Kamala Harris introduced herself to the country she hopes to lead in the climactic moment of the Democratic national convention on Thursday — and despite chatter about potential mystery guests, Beyoncé's only appearance was over the loudspeakers.

In the end, it was the most traditional of convention moments coming through television screens: the candidate, her running mate and their families bathed in the cheers of supporters, with balloons floating from the rafters.

No Hollywood star seems as intrinsically tied to Venice as George Clooney.

Twenty-six years ago he attended his first Venice Film Festival with the instant classic "Out of Sight"; 19 years ago, it's where he debuted his sophomore film, "Good Night, and Good Luck," which earned him his first best director nomination; and 10 years ago, it's where he exchanged vows with then Amal Alamuddin, at the Aman Venice, a five-star hotel perched alongside the Grand Canal.

Two weeks after organizers scrubbed Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna amid a foiled terror plot, the singer issued her first statement on the cancellations.

"Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating," she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday. "The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows."

The Democratic National Convention transformed what should have been the driest part of the evening – the roll call – into a party Thursday, complete with lively music and several celebrity appearances.

Although the Democratic party previously held a virtual vote on Aug. 6 that made Harris the party's official nominee, they held a "celebratory" roll call vote to reaffirm her nomination. As each state called out the number of delegates who cast votes for Harris, several states boasted appearances from their famous residents and natives.

After a relationship that spanned two decades, two engagements, two weddings and headlines too numerous to count, Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck.

The filing Tuesday in Los Angeles brought to an apparent end a celebrity coupling — or at least the second installment of it — that dazzled from the very heights of the pop culture firmament and emblazoned countless tabloid covers. The pair became known, even before such power-couple portmanteaus were ubiquitous, as "Bennifer."

Donald Trump shared doctored images showing Taylor Swift and her fans supporting his presidential campaign, in an apparent effort to tap into the pop singer's mega star power in the U.S. election.

Swift has not yet publicly thrown her weight behind any presidential candidate in the November 5 election, but she backed President Joe Biden in 2020 and has previously been critical of Trump.

The world's oldest living person, Spain's Maria Branyas Morera, who was born in the United States and lived through two world wars, has died at the age of 117, her family said Tuesday.

Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died at age 88, French media reported.

With his handsome looks and tender manner, the prolific actor was able to combine toughness with an appealing, vulnerable quality that made him one of France's memorable leading men.

As X's owner and most followed user, Elon Musk has increasingly used the social media platform as a microphone to amplify his political views and, lately, those of right-wing figures he's aligned with. There are few modern parallels to his antics, but then again there are few modern parallels to Elon Musk himself.

Of course, none of this should come as a surprise.

In the Ryan Reynolds-Blake Lively box-office showdown, both husband and wife came out winners.

Reynolds' Marvel Studios smash "Deadpool & Wolverine" remained the top movie in North American theaters for the third straight week with $54.2 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it's now surpassed $1 billion. "Deadpool & Wolverine," though, was closely followed by "It Ends With Us," the romance drama starring Lively, which surpassed expectations with a stellar $50 million debut.