Author: Ohart

Highway 20 took national parks traveler Mikah Meyer through North Cascades National Park in Washington state, offering him breathtaking views of the mountains.

“I had heard that the mountains were rugged, but this is far more dramatic than I imagined,” he gushed.

He got a slightly different perspective on those majestic mountains from a boat on Lake Diablo, which Mikah compared to a popular American drink. “The water is so blue that it actually reminds me of a flavor of Gatorade called Glacier Freeze — it looks like I could just scoop my hand down and drink the water and it would taste just like that Gatorade.”

The American Alps

The turquoise water set against a backdrop of the towering peaks reminded him of another picturesque mountain range…

“A lot of locals call this park the Alps of the United States because it looks very similar to the Swiss Alps.”

But Mikah was surprised to learn that unlike the famous European range, the North Cascades is among the least visited of America’s 59 national parks… in part, he thinks, because it’s so remote.

“I was just really struck by the remoteness of this park, both in its visitation and its accessibility,” he said. “There’s not a lot of hotels there, there’s not a lot of roads that allow you to just drive up to the peak.” He described it more as a wilderness area, “not a park designed for the automobile visitor like so many other parks are.”

“If you want to get the good views, you’ve got to hike.”

Which is exactly what Mikah did, hiking up a harrowing, almost six kilometer (3.7 mile) long trail, much of which was covered in snow, even in the middle of summer.

“I can never get tired of this!”

While in Washington, Mikah, who’s more than halfway through his mission to visit all 417 national parks in the U.S., also checked out two of the states’ more popular peaks, this time from the air. Thanks to the generosity of Kenmore Air, Mikah got as close to them as he was ever going to get.

“Off in the distance, you see Mount Rainier National Park,” he remarked as he looked out the plane’s window. “A little closer to us is Spirit Lake, and in the foreground you can probably see steam coming out of an erupted Mount St. Helens.”

Mount St. Helens made headlines on May 18, 1980 — with what many consider the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history. The blast killed 57 people, and the mountain was left with a giant crater on its north side.

Mount Rainier, also an active volcano, is considered a Washington icon. It rises more than 4,390 meters (14,410 feet) above sea level, the highest point in the state. “It’s this massive behemoth of a snow-capped mountain and it kind of catches you off-guard and takes your breath away because it’s so huge and it’s so gorgeous that the images are just spectacular,” Mikah said.

The locals in Seattle, a short distance away, will commonly ask “is the mountain out today?” Mikah noted, explaining that they can see it from the city if it’s a clear day.

The mountain is “out” …

Mikah got lucky on all counts. It was a cloudless day, so he had clear, compelling images from a variety of perspectives… the air, water and even driving along the interstate.

“I could can see Mount Rainier from hours of drive away, and that’s when I think the mountain is most spectacular,” he said.

“I put on my social media a picture of the mountain that you can see as you’re just coming down the interstate and I said, ‘I don’t think I could ever get tired of this.’”

Mikah invites you to follow him on his epic journey by visiting him on his website MikahMeyer.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

 

 
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Leaked papers revealing investments in tax havens by the world’s wealthy suggest U2 frontman Bono used a company based in low-tax Malta to buy part of a shopping mall in Lithuania.

The Guardian newspaper says the “Paradise Papers” document trove reveals that the singer was an investor in Maltese company Nude Estates, which bought the Ausra shopping center in 2007.

Bono’s spokeswoman told the paper that the rocker, whose real name is Paul Hewson, was a “passive minority investor in Nude Estates Malta Ltd., a company that was legally registered in Malta until it was voluntarily wound up in 2015.”

The Irish band has faced past criticism over its tax arrangements.

