile cases, including that of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who singer D4vd is charged with killing, and the death of \u201cFriends\u201d star Matthew Perry. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo’s office determined in December 2023 that Perry died primarily from acute ketamine toxicity, with drowning as a secondary cause. He says ketamine rendered Perry incapable of rescuing himself. Ukpo also says \u201coverdose\u201d is never used in autopsy reports, as any drug level can be fatal. He says the toxicology process in autopsies is lengthy because of the need for accuracy.<\/p>\n
The World Cup is over. Here’s where to get your next soccer fix<\/p>\n
The World Cup may be over, but the soccer calendar never really stops. In just a few weeks, many of the tournament\u2019s biggest stars will be back with their clubs in leagues such as England\u2019s Premier League, Spain\u2019s La Liga and Germany\u2019s Bundesliga. Europe\u2019s best clubs also meet in the Champions League, widely regarded as the highest level of club soccer. Meanwhile, MLS and Mexico\u2019s Liga MX are already in full swing. Together, the competitions offer year-round soccer and a chance to keep following many of the players who starred at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles medical examiner pushes for greater transparency in high-profile deaths LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Los Angeles County’s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[2122,1582,276,171,2961,224,5337,382036,9924],"class_list":["post-948942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-entertainment","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-summarybrief-entertainment","tag-wire"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116956138641082363","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}