Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Disney Channel star Jordan Fisher was crowned the winner of Dancing with the Stars alongside partner Lindsay Arnold. Fisher beat out violinist Lindsey Stirling and actor Frankie Muniz for the Mirrorball Trophy on the season 25 finale of the ABC reality competition Tuesday. Fisher paid tribute to Arnold on Twitter after the announcement, writing: “There aren’t words to describe the feeling of going through BATTLE with my SISTER. Putting in all the time and effort and energy for 12 weeks, then to be rewarded for it after having the most incredible time?! Unbelievable.” Fisher has starred in several Disney Channel series and films. He has also appeared on Broadway in Hamilton. This is the first Dancing with the Stars title for Arnold.
■ Pope Francis led a special prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica for peace in South Sudan and Congo. Earlier this year he said he was studying the possibility of going to South Sudan, the African nation suffering from famine and civil war. But he told faithful Thursday evening that wasn’t possible. Francis said that “with prayer we want to sow seeds of peace” in South Sudan and Congo. He called for courageous peace efforts through dialogue and negotiations. Peace talks are aimed at finding a resolution to South Sudan’s nearly 4-year-old civil war. In Congo, tensions over the continued tenure of President Joseph Kabila, whose official mandate ended in December 2016, have fueled deadly demonstrations. An election official recently said the presidential vote wouldn’t be held until late 2018.
■ If you want to see Barbra Streisand sing, watch her upcoming Netflix special because you won’t see her onstage again. And she’s not just saying it to get you to watch Barbra: The Music … The Mem’ries … The Magic!, which debuted on the streaming service this week. Streisand, who didn’t tour for 27 years after forgetting the words at a show in
1967, said performing live concerts is too nerve-racking for her to consider doing them again. “No, I would never do another show. It’s exhausting,” the 75-year-old entertainer said. “I’m not ever going to sit down and plan another show like I had to do with this one,” she said of the new special, recorded during her tour stop in Miami last year. Of course, Streisand has said farewell before only to come back. She said that this time she means it, but also added, “I never say never.”