Kate, Princess of Wales, is at Wimbledon in a rare public appearance since revealing she has cancer
LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales has arrived at the All England Club for the Wimbledon men’s final. Sunday’s outing is only her second public appearance since announcing she had been diagnosed with cancer. Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, was expected to sit in the Royal Box at Centre Court during the championship match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Since 2016, the princess has been the patron of the club that hosts the annual grass-court Grand Slam tournament. Her ceremonial duties include handing out the winner’s trophies after the singles finals, although she was not on hand Saturday when Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini for the women’s title.
Spain and England to meet in European Championship final in front of Prince William and King Felipe
BERLIN (AP) — Spain and England will meet in the European Championship final. Much of the focus is on a teenage wonderkid and whether one of the world’s most underachieving teams can end its decades-long wait for a title. Prince William and Spain’s King Felipe are among the dignitaries expected to attend. Spain is bidding to win the Euros for a record fourth time and for the first time since 2012. The team’s new superstar is 17-year-old winger Lamine Yamal. England lays claim to be the birthplace of soccer and hasn’t won a major title since the 1966 World Cup. This is the team’s second straight European Championship final. The teams have taken different paths to the final taking place at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
France’s Bastille Day parade meets the Olympic torch relay in an exceptional year
PARIS (AP) — Paris is hosting an extra-special guest for France’s national holiday Sunday. The Olympic torch relay is joining up with thousands of troops marching in Paris beneath roaring fighter jets to mark Bastille Day. It comes 12 days before the French capital hosts exceptionally ambitious and high-security Summer Games. Families around France celebrate the day with picnics and fireworks. Bastille Day marks the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789, heralding the start of the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy.
Richard Simmons, a fitness guru who mixed laughs and sweat, dies at 76
NEW YORK (AP) — Fitness guru Richard Simmons has died. Publicist Tom Estey tells The Associated Press that Simmons died Friday at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday, a day after his 76th birthday. Simmons was a court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight loss tips as the host of the Emmy-winning daytime “Richard Simmons Show” and the “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” line of exercise videos, which became a cultural phenomenon.
The first Titanic voyage in 14 years is happening in the wake of submersible tragedy. Hopes are high
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is undertaking its first expedition to the ship’s wreckage in 14 years. Those involved in the mission say they have heavy hearts and lofty goals for the trip. Georgia-based RMS Titanic Inc. holds the legal rights to salvage the wreck of the ship that sank in 1912. The company’s first expedition to the site since 2010 launched Friday from Providence, Rhode Island. The voyage arrives as the worldwide community of undersea explorers is still reeling from the deadly implosion of the Titan submersible en route to the Titanic a little over a year ago.
Alec Baldwin’s criminal case was about ammunition at its shocking beginning and its sudden end
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The case against Alec Baldwin centered on how bullets were handled at the beginning and at the end. Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins came to a sudden stop on Friday when a judge ruled that the prosecution improperly failed to share ammunition evidence with the defense. Authorities could never definitively determine how the lethal ammunition got into the mix and into Baldwin’s revolver on the set of the film “Rust.” The end of his trial may have shut down one of the final avenues for learning more. Several civil lawsuits against Baldwin and the film’s producers remain, however.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, America’s diminutive and pioneering sex therapist, dies at 96
NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the diminutive sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, has died. She was 96. Westheimer never advocated risky sexual behavior. Instead, she encouraged an open dialogue on previously closeted issues that affected her audience of millions. Her one recurring theme was there was nothing to be ashamed of. Westheimer’s giggly, German-accented voice, coupled with her 4-foot-7 frame, made her an unlikely looking — and sounding — outlet for “sexual literacy.” The contradiction was one of the keys to her success. She died Friday at her home in New York City, surrounded by family.
The son of Asia’s richest man gets married in the year’s most extravagant wedding
MUMBAI, India (AP) — The youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, has married his longtime girlfriend in what many have dubbed the wedding of the year. It’s being attended by global celebrities, business tycoons and politicians, highlighting the billionaire’s staggering wealth and rising clout. The wedding rituals, including exchanging garlands and walking around the sacred fire, began Friday and were completed after midnight. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding celebrations took place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, and the family home. The guest list included former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson; Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser; and Adele, Lana Del Rey, Drake and David Beckham, according to local media.
Griff has opened for some of pop’s biggest stars. Now she has a debut album of her own to tour
British singer-songwriter Griff’s career has been an unmistakable whirlwind. Less than two years after releasing her first single, she won the Brit Award for Rising Star. Then she opened for Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Taylor Swift. In between those gigs, intimate solo shows and single and EP releases, she was working on the songs that became her debut album, “Vertigo.” The 23-year-old, whose full name is Sarah Faith Griffiths, told The Associated Press that the usual steps that a new artist takes have been upside-down for her. She tracks the dizzying emotions that have accompanied her journey in her new album. “Vertigo” is out now.
LL Cool J relearned ‘how to rap’ on his first album in 11 years, ‘The FORCE.’ Here’s how
NEW YORK (AP) — LL COOL J, the Grammy award winning rapper, actor and author, will release his first new album in 11 years, “The FORCE” on Sept. 6 — 40 years into his hip-hop career. He’s always tinkered in the studio, he tells The Associated Press, but over the last two years, the pursuit became more serious. A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg came to him in a dream, resulting in LL COOL J enlisting Dawg’s band mate Q-Tip to produce the album, which is out Sept. 16. He says this album is about showing people that rap veterans can still contribute to and have an impact on modern hip-hop.
