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4 'HIDDEN FIGURES' WOMEN TO BE HONORED WITH CONGRESS MEDALS
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Four black women who gained national attention because of the book and movie “Hidden Figures” for groundbreaking NASA work during space-race years will receive special awards from Congress.
The Daily Press of Newport News reports President Donald Trump signed into law on Friday the "Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act," which will recognize Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, as well as the late Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson.
Johnson is known for calculating trajectories for famous flights by astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Vaughan became a computer programming expert, while Jackson and Darden were pioneering engineers working at the Langley Research Center in Virginia.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW FOR MICHAEL STIPE
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Stipe's past, present and future creative lives are intersecting this fall.
The former R.E.M. singer has released his first solo song since that band retired in 2011. He's so pleased by the reaction to "Your Capricious Soul" that he promises more new music will be coming soon.
He's also out promoting a 25th anniversary package of R.E.M.'s album "Monster." The homage to glam rock pumped up the volume for R.E.M. after two quieter albums that proved to be the band's biggest commercial successes.
Stipe says he marvels that — creatively speaking — the band took a leap off a cliff with "Monster."
BIG NAMES LIKE MARVEL, STAR WARS AS DISNEY STREAMING DEBUTS
NEW YORK (AP) — Disney will sprinkle its pixie dust on the streaming arena Tuesday.
Its Disney Plus service debuts with an arsenal of marquee franchises including Marvel and Star Wars, original series with a built-in fan base and a cheap price to boot.
The $7-a-month service is poised to set the bar for other services like WarnerMedia's HBO Max and NBCUniversal's Peacock to follow.
Major media companies behind hit TV shows and movies are seeking to siphon the subscription revenue now going to Netflix and other streaming giants.
Disney owns Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, though not everything in those libraries will be available right away because existing deals with rival services need to expire first.
Disney Plus will have all 30 past seasons of "The Simpsons." Original shows include "The Mandalorian," set in the Star Wars universe.
PETE DOHERTY ARRESTED AGAIN IN PARIS, FOR VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
PARIS (AP) — Paris authorities say British singer Pete Doherty (DOK’-er-tee) has been arrested for the second time in the space of a week.
The Paris prosecutor's office said Monday the 40-year old former Libertines and Babyshambles frontman was placed in custody Sunday for "violence by a person in a manifest state of intoxication."
It was just one day after he was released from custody. He had been detained in the night of Thursday-Friday over a foiled cocaine purchase.
The prosecutor's office couldn't confirm French media reports that the latest trouble involved Doherty punching at a teenager in the chic Saint-Germain area of Paris.
Since rising to fame in the early 2000s, Doherty, the ex-boyfriend of model Kate Moss, has been repeatedly arrested for drug offenses.
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