In 2011 protesters inflated a giant balloon reading “U Pay Tax 2?” during U2’s set at the Glastonbury Festival.
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The U.S. Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, but some Americans gather on old battlefields to re-enact this historic era in great detail today. They buy uniforms, authentic weapons, gather food typical of that era and sleep in tents on their ancestors’ battlefields. These re-enactments come at a time when many Americans are debating the future of monuments to the losing Confederate side. VOA’s Anush Avetisyan visited camps set up by the recreated “armies” of both sides.
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As private and public transportation slowly shifts to electric propulsion, fans of Formula One car racing wonder whether the thrill of roaring turbocharged engines and the smell of burning car tires will someday be replaced by the subdued sleep-inducing whine of electric motors. But Formula E cars keep gathering fans and creating support for alternative power sources. VOA’s George Putic reports.
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They are among the most underprivileged children in Lebanon, and now their voices can soar. For several months, conductor and composer Salim Sahab auditioned youngsters, most of whom work, for a choir of 300. With Syrian and Palestinian refugees selected along with Lebanese children, hopes are that the unifying power of singing will help cross political and sectarian lines. Having performed the same feat in Egypt, Sahab plans to get them on the big stage. John Owens reports from Tripoli.
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Many organizations across the United States sponsor food drives, urging people to contribute canned and nonperishable food for families that are hungry or homeless. While most campaigns consist of a large box with a “Donate Here” sign, an annual design competition in New York City takes a more creative approach to fighting hunger. Faith Lapidus explains.
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Netflix said Friday night that Kevin Spacey will no longer be a part of House of Cards and it’s cutting all other ties with the actor after a series of allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

 

“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey,” the company said in a statement. 

 

Netflix said it will work with the show’s production company MRC to evaluate whether it will continue without him. 

 

The 58-year-old Spacey was nominated for best drama actor Emmy Awards during each of the show’s first five seasons, but never won. He played a ruthless politician who ascends to the presidency of the United States. Co-star Robin Wright is also a central player on the show, and it could conceivably continue with a focus on her. 

 

Production on the show was suspended Tuesday. 

Current, former co-workers complain

 

Netflix says it also will refuse to release the film Gore, in which Spacey stars as the writer Gore Vidal and also acted as producer. 

 

CNN reported that eight current or former House of Cards workers claim that Spacey made the production a “toxic” workplace and one ex-employee alleges the actor sexually assaulted him.

 

Spacey has not been arrested or charged with any crime. His publicist did not immediately return an email message late Friday night seeking comment. A publicist said earlier this week that Spacey is “taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment.”

 

Multiple accusations

The Academy Award-winning actor became ensnared in Hollywood’s fast-growing sexual harassment crisis after actor Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey made sexual advances toward him in 1986, when Rapp was 14. Spacey has said he doesn’t remember the alleged encounter reported by BuzzFeed News last weekend but apologized if such “drunken behavior” occurred.

 

The story spurred several others to come forward with similar allegations about Spacey. 

 

London police are reportedly investigating Spacey for a 2008 sexual assault, British media reported Friday.

 

Police did not identify Spacey by name but said the department’s child abuse and sexual offenses unit is investigating the reported assault after it was referred to police earlier this week.

 

Weinstein and others

Spacey is the latest high profile Hollywood figure to lose work and standing in a wave that began when dozens of sexual harassment allegations were reported last month against film mogul Harvey Weinstein. 

 

Weinstein is under investigation in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, London and New York for possible criminal cases after several women accused him of sexual assault or rape. 

 

Also Friday, Hamilton Fish, publisher of The New Republic, resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment.

 

In a company memo shared with The Associated Press, magazine owner Win McCormack wrote that Fish’s resignation was effective immediately and that an internal investigation would continue. Fish, who joined The New Republic in 2016, had been placed on leave of absence last week. He is a former publisher of The Nation.

 

“As I understand it, some employees, to my deep dismay, complained this week that my presence had led them to feel uncomfortable at The New Republic,” Fish wrote to McCormack in a memo Friday that was also shared with the AP. “Women have longstanding and profound concerns with respect to their treatment in the workplace. Many men have a lot to learn in this regard. I know I do, and I hope for and encourage that new direction.”

 

Fish wrote in an email to the AP that he “felt the controversy swirling around us could cause irreparable harm to the magazine, and that the only way to protect The New Republic and its employees was for me to separate from the organization.” Noting his time with such organizations as The Nation, a prominent liberal publication, and with Human Rights Watch, he wrote that he had spent his career in “in progressive media and the human rights field.

