CHICAGO –– Before you read the words written here about the life and times and accomplishments of a man named Ken Nordine, who died Saturday at his North Side home at the age of 98, it would be a good idea for you to listen to whatever you can find at www.wordjazz.com.

What you will discover is the voice of Ken Nordine, one of the few ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Attorney Michael Avenatti said Friday that he believes charges are imminent against R. Kelly after giving Cook County prosecutors a tape purportedly showing the musician having sex with an underage girl.

"I'm not at liberty to get into the details of the time that I've spent here today and what's transpired," Avenatti said. "But ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Bowing to fierce blowback -- and throwing yet another wrench into an already tumultuous Oscar season -- the motion picture academy has announced that it is shelving a controversial plan to move the presentation of four key awards to commercial breaks during this year's telecast.

The decision follows several days of controversy ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- "This Is Us" has been able to look at events in the lives of the Pearson family and those associated with them over numerous decades through flashbacks. Despite all of the insights that have been revealed, the past of one major character – Beth Pearson -- has remained a relative mystery. That's about to change for the wife of ...Read more

Chicago police say they have arrested two brothers in connection with the possible hate crime involving "Empire" star Jussie Smollett.

"Interrogations will resume today with the two individuals and their attorney," department spokesman Anthony Guglielimi said in a statement to The Times on Friday.

The men -- who are only being identified as ...Read more

ATLANTA -- Atlanta attorney Gerald Griggs said the latest video allegedly showing entertainer R. Kelly having sex with a teenager is more than enough to file criminal charges.

"My question is, what's taking so long?" Griggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Thursday.

The Fulton County district attorney's office declined to comment ...Read more

CHICAGO -- The two brothers being questioned about a reported attack on "Empire" star Jussie Smollett both know the actor from working on the show and also spent time with him at a gym, according to their attorney.

But Gloria Schmidt denied they had anything to do with the attack in Streeterville late last month as police sources said ...Read more

So excruciating were the acceptance speeches at Sunday night's Grammy Awards that Trevor Noah compared them to irritating people who wait in line at Chipotle, "get to the front and go, 'uh ...'"

Noah was right. The Grammys were enough to make you dread the Oscars. These are dire days for the fine art of the acceptance speech.

In almost every ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Two young men who'd sought their fortunes in the South Florida rap business were murdered by gunfire, most likely in a Jeep on a lonely stretch of road near the Everglades.

The accused trigger man was their close friend, rising rap star YNW Melly, aka Jamell Demons, 19, according to Miramar police and the Broward state ...Read more

In an emotional new TV interview, "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett tried to end doubt that he was attacked last month in Chicago by two men who shouted slurs at him, hit him, poured bleach on him and wrapped a rope around his neck while yelling, "This is MAGA country!"

"I am an advocate. I respect too much the people -- who I am now one of those ...Read more

Controversy over the motion picture academy's plan to move four key Oscar categories to commercial breaks in this year's telecast has continued to roil the industry, as a group of prominent filmmakers and actors, including numerous Oscar winners, issued an open letter criticizing the move and the academy sought to defend and clarify its decision...Read more

Can I, in good conscience, recommend you watch the first 2 1/2 hours of a movie that's not very good so you can get to the last half-hour, which is splendid? That's the situation with "Never Look Away," a title that, as the film drags on, almost becomes a challenge.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's film is an Oscar nominee for best foreign-...Read more

AQUAMAN. 2 stars. Aquaman (Jason Momoa) reluctantly returns to Atlantis to battle his half brother (Patrick Wilson) for control of the kingdom. A bright, wacky, wise-cracky change of pace from the usual D.C. Universe mope-fest, and Momoa brings some levity to the proceedings, but the movie is way to long, and over-reliant on animated effects. ...Read more

ATLANTA -- Rapper 21 Savage returned home to the Atlanta area Wednesday after he was freed from a federal immigration detention center in South Georgia, his attorneys said.

Born She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, the musician was granted a $100,000 bond during a closed hearing in an Atlanta Immigration Court Tuesday. U.S. Immigration and Customs ...Read more