August's supermoon is first of four lunar spectacle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Monday's supermoon is the first of four this year, when the full moon gets a little closer to Earth than usual, making it appear a little bigger and brighter in the night sky. September's supermoon coincides with a partial lunar eclipse; October's supermoon is the closest to Earth of the year, while November's supermoon marks the end of the year. A supermoon occurs when the lunar phase of a full moon syncs up with the moon's particularly close passage around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year, with supermoons appearing in succession.
Spanish woman believed to be world's oldest person dies at age 117
MADRID (AP) — Maria Branyas, an American-born, Spanish-born woman who was thought to be the world's oldest person at 117, has died, her family announced. “She passed away peacefully and painlessly, in her sleep, as she wished,” her family wrote in a post on Branyas' X account. The Gerontology Research Group, which compiles details of people believed to be over 110 years old, lists Branyas as the world's oldest person. Branyas was born in San Francisco in 1907 and lived in a nursing home in the town of Olot in northeastern Spain at the time of her death.
Trinidad repainted its coat of arms, removing Columbus' famous three ships.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Trinidad and Tobago officials are repainting the island's coat of arms in a move welcomed by many to remove references to European colonization for the first time since it was created in 1962. Three of Christopher Columbus' ships — the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa Maria — will be replaced with steel pans, a popular percussion instrument that originated on the eastern Caribbean island. Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced to a standing ovation Sunday that the coat of arms will be redesigned by late September.
The leading actors for the dramatic Broadway seafaring musical “Swept Away” have been announced.
NEW YORK (AP) — The four stars behind the new musical “Swept Away” — John Gallagher Jr., Stark Sands, Adrienne Blake Enscoe and Wayne Duvall — are taking the ocean-based tale to commercial Broadway waters. The story of four men stranded in the Atlantic Ocean after a 19th-century shipwreck features songs by the Avett Brothers, notably their 2004 album “Mignonette,” and opens at the Longacre Theatre in October. The show, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in early 2022 before moving to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.
Phil Donahue, who dominated daytime talk shows for years before being overtaken by Oprah, left a lasting mark.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Talk-show host Phil Donahue, who for decades reigned supreme over daytime television, roaming the audience with a microphone in hand, has died at age 88. The talk-show format he established in 1967 and maintained for nearly three decades eventually spawned many imitators, including Oprah Winfrey, who dethroned Donahue as daytime king of the show. Donahue's show introduced many Americans to issues like feminism, same-sex marriage and sexual harassment for the first time. Winfrey overtook Donahue in the ratings in the mid-1980s, but “Donahue” lasted another decade, and Donahue credited Winfrey's success with lifting “all boats” in daytime television.
Two 18-year-olds charged with murder of former 'General Hospital' actor Johnny Wactor
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two 18-year-old men have been charged with the murder of former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced the charges at a news conference Monday. Authorities say Wachter was stopping three thieves from stealing catalytic converters from his car when he was shot and killed May 25. Robert Barceló and Sergio Estrada were charged with murder, burglary and attempted robbery. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon, but it is unclear whether they have attorneys. Another 18-year-old was charged with burglary and attempted robbery, and a fourth was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
Betty Jean Hall, activist who paved the way for women to enter the coal mining workforce, dies at 78
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Betty Jean Hall, an Appalachian lawyer and federal administrative judge who paved the way for women to enter the coal mining workforce, has died. She was 78. Hall died Friday in Cary, North Carolina, where she had lived since retiring in 2019, her daughter Tiffany Olsen said. A Kentucky native, Hall earned her bachelor's degree from Berea College in 1968 and then studied law at Antioch Law School in Washington, D.C. She also founded the Tennessee-based advocacy group Coal Jobs Project in 1977, which pressured mining companies across the U.S. to hire women by filing discrimination lawsuits.
Ruth Johnson Colvin, founder of American Volunteer Literacy Association, dies at 107
Syracuse, N.Y. (AP) — The founder of the National Association of Literacy Volunteers has died. Ruth Johnson Colvin, 107, died Sunday in Syracuse, N.Y., according to the nonprofit ProLiteracy. ProLiteracy was formed when the Literacy Volunteers Association merged with the Laubach Literacy Association. Colvin founded the National Association of Literacy Volunteers in 1962 to fight illiteracy and teach people to read and write. She was inspired by the 1960 census, which showed that 11,000 people were illiterate in her city of Syracuse. Colvin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006. She is also in the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls.
President Biden takes first flight in long-delayed new helicopter, Marine One
CHICAGO (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday took his first flight in a modern VH-92A helicopter used as Marine One after years of delays in updating the aging aircraft that carries the president and vice president. Biden boarded the Sikorsky-made helicopter after arriving in Chicago on Air Force One to speak Monday night at the Democratic National Convention. His first flight as president took Biden from O'Hare International Airport to a parking garage at Chicago's Soldier Field, often used as a landing spot for presidential travel. It marked a key milestone in a two-decade process of updating the Vietnam War-era helicopters that have been used to transport the president in some cases since the 1970s.
Phil Donahue, the pioneer of daytime talk shows who created an indelible television genre, has died.
Phil Donahue, who pioneered the daytime talk show and created an enduring television genre, has died. He was 88. NBC's Today show reported that Donahue died Sunday, citing his family. Dubbed the “King of Daytime Talk,” Donahue was the first to introduce audience participation into talk shows. This decision set “The Phil Donahue Show” apart from other interview shows of the 1960s and influenced the show format that launched many celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams and Ellen DeGeneres. Later renamed “The Donahues,” the show aired nationally for 26 years and won 20 Emmy Awards. Donahue lived in New York with his wife, actress Marlo Thomas.