 

Fish is among several figures in media and publishing that have stepped down or been fired in the wake of the Weinstein reports. 

 

Others include author and former NBC analyst Mark Halperin, former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier and former NPR chief editor Michael Oreskes, who was an AP executive from 2008 to 2015.
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An Ohio waitress says model Chrissy Teigen left her the largest tip of her life.

 

Mikayla Scott says she was working at a Centerville Outback Steakhouse on Oct. 27 when Teigen, her daughter and several others came in.

 

The 21-year-old says she was nervous serving the model, but at the end she found Teigen left a $1,000 tip. Scott says, “I was like, ‘Oh my god, praise the Lord.”

 

Teigen’s husband, singer John Legend, is from Springfield. He had returned to his hometown that night to see the football game between local high schools Kettering Fairmont and Springfield.

 

Scott says she used the extra money to fix her family’s car, and she shared some of it with her co-workers.
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We’re blasting off with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending Nov. 4, 2017.

We greet one new song this week, and you don’t have to wait long.

Number 5: Imagine Dragons “Thunder” 

Imagine Dragons is back in a big way with its “Evolve” album, as “Thunder” jumps three slots to number five. 

Last year, the Las Vegas band took a break while lead singer Dan Reynolds worked with a therapist. Dan says he’s suffered from depression since he was young.

Their third album, “Evolve,” has turned into a big success, with “Thunder” the second single … and the second-straight countdown hit.

Number 4: Portugal. The Man “Feel It Still”

We have two rock bands in the Top Five this week … that’s a rare occurrence in this day and age.

Portugal. The Man advances a slot to fourth place with the breakout pop hit “Feel It Still.”

Twenty One Pilots had two rock songs in the Top Five last year … but it’s been more than a decade since two separate rock bands made the Top Five. It last happened in February 2007, when Fall Out Boy charted in third place with “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” and Daughtry hit fourth place with “It’s Not Over.”

Number 3: Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid “1-800-273-8255”

It’s definitely not over for Logic, Alessia Cara, and Khalid, all holding in third place with “1-800-273-8255.”

It’s been a breakout year for Khalid. Back in March, he dropped his debut album “American Teen.” Last week, it was certified platinum, with sales topping one million. Two of its tracks, “Location” and “Young, Dumb, and Broke” are also platinum or multi-platinum. Next week, Khalid will tour Australia and New Zealand, with Europe and the U.K. on tap next February.

Number 2: Cardi B “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”

Our second-place act isn’t worried about tour dates — she’s too busy admiring the diamond on her finger.

Cardi is engaged to Offset of the rap trio Migos. It happened Oct. 27, when Offset got down on one knee and proposed at the Power 99 Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia. Cardi’s now sporting an eight-carat pear-shaped diamond engagement ring.

Number 1: Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage “Rockstar”

Post Malone and 21 Savage get to hold the gold for a second week, as “Rockstar” keeps the Hot 100 title. 21 Savage is winning everywhere.

 21 Savage’s “Issa Album” just went gold, with sales topping half a million copies, and he also recently completed his first solo flight as a pilot. The hour-long flight in Florida capped five months of flying lessons.

We’ll take off again next week, so join us if you can.
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Alex Ovechkin’s new “social movement” to support President Vladimir Putin received Kremlin backing Friday.

The Washington Capitals captain said Thursday on Instagram he was starting a group called Putin Team to “show everyone a strong and united Russia.” Ovechkin added that he has never hidden his feelings about Putin and has “always supported him openly.”

The Russian presidential election is scheduled for March 18. Putin hasn’t confirmed he will run for a fourth term, but is widely expected to do so.

“We obviously welcome in general Sasha’s desire to express support for our president, especially from abroad,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Ovechkin.

Peskov added that Ovechkin is “a very famous Russian, a very successful Russian, and we really know that he values our president highly.”

Ovechkin, speaking after the Capitals’ game against the New York Islanders on Thursday, said he didn’t mean his post as a political gesture, but as a sign of Russian patriotism.

