Peruvian emigre gives US voice to Venezuela hard-liners

An emigre who once fled a right-wing strongman in Peru has made his U.S.-based television program a forum for hardline opponents of Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro --- including some who are quite ready for the shedding of blood. "I am a conspirator in favor of freedom," Jaime Bayly says. Bayly's news and opinion program airs each weeknight on Mega TV, a relatively small network of Spanish-language stations around the United States. But YouTube videos of his programs are viewed by tens of thousands of people across the hemisphere. Programs have frequently featured Venezuelan opposition leaders such as Henrique Capriles, Leopoldo Lopez and other critics of the Ma...

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‘Empire’ actor’s family calls for justice in Chicago attack

Jussie Smollett's family said Thursday that the attack on the black and gay "Empire" actor in downtown Chicago this week was a "hate crime" and they pushed back against any suggestion that he was anything but honest with the police. Smollett, whoplays the gay character Jamal Lyonon the hit Fox television show, hasn't spoken publicly about the early Tuesday attack, though his representative said Wednesday that Smollett was recovering at home. Smollett's familyissued a statementthrough a spokesman Thursday saying they believe he was the victim of an unprovoked "racial and homophobic hate crime" and that he has been forthright with the police, who are still searching for surveillance...

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‘Jane the Virgin’ creator sees tears, closure for show’s end

The upcoming final season of "Jane the Virgin" is already drawing tears. The CW show's creator, Jennie Snyder Urman, said she's crying in the editing room as she works on the concluding episodes of the show starring Gina Rodriguez. The producer and actress grew emotional discussing the telenovela-style comedy-drama Thursday with TV critics. They were asked how they would look back on "Jane the Virgin." "How much representation matters, what it feels like to be seen," Urman said of the show focused on a Latino family, a rarity on TV. Rodriguez said the audience response affirmed her belief that young girls would be empowered seeing a Latina character. She's encouraged to i...

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Luis Fonsi releases his 1st album in post-‘Despacito’ era

Two years ago he made the whole world dance with "Despacito," but Luis Fonsi says he is still a romantic singer and is ready to show "all his cards" Friday with his new album, "Vida." "Many people thought I moved away from that romantic side and I always said 'I haven't, I'm not going anywhere.' I am still a romantic singer, I still talk that romantic language. But at the same time I like to do both things. I don't like to be limited," Fonsi said in a recent interview with The Associated Press, in Spanish. "Vida" is his ninth studio album and his first in five years, a time of big changes in his life and his career --- especially since 2016, when the birth of his son Rocco over...

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Mariah Carey shakes off boycott calls for her Saudi concert

      DUBAI, United Arab Emirates --- Mariah Carey, one of the world's most celebrated artists, is performing in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for the first time, but there's a growing chorus of Saudi women calling on her to cancel the concert to show support for detained women's rights activists. Carey is the highest-profile star to perform in the kingdom since it began loosening decades of restrictions on entertainment, music and fun as part of a push by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to overhaul the economy and transform society. But activists say her concert is an attempt by the government to polish its image after the Oct. 2 killing of Saudi critic Jam...

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American tagged in pyramiding scam busted in Davao

  MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said its operatives arrested the other day an overstaying American national who is an alleged leader of a notorious pyramiding and financial scam syndicate in Davao City. The synidcate has reportedly victimized residents in Davao City and other parts of Mindanao, the BI said in a statement on Thursday. According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, the arrest of James Edward Booyer III, 36, stemmed for the request of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte,"whose office has received numerous complaints from victims of the syndicate that defrauded them of large sums of money." "We also received a report from the anti-...

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Korean students nabbed while trying to raid US Embassy

SEOUL ---Police on Thursday arrested a group of progressive college students who tried to rush through the front gate of the US Embassy in Seoul in protest of Washington's demand for a sharp increase in Seoul's share of the upkeep costs for US troops stationed in the country.   "Five members from the Progressive Union of University Students were taken (by the police) at around 1:20 p.m. as they attempted to run in through the embassy's front gate," an officer at Jongno Police Station said.   Earlier, the students held a news conference near the embassy, denouncing the US call for a hike in South Korea's financial burden for the US troop presence.   Th...

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