Comedian, talk show host and political influencer Jon Stewart has been named the 23rd recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement in comedy.

The 59-year-old Stewart — born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz — rose to prominence as a standup comic and host of multiple failed talk shows before taking over Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" in 1999. His 16-year run as "Daily Show" host turned him into a cultural and political force as Stewart trained his satirical eye on both politics and an increasingly polarized national media.

Birju Maharaj, a legend of classical Indian dance and among the country's most well-known performing artists, died Monday. He was 83.

Maharaj was suffering from a kidney ailment and was undergoing dialysis and likely died of a cardiac arrest, his granddaughter Ragini Maharaj told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Nino Cerruti, the Italian fashion designer credited with revolutionizing menswear in the 1960s and who gave Giorgio Armani his first fashion break, has died, Italian media reported Saturday. He was 91.

Cerruti died in northwestern Italy, where his family has operated a textile company since 1881, the Italian news agency LaPresse reported. The Italian daily Corriere said he had been hospitalized for hip surgery.

The ashes of Winter the dolphin were returned to the sea, about two months after the beloved marine mammal of movie fame died at a Florida aquarium.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff members released a Himalayan sea salt urn containing Winter's ashes into the Gulf of Mexico from the back of a U.S. Coast Guard response boat.

The man who as a 4-month-old appeared nude on the 1991 cover of Nirvana's album "Nevermind" has filed a new version of his lawsuit alleging the image is child pornography.

Federal Judge Fernando M. Olguin had dismissed Spencer Elden's lawsuit on Jan. 4 after a missed deadline, but gave him permission to file an amended version.

Lionel Richie will be honored all night long for his musical achievements.

The Library of Congress said Thursday that Richie will receive the national library's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He will be bestowed the prize at an all-star tribute in Washington, D.C., on March 9.

Here are some good things about the fourth Hotel Transylvania movie: Kathryn Hahn, who is as evocative a voice actor as she is in live action; The monster sidekicks voiced by David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi and Brad Abrell; A joke about a single marshmallow (really); The revelation that the invisible man has been naked this whole time; The 94-minute runtime; And its easy accessibility on Amazon Prime Video starting on Jan. 14.

But perhaps the best thing about " Hotel Transylvania: Transformania " is that it's the end. The well of ideas on this particular property has apparently run dry and they have made the wise decision to show themselves the door. Though not wise enough to end on a particularly high note.

The United Kingdom will celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne with a military parade, neighborhood parties and a competition to create a new dessert for the Platinum Jubilee, Buckingham Palace said Monday.

Elizabeth will become on Feb. 6 the first British monarch to reign for seven decades, and festivities marking the anniversary will culminate in a four-day weekend of events June 2-5. It wasn't immediately clear which events the queen, 95, would take part in after doctors recently advised her to get more rest.

The Golden Globe Awards, Hollywood's so-called biggest party that regularly drew 18 million television viewers, was reduced to a live-blog Sunday night for its 79th edition.

The embattled Hollywood Foreign Press Association proceeded with its film awards Sunday night without a telecast, nominees, a red carpet, a host, press or even a livestream. Instead, members of the HFPA and some recipients of the group's philanthropic grants gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for a 90-minute private event, announcing the names of the film and television winners on the organization's social media feeds.

New data from the music industry confirms what a lot of people long suspected — 2021 was a very good year for Morgan Wallen, Adele and vinyl.

MRC Data's year-end report, presented in collaboration with Billboard, showed that Wallen's "Dangerous: The Double Album" ended 2021 as both the top country album of the year and the most popular album across all genres, with 3.2 million equivalent album units earned during the year.