He hasn’t said what exactly the movement will do or how it will be organized.

Putin is a hockey fan who takes to the ice for annual televised exhibitions games using the branding of the NHL — though in that case it stands for “Night Hockey League.” Putin plays alongside former star players and government officials, and regularly scores several goals, though his opponents seem reluctant to challenge him for the puck.

 
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Despite the recent terror attack in New York City, the TCS New York City Marathon will go on as planned Sunday. The largest in the world by its number of participants, the race brings running enthusiasts from all over the globe to New York City.

More than 50,000 runners and an estimated 1 million spectators will take to the streets, as runners traverse the five boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan to cover the marathon’s distance of 26.2 miles.

Since the marathon was first organized in 1970, no female New York City resident has ever won it. But Buzunesh Deba has the best chance. She is the fastest female New Yorker in history, winning the 2014 Boston Marathon with a record-setting time of 2:19:59.

Only one New York City male resident has ever won — Dr. Norbert Sander in 1974.

In 2011 and 2013, Deba was runner-up in the New York City Marathon and its seventh-fastest female finisher of all time.

Among New York City running fans, Deba is the hometown favorite.

Originally from Ethiopia, she has lived and trained in the Bronx for 12 years and considers herself a New Yorker. On any given day, you can find her on the running paths of the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park or taking the subway to run in Manhattan’s Central Park.

“I love New York,” Deba told VOA News. “It’s a nice place for training, for everything.”

Her training locale is an unexpected choice, as elite runners often choose warmer, high-altitude locations to live and train in. Those atmospheres help increase red blood cell production in the body, which in turn delivers more oxygen to muscles.

Deba’s husband and coach, Worku Beyi, said people are always surprised at how she manages to beat other elite runners who train in high altitudes. “It doesn’t matter, if you work very hard,” Beyi said.

‘I feel great’

Deba competed last year, but was still recovering from an illness that ultimately forced her to drop out of the race. This year is a different story. “I feel great,” she said. “I’m ready.”

“Mentally, she’s very strong. She’s always focused,” her husband said. During their training runs together, Beyi tells Deba her pace, but she often remains quiet. “She just focus[es] on her training and on her race,” he said.

On race morning, Deba, a devout Orthodox Christian, will say a prayer before heading out the door to get to the start on Staten Island by 9:20 a.m.

“My religion is very important to me. Every day, every night, I pray,” she said.

Belaynesh Fikadu, a fellow Ethiopian expat and an elite runner herself, trains with Deba in the Bronx. Fikadu, who will be competing in her first New York City marathon, said she has received lots of advice from Deba and Beyi.

“They are almost my brother and sister,” Fikadu said. As for her own racing efforts, “I try, but I hope Buzunesh win it,” Fikadu said with a smile.

In her eighth bid for the win, Deba’s strategy is simple: “Keep going, never give up.”

Come race day, New Yorkers will be cheering on one of their own.
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The city of Houston turned to the Astros for a boost in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the team delivered in spades in a magical run to win their first World Series title nine weeks later.

When the Astros beat the Los Angles Dodgers 5-1 in the decisive game of Major League Baseball’s title game on Wednesday it set off celebrations across Houston where many are still recovering from the strongest hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years.

“To give people who are going through a hard time something to really cheer about, and step away from whatever hardships they’re going through and rally around, it creates a special bond,” Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, who arrived in Houston via a trade only days after Hurricane Harvey hit, told MLB.com.

“I saw it way back when and felt it when I got here. And to really kind of follow through and actually win the whole damn thing, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

After Hurricane Harvey, which brought devastating wind and flooding to parts of America’s fourth-largest city, the Astros began wearing a simple patch on their uniform as a reminder of what the city lost.

The patch on the upper left side of their chests featured the word “STRONG” in white block letters between an Astros’ logo and a rendering of the state of Texas.

The Astros quickly became a rallying point for many in the city.

“We’re just happy for the city,” Astros owner Jim Crane said. “The city was in bad shape. Still a lot of work to do there, but I’m happy for the fans and the city and the region. Just couldn’t be more proud of that, and we look forward to getting back with the trophy.”

The Astros will enjoy a victory parade through Houston’s streets on Friday and the city’s largest school district has cancelled classes so students can celebrate the World Series triumph.

Parts of Houston suffered severe wind and flood damage after Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25 while the Astros were in California for a road trip.

Eight days later they returned to their ballpark to play the New York Mets, who had agreed to postpone the previous day’s game so players from both teams could volunteer as part of the relief efforts.

 

Astros manager A.J. Hinch told the crowd it was a special day to start the re-build of the storm-struck city.

They then enjoyed a strong finish to the regular season before embarking on a remarkable playoff run in which they won three elimination games — two against the New York Yankees and one in the World Series decider.

“Our team believed in each other all year. And through the good times and the bad times, through a rough stretch in August, to getting down 3-2 against a very good New York team,” Astros outfielder George Springer said.

“There’s a lot of things that happened. And this is — I’m so happy to be a part of it to bring a championship back, to a city that desperately needed one, is a surreal feeling.”

 
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Lego is having a sleepover at its newly-opened Lego House in Denmark.

The Danish toy company has teamed up with Airbnb to allow one family to stay the night at its new attraction — a 12,000 square-meter (129,167 square-foot) building filled with 25 million colorful plastic bricks.

There’s a parents’ bedroom that features a Lego cat, slippers, a coffee pot, and even a newspaper made from the bricks. In the children’s bedroom there’s a Lego teddy bear, lamp and story book. Towering above the child’s bed is a six-meter (20-foot) tall Lego brick waterfall, surrounded by a seemingly bottomless pool of — you guessed it — Lego bricks.

“What I do as a as a job is I actually make the products that you can buy at the toy stores,” says Lego design manager Jamie Berard. “So, to do something like this outrageous waterfall or to recreate a bedroom out of what is currently not really a living space is a wonderful challenge.”

Those who want to join Lego’s private sleepover must enter a competition and describe what they would build if they had an infinite supply of Lego bricks. The winner will get the chance to create their entry under expert supervision, as part of their stay.

Designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, Lego House opened in late September after four years’ building work. The attraction is located in central Billund, a small town in Danish Jutland where the toy company is headquartered.

Towering at the building’s center is a 15-meter tall Lego brick tree, named the “Tree of Creativity,” which took over 24,000 working hours to construct. Made from over six million bricks, it charts the gradual evolution of the toy company’s creations.

The competition launches Thursday and is set to run till mid-November. The winner’s family will visit Lego House on November 24.

This isn’t Airbnb’s first sleepover contest — last year, it invited people to spend a night next to the shark tank at Paris Aquarium and at “Dracula’s castle” in Romania. It was the first time Bran Castle welcomed overnight guests since 1948.

The Lego experience is rather tame by comparison, unless barefoot visitors should unwittingly step on a stray Lego brick. Adults are advised to wear Lego-proof slippers just to be safe.

“I wish I was the one that could just sleep in here,” says seven-year-old Albert Landbo, who was visiting with his brother Gustav and their parents. Asked what creation he proposed for the competition, he said: “I think I would make a little baby husky.”
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The steakhouse at Harrah’s New Orleans Casino is now called BH Steak _ instead of Besh Steak.

The change, reported by New Orleans media, comes a week after the casino broke ties with celebrity chef John Besh. The action followed an investigative story by NOLA.comThe Times-Picayune about allegations of sexual harassment involving the business.

The story outlined the claims of women who said they were victims of sexual harassment by male co-workers and bosses in the Besh Restaurant Group. Besh stepped down from his management role in the business after the story was published.

The name BH Steak honors William “Bill” Harrah, who founded the Harrah’s gambling empire in the 1930s.
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The Olympic flame begins a long cross-country journey through South Korea Wednesday that marks the official countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

A plane carrying the iconic Olympic flame landed in Incheon International Airport earlier in the day after a flight from Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Moments after its arrival, Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon used the flame to light a ceremonial cauldron and a specially designed torch.

Later Wednesday, the torch will begin a 2,018-kilometer, 100-day relay to Pyeongchang in time for the opening ceremony on February 9, 2018. Teenage figure skating star You Young will be the first of 7,500 torchbearers that will carry the Olympic flame through nine provinces, eight major cities and over 150 counties and districts before arriving at its final destination.

The Olympic flame last burned over South Korea during the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.

Final preparations for the 16-day Pyeongchang Olympics are taking place under the cloud of rising tensions with rival North Korea over its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile tests, with only 340,000 tickets sold so far.
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Actress Dakota Fanning has told reporters that although she hasn’t experienced the sort of sexual assault that has turned Hollywood on its head, it’s “important to talk about these issues, for women to stand up for themselves.”

 

Fanning, 23, spoke Tuesday at the Rome Film Festival, where she was presenting the film “Please Stand By.” She plays a young autistic woman obsessed with the Star Trek series, who runs away from her home in San Francisco to get to Los Angeles to submit her manuscript for a Star Trek script writing contest.

 

Fanning said she shares her character’s determination in achieving her goal, adding: “you have to fight for what you believe in and stay true to what you are.”

 

 
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The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has revoked an award it was going to give Kevin Spacey, a decision made after allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy.

The group says “”it will not honor Kevin Spacey with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award.”

The award is to honor “an individual who crosses cultural boundaries to touch humanity.” Spacey was to get it at a gala on Nov. 20 in New York City. Past recipients include Steven Spielberg, Shonda Rhimes and J.J. Abrams.

The move comes after actor Anthony Rapp came forward with claims Spacey made inappropriate sexual advances toward him in 1986, when he was 14. Netflix announced Monday that it was pulling the plug on “House of Cards,” which stars Spacey.
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The southern African country of Malawi may not be what comes to mind when you think of kung fu movies. But four young acrobats in its capital, Lilongwe, are out to change that. The trailer for their first locally produced action flick, The Town Monger, has been generating buzz online and drawn interest from regional cable distributors. The film will premiere in Malawi this week.

The buzz started soon after the director posted the film’s trailer online.

“It is not what we expected, and we have been overwhelmed by the response,” said Denis Imaan, manager of the Kufewa Acrobatics. “And we have taken some time now just to sit down, trying to strategize like ‘OK, where do we go from now?’”

Kufewa Acrobatics is a group of four school drop-outs from the Area 36 Township in Malawi’s capital.

The acrobats are self-taught. They learned by watching Jackie Chan movies and videos of Cirque de Soleil.

“At first, we were performing around our neighborhood. After the positive response, we started performing in townships, performing in the streets. In the process, people would give us money for each performance,” explained group member Abdul Rashid Shaibu.

Making their own movie seemed a natural progression. In 2015, they embarked on The Town Monger. The film tells the story of the challenges they have faced.

“We have sometimes been accused by many people, even by our own relatives, that what we are doing has no future. But I could not back down because I had a vision, and, moreover, these are the skills which God blessed me with,” said Alfred Hambali of Kufewa Acrobatics.

The 82-minute movie was filmed using a borrowed camera and a borrowed iPad. The set was the streets they know well.

The action movie got mixed reviews at its first local screening to journalists.

“What has impressed me most is the setting. As [what] was at the beginning, when the movie was being set, it was not just linear,” said Shadrick Kalukusha of World Wide Media.

“It never had a lot of dialogue,” noted Gertrude Abudu of Rainbow TV. “That they can really grow on. It never had a lot of female actresses. We only saw only one female actress. That we also definitely grow on.”

Meanwhile, several regional TV networks have expressed interest in buying rights to the film. It is entirely in the local language, Chichewa. Producers are busy adding English subtitles.

The four young men are preparing to stage live action performances of The Town Monger, and they hope to one day perform abroad.
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Michael Jackson died eight years ago, but he’s still generating millions of dollars.

Jackson is atop the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities for the fifth straight year, with $75 million. Forbes says Jackson’s earnings are boosted by a new greatest hits album, a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show and a stake in the EMI music publishing catalog.

Two other singers join Jackson in the top five. Elvis Presley comes in fourth with $35 million and Bob Marley ranks fifth with $23 million.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer is the second-highest earner. He brought in $40 million in part through sales of Arizona lemonade and ice tea beverage made in his name.

Palmer is followed by Charles Schulz. The creator of the “Peanuts” franchise made $38 million.
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It’s been one epic year for women, a notion definitely not lost on Glamour magazine as it named U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, 27 key facilitators of the Women’s March on Washington and astronaut Peggy Whitson among its women of the year from the worlds of politics, entertainment, fashion, business and more.

 

The other winners announced Monday, ahead of a Nov. 13 gala in Brooklyn, New York, are actor Nicole Kidman, singer Solange Knowles, Syrian refugee Muzoon Almellehan, late-night TV host Samantha Bee, supermodel Gigi Hadid, Dior’s first female creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and “Wonder Woman” helmswoman Patty Jenkins.

 

Cindi Leive, Glamour’s editor-in-chief, called them “wildly diverse changemakers” who reflect this “tumultuous and electric year for women.” All will be on hand for the magazine’s annual awards night, with a summit featuring Chelsea Clinton, Laverne Cox, Cecile Richards and other past winners planned for earlier the same day.

 

This year’s honorees will be featured on multiple Glamour covers and in a spread for December.

 

A look at some in the Class of 2017:

 

THE REVOLUTIONARIES

 

Listening especially to the strong voices of young women after Hillary Clinton’s popular vote win but Electoral College loss to Donald Trump, Glamour called the impact of the Women’s March massive, along with an outpouring around the globe.

 

“Vastly more women turned out for the march, not just in Washington but the marches around the world, than anyone expected,” Leive told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “There were so many hundreds of women who were involved in the organization and planning of these marches, but 27 key leaders and organizers really devoted the lion’s share of their time between Election Day and Inauguration Day.”

 

In all, an estimated half a million made their way to Washington, where maybe 200,000 had been expected, and 5 million more gathered everywhere from Australia to Antarctica.

 

The honorees are:

 

Bob Bland, Tamika D. Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Paola Mendoza, Carmen Perez, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Janaye Ingram, Ginny Suss, Emma Collum, Cassady Fendlay, Lisa Harps, Mia Ives-Rublee, Rabbi Barat Ellman, Toshi Reagon, Sophie Ellman-Golan, ShiShi Rose, Caitlin Ryan, Jenna Arnold, Nantasha Williams, Alyssa Klein, Mariam Ehrari, Meredith Shepherd, Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs, Breanne Butler, Mrinalini Chakraborty, Brea Baker and De’Ara Balenger.

 

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THE CONGRESSWOMAN WHO COULD

 

At 79, Maxine Waters describes herself in Glamour as a mix of “intellect and alley cat.” She has been on the front line of progressive politics for years, but that moment over the summer when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to be trying to run out her allotted five minutes rather than answer her questions about Trump’s financial ties to Russia, the congresswoman shut him down when she declared repeatedly that she was “reclaiming my time.” Her words became a hashtag and a call to action for women.

 

Waters earned Glamour’s lifetime achievement award.

 

“Most young people really became aware of her over the course of this year because she’s been very vocal, very outspoken, standing up to members of the administration, but she’s actually had an incredibly inspiring lifetime of achievement,” Leive said. “This is a woman who grew up without all that much and decided that she would go back to college in her 20s, after having worked at the phone company, and then worked as a community coordinator for Head Start. She wasn’t born into politics or anything like that. She really made her own career.”

 

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GIGI THE SUPERNOVA

 

The first time Gigi Hadid bubbled to the surface was on the reality show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” Modeling since she was around 3, she went from a Guess campaign at 17 to supermodel five years later, racking up numerous magazine covers, editorial gigs and runway shows, along with a fashion collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger and an upcoming cosmetics collection with Maybelline.

 

As Glamour writes, Hadid didn’t just take off, “she took over.”

 

At 22, Hadid has a 36-million strong following on Instagram and a megaplatform that could easily have been wasted. Instead, she has spoken out about gun control and marched with sister Bella to protest Trump’s signing of an executive order that suspended immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim countries.

 

Their father, real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, was born in Palestine and their mother, Yolanda Hadid, emigrated from Holland in her teens.

 

“When I started working in fashion, it was like, Gigi, the all-American. I was very much that ‘girl next door,'” she told Glamour, “but if you read my interviews, I always talk about my parents’ cultural backgrounds.”

 

Leive called her “incredibly wise beyond her years.”

 

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SOLANGE BREAKS IT OPEN

 

With a Grammy win and a groundbreaking album, “A Seat at the Table,” Knowles is living her truth in abundance. The record, released late last year, takes on some key issues: racism, cultural appropriation, activism and empowerment among them.

 

“She’s such a fantastic and inspiring example of somebody who has always chosen not to do things the easy way,” Leive said. “Her sister is Beyonce. She could have become a pop star in any number of ways but she decided to really focus on her own personal vision of art.”

 

Knowles told the magazine that she worked on “A Seat at the Table” on and off for three years, at one point spending three months writing songs in tiny Patoutville, Louisiana, soaking up the pride, resilience and traditions of the regional culture. She worked in a house on a sugar plantation, feeling a closeness to her ancestors and feeling a “constant state of reflection.”

 

Part of her goal was to reclaim and change her own narrative, she said, “whether it was people challenging who wrote what on my album, whether it was about some editor commenting on my hair in a story or someone feeling like they were entitled to space in my life. I needed to unfold, reveal and discover my truth.”

 

 

 
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Actor Kevin Spacey said Sunday he is “beyond horrified” by allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy decades ago.

The two-time Oscar winner posted on Twitter that he doesn’t remember the encounter.

“But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years,” he said.

In an interview with BuzzFeed, actor Anthony Rapp said Spacey befriended him while they both performed on Broadway shows. Rapp was 14 when he attended a party at Spacey’s apartment in 1986, he said. At the end of the night, an inebriated Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him, Rapp said.

Rapp said the 26-year-old was holding him down tightly, but he was able to get away and left the apartment.

Rapp, who is now 46 and starring in the TV show “Star Trek: Discovery”, said he came forward after allegations against Harvey Weinstein sparked conversations about sexual abuse and harassment in the entertainment industry.

Spacey, who is now 58, spoke publicly about his sexual orientation for the first time Sunday on Twitter.

“As those closest to me know, in my life I have had relationships with both men and women,” he said. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man.”

Spacey, who has fiercely protected his private life, had never disclosed his sexuality before but said Rapp’s story encouraged him to speak.

“I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior,” he said.
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Despite a national fascination with everything new and shiny, there is a portion of America that is focused on the old and quirky. They can find what they’re looking for at antique shops, where treasures from someone’s attic share space with memorabilia from long-forgotten celebrations. Barry Richards takes us antiquing in Tennessee.
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From eye-popping colors to outfits with plunging necklines and see-through tops to more conservative wear, fashionistas and industry professionals showcased their latest eye catching designs at this year’s Lagos Fashion Week in Nigeria Mariama Diallo reports.
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Tuesday is Halloween, the spookiest day of the year. Some people like to use the holiday to visit scary attractions like haunted houses. In historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a ghost tour takes visitors to places that are said to be haunted. But that’s no surprise to locals, who say they often see and hear paranormal activity. VOA’s Deborah Block has the spine-chilling story.
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While American’s prepare for Halloween — a holiday known for ghosts and goblins and costumed children going door-to-door and scaring candy from their neighbors — in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, a thousand people dressed as vampires from around the world descended upon the Royal Opera House for the final dress rehearsal of an opera about history’s best-known vampire. Arash Arabasadi reports.
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When Angelina Jolie puts her name on a film, you will likely find an important message in there. “The Breadwinner” is no exception, spinning an inspiring tale of an Afghan girl who won’t be denied her human rights. The film was recently screened in Washington with a special guest who could relate to the story firsthand.
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